Pipe Smoke 05-22-02
Last night I had a nightmare. I woke up as I was dreaming that the webmaster had written, stating that he wanted more racing and less recovery in this column. Thankfully it was just a nightmare. Thus far, the response to this column has been good and I look forward to a long stay here at YankeeRacer.com. If you do have comments or opinions, the email is below. I will reply.
Tonight as I was preparing this column, I heard the patter of tiny feet. Ginger, my 8 lb poodle wanted some lap time. She got it. That is a fringe benefit of being sober.
The Disease of Denial
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the progressive nature of the disease of alcoholism. Today I would like to take a look at the other major problem involved, the denial factor.
I cannot say for sure that I was an alcoholic after my first drink, but today I can say that I had a problem. I could not just pick up one drink. The sad part of it is that I continued to drink for the next ten years. Along the way there were signs that I ignored. The fact that I needed at least a case for a weekend race. The fact that I attended most races alone. The fact that I set fire to myself after a couple of drinks in the military. The fact that I mixed muscle relaxers with alcohol and became suicidal. The fact that I never got into trouble without alcohol being present. I denied the fact that I had a problem with alcohol until I had a barracks fight in Germany after being warned that another alcohol related problem would be grounds for dismissal. It was only then that I saw that I truly had a problem and became willing to do something about it.
That is what makes alcoholism the disease of denial. If you have a friend or a family member who has a problem with alcohol, he/she will deny it to your face. They are not lying to you, because they do not see it. How else can you explain folks who lose jobs, relationships and more. People with multiple DUIs who continue to drink. People who lose it all and become homeless. The disease of alcoholism cannot be treated unless the patient is willing to be treated.
A Word to the Families
For those of you who do have family members or friends with drinking problems, there is help for you. It is called Al-Anon. Today there are meetings in most communities. You cannot help the alcoholic stop drinking short of professional intervention. In some cases even that fails. Then you must do whatever it takes to preserve your own sanity. Al-Anon will be there to help.
Next week we turn the corner on alcoholism. I will try, in my own way to show you how I along with millions of others have started to win the race against John Barleycorn.
Racing Notes
The Mods and BNS went to Nazareth this past weekend. Up here, Stafford got their show in on Friday. The Saturday shows including Monadnock, Waterford, Claremont and Whip City were rained out. Monadnock reported 2″ of snow. I am still working to get Monadnock results on a weekly basis.
In tour action, Dale Quarterly ran 15th in the BNS race. Locals Chris Kopec and Tim Deroin finished the Mod show in 13th and 28th.
In looking at the purse breakdown, I see one thing. Both tours need more $$$ in order to survive. Imagine towing to Pa. from here, running a race using tires and fuel and “winning” less than $1,000. And this was on a 1 mile oval.
“Land O Lakes” sponsors Dale Quarterly and is the official butter of the “Smoke” house.
At Stafford it was Chuck Docherty in 8th and Johnny Lobo jr 15th in SK action.
Late models saw Bill Davis in 2nd, Jim Peterson, 3rd and Joe Rzesztek in 14th.
This week’s “Smoker” goes to Mike Como Jr. of Warren Ma. for his 2nd place finish in the DARE race. Teammate Andrew Durand was 5th.
Mike Como’s family operates Como’s Auto Sales and Auto Body in West Warren. Nice folks, nice cars and a really professional shop. How do I know? They are my customers.
Best wishes to Monadnock racer, Barry Gray who suffered a back injury recently. Barry is a top Pro Stock runner and operates Meadows Motor Sales in East Longmeadow Ma.
Till next week, run hard, turn left and stay straight.
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