A Prodigal Son Returns

It had been a minute since I’ve been to an AA meeting.

So I went. Mostly to celebrate my one year of sobriety, but for some reason I felt I needed to, or should go.

I met one of the older ladies on the way in. Once in, there were more than a few new faces, but a bunch of the regulars as well. I generally like these guys. They are some of the least pretentious people I’ve ever met.

If you’ve never been, there’s always one of the members that lead the meeting. It it not lead by a volunteer or paid leader. They do announcements, and then they usually open up the big AA book, and read it like scripture. But a lot of the time, there is a daily reading they go by. The leader will give some thoughts then open the floor. The idea is to share something related to the reading, although you can say whatever you want.

The older lady I met on the way in led the meeting. She stepped up because whoever signed up to lead failed to post. When it was time to share, she asked for volunteers, but then called on those she knew.

Like me.

So I gave the minute talk on how I got there, and where I am now, and how grateful I was for the group, who were so gracious and welcoming when my life was burning down. Of course, I added the “Lost the wife, my dog died. If I had a pickup repo-ed I’d be a walking talking country song”. I closed with the thought that if I could do it, anyone could.

There was a dude there a week sober whose wife tossed him out, keeping the dogs.

I resonated with someone, and that made my day. It was the reason I felt I needed to go.

I spoke with the dude afterword and told him what I’d read from Vox Day, that keep your head down, stay sober, and bulldoze the next six months and you’ll be in a way better place.

One the way out, the two old lady regulars chastised me to not be a stranger. The 12th step involves helping others, even if it’s by example.

It’s tough to get down to Richardson for noon. But I’ll pick at least one day to post.