Hmmm. I have 27 years experience as a functional alcoholic in corporate sales and marketing. After sobering up I went back to college and got a master's degree in professional counseling.

Now those two areas of expertise combine and I'm a licensed professional counselor, licensed independent substance abuse counselor, national certified counselor, certified advanced addiction counselor, and certified criminal justice addiction counselor for a rural behavioral health agency.

That means I do a LOT of DUI screenings for the courts...educating folks that just two or three beers is enough to make most anyone too drunk to drive legally as far as their blood alcohol content goes....doing individual and group counseling to help folks get clean and sober, or at least stay clean and sober until they're off probation or parole.

Despite all the education, experience, training, licenses, certifications, and street smarts just ain't no way I can get anyone else clean and sober. I can only show them where the tools are for them to do it themselves with support from the folks in those meetings they hate.

I do get to spend a lot of time in jails, prisons, emergency rooms and psychiatric units. Occasionally staff will screw up and let me out.

Also sit on the board of directors of our local domestic violence shelter and treatment agency.

See a lot of sadness and death. One thing I like about kilts is they are a metaphor for there being more than one way to live.

Ron