No Getting around it

Well today is another big day in my life,Yes I turned 56 today. I am greatful for this day give some of the stuff that I have been through.IE fluid on the heart when I was just 22 years old or was it 23 cant't remember off hand. The susicide attempts both in the USAF and out of it.
The drinking than getting really stupid and getting behind the wheel of a car.One time while living in Sacramento Ca I was so drunk that I hit and jumped 18 inch curb with my Ply.Duster slamming into the bridge railings,Totaling the car,and luck would have it a sacramento city cop saw it and decided to be nice to me and not throw me in jail for drunk driveing,This is what he said"It is almost end of shift and I don't want to spend more time booking you in,besides it is going to cost you a lot to replace this car."He did ask where I worked I told Him City Cab Co.He knew the owner and he decided that I will catch enough hell from my boss Erol DeBock so he just called for a tow truck to tow the car off the bridge side walk.not to mention what it cost me for the repairs to the bridge.
This was during the divorce from my first wife,who had filed it,and then I was binge drink and did not really care about my self.
That was tempory,I got into A.A. and was doing better,and after the divorce was final I decided that I wanted to be home with my family in Cleveland Ohio.
This was in November of 1978,I had gotten several jobs right after I moved back home,and of course started drinking again,My Dad was not too happy with me over that one.then in 1979 while working as a security guard at the local AAA club headquartes one of the nighttime road dispatchers said to me that she that she knew someone that she thought would br right for me,But i had to quite drinking before she would introduce me to her.Naturallly I "cleaned up my act"and in September of 1979 I meet the lady that would become my second wife.Celestine and I were married on 1 March 1980 and have been since.I also became a Cuyahoga County Sheriff dept Correction officer working in the county jail.I was doing that when in Aug. 1984 my Dad died of a massive heart attack.The Dept was not very nice to me I did not get paid for the time off the shift supervisor decided that I did not deserve the paid time off,as is the normal practice on the request that I had submitted I had asked to use some of my vacation time to cover the time off that I was taking.On my request he wrote you have nothing comming from me,but I will forward it up the chain of command and if they will grant you the paid time off.they did not.The thing that really hurt was that no one said to my "sorry for your loss" The only people that did were several inmates who were alledged to have Mafia ties.After this incident I was off and rinning with my drinking again. I continued to stop and start drinking over the years until I was forcibly put into an alcohol,chemical dependicy unit.this was on december 17 1990.I finally decided that yes I am an alcoholic,and have been sober ever since.I just keep taking it one day at a time and sometimes I have to resort to 5 minuites at a time,but I stay sober.In July 1994 I finally quite smoking as well,unfortunaly I chose to quite on My wife Celestine's birthady ahd made her life a living hell for about a week while I was going thriugh the withdraw of the nicotine. I think that was just as tought as quitting drinking but I did manange to do it.
By spring of1995 it was apparent that I would not be able to be a corrections officer much longer my asthma was getting worse and I was spirling down into a place that I did not want to be in.I told one of my supervisors that I was heading for a mental road that was not where I should be on.I was in counseling and even told my shrink about what was going on inside of my head and he filled out the paper work to take a disability retirement.It was based on 2 different reasons 1) my asthma and 2) my mental stability. Ok not I have said it,usually I don't talk about the second reason I took the disability retirement. I was lucky though I recieve my monthlu benifits and was told I could hold down a part time job as long as it NEVER WAS ANY TYPE OF SECURITY WORK.I was banned from ever doing that type of work ever again. S I want to work part time for sears as a parts clerk at the wharehouse that sold parts to the public and where the repairmen were based,I was responcible fro pulling that parts that they needed to go and fix the stuff that needed it IE tv,other electronis things,referators,stoves,airconditioning and heating.
I did that five years until my asthma caused me to miss too many days in a years time and was terminated by sears in 2002.I will not buy any sears products because of this.Than I decided to try my hand at realestate.I was doing Ok at it until I started have seizures and had to stop driveing.So I decided if I can't drive something that you needed to do to be a realtor that I would put my license to practice real estate sale in escrow.That was in Aug 2006.
Now one other thing happened while I was a realestate agent.In 2003 My Mother died of lung cancer.My office was verry supportive of me they came to the wake,they woul ask me how I'm doing for some time afterwords.They were concerned about me,and I was greatful for this.
The biggest thing I'm greatful is the support that I have had from Celestine my wife of soon to be 28 years.Our wedding anaversary is March 01,2008.