Harrison
Well, my name is Harrison.
And, Harry and I used to do this play on words…..he’s Harry, and I’m Harry’s son.
We have been all over the world carrying the message of recovery together.
And, he helped me clean.
I started getting clean in 1984 and I got clean on October 25th, 1985.
And, I’m clean because of other people.
Other people like Harry.
Harry died on December 26th at 1 in the morning, 2017.
And, my biggest fear was how would I stay on this planet without Harry?
What would I do without Harry?
Addiction is about being trapped in a place you don’t want to be and you can’t get out and stay out without help.
People need people.
I’m a recovering addict.
And, I needed someone.
My mother died when I was 16 and when I was 5 or 6 years old, I watched my father beat my mother within inches of her life. I went to help my mother and my father knocked me out. So, I promised that I would never be like my father. But, I ended up just like him.
Violence, madness, and craziness was a part of my life util I was 32 years old.
I was tortured by my brothers.
I was burned by irons until I could defend myself.
I’ve done time in jail.
I’ve been stabbed.
I’ve been shot.
All kinds of things.
I was living life on the streets of San Francisco.
My addiction really started though, after my father attacked my mother for the last time.
Me and my brothers had planned to kill my father.
We planned to set his bed on fire and kill him.
My Mom found out the plan and split us up and left him my father.
But, when the addiction started is not the question….It’s what you are going to do about it.
Because, it sorta becomes like your God.
My Mother died in 1969.
Her heart stopped.
She had cancer.
I was living in the Presidio, then.
It was such a beautiful place with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Beaches.
But, the world was a dark place for me.
Going in and out of jail and getting locked up was directly related to my inability to deal with my mother’s death.
I have dealt with it now.
I AM dealing with it now.
There’s really no other love like a mother’s love.
My mother taught me how to love.
Because, the other side of that is pure hate.
And, I lived that out for like 16 years.
Recovery is always a beginning state.
Addiction doesn’t go away because you get clean.
It does push ups and gets stronger and just talks to you in a different way over time.
Harry taught me that.