Ex-Addict’s Talk Strikes a Chord

Millikan Middle School sixth-graders sat silently in the auditorium, eyes fixed on the man at the microphone.

Lonnie Bushey was that man, a recovering drug addict who was in the middle of recounting a horror story that placed a stoned, disoriented boy on the edge of another school’s roof many years ago.

The room filled with the anticipation of the students and teachers waiting for Bushey to grab the boy off the edge.

“The vice principal reached out to him and for some reason, he jumped up, lost his balance and fell,” Bushey said as some students shielded their faces from the unseen tragedy. “He landed on his head, damaged his spine. He was in a coma for a few days and then he died.”

Bushey paused.

“All these years later, I feel like I killed him. I was the one who gave him the drugs and got him high.”

Those were the kinds of tales Bushey shared with the Millikan students this week in an effort to teach them the importance of making good decisions.

Bushey told of being in jail and of living on the streets. He explained how, even after all these years, he still suffers memory loss and paranoia from the drug abuse.

“I’m not here to tell you what to do,” Bushey said. “I’m here to tell you that you have to take responsibility for actions. I’m here to tell you that you have to be willing to pay the price for your actions.”

Bushey said he used drugs and alcohol for 17 years, starting at age 6, drinking whiskey with his father. He has been speaking to student groups across the nation for 11 years.

This week’s program at Millikan was sponsored by Mike Monteleone, a Sherman Oaks real estate broker.

“I saw his program for parents once and it woke me up,” Monteleone said. “I had no idea I knew so little about what my sons were going through. I think every parent and student should hear what [Bushey] has to say.”

At the end of the hourlong talk, students discussed what they had just heard.

“He really knows what we go through,” Lindsay Watkins said.

Another student agreed.

“I think because he’s been through so much, kids are more willing to listen to him,” Lauren Bradley said.