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Messages - MIKES
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« on: November 01, 2001, 12:54:06 PM »
How To Help A Kid These Days
I am expecting a telephone call today from a friends Mom and Dad. The subject - A 17 year old kid totally hooked on drugs and what to do.
I don't buy into the thinking that drinking and drugs are a disease...... - once you take that drink or puff, you will "go way down"......
I do believe that doing drugs / alcohol is kind of like having a tiger for a pet and think that kids don't know or understand this so they are willing to step into the pen without the awareness needed to make it out alive. Some kids do - some don't.
So - what should I tell the family?
Mike S.
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« on: November 01, 2001, 02:54:57 PM »
Re: straight
Hi Kathy and Jeff - Thanks for the warm welcome. I hope that you are finding the wonder and joy in parenthood that I too have found. My 4 year old daughter is a doll - we are looking forward to the birth of our second daughter next month.
I guess the best thing I can do is tell it like it is for me. It took 5 months of incarceration at Straight for me to decide to get straight in St Pete. I don't feel alot of animosity for Newton or Ms Bird or Mr. Riddle or Dupont etc.. It seemed to me that it was the kids that were running the show. Paula, Dean, Scott, Nathan, Kim, Joey etc....... They were my peers - they did the same things I did - they knew the score so it was tough for me to hate them too bad - I just wanted to escape. I was happy for them getting their **** together but I wanted to get back to what I was in to. - I hated going cold turkey.
No doubt the 5 months were among the very worst in my life. Maybe the worst. I loved my newcomers - Seth Wit.. - Arnie Lev.. These guys were treated like kings at my house.
On (whatever phase) I finished my highschool degree by taking classes at Northern VA Community College. It rocked. I then started a business while on 4th phase. I had an open permission that allowed me to go anywhere I needed to go to run the business. Seemed reasonable to me.
My business that I started in Straight now employs over 100 people in the heart of Bethesda Maryland and has revenue growth of more than 20% per year. I earned my pilots license in 1995, multi engine and instrument rating during the years following, have traveled extensively and - now have over 1200 hours flying, own two airplanes etc....
I stayed off any substances of any kind for 10 years. Decided that not drinking at all was worse than some drinking - have been doing so ever since without any regrets.
I remain very wary of alcohol and drugs - they can ruin lives - I have seen it. Addiction is real - just ask a long term smoker. I stayed off the cigs because I never want to be hooked like that again. Drugs are most scary for kids because they dive in with reckless abandon (like I did).
I learned a bunch about myself a couple of years ago. I take time regularly to question my own point of view.
I hear some of the pain expressed towards Straight. It is real. I know it does not work for everybody - It did work for me and worked reasonably well for many of my friends.
It didn't work for my sister. I think parents need to know when to say when - Straight never gave up to a fault. If somebody is not taking the medicine, at some point it is time to set them free. Just my point of view - not necessarily correct. I need to prepare myself for when my daughter is a teenager. It's going to take lots of patience, understanding and reflection.
Life is short - respect and honor yourself and your friends. Seek out the magic that surrounds us. Live and love.
Party on.
Mike Sobota
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« on: November 02, 2001, 12:50:48 AM »
Straight - St. Pete - Springfield '81-'83
Here is some more of the story.
First host home - Tampa St Pete - Rick Godfrey family. Very cool house - deck off the back with the powerboat to cruise the bay etc.. Dad was an airline pilot - the oldcomer (Rick Godfrey) - just a big tough guy who was going to stop my ass from getting away if it was the last thing he did in life. They kept me for quite some time until I calmed down a bit and was less of a flight risk. On Sundays, the mom would cook a huge buffet - I was ravenous because "when somebody is telling you when and how much to eat, it seemed to me that there was nothing more important in the world".
Anyway - As much as I wanted to leave Straight all together at the time, the Godfrey home was a nice place to be.
Rick is a good man - hope you are OK.
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« on: November 02, 2001, 12:38:44 AM »
Straight - St. Pete - Springfield '81-'83
A tough 5+ months for sure - lots of good and bad. A tough time for any kid (who doesn't have it made) inside or outside of Straight. Lots of good people came from those early tough years - Did they all stay straignt? - Not necessarily the point. The many good friends I have who completed the Straight Inc. program are living good lives and are in reasonably good control of their lives.
Mike Sobota
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