Glad to be here

[worktowin]

Athan, brother, today is your HOF day. You should feel 10' tall. Every once in a while, a dude comes into KTC and from the outset it is apparent that they are the real deal - a quitter - but a quitter with the brass balls to go the distance, one day at a time. You are one of those unicorns.

Congratulations on a huge milestone today. The journey isn't over. There will be bumps, even some hard ones, ahead. But you've come a long way and helped a lot of people along the way. It is an honor to quit with you today.

Opa!

[Athan]

From Srains918 HOF speech. Powerful.

An addict fell in a hole and couldn't get out. A businessman went by. The addict called out for help. The businessman threw him some money and told him to buy a ladder, but the addict could not find a ladder in this hole he was in. A doctor walked by. The addict said, "Help, I can't get out." The doctor gave him some drugs and said, "Take this, it will relieve the pain." The addict said thanks, but when the pills ran out he was still in the hole. A renowned psychiatrist rode by and heard the addict's cries for help. He stopped and said, "How did you get in there? Were you born there? Did your parents put you there? Tell me about yourself, it will alleviate your sense of loneliness." So the addict talked with him for an hour, then the psychiatrist had to leave, but he said he'd be back next week. The addict thanked him, but was still in his hole. A priest came by and heard the addict calling for help. The priest gave him a Bible and said, "I'll pray for you." The priest got down on his knees and prayed for the addict, then left. The addict was very grateful and he read the whole Bible, but he was still stuck in that hole. A recovering addict happened to be passing by. The addict cried out, "Hey, help me, I'm stuck in this hole." Right away, the recovering addict jumped in the hole with him. The addict said, "What are you doing? Now we're both stuck here!" But the recovering addict said, "It's okay. I've been here before. I know the way out."
- Anonymous

[chris2alaska]

Wait, it's about the brothers???......what about a good tea bagging or a well executed upper decker? It's not about THAT?
'nutkick'

Well Doofus,

It can be for you?. IÂ’m sure we can find a nice person that would like to tea bag you or upper deck you. Yeah, we can find that person for you.

SECURITYYYYYY

[Doofus]

Wait, it's about the brothers???......what about a good tea bagging or a well executed upper decker? It's not about THAT?
'nutkick'

[Athan]

Gotta park this here for future reference just cause it's badass (from USMC Ham 07 Apr 18):

So to those that support me... I thank you.
and those who have quit before me... I salute you.

Everybody else has a choice to make....

[eric71]

My thoughts on Athan.

Athan, is he a man? Is he a myth? Is he a freakish force of nature that will do anything to keep one of his brothers from caving to nicotine?

I think the latter to be the truest of all. In the very short time I have gotten to know Athan, he has shown me that he is a man of complete honor. I have only spoken to him on the phone a few times, texted back and forth a few times and emailed back and forth a few times but in all of those encounters with Athan, we have grown closer as friends and brothers. I can honestly say that I would take a bullet for Athan (in the leg or arm perhaps or maybe a rock or stick, something non-lethal or well let's just not go there right now (shameless humor) had to get it in).

Seriously though, If he called and said he needed me in Georgia tomorrow, I would do whatever it took to be there because I know he would be on the next flight to Alaska if I needed him.

So to anyone reading this, if you want a superior human being backing you up on your quit, I highly suggest you get in contact with Athan and be sure to tell him that I sent you.

Cheers my Brother, It is my honor to quit with you today.

Chris aka chris2alaska

"Hoot": When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a xxxword. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is.

Until you invest in your brothers quit, until you ask him to invest in yours, you haven't scratched the surface of what happens here. If you can't do that, you're short changing yourself.

Nothing strengthens your quit like helping your brother out.

Nothing.

Sounds and reads like your contingent of quitters really understand the brotherhood here. Great stuff. Never become complacent in building the walls of your quit. Iron sharpens iron.

[Athan]

My thoughts on Athan.

Athan, is he a man? Is he a myth? Is he a freakish force of nature that will do anything to keep one of his brothers from caving to nicotine?

I think the latter to be the truest of all. In the very short time I have gotten to know Athan, he has shown me that he is a man of complete honor. I have only spoken to him on the phone a few times, texted back and forth a few times and emailed back and forth a few times but in all of those encounters with Athan, we have grown closer as friends and brothers. I can honestly say that I would take a bullet for Athan (in the leg or arm perhaps or maybe a rock or stick, something non-lethal or well let's just not go there right now (shameless humor) had to get it in).

Seriously though, If he called and said he needed me in Georgia tomorrow, I would do whatever it took to be there because I know he would be on the next flight to Alaska if I needed him.

So to anyone reading this, if you want a superior human being backing you up on your quit, I highly suggest you get in contact with Athan and be sure to tell him that I sent you.

Cheers my Brother, It is my honor to quit with you today.

Chris aka chris2alaska

Exerpt from the movie Blackhawk Down
"Hoot": When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a xxxword. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is.

Until you invest in your brothers quit, until you ask him to invest in yours, you haven't scratched the surface of what happens here. If you can't do that, you're short changing yourself.

Nothing strengthens your quit like helping your brother out.

Nothing.

[chris2alaska]

My thoughts on Athan.

Athan, is he a man? Is he a myth? Is he a freakish force of nature that will do anything to keep one of his brothers from caving to nicotine?

I think the latter to be the truest of all. In the very short time I have gotten to know Athan, he has shown me that he is a man of complete honor. I have only spoken to him on the phone a few times, texted back and forth a few times and emailed back and forth a few times but in all of those encounters with Athan, we have grown closer as friends and brothers. I can honestly say that I would take a bullet for Athan (in the leg or arm perhaps or maybe a rock or stick, something non-lethal or well let's just not go there right now (shameless humor) had to get it in).

Seriously though, If he called and said he needed me in Georgia tomorrow, I would do whatever it took to be there because I know he would be on the next flight to Alaska if I needed him.

So to anyone reading this, if you want a superior human being backing you up on your quit, I highly suggest you get in contact with Athan and be sure to tell him that I sent you.

Cheers my Brother, It is my honor to quit with you today.

Chris aka chris2alaska

[Athan]

Storing it here to preserve it because it's just that cool....

Just Passing Through- Day 40....kinda Biblical. Sure, it didn't rain for 40 days straight, and I didn't have to wonder the desert for 40 years, or fast for 40 days as Jesus did; but in the context of the trials caused by/ during of all those things, it's a cool little milestone.

[Athan]

If I had to distill it down to one descriptive word, it would be distortion.

The addiction distorts the userÂ’s perception of reality; twists it into dependency.

The distortion is that nicotine enhances life experiences. But it doesn't, it detracts from them.

By effecting the release of dopamine in the brain, it becomes the central experience; the lens through which life is viewed, the context upon which other experiences are weighed.
And because this occurs in the brain; it is intrinsic to the mind.
It is for this reason I tell you that what you are dealing with is NOT mind over matter but LIFE over ADDICTION.

This is why accountability groups are so successful; an objective third party to counterbalance the addicts own brain when struggling with desire for the next fix.

Yes, it's true, a real man can quit on his own, but only a fool does it needlessly.

More often than not, the fool fails.

[Athan]

4/3/18
Accountability.
It can be painful in the short term.
Lack of it will destroy a man in the long haul.
You will exercise it here, that and your honor and your integrity.
You will forge them in the fire of your quit and you will emerge a better man for it.

[Athan]

Funny how two people can witness the same thing yet perceive different realities.
You see a habit youÂ’re in control of
I see an addict controlled by a substance
You see a can
I see yet another iteration in an endless line
You see $5
I see thousands of dollars
You see tobacco
I see over 30 chemicals, some of them radioactive, among which is nicotine, guaranteed to keep you coming back
You see pleasure
I see pain
You see the individual experience
I see a father imparting death upon his son
You see reasons
I see excuses
The fact is you canÂ’t see because youÂ’re blinded by addiction.
You have to give up the can to see clearly.
You have to kill the can.

[Athan]

We are addicts.
WeÂ’re in the business of quitting here ladies and gentlemen.
We donÂ’t do excuses.
Why?
Because with the addict any excuse will do.
Who will be the arbiter of excuses if we go down that road? You? Me? The man who fell?
No. That door would never close.
We donÂ’t do excuses.
WeÂ’re in the business of quitting here.

[Mack213]

I just needa leave this here.....

Thank you brother. For reaching out when I need it, when you need it.

I'm so proud to quit with you man.

[Athan]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aabBgNQLK3g
The Sean Marsee Story. Watch it with your children.