How I got here pt.1

I have been suffering from terminal uniqueness for most of my life until entering AA. The names, dates and events of my life have their own flair but the longer I sat around the rooms I started to see creepy and comforting similarities with the fellowship of drunks I now call family. I am an only child of my recently deceased mother. I was brought up in an extremely religious household. My mom and I lived with my grandparents and two bachelor uncles. Grandpa was an extreme fundamentalist evangelical minister. I had all sorts of church in my childhood and a strongly enforced belief of a judgemental and punitive God. I rarely measured up to His grace according to my folks. However, that didn't ever get me out of the lead role in all sorts of church youth productions! I think I first played Joseph at age 5. My Mary was 12. If I only could have appreciated that then.:)
At 4yrs old one of my uncles used to let me tag along with him down at the local high school track while he ran. That was just prior to the jogging craze of the 70's. It wasn't long before I was right in step with him. He never took the chance to express many of his own talents but really latched onto mine. Soon he was dropping me off miles from home and insisting I get my training done. I became moderately known in the running circles as I started to win lots of local races. By the time I was 13 I was totally burnt out. Due to a rigid training schedule I had few friends.
We were extremely poor and always lived in the rough side of town. I was the only white kid around and always felt like the outsider at home and at school. THEN THE MIRACLE HAPPENED! One of the tough but cool kids was drinking a bottle of peppermint schnapps on the back of the bus and motioned the bottle toward me. He was just trying to mess with me since the belief was that I was some prude church kid who was dedicated to making the Olympics. I however, saw this as my chance. Gulp Gulp Gulp. The warmth came over me as I felt my shoulders relax for probably the first time in 13 years. The gasps of the crowd were followed by neck hugs and high fives. I was cool.
Off I went through Jr. High and High School. Never drinking during cross country or track season but lead the charge anytime else. Friends would ponder how a skinny runner could put so much away. "He's a fine tuned machine." "His metabolism is better because of how much he runs." Then one kid, who's parents were always drunk or missing from school functions said, "Naw he's an alcoholic!" That was the 1st time I heard the truth but quickly dismissed it.