Bettin’ Billy walked with a swag
He’d won four grand betting on the nag.
No one else thought she would win
So the pay-off was good for him.
He looked around and saw a good-time girl
They had ten days in a delightful whirl.
Laid down some money at the next race track
Lost that time, but Billy never looks back.
He still had ten bucks after paying for his lunch
Sneaked in the gate to play his hunch. —
Now Bettin’ Billy with his belongings in a sack,
Can be found hoppin’ cars at the railroad track.
**********************
Sweet aroma 
I pressed like because this a story extremely worthwhile and the poem is delightful. I wish I could press sad on this occurrence and so many more. I was a school counselor and remember many such moments where you shake your head in wonder at the weakness of people. No reflection on addiction. Just weak resolves and inability to make wise choices. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for this confirming comment from someone else who has seen people pushed beyond understandable limits. When the addiction first begins, the victim has no idea of becoming its “victim.”
That’s terribly sad. And I know of other sad stories involving gambling and broken families. J.
So true. No community of people seem to be free from some kind of bondage.
I agree with Lisa–I wish I could press ‘sad.’ The disease of addiction is tearing our society apart…
Indeed it is sad. Like all addictions it has a beginning. No one starts out to be a slave to any form of addiction.
For sure.
Such a sad story. I wonder how often it repeats itself these days. Especially now that the culture has done an about face and adult children are moving home, grandparents are raising another family, etc. And who are the big losers in all this? The kids, of course. Always the kids.
Kids need stability and that needs to be found in the foundation of the home. Indeed, it is a sorry state we have come into that that is not provided. A result of decades of selfishness. Doin’ it my way!
My family wasn’t immune to this. My grandfather, whom I never knew, was a gambler. I assume he was a good man too, because he had four children who maintained some good core values. However, the gambling led him to leave that family alone to fend for themselves. Whether he left of his own free will; because he was so in debt that he thought it was he only way to protect his family, or if he was done in by those whom he owed money – I will never know the answer, because the secrets remain secrets. This addiction, like all of them, can be overcome. Your story is sad, because the child is the one who suffers most. They almost never come to realize what normal really is.
Sounds like your grandfather and mine had some of the same beginnings; however, mine had a happy ending because of “Meeting the Lord in a Broomcorn Field.” If you have time you might enjoy https://onetahayes.com/2015/11/07/meeting-the-lord-in-the-broom-corn-field/
I also wished there was a sad box to tick. Addiction is indeed still a big curse in the lives of many families in our day.. In my country I think gambling is getting out of control. It seems to be on and in everything. Well expressed story in your blog and thought provoking.
Casinos are rampant here in Oklahoma. Too bad that we look for such things to bring happiness.