A memory from Childhood about alcohol

I was never around any alcohol in the little Texas town I was raised in. Our church was a strict small Baptist church. No shorts or pants, dancing, movies, etc.. It was amazing we could watch the TV as I look back. I did not even know what the ads on TV were about when it showed beer and such.
The first time that I ever saw anyone drunk was when we were at my grandmother's in Hillsboro. I was maybe about 5. We hadn't been there long when there was a horrible crash! Someone had hit our parked car at a high speed. He was drunk & was walking around. We all went outside. I remember seeing him, stumbling around among everyone that had come out to see what had happened. The police were there, too. I caught his eye & I saw that he had only one arm. He was a sight! Suddenly, my mom gathered my brother & I inside because we shouldn't see or be around a drunk. No telling what he might do next!
I know I heard lots of talk about it after that & over the years but I don't remember any of it. He had no insurance and neither did we so I don't know what we did for a car but it was a mess. It is just good he had not come along when we had just gotten there or he would have probably killed us all.
Still, I can see him today over 40 years later. I have seen many more drunks since but he is the most vivid. What makes people drink like that? That was the one time that I was impacted directly by it. I never thought I would ever be again. I sure know what it is to suffer & be unhappy. That is just not one solution that I can believe helps. Or is fun. I truly think the only thing that does any good is to talk, to hug, & to hold on to each other. And to pray. These don't numb us though. They make us feel. It is easier to run, hide, escape, or drink & drug away, escape in sex or some weirdness or another than to face up to things. I ran away many times. And I learned alot on the journey. But you can only run so far. From that point, you either stand your ground or give up. You can't run forever.
I often wonder what happened to that one armed man. Did he die in a drunken wreck someplace else? Did his liver give out or did he get cancer? Some other awful death? Or maybe he found his strength in himself. Stood his ground one day. Found his peace. Maybe through the help of a little girl's eyes. I would like to think so. The other would be such a waste. Loving someone like that breaks many hearts. They least know, their own.