Barry's Blog
A Lesson from the First Time I Took Heroin
It was a Friday night in 1981. I was with nine of my mates in Jackie’s bedroom. She lived on a council estate in Salford. We were listening to Bob Marley and the Wailers and smoking weed. We were getting ready to go up to town on a night out. The door opened and one of the lads walked in. ‘Hey guys, I’ve got some “brown” (heroin). Who wants some?’ ‘I’ll have some,’ someone said, and then someone else said, ‘I’m up for it.’ Eventually, we all had it. I was the last one. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t want to be the odd one out.’ So I took it. I didn’t really think at the time about how this one decision would affect my future. Within a few weeks, I was taking it every day. I soon became a heroin addict.
The 'Safe Room'
Certain parts of the USA are prone to hurricanes. I’m sure you will all remember the devastation that New Orleans encountered when it was hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Over 1,000 people lost their lives and 80% of New Orleans was under water. This was the worst Atlantic hurricane on record.
New Horizons
A Lesson from an Athletic Coach
What does a coach look for most in an athlete? Some years ago, Shari Kuchenbecker and her team of research assistants from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles interviewed 658 coaches representing 43 sports. The athletes they coached ranged in age from 3 to 22. Across the board, Kuchenbecker says, coaches picked psychological factors over physical factors when asked what makes for a successful young athlete.
The Scars of Life
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little lad decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went. He flew into the water, not realising that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore.
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