My Good Friend, David Villaverde

It was around October of 2002 when I met Verde. He was a 17 year old punk who was very opinionated and too smart for his own good. Not much has changed except for his age, his weight (fat bastard), and his status as a college graduate.
I must say that I have had some interesting times with the old chap. One of my first memories of David was duct taping him to a chair when he was passed out drunk. Doesn't sound very funny, huh, that's because you weren't there to see him lean his head forward and puke all over his crotch.
Knowing Verde over the years I have noticed that their are two sides to this young man. There is the primitive, savage side that comes out during whiskey binges. The primal beast slurring his words as if they were the first to ever be spoken. That look of confusion and fear that lead an animal to attack its own kind. Laughter bellowing from his bowels like some kind of demonic mating call. The other side, which he can probably thank his parents for, is a deep instilled fear of not being a righteous man. He can probably thank Catholicism for that as well. These are two sides that we all tangle with from time to time but for a Catholic who is half Peruvian, it can be a little bit more confusing.
Today I spoke with my dear friend and heard him utter words that sent a shiver up my spine. He is ready to quit drinking and get his priorities straightened out. I was dumbfounded and felt myself at a loss for words. What do you say to your friend when he tells you that he has lost his faith? A part of me wanted to cry out and say please tell me that you are not abandoning me. I didn't, however, because I know that every addict has his or her moment when they are sick and tired of being sick and tired. It goes without saying that the drug does conquer the great ones occasionally. It is a never ending battle. We lose men on the front lines and we recruit more to further the cause.
Unfortunately, Verde has been placed on probation and has no choice but to comply with the law. They are making him blow the plastic dick everyday (so he says). He may be lying to me because of some god awful epiphany that has plagued his brain. Either way it doesn't matter, he made it clear that when he is off probation he plans to continue this life of sobriety.
I will end this little piece with the 12 steps. Perhaps he can find serenity in these words. The next time that you speak with him, he may insist that you accompany him to an AA meeting. I pray for your soul, David.

1) We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol- that our lives had become unmanagable.
2) Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us back to sanity.
3) Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.
4) Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5) Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6) Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7) Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings.
8) Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9) Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10)Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11)Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out.
12)Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principals in all of our affairs.

Dear God, man. I think typing the steps has done something to me. Are there any meetings at 4:10 in the morning I wonder. No more stinking thinking, I'm going straight and narrow from here on out.