Four months sober now. UPDATE: Seven months!!! UPDATE 2: TWO WHOLE YEARS!!!!!! 3rd Update: Yup, three years! Four years this April… 4th update: got four years this April, going for five april/2023! 5th update: five years, half a decade. 1826 days. No morphine, no pills, no alcohol. Never felt better. Thanks for everybody who supported me and to those of you who encouraged me in the comments below! 6th update: April of 2024 was my 6th year sober!
If you have not seen the first season of American Crime (not to be confused with American Crime Story), you should check it out. The relationship between two addicts is poignant and central to the story. It also deals seriously with social issues, as did The Wire.
The Wire got a lot of rep for showing the brutal side of life, but it above all showed the fragile humanity in everyone. Bubbles is the best fictional character ever written.
that´s very accurate, well put, i think i haven´t see a great character and performance since i watched Frank Sinatra in the Man with the golden arm, you can see the hellish fight in his face, how he battles to overcome his addiction. A great one.
Best fictional character ever written? You’re reaching bro. A dope fiend with a good heart, Is hardly the best fiction character ever written. What about Livia soprano, king Joffrey, Alonzo from training day, almost every anime has a better written fictional character than bubbles. The joker from Batman.
Seeing Bubbles enthralled by the love they all share for one another for being able to get clean to the point where he stood up and took a coin just to feel it himself is a real tear-jerker. Andre Royo deserved an Emmy for Bubbles.
@@ticharribetikymo257 Who's a liar? He's pointing out the effort the actor that played bubbles put into the character. i couldn't say i was moved to shed a tear myself but i felt it.
"I don't care who you are, what you done, or who you done it to, if you're here, then so am I." To me, that's the definition of unconditional love, right there.
@@waragainstmyself1159 not truly. I meant that figuratively: Sherrod's death was the lowest point for Bubbles, a burden that made him try to kill himself. He then got sober, and at that point Bubbles had faded away and Reginald was brought back.
You can clearly see Bubbles struggling internally to come to terms with how much far he has gone, to lay waste his life, with addiction, after hearing people talk in this meeting. And yet, he still has a mind and a soul that is willing to overcome all of this with a sincere desire to live.
I’m 4 months clean. Been in recovery for about 4 years. I’ll get a few months clean and then get high again… Been having a hard time lately but determined to stay sober. This video always helps. Great to read through the comments too and know that people still come here to check in.
It's ok brother. I did that same thing all thru my 20s. Got clean for 6 months, dabbled, relapsed. Got clean again, same thing. Then I got on Suboxone and rode that for years and came off it cold turkey in prison. It wasn't that bad either. I don't think I'll ever go back to that horrible lifestyle
I've never been through what you have experienced, but you have my support and it doesn't matter what happened in the past, you're a good person. Stay strong ✊🏻
For any of you recovering, I don't know you and you will never be more than text on my screen. But each day, each week, each month, each year you are clean and sober know this. I'm proud of you. I'm proud of you for being alive. For being able to heal yourself. For being strong enough to fight day and in and day out against something that wants you dead. Thank you for still being here to inspire others to be here.
The actor that plays “Waylon” is an amazing singer songwriter named Steve Earle that actually went through a rough heroin addiction and his son just passed away last week. Steve has to be the strongest person out there. RIP Justin Townes Earle.
I'm a recovering addict "in & out" of the program for years. But this is the best example of a NA meeting I ever seen. This reminds me of my favorite NA meeting on the West side of Chicago.
SteelRocker Oddly enough, the audience reactions are probably off because these are not actors. The extras were actually members of a 12 step group. Steve Earle talked about filming the scene, and said i was great because it was like being at a meeting all day. And on the BB vs Wire comparison, I think they both are some of the best writing on TV, but both had weaknesses. THeir strengths are really different, though, so it is hard to compare. THe Wire was more real, BB was more fun.
The Mack Miley the reason why breaking bad doesn't compare with the wire or even the sopranos because breaking bad wasn't really all that thought provoking... like Vince Gilligan said he wanted to turn mr chips into Scarface so breaking bad was basically only about character development thru the backdrop of a man who deals meth and becomes a kingpin very entertaining but no message really beside her cliche "crime doesn't pay "... Where is the wire had character development but that wasn't all it was about...thru the backdrop of alot of different faucets of the city of Baltimore the show was about how institutions fail and can never be reformed but the realism was so on point from the dialogue to the everything else... and u got the sopranos , thru the backdrop of a mafia Don and his 2 family's it was a show about the human condition and the different conditions that us humans go thru... from Tony and his father Johnny boy and there narcissistic personalitys..u had his sister Janice who had her issues .. Christopher and the Drug addict trait alot of us deal with , then you had uncle junior and his age catching up to him all the way to dementia what I'm saying is at face value .. sure the sopranos is about the mafia... the wire is about drug dealers and cops... but when u look at the big picture it was sooo much more then that! breaking bad was very entertaining but it was very 1 dimensional ... very entertaining tho it's probably in my top 7 for shows just my 2 cents don't mind me
5280L33DU99YN THANKS man, your opinion give me hope in The human. Breaking bad was good, just good is so far of The wire and sopranos that when i read people saying is The best serie in The history i dont know if i want to laugh or cry. Really good explanation of why The wire and sopranos are just at another level.
I just gotta say it, The Wire is hands down the best TV series of all time, i'm sorry if you haven't acquired the wisdom yet to fully appreciate such as great show.
“Or, a sincere desire to live”. I had never really picked up on that line before. Like Johnny, you focus on the “24 hours”. You can clearly see it’s sincere on Bub’s part, but I always interpreted the scene almost like a low level scam, in keeping with Bubs’ character, to get the high of the warmth and positive energy of the group. Just another seed sown, ready to germinate in a later series.
He actually does it because he wants that acceptance. He does have a sincere desire to live. But he gets up when he sees the hugs and cheers and affection. The acceptance. He wants that. Then when Johnny points it out he feels like a fraud. Knowing he got high earlier. Knowing he lied to all these people. Now that doesn't mean it's not the catalyst for his change or that he doesn't have a sincere desire to be better. But at that moment all he wants is someone to give a damn about him. And in the brief moment he feels it.
Isn't that what we all basically want? For someone to just have an honest care towards us? Addictions usually start when people are at their lowest and feel worthless, and we base our worth on how others judge and hold us. If anyone looks at people like bubbles and thinks he's wrong for wanting to feel accepted by everyone in that room, you're part of the addiction cycle. Facts.
It often takes many attempts and relapses to get sober. This was Bubbles first self-acknowledgement that that was what he truly wanted. It took him a long time from this moment to get there, but he did it. If Bubs can do it, I believe anyone can.
@@Tkieron I think it is clear that Bubs got up because he had a *sincere desire to live* which was good enough to get up. So if that is true, then he did not scam or lie to anyone in that scene.
I think it was both. He wanted to feel included and happy, but I think it's because what Waylon said resonated with him. Just look at Bubs' facial expressions, he feels like he's talking to him. The part that most people miss though, is this is Bubs taking step one. He never looks at the drug world the same way after this. He's like most addicts where wanting to be clean and being clean has a long winding path between the two.
xele fonte sorry to disappoint, I'm not dead and I wasn't that much of an addict to alcohol I just wanted to quit drinking all together. I'll go back to my great life in Chicago with my university of Chicago law degree thank you!
Thanks for the kind words everyone! I'm doing good. It was and still is very much a struggle especially around this stressful time of year. I fell off with meetings just went back to my first one in 4 weeks.
"yo-we shot up this morning..." what a line to end this incredibly powerful scene. I don't think I've ever seen a better depiction of hard drug users. bubbles' face as waylon's words cut deep is incredibly moving. but it's johnny you feel the most sorry for. there's a kid who can't see how fast the bottom is rushing up at him until he crashes right through it!
Johnny was an idiot on par with Herc. They were never honest with others nor themselves, and they never learned a lesson no matter how benevolent someone gave them. For Johnny it culminated in an OD. For Herc, it was from working for the poh-lice to working for a parasite.
Herc wasn't built for natural police work. Also, his trajectory through the show illustrates a hard truth that's difficult for many to cope with: It's better to be lucky than good. That's what I love about this show. A lot of people "deserved" one fate, good or bad, but ended up with another.
seven months clean. i watched all of the wire about 10 years ago and had no recollection of this scene. rewatching it now, though, this is one of the heaviest scenes in the whole series.. got real choked up watching bubbles's eyes, and then seeing him take a white key tag. (i also wound up in my first NA meeting by a happy accident.) funny, the things that matter to you at different times in your life.
I've been playing the hokey pokey for the past 10 years. I smoked and drank for fun. Until it wasn't. But I would rewatch this series every year, and this scene would always kill me. I think I'm finally on the path to a permanent way out. I'm proud of you and i know I'm not the only one
For nearly 3 years (since the first time I saw it) this clip has kept me sober. I made it into an mp3; I have it memorized, my kids have it memorized, I listen to it numerous times some days. So honest, so true and real. This is why The Wire is the best
Steve Earle is a legend. He doesn't speak about anything that he hasn't experienced. He's insightful - he's an accomplished author. His insight into songwriting is beyond comparison. He's a national treasure to all Americans.
heroin has ruined my arms,hands, my parent's trust(which kills me because my mom told me that she used to trust me more than any of my siblings)the love of my sisters and brother, my gf which i miss everyday and ill never get her back and most of all, its ruined my life. im going to my first NA meeting tonight. im really nervous, i dont know why.
I was at an AA meeting, and a guy who had a few months said something along the lines of how he didn't feel like he ever hit a rock bottom. One of our old timers said "Rock bottom is where you decide to put down the shovel". That always stuck with me, and I think it's a very good message.
@@stephengrigg5988I used to be in West Baltimore everyday when I was wrapped up in the grips of my addiction. You said it, man, I was up state at SCI Fayette in Pennsylvania and my first sponsor with a wheel doing life said “I hit rock bottom when I put my shovel down” I was on the other side state prison and suddenly everything made sense when when his words sunk in. It was an epiphany and a paradox all at once and it had a dramatic impact for the betterment of my life.
16 days sober. It's Christmas day and I don't have any family or friends to share this news with. But I'm hopeful that one day, if I stay clean, things will change.
That's a big deal! 2 whole ass weeks and a couple days. Just remember when being sober for any more than 6hrs caused distress and panic. Keep going and for a fact life will get better each day, one day at a time. 🔷️8-11-19🔷️
As anyone who has been to one of these meetings can attest to, Simon and Co really nailed the tone and vibe perfectly. I mean, they condensed an hour long meeting into five minutes, but it's TV. Apart from that, it's perfect. I read that they actually brought in people in recovery for this scene to make it more believable.
“Yo we shoved off this morning” …Such a great piece of dialogue. It shows that bubbles took the keychain because he has a “sincere desire to live,” a completely foreign concept to johnny.
This is the most accurate depiction of NA/12 step meetings that has ever been in TV or the movies. You can tell Steve Earle probably helped write this scene, because it is so authentic
It's the subtlest of things that makes The Wire so great. I've seen it so many times and I still find something new every time. At 0:57, when Bubbles says he hadn't seen some of these faces in years and that he thought they were dead, Johnny's entire worldview is summed up in just a couple of terse words, "Same thing, ain't it?" I'm unlikely to ever see any other show reach the zenith of story telling that The Wire sits at. Just genius.
7 weeks into my sobriety and I have showed more growth then in the past 7 years! Update : I’m still serving god still sober , no slip ups… starting my 4th year February 13th… amen and hallelujah!
6 months clean now, since i started coming to this video, and i still do several times a week...Steve continues to inspire me...he was in Minneapolis recently on his WSS tour, i had the great good fortune to see him, he was incredible..both as a singer/songwriter and a truly compassionate human being...you have to go a long way to find folks like that..... Hey Kyle, if you still post, hope you are hanging in...God bless.....
I watched this clip years ago. Great clip. Great show….. my little sister died of endocarditis last year. She was an addict for 10+ years and had close to a decade of recovery… just too much damage done. I’m sitting here holding back tears. I have my own addictions, and while I have been doing very well the last couple years I think it’s time to go back to do a little Maintenence on myself.
I never thought about the countdown for days of sobriety. Instead of focusing on people with the most days clean it focuses on people with the least days because they need the most encouragement and support.
My brother has been sober over a year now. Has been steadily working and a baby girl on the way that he won’t stop talking about. I’m proud of you brother! I got your back til the end!
Love Steve Earle saw him in concert a few weeks ago he was great in the wire but all of the stuff he said in the wire was based on true stuff. Mad respect to him
Walon is actually Steve Earle, playing himself in a slightly alternate universe. He did the song Way Down in the Hole as well as another for The Wire. He also had serious problems with drug addiction.
It’s wild how when the characters on this show focus on who and what is in front of them rather than what they expect from the world around them or the game, they start to thrive.
EXACTLY how NA meetings go...esp in Baltimore. Having a hard time staying committed to the program since I haven't hit the same bottom as everyone else...senseless. I'm glad this show gave people an insight into what it's like...even if everyone still thinks an addict is a junkie who can't be trusted
That's what's beautiful about it, is that you make your own bottom. Anyone can always go deeper. Part of why people share their story is so that you can see how low it can take you, so maybe just maybe, you don't have to go as low and experience the pain that they did.
@@Muzzychipmunk Yeah, I prefer the idea that there is no rock bottom, so it's time to start climbing again when you can. There's a non-existent comfort in thinking there's a point where things can't possibly get worse, and that's what gets people killed.
i know i've commented oon this before, i am a 50 yr old mama of 3, great Steve Earle fan, Catholic Christian, writer, friend, native Texan...and recovering addict, vicodin, oxycotin, tequila...ther aren't enough words...steve earle is great inspiration in my life, we don't share political beliefs,but he inspires me with his courage to look himself in the mirror and say, "i am an addict, but today i am clean." i hope i get to that point......God bless you all...
So awful and ironic that Walon's real life son (Justin Townes Earle) recently passed from an overdose. I'm sure he wishes he could talk some sense into him. RIP.
Coming from a family of alcoholics and some drug addicts many who go to AA, my dad a lifelong alcoholic who had long stretches of sobriety and being drunk..... this scene is very relevant to me.
if anyone is reading this who is just getting INTO opiates, my advice would be to start a taper program immediately and get off as fast as you can. Unless it's a quality of life V. pain thing, then you need pain mgmt. If it's purely recreational, do not keep using. You WILL lose everything because tolerance grows exponentially and income doesn't. You'll lose everything and everyone, and trying to get through recovery when that has happened is very difficult because, in a sense, you don't have anything to come back to (except yourself, which still makes recovery worth it, it's just a lot harder). So don't wait til you hit rock bottom. In recovery they have a saying: "raise the bottom." Also, the idea of a single rock bottom is a myth. Most drug addicts have MANY bottoms. You won't believe how low you can go, the shit you will do to get drugs when you're craving opiates, whether its Oxy, heroin, or fent. Try to quit before it gets that bad. You'll thank yourself later on. As for all the ppl watching this who are in recovery from opiates: congrats! that shit ain't easy. i know from experience.
Understatement of the year. Fuck opiates they should only be used for extreme pain and end of life. I got my first bottle off a sore kneck from a car crash. If I only knew the pain and suffering I would cause myself and others back then I'm sure I would have laid in bed and took it on the chin.
love it, everytime i watch it, steve earle is a hero from way, way back, i've got 3 yrs clean and having a great personal crisis right now.....still....alll you can do if keep going on...
Bubbles and his redemption arc are ultimately my favorite aspects of an already phenomenal show - spoiler ahead the scene where his sister welcomes him back into her house at the end was really one of the most well-earned redemptions i've ever seen on a show
Thanks for posting this. One of the more powerful scenes from The Wire in my opinion. This, to me, is an accurate representation of what an NA meeting can be like. On the other hand, sometimes an NA meeting can challenge you with tests of your management of anger, jealousy, despair etc. It is someone saying something like this, though, that can give you a boost of hope every now and then... and who couldn't use a little hope?
I was in a psych ward as a young man and the prayer at the end hit me hard because we used to say that prayer after group sessions. Whatever your situation is, you can change your life.
Steve tells it like it is always because he is a recovering addict himself, as am I. he has given me more inspiration and courage than anyone in my life, other than my own family. You could have looked all over the world and not found anyone else as perfect to portray Walon as Steve Earle does in The Wire. God bless him and all of you who struggle with your own demons.
It is pretty on the nose, but I have heard him say in interviews he loved working on the show because he was able to read lines written by other great writers. I have always wondered if he added the guitar line, though.
You aren't clean if you smoke pot. Pot is a drug your not clean in the eyes of the narcotics anonymous fellowship but I envy you if u can smoke pot n that's it n not do dope you my friend aren't an addict then
Lost my brother almost a year ago. We talked about the wire almost nightly it was his favorite show and he specifically spoke about this scene as the most accurate representation of NA. I miss my brother every day.
This is so surreal to watch. The love of my life passed away in 2018, then my dad in 19, plus so many friends, ive never met an addict that didnt light up a room when he was sober. Im now 7 years sober and couldnt be more grateful. Life is so much more beautiful on the other side
