Month: December 2020

Dear Hope Nation, I haven’t had a drink or used any mind-altering substances since May 21, 2007, which seems a long time to many of you, long enough to raise the question of why I continue to go to meetings and focus daily on my recovery. “After 13 years,” I can hear some of you … Continue reading I Am An Alcoholic

Dear Hope Nation, [Attention deficit disorder is, no doubt, a serious condition. Having lived 62 years without ever being sure what my last thought was or where my next one will take me, I have little doubt I am one of its afflictees. Regular readers have no doubt noticed my “fluidly abrupt transitions,” in the … Continue reading Two confessions and a map to nowhere

Dear Hope Nation, I try to write for the next-to-lowest common denominator. That is, I usually write these letters with the entire readership in mind. Today, though, that herd will be culled. Instead, I’m writing for one person in particular, and I don’t know who it is. I met a higher-level math student at Hope … Continue reading An Idiot’s Guide to Mental Math

Dear Hope Nation, I’m alone in a Zoom room right now. More accurately, I’m with myself in a Zoom room right now. Most accurately, I’m sitting in a chair in my loft, waiting for people to appear in a meeting that was scheduled to begin 40 minutes ago. Because I wanted to have a smoke, … Continue reading A Cup of Hope

Dear Hope Nation, Christmas has come and gone, but I’d like to share one more Christmas-related anecdote and, perhaps, although unlikely to a vanishing point, save a life. My parents were good parents, a sentence I need before I tell you about my time in a basement crawl space.  Oh, they didn’t lock me in … Continue reading Experiment gone right

Dear Hope Nation, Yesterday was Christmas, so today is December 26 aka St. Stephen’s Day aka Boxing Day aka the day after Christmas. (That lower-case “d” in the last phrase makes me sad, although I can’t say why. Perhaps it is because our British cousins have an extra holiday, while we have to settle for … Continue reading Happy Boxing Day

Dear Hope Nation, When I have little kids in my life, I like Christmas more than the average man, but significantly less than the average woman of my experience.  I’ve never grumbled about the expense and bother of a real tree, complained about choosing and purchasing gifts for kids.  In fact, when my own kids … Continue reading Choose Your Christmas

Dear Hope Nation, I really like Christmas, but I know not everybody does. One group that Christmas can attack with a vengeance is people who are early (for this, let’s say 1 day to 2 years) in their recovery from drug and alcohol abuse. Another group in danger is folks who are solidly recovered and … Continue reading I Like Christmas

Dear Hope Nation, A number of readers have questioned my inability to watch much video in almost any form. I don’t know how to prove a negative, and it’s not like I never watch any video. This year, during the beginning of the lockdown, I watched a number of episodes of “The Office.” Similarly, a lady friend and I … Continue reading Have you named your toes?

Dear Hope Nation, Christmas is in three days. This year’s holiday season is unique, as are many other things during this time of pestilence. We have no office Christmas parties, with mandated fun and secret Santas. I will not jump into a crowd of excited but anxious last-minute shoppers, searching for that one perfect gift. … Continue reading Anyone Can – Even You