Comment from Teri7

Excellent

Jim, This is another great chapter you have penned. I wish I had kept up with you when you posted them. This is really good writing my friend. Blessings, Teri

 Comment Written 20-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 21-Jul-2024

Thanks very much, Teri. I really appreciate your kind words.

Comment from T B Botts

Excellent

Hi Jim,
I liked the way this story played out. I'm glad Brian was able to break the ice. Some kids are so introverted that they won't begin to reach out on their own, so it helps when someone reaches out to them. Great chapter buddy. Have a blessed evening.
Tom

 Comment Written 17-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 17-Jul-2024

Thanks, Tom. I've read that most rehab romances are doomed from the start, but maybe these two will defy the odds. I think Brian is especially good for Julia who has led a sheltered one-track life so far.

Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

It was good to get Raffi's background story and he has some wise observations which should serve Brian well. I wasn't sure if Brian's pantomiming antics deserved such laughter. I think Julia already likes him.

 Comment Written 16-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Jul-2024

He took a bit of a chance with that joke, but I guess he found the right audience for it. Raffi's story let Brian know that pain can sometimes be mental rather than physical, but that drugs and alcohol are tricky substances for pain relief because of their side effects.

Comment from Pearl Edwards

Excellent

Well I doubt that that would have worked with me, but Julia was a good candidate for that conversation starter of Brian's. You told well Raffi's story of the alcohol poisoning and his early life in that conversation with Brian. A good chapter, Jim.

valda

 Comment Written 16-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Jul-2024

Thanks, valda. I guess Brian lucked out with that joke because he found an appreciative audience in Julia. That should be a good sign for him.

Comment from Ulla

Excellent

Hi Jim it's a great new chapter. I think you have done quite a bit of research into all this. I really like the story. I so hope they all get out of their addiction. All best, Ulla :)))

 Comment Written 15-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 16-Jul-2024

Thanks, Ulla. Many think that addiction is something that never really goes away; it just goes into remission. I guess that's why support groups like AA are so popular and effective.

I haven't done a lot of research about addiction per se, but I will need to do a fair amount of scientific research for later in the story when we get into pain cures. Most of my personal experience is from reading, watching shows about it, and knowing a few addicted people.

The first one I saw up close was an older caddie I used to caddie with when I was a teen. He served as the subject of one of my earlier novels.

Another one I met on my crew when I was a golf course superintendent. He had been the manager of a swanky downtown hotel, but because of his drinking, he got fired, and eventually had to seek employment as a low-paid, federally-funded groundsman on my golf course. Nice guy too, but ruined his life with booze.

Comment from jmdg1954

Excellent

Good chapter, Jim. Quite a bit to take in, especially with Raffi's one on one with Brian. Very deep and detailed (at least for me).

Next there's Brian and Julia.
Brian used typic as l "boy humor" to get Julia to laugh and it worked, where my wife's reaction would be, "you're disgusting"... but it's no her and I thankfully.

If Brian and Julia form some sort of bond, we'll have to wait it out for results. I can wait...

Thanks for a good read!

John

 Comment Written 15-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Jul-2024

Thanks, John. The discussion with Raffi is to give a bit of foundation for what will come later in the story. It will deal with the pleasure/pain conundrum.

I think you'll like where I'm going with Brian and Julia.

Comment from Debbie D'Arcy

Excellent

Love that clear definition at the start regarding the opposite of pain being non-pain, not pleasure. How wrong can people be when they think that there is always a quick fix to our troubles and that we should always be in a state of blissful emotion. The other thing, of course, is that pain is also a message from the body, basically saying that something is off-kilter and that, while it's trying to repair itself, the patient may need a mental adjustment i.e. pain is natural and is always better than numbness and, with sensible management, can be tolerated. While addiction can't and leads potentially to other harm in the body.
I enjoyed Brian's fun approach to Julie to help her relax and unwind. The smile was a delightful breakthrough.
Another excellent chapter with not error to be found:) Take care Debbie

 Comment Written 15-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Jul-2024

Thanks very much, Debbie. I think for people who take opioids for pain aren't interested in getting pleasure out of them, at least initially. They just want the pain to stop. It's when you add in that element of pleasure that really strengthens the addictiveness of them and also leads to abusing them.

This could be the beginning of something special for Brian and Julia.

Comment from Karen Cherry Threadgill

Excellent

What gave you this idea? I never had brain addiction, but My body screamed at me plenty when I stopped. I was a sweaty spot in the middle of the bed for a while.I threw things, took everybody's name in vain. I was on heating pads heating blankets, aspirin, tylenol. It was very rough. You write well. I wrote contest. Everyone writes me a birthday card for my birthday on August 12th. That way I figure, I will get a few cards! hahaha Karen

 Comment Written 15-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Jul-2024

I've never had a psychological addiction to the opiates I've had over the years. I've never felt high from them, but many people do, even on relatively small doses. They just affect people differently. Those who get high on them, especially people who take them exclusively for the high and aren't really in pain develop psychological addictions to them.

reply by Karen Cherry Threadgill on 15-Jul-2024

we were both lucky. Some people get addicted to stuff the first time they take it. Karen

reply by Karen Cherry Threadgill on 15-Jul-2024

we were both lucky. Some people get addicted to stuff the first time they take it. Karen

Comment from tfawcus

Excellent

I was surprised that the counsellor opened up so readily about his own problems, but it seems to have been a useful technique. Anyway, his advice about breaking the ice with Julia seems to have been spot-on. I thought you handled that scene between the two of them particularly well. I could almost smell the fart! LOL

 Comment Written 15-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Jul-2024

It may have backfired if Julia was not the type to appreciate fine humor like farts, but he got lucky, and she loved the joke. The joke loses a little in the reading of it, but it's a riot when you see someone act it out. My dad was a master at telling this joke. He always had us in stitches.

Comment from Carol Hillebrenner

Excellent

This is a really good story and that pantomime that Brian did was hysterical. My father liked to joke around. Brian might be the best thing that could happen to Julia and vice versa. Maybe just as friends for a few years. This is a very interesting story.

 Comment Written 14-Jul-2024

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reply by the author on 15-Jul-2024

I wasn't sure how well it would come across being written out like that, but apparently you could appreciate what was happening. My dad used to tell that joke, and he was a riot to watch.

The next chapter should give you a clue about the direction of their relationship.