From USA Today:
SALEM, Ore. — Vincent Valdez's childhood memories are tinted by the vodka-filled water bottle he brought to class.
“I’ve thrown up a couple of times in the middle of the classroom," he said. "I’ve fallen over on the bus.”
Valdez grew up in what he described as a small Montana mining town. He was enrolled in special education starting in first grade and continuing through middle school. He began drinking around age 10. He barely passed the eighth grade, he said, attributing the accomplishment to his brother helping him complete a report about Yellowstone National Park.
“I’ve always been a slow learner,” he said. “It didn't matter how hard I tried. I would not get it. I can look at a word and, you know, I've seen that word a million times, but I still won't know the definition or how to put it in a sentence or anything like that.” Continue reading >>>
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