Les was an eccentric, open, friendly and very likeable man. He did however, sometimes border on being a little foolish, but this gave him a certain charm that endeared him to others. He entered the Atlanta ARC program in the mid 90’s, and Gene assigned Les to the house keeping department as his work therapy assignment. This kept him working all day in the residence and quite close to the program staff and we all came to be very fond of him.

The ARC provides each beneficiary with lodging, food, clothing, program, religious activities, assistance in obtaining medical help, attendance at inside and outside twelve step meetings, and many social opportunities new to many of the men. Activities; like tickets to ball games, concerts, the theater and even the 1996 Summer Olympics’. Each beneficiary also gets a small monetary “gratuity” to provide him with limited spending money for the week.

During one of our scheduled counseling sessions, I asked Les “What is the greatest help to you in staying sober?” Grinning at me, his answer to my question truly was a shocker, “Each Friday when I get my gratuity, I eat supper and head off to the liquor store. “ At this point my mind started to spin like being on a tilt-a-whirl. “I spend all of my money on a bottle of booze. I take it outside the store and smash it on the curb.” Relieved and shocked, I asked “why would you do that?” His answer was that “Booze kept me broke for most of my life; I spent every penny I got hold of on it. I never want to forget, so I do this and have no money for the week. I see other guys being able to buy cokes, cigarettes, etc. and remember that alcohol kept me from being able to enjoy those things too.”

As a substance abuse professional this was the strangest and most creative way I had ever heard of a man using as a method to stay sober. But, it worked for Les, last time I saw him he had several years of sobriety and was using his money for things he wanted to do!

Do you know of someone else doing something so creative to stay sober, if you do please share it with us here and on Facebook. Just refer to The F.H.B.’s in My Life #15.