[DAVID GAGNARD]

Buzz, I think your story is pretty much the same story as a lot of guys here.

As a teenager of the late 60's/early 70's/Woodstock era, there were drugs all over the place even in small town Louisiana, pop.about 4,500 at the time...

In high school there were 2 groups of folks, boozers and dopers, I was a boozer. Never used anything stronger than apsirin till I was about 21 or so . My girlfriend at the time liked a joint now and then and introduced me to it. I smoked dope a handful of times and reallllly,reallllly liked it and that's what scared the crap outa me. All the dope smokers I knew went on the bigger more dangerous drugs and were in bad shape, physically and mentally. I decided right then and there never to touch anything like that again and now 33+ years later, I never have.....

Between my family and my wife's, we've had four family members in drug and alcohol rehab, 2 of them have gone twice!!!!!!!!!! It has cost both families a lot of grief/hard feeling amoung family members/divorces not to mention $$$$$$$....

I think it has something to do with the era one grew up in, now-a-days, it's never anyone's fault, always blame things on the enviroment you grew up in or something else, folks don't take responsibility for their own actions and use drugs to escape the consequences....

In my day, we were held accountable for everything we did and some things we didn't by our parents/teachers and family members. I learned responsibility at a young age and took credit for my actions good and bad.
I have tried to instill this in my daughter as she grew up (now 23), but she is nowhere near mature at 23 years old as I was at 16!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's an uphill fight....

Just last week she called and said she backed up into her boyfreinds truck and damaged her rear bumper, she came over and I popped out the rubber bumper cover best I could. I asked her what happened and the first thing outa her mouth was: "It wasn't my fault,he shouldn't have parked behind my car"!!!!!!!!!!!
I blew a head gasket and gave her a good cussin,told her anytime she backs into anything parked and not moving,IT IS HER FAULT........ She left in tears with the ass chewing I gave her and she deserved every bit of it.........

That's my rant for now........

David