I’m Your Huckleberry – Murmur71’s HOF Speech

So, you want to read a Hall of Fame speech? Here you go….motherfuckers.

Yeah, I’m using bad words, so buckle-up, buttercup. I’m your Huckleberry. Those of us that know, those of us that really know; we’ve got a short fuse. Can’t you tell by now? Forgive us, please. We are not what we’ve been. We are new.

100 days ago, I quit tobacco for the 1,000th time in my 44 years on this blue/green rock. I always talked a big game: “Mama didn’t raise no quitter.” That was my standard response to someone that dared question my tobacco habit. They’d laugh, we’d move along.

So here I am, a junkie; the kind that’s accepted and legal. There are taxes involved, but that’s a story for another day.

I’m a slave to a plant – a plant that’s been processed and monetized. The form in which it appears to you now is not natural. It is designed to take from you, to enslave you. It is the cocaine to the coca leaf. It is the high-fructose to the corn.

I’m not blaming anyone else.

This was always my choice. Two cans of Kodiak a day, this was my penance.

You are here for a reason. You are reading this for a reason.

So here’s a twist, Mr. New Father or Mr. New Husband: My advice is to NOT quit for anyone else. You’ll resent them. Quit because you know you should. You know you need to. You know there is no salvation in that can. If you are quitting only for your wife or kids, you’re already a shitty husband or father. Yes, I know all about your trips to the grocery store so you can ninja a wad of shit while nobody is watching. This is about you, my brother.

We are all addicts…all of us: Nicotine, Alcohol, Prescriptions, Television, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Football, Pornography, Coffee, Tea, Running, Crossfit, Religion, Beer, the list is endless.

I’m not suggesting you have no addictions in your life. I am suggesting you replace your negative addictions with positive ones. How about replacing your tobacco with the 2nd grade math your daughter brings home? How about dumping Facebook from your iPhone in order to actually watch your son’s soccer practice? How about we drop our television subscriptions in lieu of a hike through the park on Sunday?

I’m not here to judge and I’m not a religious man….but I know you are very much like me.

The fact is we all judge ourselves – deep down, you know you do. How quickly are you brushing those self-judgments aside? Do you pause? Do you consider the alternatives?

I’ve got news for you – your kids notice what you do. I don’t care how old they are; they will become you. Paint the rest of that picture. Do you want to influence those brush-strokes? Do you still care?

For almost thirty years, I’ve been putting shit between my lip and gum. What started as a right of passage has become like new skin under a Band-Aid. I’m raw, sensitive, angry, empathetic, melodramatic, emotional, vulnerable…..all the things I tried to hide with my addiction. It’s really no different than jabbing a needle into my vein or snorting powder into my nose.

It’s time you started treating it that way too. Treat it like the addiction that it is. Just because it’s “legal” doesn’t mean it’s exceptional. You are, my brother…..you are exceptional. Nothing less. Let that other shit fade into the ether.

The opposite of addiction is not sobriety – it’s connection. What are you going to connect with? Will you connect with me?

The world is bigger, and it’s worth seeing. You gonna wait for the cancer diagnosis to quit? Are you a slave or a master?

Wake up, my brother. I am here with you – and I’ll help you through this. This is the difference between now and all your other attempts at quitting. There are others here that know your struggle and pain. Follow the formula; recognize that you don’t have to fight this fight by yourself; allow those of us that have been there to help you.

This is the value of KTC: Brotherhood, Accountability, Success.

I quit with you today
Murmur71

NOTE: This piece written by KillTheCan.org forum member Murmur71