Jeffamc,
TO ALL: THIS POST HAS VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH SAILING.THE CONTENT IS ABOUT CHOICES IN LIFE.PLEASE SKIP OVER IF YOU HAVE NO INTEREST.THANKS!
I''m concerned for you my brother.Your continual disussions on this board revolving around drugs has stayed on my mind.You see,I think we have something in common.When I was a teenager,I hung out in the "wrong places,with the wrong people." I was seeking adventure,but sometimes the two paths crossed.I began hanging out at this park.What started out as drinking,soon escallated to pot,then drugs.I liked to party and could hang with the best of them.I moved up from drinking,to smoking some pot.When acid and other drugs starting showing up,that''s where I drew the line.For some reason(maybe the drug films they showed us at school,the possibility of having deformed children,or maybe just by Gods grace),I knew it wasn''t the path I wanted to go on.I changed my playground and started getting involved in other things.I learned a few years later that one of the guys that used to hang out at the park had blown his head off with a double barrel shotgun.He had been busted several times and after the last bust,he apparently couldn''nt stand the thought of going back to prison.Another guy I knew died in a head on collision.There were two others in the Volkswagen beetle he was in.One of them died,and the other is crippled.The cops found hits of acid in the car and blood tests later confirmed that they were "high" when the wreck occurred.Lastly, another guy I knew as a kid was shot to death while trying to drive away from a crack dealer without paying.Later in my life,my oldest son became involved in drugs.It got so bad that I had to have him committed to a drug rehab.While visiting him there,I once heard another visitor (young kid) make the remark "what a bunch of losers" while observing all the recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in the cafeteria.He was right you know.They were a bunch of losers.All had gambled that the drugs and alcohol were good times,and that they would just keep rolling on.If you''ve ever seen the first "Batman" movie with Jack Nicholson playing the Joker,you might recall a line that he said before he killed his victim."Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moon light?" I''ve often wondered if that line wasn''t written by an ex-addict, because that''s exactly what you''re doing.The edgy, euphoric dance of illusion is good as long it suits the devils purpose.When he tires of it,he will destroy you. Yes, I believe the devil uses drugs as a tool to destroy.What other substance that''s chosen to be used causes so much destruction? Ambition,relationships,family,and sometimes lives are given up for the "dance." In the Bible it states "the devil walks to and fro as a lion,seeking whom he may devour."If your mind is clouded with drugs,it makes it all the easier for him to take control Foolishness you might say. Well think about this.How many times on tv have you seen murderers,rapists,and all other types of troubled souls, whom committed crimes while on drugs say "I don''t know what made me do it.It was though someone else was doing it,and I was just there.I don''t really remember a lot about it." In closing, I have to say that IMO,drugs aren''t really about the "high".They''re really about mental escape.That needed escape can be from many different things. I encourage you Jeff to find out what that something is.Talk to your family if you can,a neighbor you can trust,anyone that you think really cares about you.DON''T BE A VICTIM OF THE DANCE! Grow,have a family,sail,and live!!!