Even more stellar than the report is the fact that this incident one-ups his conviction in August '07 of public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and also resisting arrest.

Public intoxication is so cute, especially when getting in a car where my family is coming from the opposite direction. Some people just won't learn until it's too late and 'sorry' just doesn't cut it.

While the fact that he was on the sidewalk should make this situation slightly less concerning, I can't help but think that children and their parents would use the sidewalk to get to the playground. For this reason, it's not really providing me that much more comfort to know he wasn't actually in the playground.

4sure,

You don't know this man or the progress he was making in his recovery. When you do, you can comment. Otherwise, mind your own business. I'm sure you NEVER made a mistake or ever struggled with an addiction.

Doesnt sound like he made any progress unless the last time he actually hurt someone! When this man stops committing crimes and ending up in the newspaper we will stop commenting on him.

Obviously none of you have ever dealt with someone who has an addiction. I'm also assuming since you can point the finger at this man, you've never EVER made a mistake that COULD have, but DIDN'T hurt anyone. Is there something you deal with every day? Like over eating, speeding, anger....Something you know you shouldn't be doing, but it's hard for you NOT to do it? When you have an addiction, you know it's something you shouldn't do, but sometimes you hurt so badly that you think it's the only way to "escape" the pain. I have other ways I deal with pain that aren't harmfull to myself or others, but not everyone had the good upbringing that I had. I am very fortunate for that. You can't turn your back on someone for making a mistake. In this case a very BIG mistake. He is paying the price for his mistake and I'm sure is remorseful for this mistake. All that I'm saying is that you don't know anything about this person, their background, or their struggles. Don't chastise me because I DO know the situation and am trying to help other people understand.

Addiction is a very real problem for some people. If you have never had to experience the pain or struggles of someone going through this, I hope you never do. If you DO have someone going through this, you can understand that it's an every day struggle. Unfortunately, in my life, I have had to learn these struggles from many different views and know quite a few people going through this. If you ever have the chance to sit and talk to someone who has some sobriety under their belt, I highly suggest you do so. Get their insight on how it's a struggle every single day for them.

I truely am not trying to start arguments here. I'm just trying to bring to light something that many people are fortunate to not have to deal with. However, I feel I am fortunate because I get to experience LIFE with these people as they grow closer to God and closer to recovery. It's called compassion.

And backagain, I hope you don't measure your success only by the times you do things perfect. We've all had to make mistakes in order to learn from them and grow. I'm sure the first time you started to walk, you had your tumbles. Small steps lead to greater distances. I hope you can understand that. Unfortunately, sometimes the mistakes we make are big ones, but then again, sometimes God tries to get our attention with subtle clues and we ignore him until he hits us right between the eyes with something BIG.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.