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The Personal History of Me

1966 - Born in Souris Hospital. 2 brothers, 1 mother, 1 dog.

1967 - cried and slept a lot

1968 - don't remember much about this year. Probably much like the year before.

1969 - started hippie movement, changed the world.

1970 - played with toys

1971 - went to kindergarten

1972 - went to school. grandfather died.

1973 - continued my education in Grade 2

1974 - Dog died. Friend died. Run over by drunk driver.

1975 - Father quit drinking. Went to Chit Chat.

1976 - Mother (nurse) stopped working at hospital and took job at Detox in Souris.

1977 - Uneventful year

1978 - Got drunk for the first time on a Friday night. I got beer several days before, hid it, planned to drink it, had first couple beer by myself, and had a blackout, so I might have been an alcoholic even before I had a drink.

1979 - tried mushrooms for the first time. wow.

1980 - started smoking pot and hash, as well as mushrooms and beer.

1981 - myself and [another] bought pound of pot from a crew member on potato boat docked in Souris. Spent next few months in cloud of smoke.

1982 - tried acid

1983 - began using coke. took mushrooms and went to Black Sabbath concert in Toronto

1984 - Graduated high school - went to Saint Mary's in Halifax

1985 - Second year at St. Mary's Tried heroin for first time. Made mental note to try it again. Got kicked out of residence at St. Mary's for suspected drug use and corrupting other students morals. quit smoking hash. Took acid before exams.

1986 - Moved to Toronto. Worked at several meaningless jobs. Took acid a lot.

1987 - Another year in Toronto. More acid.

1988 - Moved back to Souris. Met girl who I later married. Got her pregnant. First child - boy.

1989 - Took course in Avionics (aircraft maintenance - electronics) at NBCC in Moncton. Got caught snorting coked at Stevie Ray Vaughn concert in Fredericton. Swallowed evidence. Spent night in jail. Found not guilty in court.

1990 - Second and final year at school in Moncton. Graduated with Honors despite heavy coke use. Unable to find work due to massive cuts and layoffs at airlines.

1991 - Moved back to Souris. Worked for liberals pretending to cut trees in woods. Smashed car driving. First and last drunk driving experience. Go 10 days in jail for leaving scene of accident.

1992 - Moved to Charlottetown. Myself and girlfriend opened store selling wine and beer making supplies.

1993 - Got married. Cousin murdered in drug related incident in Montreal.

1994 - Cut back on massive coke use. Began using heroin. Went through first painful heroin withdrawal. Got sicker than I've ever been, up to that point.

1995 - Semi-retired from work. Spent time developing heroin addiction. Trip to Calgary, Vancouver.

1996 - Went through several periods of addiction and withdrawals. Overdosed on airplane, turned blue. Called detox for advice on heroin. Not satisfied with response. Continued using till December and then switched to Dilaudid, Demerol, Percocet, Morphine and Darvon.

1997 - Entered Detox voluntarily in January. Got committed. Escaped. Stopped using drugs except alcohol for 4 or 5 weeks. Resumed drug use and overdosed on Darvon and Valium. Sought treatment at methadone clinic and was put on waiting list. Got arrested under mental health act and brought here where I remain today.

The end.

[Actually, this is not the end. This chronology was written while he was in detox. Reggie's story continues for another 9 years. Read on].