The poem, according to the author William H. Kintz, is about substance abuse and sobriety.
It was first published in 2005 with the support of the Community Guidance Center and the Public School System. In that same year, Kintz stopped his drinking habit.
He was an alcoholic. Because of his excessive drinking he got five DUI citations, spent 120 days in jail and was fined $4,000 on Saipan.
Kintz said he consumed 700ml of vodka and 12 packs of beer every day.
Statistics have revealed shocking facts about the harmful results of drinking and alcoholism.
A 2002 report stated that every 30 minutes there was one fatality in alcohol-related traffic crashes.
The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences estimated that alcoholism and alcohol abuse in the United States “cost society from $40 billion to $60 billion annually, due to the lost production, health and medical care, motor vehicle accidents, violent crime, and social programs that respond to alcohol problems.”
Kintz said his poem was his way of explaining how he transformed his life.
“I have been clean and sober going for four years now. I lost my car. I almost lost my family. I almost lost everything I had due to substance abuse,” he said.
Every now and then, he added, people come to him to seek his advice.
Kintz is now closely working with Cris Sablan, the substance abuse prevention and addiction services manager, in the campaign against alcoholism and substance abuse.
He said Sablan has helped him a lot.
Born on Oct. 15, 1956, Kintz was raised in Thailand by his retired U.S. Army parents.
He later served in the 25th Infantry Division but was later discharged by the Army.
He moved to Saipan where he became a missionary and traveled to the Philippines to preach but later gave it up.
He is married to Virginia and they are blessed with three sons —Juliver and John who are serving in the Navy and Air Force, and James who is on Guam.
The Kintz family is currently residing in San Antonio.
Kintz, the official Thai interpreter at the local courts and a full-time carpentry, masonry and painting instructor at the Northern Marianas Trades Institute, now wants to publish his first book of poems and thoughts titled “Inspirations and Wise Ramblings.”
He said his work is now being translated into Chamorro, adding that he was told that it could be a good material for the bilingual program of PSS.
