Reading through the thread, I suppose I must be a rarity, in that I had a 'rough; upbringing, being knocked out by my father at 12, my younger brothers earliest memory is of me being chased upstairs by my father beating me with his shoe, telling me I was useless.. no, I did not go down the road of depression and loss of self-worth but determined to prove I was 'better than him'..
Ran off to the Army at 18, and made a fool of myself by imbibing too much alcohol - well you try drinking a tot from each bottle on a German Pubs shelves. Sod that for a lark, haven't touched a drop since. Never smoked either.
I wanted a 'kick' or a 'high' is that what druggies call it? so put me name down for a free-fall parachute course, told as I was under 21 would need my parents permission. As this would be non-forthcoming I forged my mothers signature and went on the course anyway. Who needs to unscrew a bottle, or open a packet or whatever they do to get chemicals into their brains, just hang on that wing strut, feet three-quarters off the wing, look at the instructor and let go - that's adrenaline..
Can't swim, so how about kayaking 800 miles of the Rhine from Switzerland to Holland, going over Grade IV rapids, now that's a 'buzz' - ended up in the Guinness Book of Records for three years. No furtive sticking a needle in your arm, or snorting some stuff up your nose, or spewing up in the gutter and later saying "that was a great night we had there"..
Try kayaking the English Channel in a force 7 without support; 8 hours 40 minutes later landing in Frogland, still a non-swimmer - bloody exciting! and not one pill either..
Special Duties Northern Ireland 'nough said, but that most certainly gives one a 'kick' and all without a sniff of drugs or booze either..
Then there's the 'excitement' of being in a burning building when the floor falls in or the roof comes down - 11 years as a fire-fighter before getting too injured - sounds a bit sick, but I've got a total of just under four foot of scars which equates to a fantastic life of excitement (and a bit of pain) but well worth it and the satisfaction of not diving into a bottle or a syringe makes it complete.
But a rejoinder.. It might be my genetic makeup as my 'lot' have always been adventurers, we might have been poor but we did not hang around... I fully accept that there
are individuals who are unable to 'break out' because of abuse - my post is not about them, it's about the chattering classes and those who feel the only way to get 'excitement' is to go down that 'chemicals in the brain' route.. sad gits..
Oh yeah (today)
'Alcohol and drug misuse means Scots are almost twice as likely as people south of the border to take their own life or kill, a new report has said'. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7452716.stm
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