1 Year Coin

To travel from cache to cache.  

There's a story behind this particular coin.  But first, let's discuss the coin in general.  This is a 1 year sobriety coin often referred to as a  chip.  When someone reaches a milestone in time of their sobriety (1 month, 1 year, 5 year) they are often given a reminder of that achievement in the form of a coin. This particular coin was given to me and I've never been an alcoholic.  

In my job as a police officer I have constant contact with addicts of all kinds. There was a particular drunk who I will call Joe.  Joe's addiction was extreme.  I would frequently find him in all states of inebriation throughout the town I am charged with protecting.  From driving while intoxicated, being suicidal and even rolling on the ground in his own feces.  Joe had hit bottom a long time ago and kept digging.  In a final act of frustration on my part, and a half hearted willingness on his part, I took him to a sober living home known for hard cases.  This home only takes the worst of the worst.  That was a little over a year ago and I hadn't seen Joe since.  I had heard he might have gotten sober but for all I knew he simply found another gutter to lie in.  He recently stopped by the station to thank the officer who dropped him off.  He was too drunk to remember who it was.  My partners remembered him and me taking him there.  Joe dropped off the coin for me as a thank you for saving his life.  Maybe by sharing this coin with the world it will inspire someone else to take that first leap of faith they need in their life.  Sobriety....fear.....faith.........who knows.