Where The Heart Lies

An excerpt from "Where The Heart Lies-- We had become a big festering boil on the rear of the state of California. Government charity seemed to reach far and appeared never ending. I wish the politicians could have seen what they had helped my parents to do--what they had helped many drug addicts do. Money that was supposed to feed needy families, fed needs all right; it fed a need for speed. I don't mean going fast, either. Speed is slang for amphetamines, crank, meth, crystal, crack--you name it. It was called a million different things. If my parents weren't slamming heroin, they were snorting speed. It was almost popular! All my uncles, and everyone else who came around our house, talked about speed. Apparently, it was cheaper than other drugs, and it lasted longer. Great, give them something they could buy more of, that would keep them going longer, so the cycle never ends.