one way or another

As I mentioned....most of my time in the Navy is a blur.  Drugs were becoming a major factor in my life and, once I went overseas, pretty much became my life.  I saw fascinating places and cultures that most people can't even dream of.  And drugs...oh my....cheap and plentiful.  In the far east I was introduced to types of weed that made the stuff in the U.S. seem like uncle Joe's Prince Albert pipe tobacco.  Hashish, thick and sticky like fudge that would get you so stoned you could hear colors..  Acid of a strength that would not only let you see God....but have days long conversations with him. Cocaine so pure your nose would bleed just smelling the stuff.  Opium, that milk of Kubla Khan's paradise.... 

....and heroin

oh my

The first time I tried heroin it gave me the most incredibly wonderful euphoric feeling that seemed to last for at least a half hour.  It actually lasted most of the day as my shipmates told me that I was standing transfixed on at the stern of the ship for about five hours with a big goofy shit eating grin.  It absolutely transported me to another realm and completely eradicated all worry, all pain, all thought.  This was chemical zen. 

I liked this stuff.  I wanted more.

Then I left the Navy.  

I don't mean to just skip over a big chunk of my life, but I wasn't kidding when I said it was all a blur.  I think I stayed high until the time I was discharged because my next clear memory was being picked up by my parents at a Texas airport.  Newly discharged into civilian life and no clue what to do.    

to be continued......