Life in the Ville by Jimmy Del Ponte

This inner city tale can be an “insert name here” story. Let’s call him Bill. In 1986, Bill was a young, quick witted, energetic and lovable cut up. Everyone loved him. He worked in a very popular business in a busy part of Somerville and would occasionally come out of nowhere singing and joking especially if someone he knew was in the store. A one-man show.

The vivid image of the effervescent, and entertaining Bill sticks in my mind. Unfortunately, another image is right next to that one obliterating the joy. It’s the image I have of Bill the last time I saw him.

It was tough being a kid growing up in Somerville back then, especially if you lived within stumbling distance of the many bars. Davis Square was like an auto mile of booze or a decadent Disneyland. One gin mill after another.

The Railside and The Gaslight Pub in the early 1980’s, where Au Bon Pain is now. — Photo courtesy of Ron Bargoot

Everybody knew your name at The Rosebud and Surrey Room, Pat Connolly’s, The Cadillac, The Gaslight, Sligo’s, Frascati’s, BoBo’s, Yee’s Village, The Pine Tree, The Venice, Johnny D’s, The Railside, The Coronet, and The Pine Tree, to name a few.

You could start at one bar or restaurant and in a couple of hours, visit about 10 booze joints. Neon and Knickerbocker, pickled eggs and peanuts. If you got thrown out of one place you could easily hit the next. Other sections of the city had similar scenarios. Davis Square is where most of my memories originate.

There were no man buns back then and tattoos were still a personal choice and not a fashion statement. Booze was a big part of growing up in Somerville. We learned at an early age how to find a buyer to get us our Boone’s Farm or Ripple wine and Schlitz, Bud or Heffenreffer Private Stock.

Drinking was everywhere we went. Most of us drank during high school and college, but many couldn’t put it down or learn how to control it. The party turned into a daily battle with booze trying to destroy our lives and our families.

A lot of us grew up in alcoholic homes. Dad let us sip the foam off his Ballantine Ale can. Drinking was sort of a rite of adulthood. Our families had liquor cabinets and cocktail parties. The kids at these parties snuck around finishing drinks that were left unattended. We found ways to steal our parents booze. For something that was glamorized on TV and movies, it really caused a lot of serious problems for many families. Going to the bar for lunch and after work was a ritual that could become lethal.

Back to my friend Bill. When he approached me at least 20 years after the last time I saw him so happy and healthy I didn’t recognize him. He was using a cane, he was stooped over, and could barely get the words out.

He muttered “Hi Jimmy!” I said, “Hello, I’m sorry I can’t place you.” When he told me who he was I almost started crying. How could someone change so drastically in just a few years? I was blown away. It was the booze that ravaged my friend. Sadly, he was gone six months later. He was still a young man. He went painfully with cirrhosis of the liver and what they call a wet brain. Booze destroyed him piece by piece.

I’ve lost family members because of alcoholism. I’ve seen many of my friends and family members succumb to brain, heart, liver and nervous system diseases and all because of alcohol. Families suffer horribly. It’s a slow and painful death that often involves trouble with the law. I’ve also seen a lot of my friends enjoy recovery too.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a program that can help a problem drinker get off and stay away from a drink. All you have to do is give it a chance. There are many recovering alcoholics enjoying life without a drink or a drug. These same alcoholics help the newcomer and beginners achieve and enjoy sobriety. It works if you work at it.

AA is a godsend for millions fighting the disease of alcoholism. Imagine if there were programs that sufferers of other diseases could go to and be kept healthy by merely going to meetings and sharing their strength, hope and experiences?

Death by alcohol is a sad and painful thing for the drinker and their families who often have run out of ways to try to help. There is hope. God bless my old friend Bill and all my friends struggling with addiction. Alcoholics Anonymous: 617-426-9444.