After spending quite a bit of time looking around this wonderful website, I thought it would be fair for me to put my 2 cents in on the topic of caving. This happened to me countless times over my 40 year association with Cope and I can assure you any excuse was all I needed to fall back into that can and then all was right with my world. There were countless days when I had wondered what it would be like if I had never started, never tried it, wondered if I could give it up, wondered how much longer I could go before I crossed the line of cancer --- all the while playing Russian roulette.
Since joining this site I have put things in a better frame of mind or perspective. These may not work for everyone, but it makes sense to this old soldier.
1. Craving a dip is a passing thought that a substitute can help subside. It's like making a jump from a C-130 at 500 feet with no reserve -- if you can walk away - then it was a good jump.
2. Do I have a problem???????? Gaining weight --- I have, but that is something I can work on ---- it is not a problem -- more of an inconvenience --- having mortar rounds landing inside your perimeter --- that is a problem.
Bottom line is --- I like being free of the can. Thought I could never do it or at least never wanted to try hard enough to do it. But now, I see I can because there are others out there who might be reading this that have already done it. You are my inspiration and I want to get to where you are. Free and clean. I fully believe this website possesses the tools to help me do that. Airborne !!'Remshot'