The Other Side of Sober
by Elsie J.M. Page

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Where are the police when you need them? Willie Masterson drove the streets of Winnipeg in a drunken state for 23 years, and was never arrested. He often parked on the front street in front of his home and leaned on the horn, waiting for Jessie or the children to come to help him get out of the car and into the house. He couldn't walk on his own, but he could drive a car. Not until he ended up falling asleep at the wheel, and rolling his car over into a ditch, did he see any sign of the law. He hung upside down, trapped in his seat belt, screaming for help. A four-year-old child lay motionless and silent, and out of his reach. He was terrified. Was the little fellow dead? Between sobs he vowed he would never drink again. He kept that promise, but exchanged his drinking addiction for another one just as destructive . . .gambling. Once again, Willie's addiction caused a lot of unhappiness for himself, and those who loved him.

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Elsie J.M. Page was born in the Rural Municipality of East. St. Paul, Manitoba, in the dirty 30's. She was educated in Winnipeg, attending the Lord Selkirk School and Red River Community College. Worked for many years as a family service counsellor. Married James Henry in 1951 and moved to Surrey British Columbia in 1988, where they both are enjoying retirement. They have one son and one daughter and two grandsons, and a cat named Murphy. Elsie enjoys music, reading, writing, cribbage tournaments, bingo, church and family gatherings. She has entertained "the elderly" every Friday with the Guildford Jammers for 14 years, and often writes and sings her own songs.

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Elsie J.M. Page