Other Voices

Ed Biittig, who is 72, has been in recovery from alcoholism for over 46 years. He started drinking at age 13 and by the time he was 26 had totaled five cars in drunk-driving crashes — yet was never arrested. For one of those crashes, Biittig says in this week’s podcast, “I had my 3-year-old son in my car. That crash, I could have killed my own son.” Biittig was finally arrested for driving while intoxicated, after nearly swerving into a police car, and tested .20 for blood-alcohol content. He says that East Greenbush Judge Patrick Maney probably saved his life. Judge Maney gave him a choice between jail or enrolling in the new SPARC (St. Peter's Addiction Recovery Center) program. Biittig wears a piece of slate around his neck, inscribed with the date he had his last drink: Valentine’s Day, 1974. He makes slates for others recovering from drug or alcohol addiction. For more than a decade, Biittig has shared his story through the Choices program, founded by Ed Frank in Altamont and now run by Sergeant Tracy Mance with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. School kids, now grown, have told him the difference it made in their lives by telling them about his journey on the road to recovery. Biittig spoke at his brother’s funeral two weeks ago. His brother, who called Biittig his best friend, recently died of COVID-19. “Nine days later, his wife died,” he said. Biittig believes he caught COVID-19 at his brother’s funeral. Biittig faces his demons every day, counting each sober day — over 17,000 — as a victory. His advice to others who are battling addictions: “I don’t care if you’ve tried to stop drinking or drugs 10 times, there’s the 11th time.”