Bounce Back Higher

 A lot will, perhaps, be made over the next few months about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz/s 1995 arrest for driving under the influence. Way back then, Governor Tim was living in Nebraska, and according to police reports made at the time, he was traveling at a "high rate of speed" and when a blood test was administered, he came up with a .128 blood/alcohol level. That speed that was a "high rate" was 96 in a 55 zone.

Okay: First of all, I completely understand speeding to get out of Nebraska. That makes sense. At the time, private citizen Walz said that it was all a misunderstanding, based in part on his being hard of hearing. That deafness was brought on by twenty-one years of service in an Army field artillery unit. Which doesn't really explain the BAC, but does figure into the story in which he believed "someone was chasing" him. 

That would be the authorities. Ninety-six is a pretty good clip, even in Husker Nation. 

Now comes the part of the story that perhaps needs the most focus: Tim Walz has been sober for the nearly thirty years since that arrest. Those who have acknowledged that they have a problem with alcohol refer to these as their "come to Jesus moment." The last time I had anything to drink, I got behind the wheel of a rental car in Phoenix and somehow made my way across the urban landscape to Mesa in the wee hours or the morning with a blood/alcohol content that I'm certain would have made Governor Tim blush. What were the details of that drive from point A to point B? 

I cannot tell you, except for this: I made it. No crashes. No contact with law enforcement. Just extremely lucky that it was accomplished without any life-altering circumstances. 

Except for the big one: I stopped drinking right after that. As a direct result, got a wife. And a kid. And a career teaching school to kids who look to me for wisdom and inspiration. The past thirty or so years have been spent giving back to the community that at one point I essentially ignored. 

I'm not sure I'm ready to be Vice President of the United States, but I'm pleased to have a chance to vote for a guy who made better choices.