A road less traveled

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference

This poem came to mind yesterday when I was reading the news. It seems that an old Friend ran into a bit of trouble.
Many years ago I met a 16 year old kid who would hang out at my place and party with us. He was a good kid at the time, he was just dealing with your typical teenage rebellious issues. As the years past he grew up and made some bad decisions, but we all did, that is part of the human condition if you don't make bad decisions now and then, we don't learn and grow.
He needed a place to stay so he crashed on my couch for a while, saved some money and we got a two bedroom apartment. We would party hard and he always had GOOD drugs. This went on for I don't remember how long, but a long time.
One day I woke up in jail and decided that this was enough I didn't want to live like this any more. I was 22 years old, weighed 90 pounds and looked like a zombie. I nearly O D more than once and couldn't keep a job.
So when I found out that Tim was going away for a while I found a new place to live in a different city, put $50 on his commissary and left, I never told any of my so called friends goodbye, I just disappeared.
After reading this news story I am overwhelmed with emotions, but mostly I am just thankful. I had to stop and think what my life may have been like if I had taken a different path. After seeing Tim's mug shot I came to the conclusion that I would probably be dead.
I have a wonderful life, a wife and family that loves me, a good job, and almost nothing to want. I could not ask for anything more, all because of a choice I made 15 years ago. I am proud to say that I abandoned all of my friends and left them to fend for themselves.



I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in a wood
And I took the one less traveled by
And that has made all the difference


Robert Frost