I was out Thursday night at Woodbine Racetrack, located close to Pearson International Airport in Toronto,visiting with longtime friends who work there. It was an evening of reminiscing and talking shop, in terms of the broadcast industry and similarly, the aspect of sports entertainment that is both Harness and Thoroughbred racing. Everyone seemingly , has been touched by the dreadful economy. Housing and condo sales may be up, but discretionary money is still being held tightly, and for good reasons, with people either looking for work, or just trying to hang on to what they’ve got.
While we were dining in “Favorites”, as good of a restaurant dining experience that you could find anywhere, my friends updated me on a Harness driver who I had asked about and come to know over the years. I will not mention his name, and you’ll understand why as the story continues. The answer to my question about how he was doing was not what I expected to hear. My friends told me that this particular driver was in rehab for pain killer addiction. The gentleman in question, truly lives up to the description of a gentleman in every sense of the word. He has been very successful in terms of winnings as a driver, and was as good of a person to speak with, and to know, as he was a gifted driver. This man had gone through some spills as a driver, which of course is one of the hazards of the profession. Like any athlete, a series of injuries that accumulate over the years, can leave the person in question with lingering discomforts or pain, and at the same time, an athlete wishing to continue in that sport, and wanting to be as successful, will sometimes do whatever it takes to compete at the highest level.
The drug in question is Percocet, which I’m familiar with as a post surgical pain killer, and one level down from Demerol, which from my experience, is the ultimate pain killer. Although I have never had any addiction problems, I can certainly understand how a high level athlete, or in this case Harness driver, could feel the need to either mask pain in order to compete,or unfortunately, start to enjoy the good feeling generated by a prescription pain killer for a number of reasons. I have never known any friends who have been troubled by this kind of addiction, but like most people, I have some friends who are alcoholics or recovering alcoholics. I know some others, who are trying to overcome the smoking habit.
There is almost always a story behind the story, as to why any individual seeks out a drug to escape whatever physical or emotional distress is at the heart of their problem. You can only hope, that as a friend or acquaintance of someone who has this tough burden to bear, they are strong enough and have the determination to overcome this troubling illness, which an addiction certainly is. On the one hand, I’m glad that the Harness driver in question tested positive, so he can now get the help that he obviously needs. Thank the Lord, that he got caught before something more serious may have happened as a result of this addiction, in terms of an accident of some kind, where he could get hurt, or other innocent folks might have been harmed.
All of this. just serves to remind me of the biblical like expression, ( perhaps its from the scriptures or a prayer book ) that my parents would use at times, “ But for the grace of God, there walk I .” All of us have problems and adversities, and it’s at times like that, when it touches someone you know and respect, it just strikes you a little harder, as to how vulnerable, we all really are, as if we didn’t already know that. We all do, and sometimes we get to escape reality for varying lengths of time, but as I was reminded last night, unfortunately as you go through life, you sometimes have to get familiar with bad news, and learn how to deal with all the adversities you, or your friends and relatives might face. From there, you hopefully try to help others, when and if you can. Sometimes that means just being a loyal friend, or a compassionate human being. We all hope that when our own difficulties develop, that our friends and family will stand by us. The other great bit of knowledge that my parents passed along to me,was some advice for tough times: “Your friends you’ll keep, the others, you don’t need.”