Alcohol Killed My Marriage Cindy Salazar Friday, September 14, 2007 Seven years ago, I married my best friend. We watched each other grow up from childhood, and we loved each other for nearly 2/3's of our lives. He was kind, generous, loving, loyal, funny, charismatic, and romantic-everything a girl could wish for. Our wedding was a happy day, the best day that I can remember. But, that was then. And, this is now.In the last four years, I have only seen small glimpses of the man I fell in love with so long ago. In that time, he became an alcoholic, and received one DWI after another after another. During this time, he betrayed my marriage, and somehow he was able to use his charm and self-pity to make me take him back. Then, he would get me pregnant, and start the whole, alcoholic, viscous cycle over again, and again, and again. Where does that leave me? Impoverished and alone with four kids, 5 and under, to raise on my own? Alcohol killed my marriage, as I'm sure it has killed many marriages before mine. When the "Truth" campaigns started on TV about cigarettes and the truth about their affects on our bodies and environment, I thought it was enlightening, to the say the least. Probably, thanks to those advertisements, people have become more aware of the "Truth." Maybe, that's why my city of Austin is smoke-free in most public places, even bars and dance clubs. Alcohol is a hundred times worse than the effects cigarettes have on us and our society. Alcohol can kill people in drunk driving accidents. Alcohol can lock up the sole provider of a family, leaving the government to help feed the ones left behind. Alcohol tears children away from their parents. Alcohol ties up our court systems. Alcohol kills the lungs and kidneys inside a person who abuses it, thereby filling up our hospitals. Alcohol causes people to lose control of themselves, leading to crime, violence, abuse, and much much more. Why can't our society do something ab... |