I am 75 years old. I don't think I've led a particularly sheltered life; there has been a lot of sadness, even tragedy, in it, but recently I've gone beyond being dismayed at the ubiquitous problem of alcohol addiction.

Six months ago I started managing this 41-unit apartment building. My background is in management so the inherent problems are not unfamiliar to me. However, I have never in my life met so many people who are bound by addictions.

True enough that almost half of our tenants are low-income so maybe our numbers are proportionately skewed. But it seems like a very high proportion of them are either 'on the wagon', have been court-ordered to rehab, recently were freed from prison with an injunction against drugs of any kind, or are in the midst of a binge. Just the other day, a married couple - a stable, paying-their-own-way couple - told me that they both are drinking again and are going back into rehab.

Mind you, I like a glass of wine, or three, when I'm out and about, and if I only remembered to buy it, I would enjoy wine with my dinner.

But if it would ensure that just one person were able to break the bonds I would, without question, promise to never touch the stuff again.