SONG ESSAYS: GONE

Hello! It has been a while, I guess. Rick and Marilyn have been SO BUSY this summer with all kinds of gigs, and we want to thank you for coming out and listening and being a part of what we love so MUCH to do... Make music, and make you SMILE!

This is the second in a series of essays that I am writing about the songs on 'What's on my Mind'.

The song GONE is one that I really wish I didn't write. And, to warn, this may trigger bad things for you if you have been traumatized by a drug overdose in a loved one. It's ok to just trash this note.

As I hope you have heard by now, there is a serious crisis going on with so many people dying of heroin and other opioid overdoses. Just this past week, we had, in the tiny community that I live in, *7* ODs in about 36 hrs, and one was fatal. This is with constant education in the streets, free Narcan kits, other harm reduction strategies, and a peer to peer counseling team on-call all the time. If you have a drug problem and want help, you can go to a local police force and they will connect you with rehab right away. Or go to the ED and talk with a peer to peer counselor. We have some hope now, and we keep trying, but people continue to get hooked and continue to OD.

This story happened before all that was in place. I was working in my office when there was a commotion outside my door, with a couple of young men getting put in an empty room and a co-worker summoned to the room. The next thing I heard was the blood-curdling cry of terror from a mother being told her son just overdosed on heroin, NO NO NO NO, over and over and over and over. Those screams live forever in my mind. Along with sitting with my grieving friend a few years back, who had just lost two sons to drugs 6 months apart. And hearing story after story of mothers who tried to help and found that addiction was one thing they had no help for.

The song GONE is a tribute to those mothers. If you know someone who uses drugs, make sure you know about Narcan, and the help to be found from the police and the ED so that you can direct them there when they are ready to come back in.

Peace to all of you who read this. Hug someone who may need it today. 

TO LISTEN TO GONE, CLICK 

HERE