<p><strong>Fentanyl vs. Heroin</strong>: "Trash high"—no legs, not the same rush, felt grateful when heroin disappeared</p><p><strong>First Shot</strong>: A friend made him do it for free—"Misery loves company"—then couldn't stop</p><p><strong>OD Stories</strong>: OD'd twice in one day—once behind the wheel on FDR, once after snorting Bronx bags, woke up in hospital, ripped tubes out, lied about asthma</p><p><strong>Mom's Heart Attack</strong>: 4 days after OD, mom has a heart attack from stress</p><p><strong>Hustles</strong>: Selling weed, flipping Suboxone, scamming friends, "like a credit card"—balances, fronts, juggling</p><p><strong>Jam Band Scene</strong>: Heavy on acid, ketamine, nitrous, Calvin Klein (coke + K), LSD handling mishap at Camp Bisco led to paranoia for a week</p><p><strong>Methadone Clinic Madness</strong>: Working in the clinic, finding crack pipes, wild characters, hustles in the waiting room</p><p><strong>Recovery Pivot</strong>: Got clean after the ferry breakup, went to White Deer Run, cut methadone taper on day 3, Old Testament-level detox, started working the 12 steps, counselor Heath changed his life</p><p><strong>Working in Treatment</strong>: From the methadone clinic to Ascendant, saw the whole spectrum</p><p><strong>Writing</strong>: Wrote <i>Slingshot Diaries</i> in Maryland, self-published hundreds of copies, found purpose</p><p><strong>Reflection</strong>: Raw honesty, doesn’t glorify but doesn’t hide it either—“thank God for grace and mercy”</p>