It’s all about the haircut.

 

I saw Nic Sheff eight years ago at a book reading in Marin and he looked just like one of my students. Straggly long black hair, old kinda dirty jeans, Kurt Cobain sweater two sizes too big with thumbholes so he could pull the arms down over his fingers. He was touring behind the just written “We All Fall Down” which I purchased a copy of and he inscribed “To the Creekside students, keep thinking positive” (I loaned the book to a student a few years ago and never got it back which is OK as my book philosophy is better to be out there being read than sitting on a book shelf).

 

Eight years later Nic was in Sonoma, talking to students at the high school then sitting with his dad David and Laura Zimmerman for the Sonoma Speaker Series. He is now married, sober for 10 ish years, writing in LA (three more books and TV shows including “13 reasons why”) is taking medication for bipolar disorder and depression and has a bitchin new look.

 

I gauge my success by the haircuts of my students. I know, weird right but when you work with the population I do, it’s all about instilling confidence (in themselves, their education and the world), and the haircut is an obvious change for the better.

 

If you don’t know Nic Sheff you should. March down to Readers Books right now and buy a signed copy of “Tweak” because it is simply the best anti-drug book ever written. Not preachy, no “Just Say No” BS, just a real sad tale of a boy and his struggle. And if you’ve had any experience with addiction it will impact you even more (many therapists do not recommend the book because it is too raw-I disagree but you might want to preview it before giving it to your 12 year-old).

 

America is addicted. Tobacco, pot, alcohol, opioids, heroin (and phones but that’s a whole other story) we are a nation that likes to get bent and we make getting bent easy. 21 million Americans have at least 1 addiction and only 10% get treatment.  Just ask PuffMan the life-size cutout on my art class door that I created with PuffBar garbage picked up from around Nathenson Creek in the last three months. Walk into a dispensary and look at the many innovative ways to ingest: Tinctures, Edibles, Vaping, Dabbing, Drinking, Lotions, are the THC suppositories far behind? Access has never been easier or more widely accepted.

 

Plus our drugs no longer taste like drugs, Nicotine tastes like blue raspberry, pot tastes like cookies and cream, vodka tastes like pineapples, and beer now tastes like Cherry soda water.

 

But sobriety sucks right, we all know that. And reality sucks; I mean do you follow the news? But that’s where Nic is on to something. In both presentations he talked about how sad it is that we have to be under the influence to have fun. His last relapse was before a celebrity LA party where he rationalized taking just one Vicodin to calm his nerves. Once he fed the monster, it took over and he was scoring heroin on the street two days later.

 

Now we are not all Nic Sheffs but we all have the monster within us. Some have a cute little monster that we can bring out and play with and put away at will and some a fire breathing Godzilla who destroys all things but that’s the thing about addiction, you don’t know till you know.

 

The answer? Sure you know it, but I don’t, meaning, it’s up to you. Your Homeostasis determines the size of your monster. And it will be different for almost everyone. The simple question is are your habits adding to or detracting from your life? Do you drive under the influence of anything ever? Always bad.  Do you lose hours or days or friends to the monster? Also bad but you have to find your balance.

 

Of course, there are benefits. We live in the land that wine built, beautiful, economically viable, and very desirable. Plus you work hard and deserve a nice glass of Petroni Cab at the end of the day. Nothing wrong with that but if that glass leads to a bottle then a second you might need to have a little talk with your monster.

 

And while you’re at it, isn’t it about time for a haircut.

 

 

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