Twenty Two

December 31, 2016 – LIVE! With Tony on Sobriety and a Sober New Years!

New Tweet From Tony Stark TStark "Tune in to my YouTube channel on New Year's Eve to bring in the New Year – Starting to stream live at 9p EST. See you then!"

Promptly, at nine, Tony's YouTube went live.

He looked down at the window in shock.

"Wow, so many already. My team had to put the slow scroll thing on the comments, so I will try and answer your comments as much as I can!" Tony smiled. "Welcome, everyone to a Sober New Years!" He threw out his arms. "So, I have a webcam set up and I will periodically sit down to answer some questions but I'll be moving around and such. Well, anyways, welcome back to my channel, I'm Tony Stark and I am an engineer." He peered at the screen. "When did I become addicted to alcohol? Going right for it, huh?" He teased. "No, it's a very valid question. Well, I think this should start with who my parents were. My mother, who I've talked about on this channel, she did a lot of good for the community and for me… but my father pushed me into boarding school as soon as he could…and put drinks in my hand whenever my mother wasn't watching, or my butler Jarvis. Which yes, my first AI was named after." Tony paused and took a sip of water. "He would tell me that I wasn't a real man if I didn't drink that drink and it became me trying to impress him, that I could drink…but that never happened. He was never happy with anything I did, anything I said and eventually I stopped trying. But the alcohol dependency stayed with me. It never went away. I never drank whiskey again but preferred bourbon. Since I have been working with Dr. Cho, I haven't had a drink and to be quite honest, I feel so much better. Alcohol just weighs your spirit down, weighs my body down…So here is to a sober year!" He raised his water glass to the camera.

Tony peered at another question.

"Will I have Peter on again soon?" Tony rubbed his chin. "Well, he was just in the last video, you greedy little things… Peter does have school and internship responsibilities but perhaps soon we can do another video together." Tony leaned in and read through a few comments. "Do I miss Pepper?" He pulled back. "Yes, of course I miss her but we see each other still and despite being broken up, it was for a good reason. I wasn't in a place that I could be there for her as she needed at that time. And I needed her in different ways that she found it hard to comply. We both love each other but it wasn't in the cards." He looked at another comment. "Do you miss Captain America?" He read off. "I have to be honest. I have not thought about him in months. We were friends, teammates but we actually didn't know each other that well. So, I think he would feel the same if I asked him, which I do not plan on doing."

He got up from his chair and moved into the kitchen behind him.

"It's a little tradition my mother and I did on New Year's we would make gnocchi!" He showed a dough. "Its made from potatoes and flour and other things along those lines… We pan fry the little dough pillows and then drizzle a brown butter sauce over it."

Tony finished his dish and brought it over to the camera. "Looks nice huh?" He peered at the camera.

"You should be a chef." Tony laughed at one of the comments. "Nah. Too much work and I'm pretty happy with my life right now. I'm good. Restaurant industry is tough."

He took a bite of his gnocchi and rolled his eyes back at the taste. "Wish you guys could taste this, so good." He continued eating for a few minutes. "Well, what else would you guys like to know?" He looked at the comments. "Oh, here's a good one. Do you like Harley or Peter more." He paused to think before smirking. "I love them both equally. They're great kids. Very intelligent, very kind, very protective. I love Harley and I love Peter. Can't pick a favorite." He read on. "Which one would be more likely to have a hidden superhero identity?" Tony paused. "Hm…Very good question. I think again, both! They've both had to depend on one parent or an aunt and uncle instead of their parents which really forces them to grow up quite quickly and they're very independent and self-reliant with a strong opinion on justice and vengeance. So, I think both of them could possibly have a secret." Tony gasped. He leaned in and looked either way before continuing. "Do you think one of them has a superhero name?" He shook his head. "I mean, kids wouldn't become secret superheroes, would they?" He shivered. "Scary thought."

Tony continued eating the gnocchi and reading a few more comments.

"Here's an interesting one. What does alcohol addiction feel like? Well, I would wake up and the first thing I would want is a drink. And I'm not talking like water, coffee, wine – I'm talking hard liquor. Hard alcohol – it ended up that I couldn't even think, invent, work – do anything other than always have a drink in my hand. And lots of people around me enabled it. Told me I had to go to these parties, have a drink with this investor, this contract we needed to close with a bottle of vodka…I realize those people didn't care about me…But I have people who care now and more than that I care about myself…But back to the alcohol dependency. You literally cannot think, cannot focus on anything except the alcohol. When I was hospitalized, it was a blessing in disguise, because I got sober and once I was, it was easy to get rid of all my alcohol. I can look at it and remember all the times with my father, with my head in a toilet and I can honestly say I don't want to go back."

Tony peered at the screen. "Did you mean what you said to Peter about alcohol?" He nodded surely. "I absolutely meant what I said to Peter and it applies to any kids I know or are watching. Don't become addicted. Drugs do weird stuff to your brain. Whether it is hard drugs, alcohol or even caffeine – it causes crazy stuff to your pain when you try to stop being addicted to it. It's bananas."

He peered at the screen, leaning in.

"Wow, it's almost midnight already! I'll answer one more question and then we will count down! What's next for my YouTube channel. Well…You'll be meeting more of Peter's friends, I'll have some guests, some videos with Peter, more reviews and science abound! I'm very excited about what 2017 will have to bring!" He looked at the camera and saw the countdown dwindling. "Seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!" He jumped to his feet. "No one to kiss this year. Sad. But here's to a great year, lots of healing, inventing and laughter! Salute!" He held up his glass of water.