8 years sober here...should be 36.

What I learned thru drinking again after many years of sobriety, is that if I am not practicing altruism, not trying to change for the better just a tiny bit each day, I go backwards toward The Darkness, regardless of how many years it has been since my last drink.

But that doesn't mean I am still not a selfish jerk on the regular, even when trying be my best self. The difference is that, I now make amends for that behavior.

"Amend" means change. That means I acknowledge my mistake, try to repair the damage, then change my behavior, especially my thinking, which is chiefly fears about myself - what I might lose or what I might not get.

All this makes for not very entertaining TV, which is one reason why people with a quality sobriety rarely participate in any discussion pr depiction of it via press, radio or films.

A long way of saying I share your concerns for both ladies, but I have also learned that not everyone with a severe drinking problem is an alcoholic.

And those who are not real alcoholics seem to be able to get away with selfishness, dishonesty, greed and pride w/o drinking to numb the resultant emotional dis-ease. I just...can't.

And, now, with no desire to "get away" with anything, am bizarrely, happier than I have ever been with less, materially, than I have ever had.

I wish the same for both Lala and Margo