On Monday, August 31, 2020 at 7:34:49 PM UTC-5, Pamela wrote:
> On 00:46 1 Sep 2020, Bryan Simmons said:
>
> > On Monday, August 31, 2020 at 3:30:54 PM UTC-5, Pamela wrote:
> >> On 20:37 31 Aug 2020, Bryan Simmons said:
> >>
> >> > On Sunday, August 30, 2020 at 2:28:45 PM UTC-5, Hank Rogers wrote:
> >> >> wrote:
> >> >> > On Sunday, August 30, 2020 at 9:50:50 AM UTC-5, John Kuthe wrote:
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> On Sunday, August 30, 2020 at 9:44:44 AM UTC-5, Pamela wrote:
> >> >> >> ...
> >> >> >>>
> >> >> >>> You know John Kuthe in real life?
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> We were both taking Freshman English over, we both (and others in
> >
> >> >> >> that class) taught Mr Gormley (a Business teacher) how to teach
> >> >> >> Freshman English.
> >> >> >>
> >> >> >> John Kuthe...
> >> >> >>
> >> >> > If you knew "how to teach freshman English" how is it you were
> >> >> > havin
> > g
> >> >> > to take it over?? Aka failed freshman English.
> >> >> >
> >> >> Hahahahaha ... he was a cannabis english teacher!
> >> >
> >> > We did smoke pot before class pretty much every day. 9th and 10th
> >> > grade, I smoked pot as soon as I got up, and every few hours. The
> >> > only
> >
> >> > time when I was not high on weed was when I was tripping on acid, or
> >> > on
> >
> >> > those rare occasions when there wasn't any to be bought anywhere we
> >> > kne
> > w
> >> > to buy it.
> >> Do you think drug-taking caused you or John any long-term effects?
> >
> > Of course. I was a genius, and that's no exaggeration. Three years of
> > heavy pot smoking dulled me down, but I needed that. It was self
> > medication, and it worked well. It wasn't just sloppiness. For
> > example, when most kids are about to turn 16, they're excited about
> > getting to drive. Me? No way. I thought, I smoke pot seven times a
> > day, and drink whenever I can get my hands on alcohol, and I have no
> > business having a driver license. I even took driver ed in high school,
> > because I knew that one day I'd probably drive. The next semester,
> > spring of my sophomore year, I got special permission to take the GED,
> > even though I was only 16, and after the principal granted permission,
> > he ask that I quit attending school, because he was 100% certain that
> > I'd pass the test.
> >
> > The night before the test, I stayed at my sister's apartment, because it
> > was walking distance from the place they gave the test. On the way
> > there, I smoked an absolutely giant joint, rolled in a strawberry Reefer
> > Roller. and with several blocks to go, a brother was walking toward me
> > on the sidewalk, and I asked him if he wanted the rest of the joint. He
> > took it and thanked me, and I continued to the test place. When I got
> > there, they wanted ID, which I didn't have because I never got a
> > license. I was like, "Man, this sucks. I was all downcast and shaking
> > my head in my old blue jean jacket with stuff written all over it in
> > Magic marker, and the person said, rather contemptuously, "Go ahead.
> > Nobody would have you take their test for them." More than likely, I
> > scored higher than anyone else in the room.
> >
> > In June, I got the results, and immediately told my mother that I wanted
> > to start paying room and board. She said that I didn't have to because
> > I was just working a minimum wage job at the car wash. I insisted on at
> > least paying a small amount, because I was no longer in school. That
> > autumn, I got a better job through a job training program, and then I
> > met my first girlfriend, whereupon I stopped smoking weed completely. I
> > know longer wanted the world dulled. I didn't touch the stuff for at
> > least 6 months, and when I finally smoked again with some of my old
> > friends, I didn't even like it anymore. Yeah, I've probably smoked pot
> > ~100 times since then, and I started drinking again, and doing other
> > drugs, but before I turned 19, I had worked my way into a department
> > manager job on the cleaning crew of a retail store. I still didn't get
> > a driver license, because I had a decent paying job, a monthly transit
> > pass, and still had the spectacular girlfriend. Plus, I was the front
> > man for the first punk rock band in St. Louis. Eventually the
> > girlfriend broke up with me because of the alcohol and drug use, and I
> > was devastated, and went through months of dark brown depression until
> > GF #2. That lasted a few years, and I continued to drink through it
> > all. When that ended, I was again miserable until I met GF #3 (Betsy),
> > whom I have been married to for 34 years. I continued to drink huge
> > amounts of beer, but the first Christmas after getting together with
> > Betsy, her parents gave me the present of a class at community college,
> > and after a few years, I graduated with perfect grades. I continued to
> > drink a lot of beer, but a bit less every year, and stayed functional,
> > and fast forward three decades, and I'm still an alcohol addict, and am
> > certainly no longer a genius, but I *am* alive, and pretty darned happy..
> > I haven't taken a straight shot of liquor for 21 years, and only drink
> > beer and wine, and only in the evening. For all my ****edupness, I have
> > a very happy marriage and a great son, and while I'm overweight and
> > nowhere near as smart as I was, I've had a pretty good life. I'm
> > financially secure, and earn a living wage with good medical insurance,
> > working a job that I absolutely excel in, and would really like if it
> > didn't expose me to the risk of contracting Covid-19.
> >
> > I still feel like I need the alcohol, though I still continue to taper
> > down, however slowly, and other than being overweight, my health is
> > rather good for a 59 year-old. My family physician, whom I have been
> > seeing for 30+ years agrees, and he also agreed (at my last visit) that
> > he has never known anyone who was as much of an underachiever as me.
> > Even with that, I have been in a band that made a unique album, and have
> > written a novel that could only be self published because there really
> > isn't a commercial niche for a literary romantic comedy.
> >
> > So yes, my drug use has had both continuing and long-term effects, but
> > I'm in a pretty good place right now, and am poised to start working on
> > seriously reducing my alcohol use and my overeating. My underachieving
> > has been a greater loss to society than to myself, but I've worked hard,
> > and have never been a parasite, just underemployed. You should read my
> > book. Ophelia's husband read the first chapter, and described me as "a
> > very good writer," though it wasn't the sort of storyline that
> > interested him, and he is, *himself*, a writer. It's free, funny,
> > challenges social norms, and might well make you cry.
> >
> > https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/bryan-simmons/winters-
> > present/ebook/product-176j5weg.html $0.00
> >
> > --Bryan
> Well I didn't expect that! I will have to find a moment when I can give it
> more attention. Does the garrulous style of your post have anything to do
> with drugs?

It's impossible to parse what aspects of my style of writing has to do with drug use. I am what I am, and every experience I've had has led me to this very moment. Drug use plays a minor role in the novel. I hope that you'll read it all the way through, and give the Velveteen Rabbits life.

--Bryan