Billies

Billy is my favorite client. He is a late 40s to early 50s White male. He has been smoking most of his life. He started drinking at 8, sneaking beer from his dad's fridge. Billy looks older than he actually is, with his short, bespectacled image starting at you from across the table. He is missing most of his teeth as bad habits have left him mostly toothless.  He pushes asphalt for a living. He calls me "Pretty Boy". He lives with his brother and has to attend our anger management classes for at least 15 sessions. His voice is sharp and snappy. 

"Billy, can you remind us what led you to be in this program?", my internship boss Ed asks. 

"I came home to the motel and my door was open. My old woman was in the room drinking with some White girl, smoking dope. So I went off on them. I've been sober less than 5 months and they do this? What do they want? Trying to send me back to jail? So I start to hollerin and someone calls the cops and here I am." 

He is one of many clients I am seeing at my internship. I am really enjoying myself! Its scary sometimes but the interactions with the various "Billies" make it better. I am really putting myself out of my comfort zone to be there. Its living, man! :)