The Convention...
As I've mentioned previously, I'm a dedicated member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dedicated not only because it literally saved my life, but also because I like the precepts outlined in our program of recovery and probably most importantly, I just like the people. They're my kinda' people. We're all mostly alike even though some don't have high school eductions and some of us have advanced college degrees. We're still alike.
Like my Army friends, we people in AA have a common set of experiences that are unique to only people like us. Tragic experiences, touching experiences and quite often side splittingly funny experiences. If you have ever known a full fledge drunk then you'll appreciate the situations that only they [we] can get into. You can't make this stuff up.
And so for the last two nights Julie and I have been in attendance at our annual Midland "Mid-Winter AA Conference". We had 800 chairs set up at the Holiday Inn, and the two nights we attended the 8 o'clock speaker meeting......most all of the seats were taken. We invite speakers from all over the country to share their "experience, strenght and hope". That is, their story. The story of what it was like for them to be addicted to alcohol and/or other substances and the story of how they found their way out of this living hell. These are some amazing stories, and like me, many of these speakers count themselves lucky to be alive, much less have bountiful lives today. I don't make it through any one speaker without a tear coming to my eye. A tear of remembrance of how it was for me, how similar parts of my own story are with the speakers, and mainly because of the gratitude I have for AA and the people seated around me...the two things that saved my life and gave me a second chance at things.
I love to go to the conference every year to see people I haven't seen in years, people who are instrumental in my recovery and people who I just like alot. And I/We like to laugh and there is much of that. In fact I recommend that even if you don't have a problem with alcohol that you go to an AA conference some time. You'll learn a little something and you will hear some of the funniest stuff imaginable.
In the AA "Big Book" our real problem is defined as this...."Selfishness and self-centeredness, that we think is the root of our problem". Tonight I got to enjoy a little AA approved self-centeredness, I got to stand up with the "old timers". An old timer being one with more than 10 years of sobriety. We count down by decades. "All those with over 50 years, please stand up"....and believe it or not there are some. Then comes, "all those with between 30 and 40 years.....all those with between 20 and 30 years". And then came my group....."all those with between 10 and 20 years, please stand".
I'll have to confess, it does make me awfully proud to stand up with the old timers. But what it really does is shock the hell out of me to be doing so. Years ago I remember thinking that if I ever got one year completely sober it would be a miracle. If you could have seen what I was like 12 or 13 years ago, you would not have bet a plug nickel that I would even be alive much less clean, sober and happily productive for almost 11 years now. Such is the power of the program of AA and why I love to be among my kind at the convention.
As I've mentioned previously, I'm a dedicated member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dedicated not only because it literally saved my life, but also because I like the precepts outlined in our program of recovery and probably most importantly, I just like the people. They're my kinda' people. We're all mostly alike even though some don't have high school eductions and some of us have advanced college degrees. We're still alike.
Like my Army friends, we people in AA have a common set of experiences that are unique to only people like us. Tragic experiences, touching experiences and quite often side splittingly funny experiences. If you have ever known a full fledge drunk then you'll appreciate the situations that only they [we] can get into. You can't make this stuff up.
And so for the last two nights Julie and I have been in attendance at our annual Midland "Mid-Winter AA Conference". We had 800 chairs set up at the Holiday Inn, and the two nights we attended the 8 o'clock speaker meeting......most all of the seats were taken. We invite speakers from all over the country to share their "experience, strenght and hope". That is, their story. The story of what it was like for them to be addicted to alcohol and/or other substances and the story of how they found their way out of this living hell. These are some amazing stories, and like me, many of these speakers count themselves lucky to be alive, much less have bountiful lives today. I don't make it through any one speaker without a tear coming to my eye. A tear of remembrance of how it was for me, how similar parts of my own story are with the speakers, and mainly because of the gratitude I have for AA and the people seated around me...the two things that saved my life and gave me a second chance at things.
I love to go to the conference every year to see people I haven't seen in years, people who are instrumental in my recovery and people who I just like alot. And I/We like to laugh and there is much of that. In fact I recommend that even if you don't have a problem with alcohol that you go to an AA conference some time. You'll learn a little something and you will hear some of the funniest stuff imaginable.
In the AA "Big Book" our real problem is defined as this...."Selfishness and self-centeredness, that we think is the root of our problem". Tonight I got to enjoy a little AA approved self-centeredness, I got to stand up with the "old timers". An old timer being one with more than 10 years of sobriety. We count down by decades. "All those with over 50 years, please stand up"....and believe it or not there are some. Then comes, "all those with between 30 and 40 years.....all those with between 20 and 30 years". And then came my group....."all those with between 10 and 20 years, please stand".
I'll have to confess, it does make me awfully proud to stand up with the old timers. But what it really does is shock the hell out of me to be doing so. Years ago I remember thinking that if I ever got one year completely sober it would be a miracle. If you could have seen what I was like 12 or 13 years ago, you would not have bet a plug nickel that I would even be alive much less clean, sober and happily productive for almost 11 years now. Such is the power of the program of AA and why I love to be among my kind at the convention.
