Friday, February 20, 2009

This is not a spelling bee




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I got to fill-in as chairperson at the nooner AA meeting yesterday; we talked about and discussed the many freedoms that we have realized in sobriety and recovery

for Tradition 9 and the opportunities offered at various levels of Alcoholics Anonymous

for unlikely scenarios

for old friendships -- my parents were really close friends with another couple for about 30 years. Both my parents died last summer. The gentleman of the other couple died Wednesday, 2 days ago. I will attend his funeral next Monday. I know that death is part of the aging process, both in my own self and in all of those around me. If I live long enough, I'll watch everyone die who I know today. That's kinda weird.


The more a man knows, the more he forgives.
-Confucius

9 comments:

Pammie said...

I agree it feels weird. I just hope when we get to the "BIG" meeting, that it's a topic I really like and not alcoholics pissin' and moanin' that their caskets were 2nd rate.

Scott W said...

Who needs a casket? I have instructed So to wait for a thunderstorm and then spread my ashes over the Woodard plot. The funeral business is one of the biggest rip offs going.

Syd said...

I agree with Scott. Ashes to ashes for me.

Trailboss said...

Yep...that's the plan.

Mary Christine said...

I want to get planted in the earth, in a wooden box. I guess you could say that is my ultimate earthly goal.

Bill said...

Check out www.greenburials.org

Sage Ravenwood said...

Not long after I turned 40 and had to attend 2 funerals in the same year, someone said to me I was at the age I would get used to losing people around me. It was the most uncomfortable statement ever made to me...I still don't like thinking of it that way. (Hugs)Indigo

Unknown said...

HOW IT JERKS :
Rarely have we seen a person fail who thoroughly followed us home. Those who are not BRAINWASHED are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this garbage, usually men and women who are constitutionally capable of thinking for themselves.

There are such fortunate’s. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born premature. They are naturally capable of building and developing muscles, which demands rigorous training. Their chances are 6/4 on.

There are those, too, who are gravediggers and undertakers, but many of them do become ZOMBIES if they have the capacity to be dishonest.

Our stories disclose in a twisted way, who we like, what happened, and who we hate now. If you have decided you want a cup of tea and are willing to go to any lengths to become emotionally shutdown, SHAPE SHIFTING REPTILES - then you are ready to take certain steps.

At some of these we balked, we thought we could find someone to 13TH STEP, and we knew, we could. With all the madness at our command, we beg of you to become BILL WILSON CLONES - from the very start.

Some of us have tried to hold on to our BIG BOOKS and the result was nil until we let go of our SPONSORS.

Remember that we deal with alcohol, frothy, bubbly, and powerful! without help it is too much for us. But there is one who has all power that one is the BARMAN. May you find Him now!

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the bar. We asked
The BARMAN for a couple of stiff vodka's.

Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program to INSANITY :
1. We admitted we were powerless over COCA-COLA, and decided to drink PEPSI, instead.
2. Came to believe that COLD POWER was a detergent.
3. Made a decision to turn our heads when we saw an attractive BLONDE.
4. Did a BODY SEARCH of the new members.
5. Admitted to our DOG, to elves, and to another super being the exact nature of our PONGS.
6. Were entirely ready to have SUPERMAN remove the effects of kryptonite.
7. Humbly asked CLARK KENT to remove our brains.
8. Made a list of all persons who owed us money, and became willing to charge them interest.
9. Made direct HITS wherever possible, except when someone moved the target.
10. Continued to talk CRAP and when we were wrong, promptly talked more CRAP.
11. Sought through our mail and computer to improve our conscious contact with BATMAN, as we understood him, praying only for knowledge of ROBIN and the return of SPIDERMAN.
12. Having had a STROKE as the result of these steps, we tried to carry out the GARBAGE, and fell flat on our backs.

Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain their homes and 13th STEP the newcomers, at the same time.

We are not psychopaths. The point is that we are willing to become PSYCHOTIC, the principles we have set down are guides to psychosis. We claim that BILL WILSON was a PSYCHOPATH.

Our description of the landscape, the chapter to the GNOSTIC, and our family photos before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we wereUGLY and could not manage our own appearance.
(b) That probably no PHOTOGRAPHER could have improved our looks.
(c) That a PLASTIC SURGEON could and would if he were sought.

Unknown said...

HAVE YOU TRIED FISHING,
dAAve?
Not your common or gardening angling, but “reel fishing”! Not with worms or artificial flies, but with “real meat”, like the 12
STEPS
or the BIG BOOK.

We used to do it every summer…well! It was your summer and our winter. You’ve probably gathered that I used to live in Australia.

We’d hire this boat, quite a big one it was, Ethel and the kids, Bill 44 and Bob…he’d be 37 by now. We’d do a picnic basket – lovely it was, our 5th Step, sobriety dates, drinking stories, a couple of bottles of wine and
the 12 x 12.

And off we’d sail over the reef. The sun would beat down, often the sea would be as calm…no calmer than the 12th STEP and we’d just drift.

We’d put our lines over then and just wait – play AA tapes, talk crap, and ring our SPONSORS. Wonderful it was. Mind you, Ethel, didn’t care for the bait, it was the smell you see and the sight of HOW IT WORKS cluttering up the deck. “Micky”, she’d say! “The AA PROGRAM is putting me off my dinner”!

Well, it didn’t bother me or the kids, it wasn’t like that, the, OXFORD GROUP had delivered it quite fresh but Ethel used to say that CHAPTER 5 “sneered” at her and made noises, offensive noises, when the gases escaped from its crap.

The kids loved that “Mum”! They’d say when it did it – “RARELY HAVE WE SEEN A ZOMBIE FAIL WHO HAS THOROUGHLY FOLLOWED OUR PATH”!

Well she didn’t like that, not Ethel, strict SATANIST, she was, thought it was very disrespectful. She would go into one of her sulks and it would last for “bloody hours”.
Mind you, she did get a bit more excited when Bill shared his story.

Well she had to with Bill frothing at the mouth and banging his fist against the side of the boat. And then there would be more…Bob got into the act, tearing chunks out of the 12 Steps, spitting everywhere, snapping at Bill. But I don’t think she really approved, not Ethel.

She said it was senseless 13th STEPPING. Well I suppose it was if you look at it that way! But there are lots of 12 STEP PROGRAMS aren’t, there?

It went wrong when Bill did the 9th Step! Huge it was, more like the 5th step, really. Again and again he raved on like a psychopath, but he wouldn’t shut up. Clever “bugger”! He had learned you see.

Well I was determined that I was going to do a personal INVENTORY. I threw the BIG BOOK, all the picnic stuff in the water.

Bill went mad; I’d never seen him so upset. He tore the rod out of its restraints and hurled it in the water. I didn’t stop to think, that’s always been my problem, “being sober” – Bill followed the rod! Well!

He was gone in “two bites” and I didn’t catch the PROGRAM. It seemed to know; it sort of “grinned” at me and then just made off. Bob wasn’t too pleased either…he’d missed his higher power!!

HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
HA! HA! HA!HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!