Jernigan, page 27
So I do it their way. Mostly. I’ve found that my way doesn’t work: boy, do they love it whenever somebody comes out with that one in group. Then you see those sober little nods of the head meaning Better late than never. Fuck if I’ll go that far to keep them happy. And there’s other things I won’t do: one, see Danny; two, shave; and three, buy into this pretense that we’re all little first-name humans here going soul-to-soul. I’m So-and-so and I’m an alcoholic. I’m Such-and-such and I’m a drug addict. I’m Somebody Else and so forth and so on. But when it comes around to you, you have to give them something, if only name and spiritual disease. That’s the rule here. So what I’ve figured out is this. I stand up and say: Jernigan.
David Gates, Jernigan
