Chapter 1
Remember when Janet Jackson showed her breast to the whole world during the Super Bowl? Well I do not, because I was in the bathroom throwing up the cat shit that I had in my mouth. I was a senior in high school at a buddy’s house that let me bum a chew. It wasn’t until the summer after my first year in college that I became the nicotine’s bitch.
Who does that? Who throws up from chewing and then decides that it was such an incredible feeling, that you’d love to start doing it everyday and for every occasion, because fuck why not? Addicts.
I don’t remember that exact moment, but I do know what I was feeling at the time. I had just come home from Minnesota for the summer and was stressed out because I didn’t really want to go back. You see, I was a college football player that had lost a step after injuring my ankle for the 8th year in a row. I’ll be honest, that was just an excuse I gave to others to not make me look like a pussy. I was tired. I was tired of the 16 hour days: Lifting, class, conditioning, practice, meetings, sleep, repeat. I was also more interested in getting drunk, making money and chasing girls. Not in that particular order. When I came back home, I stopped working out and started chewing, playing guitar, drinking more and chasing more girls. Thank god this addicts brain didn’t do any of the heavy drugs or I’d be on a different site altogether. Hell, I’d probably be the photo they show to kids about what not to do.
I met my wife about a year into the addiction and because I’m such a charming soul she looked past the lip turds I always had in my mouth and fell in love with me anyway. This lady, god bless her, even stuck with me through the times when I stopped chewing and then lied to her about starting again. Sweet baby James, that’s love, or maybe madness. Not really sure which.
It’s now fifteen years later and she is still right by my side and voices how proud of me she is that I have quit every damn day for 100 straight days.
I started at KTC because of a post on another forum about how a coach in my state changed his life around by quitting. Thanks @grizzlyslave for also turning my life around. I would also like to thank
@MNxEngineer for being one of the first people to reach out and then support me over the last 100 days.
@Keith0617 for your everyday text messages of support.
@chris2alaska for your funny quips on hump day and throughout the week.
@oldschool for leading our small group through some tough times. Lastly, I want to thank the January Quit Group. It takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to quit this shit.
This is just chapter 1 in the quit saga. There is way more to come. Proud to be quit with you all today.
