Clean & Sober

1987-88 I went cold turkey from drugs and alcohol after seven years of so of heavy drinking everyday. There were some fairly serious symptoms of physical withdrawl during the summer of 1987, but I got through that much on my own without anyone knowing about.

At the time I worked as a supervisor for the United Parcel Service in the personnel department as editor of the local edition of the company magazine. Although it was a part-time gig, I don't think I've had a better paying job since. I was paid $16-20,000 to work 20-25 hours a week during the nearly five years I was there. Unitl recently, I was paid far less than twice that as a public high school teacher. Amazing.

Once sober and removed from my old friends who became addicted to crack I went out and got a new wardrobe as I tried to learn how to dance and went out each weekend to a variety of clubs in Manhattan like the World, and various places along and off of Avenue A and way over on the Westside. All of these places are long gone as is the hair I used to pour globs of goup into.