I hope everyone had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving, and didn’t eat and drink too much.
As for myself, I really don’t need society telling me that November 28, 2013 – or any other day for that matter – is when I should be thankful for everything that I have in life.
Simply put, I wake up each and every single day full of gratitude for my health, my family and friends, and just to be alive, especially considering all that I have experienced as a result of my past addictions and risky behaviors over the years.
I would gladly give up one ear, hand or foot to be able to go back in time and change some things from my past, but of course, as a realist, I understand that is just not possible.
I miss my beloved late father, Irving Goldstein, more today than I ever have since he unexpectedly and sadly passed away from the effects of lung cancer and emphysema on January 23, 1999, while I was still on Rikers Island waiting to be sent upstate to serve my time for my robbery convictions.
I do my very best to live the right way these days, and only wish my father was around for me to love and help take care of.
As for my past addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, I am now clean & sober for six years and 29 days, and continue to get so much satisfaction out of passing the message of recovery onto those who are still sick and suffering.
I know that, even though I may not be responsible for my disease, I certainly am in charge of my recovery, and will always make remaining free from alcohol, drugs and gambling a top priority in my life.
Enough about me, though!
I only write my blog in order to help others, and hope that by revealing so much about myself, including many of my innermost thoughts, I can light a spark under you, my readers, to not only avoid some of the same mistakes and negative things I experienced in life, but to also live each and every single day of yours in the best possible fashion.
So, if giving thanks on that one special day of the year that society chooses to label it works for you, then by all means, stick with it.
As for me, I will have gratitude in my heart all year round, and know that all of us have greatness within that enables anything to become a reality if we apply ourselves and be thankful 24/7/365.
Thanks for reading!
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About gman18
I came into the world on October 18, 1961. John F. Kennedy was President of the United States. The film West Side Story was released, and would go on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards. Major League Baseball was celebrating Roger Maris of the New York Yankees, who hit a then-record 61 home runs that season.
I was an excellent student, although a bit of a class clown too. I spent a majority of my time playing sports, but fell in love with newspapers, which was how I was initially introduced into writing and storytelling.
While attending Kingsborough Community College from 1979-1981, I served as editor-in-chief of the school's paper, and then joined the staff at Long Island University's Seawanhaka for my junior and senior years. At L.I.U. where I earned my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism in 1983, I was also a selected member of Sigma Delta Chi, as well as Who's Who Among Students in American Universities & Colleges.
My last year in college included an unpaid internship at WCBS-TV, Channel 2 in New York City, where I learned so much about the television business. Upon graduation, I landed a job at the network, starting as a news clerk for The CBS Morning News with Diane Sawyer, and also weekend shifts for The NFL Today with Brent Musburger.
After quickly rising in the ranks to producer, my life suddenly went on a downward spiral due to addictions to alcohol, drugs and gambling, which ultimately led to nearly six years behind bars for robbery.
My time incarcerated gave birth to my first published book, Jew in Jail, which tells my true story of how I finally decided to deal with my addictions and turn my life around, all the while under the toughest conditions imaginable of being a minority in the prison system, forced to fend for myself.
Writing Jew in Jail - as I was doing my time - allowed me to become very introspective, and realize that I could help others in similar situations of being an addict and/or living with low self-esteem.
Today, I still reside in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York, where I am working on my next book project, continuing to promote Jew in Jail, and always helping other addicts through my motivational and inspirational speeches, and one-on-one consultations.
Gary,
I always feel like I know you even though I do not. I have had facebook conversations with you and spoken to you on the phone. The inspiration you give to people on a daily basis is a wonderful thing, I just wanted to mention it. Always looking forward to you new postings. Marcy
Hi Marcy.
Thank you so much for such positive feedback.
I really appreciate having someone such as you in my corner, and will continue to do as much as I can to demonstrate that, regardless of one’s past, it is entirely possible to turn things around and go on to lead a productive, fruitful life.