Having Fun Should Be a Sobering Experience

I handed out backpacks full of supplies at a back-to-school event this morning at Valley High School in Louisville. I had a great time meeting new people and watching kids' smiles as they opened their packs.

I wouldn't have been able to participate seven-plus years ago. It would have meant having nothing to drink the night before, which would have left me shaky and ill at 8 a.m. I've been thinking afterward about similar volunteer opportunities I probably missed in my drinking days. I can't name them because I can't remember a lot of things from those years when my drinking reached its all-time low.

Don't let yourself miss good times, as I did. I lost a chunk of life because I thought I was better off with vodka than without it. Wrong!