Life Goes On

Another day at the court house downtown to bail my father out of jail. His drug addiction has been getting him into trouble for too many years now. For a guy who has two ex-wives and three children, he sure does have his priorities a little mixed up. Of course he always has been like this, he has been using drugs for as long as I can remember. He was never there when I was growing up, and when I did see him; he was always high or asking for money. I could never figure it out why he had to be high when he saw us. I always thought it was all the shame and guilt he had about never being around his own kids. As I grew up, I never expected much from him, and I learned to never be in shock when he never showed up when he was suppose to. His drug addiction had really taken over at this point in his life.

Before he met my mother, he apparently was a very talented musician. He started a small jazz band with a close friend from school, I think Frank was his name, and they played together ever since. Before my dad got married to my mom, he was involved with drugs recreationally; in fact, Frank and him were both recreational users. Soon after my dad got married he stopped using drugs. My mom has a funny way of convincing people, and my dad was clean for quite a long time. Unfortunately, Frank continued to use, and this only increased as the years went on. My father never mentioned anything to Frank because the work was always getting done, and they were always making their shows.

My mom told me a story about a time when they were married, and my father was playing at a local nightclub promoting an album Frank and him just released. This was during the time my mother was pregnant with me. After the show there was a gathering of everybody involved, celebrating the success of the album. My mom said that night was the night everything had changed for my father. My father knew Frank for over 20 years, and Frank’s drug addiction was getting completely out of control, to the point now he was losing his family. My father never really wanted to intervene, because everything was going so well with the band. That night at the party my father got news that Frank’s wife was cheating on him for quite some time. Unfortunately, the news had gotten to Frank earlier that night, and actually came directly from his wife. It was always tense between Frank and his wife. She had stuck by him all these years, and I guess it was just a matter of time before things really fell apart.

My father managed to get a hold of Frank, and the two of them were outside talking about what had happened. Frank of course was completely high, and was not making any sense about anything. My mother was inside socializing with some long time friends, and within seconds she heard two loud bangs coming from outside. She ran outside and saw my father lying on the ground screaming in pain, and Frank was also lying there motionless. My mom told me Frank had just lost it after he got the news about his wife. When Frank and my father were talking outside, Frank pulled a gun out that he had on him. My father wrestled with him to get it away and was then shot in the shoulder, and soon after Frank turned the gun on himself right in front of my father. From that day on, my father gradually and slowly fell back into drugs, and this time he lost everything. My mother tried for years to help him; yet, soon realized it never lead anywhere, and eventually left him. My father has been using drugs ever since.

Here I am today, bailing my father out of jail again. This is the only time I spend with my father when I am picking up the pieces after him, and I know today this will be the last time I see him. I have told him he is on his own now, and none of his children will be there to bail him out ever again. My father knows there is help available for him, and that will be the only thing, which we will give him. Life goes on, and my father will keep feeling sorry for himself. I have hope though; hope that he will realize he can beat this, and he still has time to be the man he once was, and be the father he wants to be.

This all to common situation occurs more than people think, and everyday someone hopes a person addicted to drugs will get better. Never give up, or lose hope with your loved one. There are many ways to save their life, and you do not have to stand by and do nothing about it. Every single person using drugs can regain what was lost, and rediscover themselves again.

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