Hi friends, allow me to introduce myself.  My name is David Sterling Frank and I am a recovering alcoholic.  But before I move any further, let me say; If you haven’t read the “About Me” section of my blog please do so now.  You will have a better understanding of who I am, what this blog is about and why I made the decision to start it.  Anyways, back to what I was saying: My name is David Sterling Frank and I am a recovering alcoholic who is a grateful believer in Christ. I am also a strong believer in standing up for what you believe in and fighting for something or someone you love. I am a passionate believer that hard work, dedication and perseverance will pave the way to a person’s future.  Oh, and I am a die hard Dallas Cowboys fan, haha.

Yes, It’s true, I’m a Cowboys fan. But what did you expect, I was born and raised in Austin, Texas where football was a huge part of our lives and the Dallas Cowboys were not just our team, they were “America’s Team.” I grew up watching Sunday & Monday night football since the time I was old enough to watch TV and it was my family’s household where the football watch parties would take place every weekend.  I was only a few years old but I remember the smell of barbeque on the grill and the sound of the applause when our team scored a touchdown. It was a party every weekend at our house.  Friends, family, neighbors and sometimes people we didn’t even know would show up to the house.

My mom loved entertaining people, so she welcomed everyone into our home.  I remember the parties being so full of emotion. Emotions that always started with laughter, joy and happiness but would often end with emotions of anger, sadness and sometimes fear.  I had assumed football just made people really happy and then really sad. A few years later I would learn that the drinks my parents and their friends were drinking had an effect on their behavior.  Initially it would make them happy, funny and even a little silly.  But if consumed over and over, it would have a negative effect on my parents and their guest.  Arguments would arise, which turned into shouting and on several occasions physical fights occurred.

I may have forgot to mention that these parties were “fully stocked.” My parents and their friends were heavy drinkers so come game day, mom and dad made sure the refrigerator & freezer as well as the 4-5 ice chest outside were fully stocked with their favorite beer, tequila and vodka. The neighbors loved this because the could eat and drink for free and it wasn’t long before my parents were the most popular people in our neighborhood.  Throwing these parties every weekend had made them cool and everybody wanted to be their friend, so regardless of any downsides, my parents had no intentions of ever stopping their weekend watch parties.

It was here where I discovered the positive & negative side affects of alcohol by observing my parents and their friend’s behavior.  I envied the good times they seemed to be having and gave little attention to the bad times. I knew that I could not participate yet as I was just a small child but one thing seemed certain…Drinking was fun and it made you lots of friends…Or at least so I thought.