I Am My Brother’s Keeper

There were a couple of defining moments during my quit here. I was on a business trip out in San Diego about a month into my quit. I had been struggling pretty well with a funk right up until that time. It would have been no problem for me to drop off the radar and stop in that damn 7-11 right by my hotel in San Diego and get myself a tin. At that point in my quit I hadn’t really bought into the whole concept of QTC. I had made some connections but really wouldn’t have felt bad about tuning out. What kept me from buying a can while I was in San Diego is that I got hooked into meeting up with a quitter from San Diego for drinks one night while I was in town. Despite not totally buying in to QTC at that time, I wasn’t gonna be ‘that guy’ who caves right before they’re going to meet a fellow quitter. Turns out that meeting saved my quit, plus I had a damn good time, and had some damn good beer. Thank you Trevor and Seth for saving my quit.

The second moment was when I was back in Maryland for my brother-in-law’s wedding. That side of my family is either true hicks from Wyoming, or your stereotypical Irish Catholic family. In other words, there was going to be a lot of chew and alcohol involved. This was pretty far along into my quit and I was feeling much stronger at that point. After the rehearsal dinner where there were a couple of drinks consumed we gathered at the pool to continue the festivities. A couple more drinks and there was a can of Cope placed on the table in front of me. Couple more drinks and that can is still there and the can starts talking to me. “Nobody will know. Nobody here cares. Just one little pinch is all.” But even though that nic bitch was screaming my name, I knew that I had promised my friends, my brothers and sisters, that I was not going to stick any of that shit in my lip. And because of that promise I was able to take that can and toss it in the trash without taking a chew.

My brothers (and sisters) here have saved my ass from caving on more than just the two occasions I wrote about earlier. I tried to get myself out of my addiction on my own for many years. I know all the addiction bullshit very well as some of you know. What has worked for me is to get to know people on here, invest a part of yourself into this place, and make it yours. Be accountable, keep your promises; honor your words with your deeds. I will promise you I won’t put that shit in my mouth anymore if you’ll do the same for me.

Thanks especially go to the Colorado boys, cornwallace, wang chung, Seth, big eddie, denney, diggity dog, roll, and all you other July jackasses.

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member rustaf