PERSPECTIVES

By Mike Wagoner Reader Contributor

I can quit anytime

I’ve heard it said that it helps to admit if you’re struggling with an addiction… to be open about it… well, here goes.

It started out innocent enough, having grown tired of the same old veggie sausage or bacon in the mornings, I began to reward myself by sneaking in a little turkey product now and then, rationalizing that I was still maintaining that new what’s-happenin’-now lifestyle. Still, after a while, I found myself wanting… yearning… for something that might really light me up. I began pausing in the meat aisle from time to time, gazing at it… imagining what it might be like.

My resistance continued to wane un- til one day… I bought some… not a lot, just a little to see what would happen. It was cool. I kept doin’ it, a little more often, increasing the dose, telling myself, “I can quit anytime if it starts to, you know, become a problem.”

Well, it’s a problem. I’ve lost control, I consume it and it consumes me most every morning. The other day, shaking hands, I looked over the packaging … there were no warnings of any kind… no suggestion that it could lead to a serious problem.

Maybe I’ll talk to a lawyer… get some financial assistance for some kind of treatment before that damn Jimmy Dean sausage ruins my life.