12/22/24
February 04, 2018
The search for Jackie Wallace: I climbed the pier with my camera and made a few frames of the scene, then climbed down and woke him. He wasn’t startled in the least. I guess when you sleep under bridges, you learn to expect the unexpected. ... We talked for a minute or two, about my editor’s idea and journalism in general. After a brief pause, he said, “You ought to do a story about me.”
I’ve heard this line many times before, and many more since.
“And why would I want to do that?” I said.
“Because,” he said, “I’ve played in three Super Bowls.”
I finally took the few minutes to read this, and I came away with a great sense of sadness. Jackie Wallace's story is too familiar to me; not that I had ever heard of him, but I have known a few others who fought the same demons. A number of them have been able to hang on to their lives, but a few were not. It took a totaled pick up truck and serious internal injuries to wake up my nephew, but he has been sober for nearly 40 years. I thank God for his success, as I do for the success of my wife's cousin. He overcame a lifestyle that exists only in the dregs of society, and he has been sober for over 30 years. Not too long ago I lost a friend and co-worker. He was one of our "gang" of hard workers and hard partiers. The partying took over, and he ended it with a gun to his head. Don't ever think it's easy to get past an addiction. It is always lurking there waiting for the smallest opportunity. Pray for the Jackie Wallace's of this world.
posted by Howard_T at 10:06 PM on February 07, 2018
oh man that's a tough story to read