The Room

When I was 17, I was a delivery boy for my family liquor store, delivering orders to our “preferred” customers. I had had my first drink the year before and lived through my first blackout. Delivering alcohol to our customers gave me the opportunity to meet people who drank so much that they were unable to leave their homes to buy their own alcohol. In some cases, it appeared that they were unable to do anything else, as the smell and disarray that would greet me at their doors was disgusting. Between

deliveries I would tell myself that I’d never drink to the point that I couldn’t go out and get my own liquor. Yet, all other drinking for me was OK. And having blackouts was a bothersome issue, but it seemed a minor problem that could be handled with a little planning.