# Dry April 2024

April in Cleveland is really wet and slushy.

I might talk about how much the weather messes with our heads later.

But that's not the most interesting memory I have about the word dry.

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I remember her saying something like, "Dry is not the same as sober."

I didn't understand what she meant.  She said sober is when you work the
steps.

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This was 1995, in Houston, Texas, at St Elizabeth's hospital.

This day was at least a few days into 30-day outpatient drug treatment
program.

I remember we were in an ugly 2nd floor room, linoleum tile floor, metal
folding chairs set up in a circle.

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Let me talk about the other people in the place with me.

Most people fit in one of these groups:

*   alcohol
*   heroin
*   cocaine

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Look at me right now.  I aspire to weigh about 170 pounds, plus or minus
8 pounds.

A doctor examined me before they let me in the treatment center.  I
weighed in, with clothes on, and 138 pounds or so.

Why does that matter?

I think I looked to them different than I look to you now.


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Alcoholism is not freedom.

But AA is government-sponsored mind control.