Word Play

Heroin:
A white, odorless, bitter crystalline compound, C17H17NO(C2H3O2)2, that is derived from morphine and is a highly addictive narcotic. Also called diacetylmorphine.

Heroine:
A woman noted for courage and daring action.
A woman noted for special achievement in a particular field.
The principal female character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation. (Hero)


Do you ever wonder why two words are so close and yet so distant? I think that we see this distinction pointed out frequently in biblical studies and debates. "Oh yes but if you add a letter here and take some letters away here, what it REALLY says is... GOD IS NOWHERE!" Whatever. I'm willing to let the biblical scholars duke that one out. I think I have my personal spirituality sorted out just fine, and I'm happy to let others do the same. In all honesty... I think that if you switch all of the letters around, you will see that the bible probably tells us all to let each other just BE. >;O) IF THERE EVEN REALLY IS A BIBLE.

I'm off my topic AGAIN. I'd try to take a pill for that... but those pills are WAY too much fun and I know I'd abuse them. Plus... I'm OK with not taking a pill for everything. What I really need to do is get a job where I can reasonably complete ONE task per day without five interruptions. Actually, just five would make for a pretty nice day.

So, back to heroine and heroin. That one really made me stop and think this morning. They can be intrinsically linked and yet diametrically opposed. Sometimes, all at once. I believe that at times, heroin addiction begins because a woman believes it will make her feel like the heroine, if even for a moment. There are a lot of ways she may be looking at it... ways as small as wanting to tell her story too when people are going on and on about the crazy shit they've done when they're all sitting around at a party one night. Ways as big as getting tired of feeling fucked with and wanting to feel like she is in control and courageous. For that she is willing to try to buy courage. Many of us have done that in one way or another. Taken a shot of courage, something to calm our nerves a bit... it was just a bit more socially acceptable.

Perhaps you think that I am on heroin right now for thinking these things, but I believe that we all need to alter our thinking and try to step outside of our own heads and into the heads of others if we ever want to see a lasting and sustainable change in our society. Perhaps you think that the true heroine of the story is the one who sweeps in and helps the woman free herself of her addiction or the one who busts the heroine dealer or the one who saves the heroine addicts child. Perhaps... but in reality they're just doing their job and if you ask them I would bet money that they would tell you just that. They would tell you emphatically that they are NOT a hero. The woman who kicks the addiction is the heroine... so why not change her story and enable her to become the heroine of a different story which does not involve destruction and devastation? Why not try and eradicate the heroin from the plot?

You may wonder why I am talking about heroin at all... isn't that yesterday's drug of choice? Isn't meth all of the rage now? Well, meth is still a major player, but just as coke has made a stellar comeback so too is heroine use on the rise. Why? It's cheaper than coke and the effects last longer. People know how dirty meth is... they think they want something more natural. When you think pure and natural, doesn't heroine spring to mind?

How do we help our heroine? I think we have to make a multifaceted approach which has nothing to do with police or prison funding. We need to invest in our children again. We need a wide variety of school programs which ensure that all types of learners are reached through the walls of our classrooms. We need to expand programs like the big brother big sister program that takes kids rock climbing and rafting and teaches them about a different kind of adrenaline rush. We need to ensure that every kid has an adult who believes in them no matter how many times they fail, because this has been proven to create a healthy adult.

Our heroine needs to know that her courage comes from within, that her deep breaths are activating her own inner reserves of strength and that she truly is the master of her own life story.

It's not quite as simple as adding an 'e'... and I guess I sound a lot like those biblical scholars. But the truth is... I would like to work myself out of a job. I would like people to just swoop in and take care of children who needed support themselves instead of looking the other way or calling a number so that someone else could handle it.

The way things are right now... well our system could use a heroine because we are in crisis. We have so few foster homes that we allow marginal ones to operate. Good people don't want to become foster parents because they think... actually I have no idea why they don't want to do it. Services are cut so deeply that it's hard to offer parents the treatment they need... and once kids are removed from their parents then things are cut even more deeply. It's a mess... and somehow as the 'front man' I bear the brunt of the blame both in court and on the front page of the paper if anything goes wrong. In reality, I think the kids SHOULD stay with their parents. I think we need more programs to support THAT happening. But who am I? "I'm no heroine, at least not last time I checked."

Every now and then I see a "Heroin Heroine" become a "True Heroine" and it is her choice and her work... not mine. Because I do what I do, I get to witness miracles on a semi-regular basis and am reminded of our purpose on this planet.

(Plus, if I told you about the crazy shit that happens INSIDE of my office, you will understand why I don't know that I could ever leave. I think it's kind of like working inside of a REALLY messed up but hilarious soap opera... people have to catch you up on all of the bizarre happenings after a vacation and everything. ;0P )