Tiny White Box

Keith Howard used to be a homeless drunk veteran.  He now calls a six by 12-foot converted motorcycle trailer home.  He used to be a drunk. He’s now been sober for 11 years. He used to be toothless. He now has a mouthful of teeth. He used to be a veteran. He still is.  Howard maintains tinywhitebox.com, his website, helps out at Hope for New Hampshire Recovery in Manchester and tries to rouse the rabble.

Opinion

A Drunkard’s Dream

Thursday, August 1, 2019 Keith Howard 0
He ordered two quarts of vodka along with a stand-alone pint, a six-pack of beer and two packs of cigarettes. At the end of my drinking, when mouthwash had become my drink of necessity, John’s order would have been answered prayer. READ MORE
Opinion

When the ER nurse says, “Good Luck” it’s medical jargon for “Next Step: The Morgue”

Friday, March 22, 2019 Keith Howard 4
That ambulance ride was the last positive part of the medical response our family experienced. Really. The Hub-and-Spoke Model touted by the state at a cost of $45-million dollars, offered nothing — in fact is banned from the emergency room of the hospital she was taken to. Three or four hours after Meri arrived, our family was escorted by security off hospital property.  Apparently my manner, calm as I may appear in writing, made them very nervous indeed. READ MORE
Opinion

Shipbuilders of Sunken Vessels: Quick dispatches from the belly of the Treatment Industrial System

Monday, January 28, 2019 Keith Howard 0
Like Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Farmer and Cowman, treatment and recovery folks should be friends, although that’s not often the case, with treatment folks relying on a clinical model and recovery people favoring peer-based supports. In short, and perhaps unfairly to both, treatment partisans believe letters after one’s name are important while recovery supporters see lived experience as key. READ MORE
Opinion

A radical moderate take on recreational marijuana use

Sunday, January 27, 2019 Keith Howard 2
Getting stoned is not a big deal for non-addicts.  Getting stoned is nothing more than a form of relaxation for the vast majority of Americans. Getting stoned, for people like me, can be the first step backward into the abyss, the beginning of an end that can come soon enough. READ MORE
Opinion

Mea Culpa, Brad Ladner—And Let Those Panties Drop

Sunday, July 15, 2018 Keith Howard 0
You see, as an intro to the piece, I talked about how every man wants to be remembered for his uniqueness, and included comments about three genuine Guinness world-record holders. Among them was—you guessed it—Brad Ladner, who owns the world’s largest collection of Batman collectibles. READ MORE
Opinion

By the Light of Burning Tires I Watched My Life Go By

Sunday, June 3, 2018 Keith Howard 0
As I write this, it was a week ago that I spent my last night in Pittsburg, five miles from the Canadian border, alone outside the Tiny White Box. Wanting to mark the occasion, I built a small campfire in a fire pit as the sun was going down. There, I meditated on what I’ve lived in the last nine months, reviewed the writing I’ve done (and left undone) and thought about the next stage of my journey. READ MORE