WELLESLEY, Mass. – Erik Ainge glances at his wrists whenever he needs a quick pick-me-up during recovery from his painful past.
Tattooed in black ink on the inside of the New York Jets backup quarterback’s left wrist are a series of comforting letters: O.D.A.T., T.T.S.P. and J.F.T.
“The first is ‘One Day At A Time,’” Ainge explained while sticking out his left hand. “The others are ‘This Too Shall Pass’ and ‘Just For Today.’”
Ainge then showed his right wrist, which has “Romans 3:23″ on it — “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” — along with the date 4-1-2009, the first time Ainge tried to beat the addictions that nearly killed him.
“They’re all true,” he said of the tattoos, “and they help me.”
Ainge has been on a tumultuous journey — marked by years of drug and alcohol abuse — that has taken him from high school star in Oregon to big man on campus at the University of Tennessee and all the way to the NFL as a fifth-round draft pick.
But now, he’s here: A recovering drug addict with bipolar disorder and a surgically repaired foot, trying to rebuild his once-shattered life under the roof of his
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