THE PRESSURES OF LEGACY
Virgil Smith is plain spoken and ready to be honest with voters, the press, and himself.
The name ‘Virgil Smith’ had been important to the community for 100 years. His
father, a busy public figure after whom he was named, split from his mother when
Virgil was young. He spent much of his childhood living with either parent or his
grandmother, He worked very hard to live up to everyone’s expectations of him.
Whatever task he was given, he tried to do his best. There were few confidants; few
people around to answer his deeper questions. As the child of a public figure, he knew
it was important to keep his daily worries and family problems to himself.
When older cousins introduced young Virgil to alcohol at the age of 12, it would begin
a lifetime of challenges and addiction that would shape so much of his life. Books and
alcohol were how the middle-schooler, then teenager learned to privately deal with
life’s disappointments. He continued to do his best in school. Drinking was something
to be glossed over and hushed up. But quietly, the alcohol took over his life.
Despite the challenges with alcoholism, he served as a member of the Michigan
House of Representatives from 2003 to 2008. He served the three terms allowed under
current term limits law. In 2010 he was elected to the Michigan Senate to fill the seat
formerly held by Samuel "Buzz" Thomas, who left the Senate due to term limits.
In 2014 he was involved in a serious accident while riding in the back of an UBER
taxi. He often took steps like taking taxis to stay out of harm’s way. The car was T-
boned, flipped over and Virgil sustained a traumatic brain injury in the accident. But
he says, his judgement had become so clouded by his use of alcohol, he didn’t realize
he had been injured.
In 2015, it all caught up with him. He checked himself in for treatment. “You have to
take it one day at a time,” he said. “You’re never really cured. Addiction is real,” he
said.
By being mindful and surrounding himself with stability and supportive people and
groups, he says he is ready to get on with a life of service.
CONT’D