Bye Bye Brougham

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


for some closer-than-usual and more personal fellowship this past week or so

for Tradition One of Alcoholics Anonymous --- "Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity." We spent an hour discussing that yesterday morning at the 6:30am meeting I attend.

that I'm getting to know the guy inside me a bit better each day

that I sold one of my fine cars yesterday. I'm gonna miss it. I over-extended a bit last year and am needing to downsize. I paid a pretty hefty price for driving the pictured car for only 4 months. I'm not a very good car guy as I buy with emotion instead of practical sense. Oh well.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.
- Zhuangzi

Honesty -- really?

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I had a full weekend of fellowship -- both with friends in and out of the program

that people trust me enough to handle large amounts of cash -- unsupervised! LOL

that I can resist almost everything, except temptation

that my Corvette actually won 1st place in its category (1970-1979 vintage cars) at a local car show


I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.
- Thomas Jefferson

Starting a new week

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for some courage to change

that I do so many things differently now than I did before I got sober

for the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous - without it, why stay sober?

for hours spent at an automobile auction where I really had to practice some discipline so as NOT to sell my car at a low price. I am just going to keep it for now because the market is very weak. If you're interested in buying a used/collector car, it's a buyer's market and you can make some good investments now.

for Astros baseball games and the guys I go there with

We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Going, going ...

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I woke up sober this morning, again

that I'm teachable, still

that I taught middle school for my first year out of college. I was 22 years old. My students were 12-14 years old. Hell, I was only 8 years older than they were. I'm glad it was only a year. I went on to bigger and better things and found a career in the oil & gas industry.

for a nice, really productive day yesterday

that one of my cars, the 1984 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz pictured above, is in an auction later today with 400 other collector autos. I bought this car last October in Denver. It's beautiful and in excellent condition. I just don't have the space for it any longer.


The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson.
- Tom Bodett

going forward

another aircraft flies into a building




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'm not as young as I used to be and I'm not as old as I'll get to be

that I'm slowly (slower than I would have expected) getting back into a normal morning routine after (1) having a colonoscopy (2) having bronchitis for 3 weeks

that life happens, day after day whether I like it or not; let's see if I can respond in a positive way

that I now have my newest used car inspected and licensed and finally, cleaned really well (pictures soon, if you wish)

that I posted early today because I have a busy morning. I am going to be at the gym at 0500, followed by an 0630 AA meeting, then breakfast with fellow AA'ers. Then I have an appointment 50 miles away with my mortgage broker as I continue trying to re-finance my home. Then back to Lambda Center for a 12:15p AA meeting before joining other AA'ers for lunch. Whew!! I'm tired already. A good kinda tired.


I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then.
- Lewis Carroll

On to Year Eight

I'll post a few pictures of unusual autos this week.

This is a 1941 Chrysler Thunderbolt.




todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for a newcomer on a Sunday morning -- someone who says he only drank to help his insomina

that more shall be revealed (LOL)

that I still like to suit up and show up -- I enjoy AA meetings, every one of them. They rejuvenate me.

that I had a very quiet day yesterday - the 7th anniversary of my sobriety

for the fellowship of recovery


Opportunities multiply as they are seized.
- Sun Tzu

Sold! I hope.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for some good exercise over the weekend, both in the gym and outside in the yard. Damn, it's hot though.

that I have been going out of my way to contact some friends who've relapsed. I hear their excuses and am learning some really f***ed up ways of thinking.

that we don't have toilet rings

that I sold one of my collector cars on eBay - now I just hope the buyer pays as promised.

Quotations help us remember the simple yet profound truths that give life perspective and meaning.
- Criswell Freeman

What a man's garage should look like

2 rants

Automotive Atrocities -- click here!


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I am blessed and lucky. You are too. Much too often, I hear or read people say that they have more than they deserve. I don't think this way. I believe that we humans deserve to feel good and to enjoy life. Many of us, however, choose to behave in ways that take away those opportunities. Then when good times come along, we feel underserving. Balderdash!

that I removed the word "hate" from my vocabulary. I hear people talk about hating God, about hating politicians, about hating BP, etc... All that hatred seems so negative and takes sooooooooo much energy. For no reason other than to fuel resentments.
I might not like what I may perceive that God has put before me, about the behavior of politicians or what the current oil spill is doing to the environment. But I don't hate anyone or anything.


I have learned through bitter experience the one supreme lesson: to conserve my anger, and as heat conserved is transmitted into energy, even so our anger controlled can be transmitted into a power that can move the world.
- Mahatma Gandhi

being there

I thought I'd share a few more pictures of the car and boat show from the weekend.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the accountability I gain from having an AA sponsor and from working Step 10

that I can be helpful even when I don't really try; many times, just showing up is all it takes

that I'm a bit less sensitive than I used to be; at least I don't seem to overreact like the old days


If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.
- Booker T. Washington

"I feel free"

A few of the beauties at a Buick Club picnic yesterday.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the Lois Wilson Story last night on the telly; I thought it was really more about Bill, but I enjoyed it

for the passing of another Lambda Center birthday night

that I got to see a friend who moved away about 3 years ago; he's in Houston visiting for a few days from Hawaii

that we have a spare bedroom that another ex-Lambda friend will be using for 2 days while visiting here from NYC

that I get to visit with my therapist today - we haven't talked in over 3 months (because I have not really needed it). Today, we'll just do a life update.


In prosperity, our friends know us; in adversity, we know our friends.
- John Churton Collins

Bugs, Meetings and Forgiveness

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I'll get an extra dose of recovery medicine today

that I am able to attend the first meeting of the day, each day, at Lambda Center. I do this 7 days/week, almost without fail.

that we've had first-time newcomers 3 days-in-a-row at our noon meetings this week

for the grins and smiles I witness when folks look at my old '61 VW Bug. It seems that about everyone over 40 years-old has a Bug story.


The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.
- Mohandas Gandhi

don't eat the bread

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the simplicity of Tradition Three -- "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking." Alcoholics Anonymous could not lower its standards much farther than that!

that I attend a meeting where we read and discuss the AA traditions on a regular basis

that for good memories of my Mom who died 19 months ago. She got to see me sober for 5 years and I'll be forever grateful for that.

that I am involved in a car show tomorrow that will have approximately 1000 vehicles on display, including one of mine (and the weather forecast is near perfect!)

You are not stuck where you are unless you decide to be.
- Dr. Wayne Dyer

the car obsession continues

My newest toy. It's a 1961 Beetle in very decent condition. It's very basic, which makes it a lot of fun to drive.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that I don't always create drama when the opportunity presents itself (this did not used to be the case)

for patience that I did not used to have

for helpful thoughts that I did not used to have


A broken heart is what makes life so wonderful--five years later.
- Phyllis Battelle

The Total Entertainment Package

A 1961 Lincoln Continental Presidential convertible allegedly used by President Kennedy. It still has the special radio equipment under the dashboard and a telephone in the back seat area.

This was one of the autos on display in the classics section of the 2010 Houston Auto Show this past weekend.


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that someone whose recovery I much admire made a point of emphasizing that the Big Book says we "claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection." Many people seem to remove the word "spiritual" from that phrase. They then use this as a reason or excuse to do less than their best. Am I wrong to point this out?

that we celebrate sober birthdays on the last Saturday of each month at Lambda Center. January saw 39 celebrants with a total of 527 years of sobriety. It was amazing to be around all that recovery.

that I can accept the fact that the world sometimes seems to be passing me by -- I say this after watching the Grammy Awards last night. I'm not familiar with many of the performers or songs.

that I had a good time at the Auto Show with a recovery friend

that title of this blog is one of my phavorite frases (I think I coined it several years ago)

We cannot hold a torch to light another persons path without brightening our own.
- Ben Sweetland

Goodness (is) Gracious!

How I spent my Sunday afternoon. A small get-together of Riviera owners. Mine is the red/black one.

On the top picture, from left to right, they are 1963, 64, 64, 65, 66 and 1982 Riviera's.

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the Houston Roundup (AA convention) which happens over the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend. Their largest fundraiser was Saturday night, a Drag Auction. The costumes are auctioned off after each performance. It was very entertaining and raised over $4000.

that I went to see my friend Rodney W in a stage play as he expands his acting career.

for fellowship before and after meetings; it's essential to my recovery and probably yours too

that I get to meet more people outside the program (normies) through my car obsession hobby

It is a funny thing about life: If you refuse to accept anything but the best you very often get it.
- Somerset Maugham

for your eyes (only)

Twitter is lighting up at the moment with the uncovering of this video of the Heene family boys, better known to the world as the "balloon family", in which they rap about the "pussification" of American men and boast "I hate gay faggots, I (kill? hit?) 'em with a bat." Or something like that. You judge at the 2:40 mark. Immediately following, the kid unmistakably speaks about throwing a rock at a "faggot" in a tree. These children definitely need to be removed from the custody of their parents.

borrowed from the blog of Joe.My.God.



todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful


that I am my own person, no matter what you think

for self-commitments

for a weekend of perfect weather

that I had the courage to walk through a small fear -- I attended and entered my Riviera in a car show. I went by myself and was there for about 5 hours. There were 253 other entries, so I was kinda lost in the crowd (a good thing). I had a number of compliments on my car, but I also know that it's nowhere near "car show quality". All in all though, I'm glad I did it. And I got really sunburned.


Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.
- Will Rogers

2231 days after stopping drinking alcohol ...

Tooth Plaque under an electron microscope

Brush your teeth often because this is what the surface of a tooth with a form of plaque looks like.






todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for another day to practice the principles -- I like doing that.

that I don't have to be anybody but me

that doubting God's existence was not a barrier to a spiritual experience
see Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition, page 374

that my sponsor knows me so well (that didn't happen accidentally)

that I was able to get my new (used) Caddy inspected, titled and registered easily

Speak when you're angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret.
- Lawrence J. Peter

Promises

todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

for the Promises as laid out on pages 83 and 84 of Alcoholics Anonymous (the Big Book)

that I'm flying to Denver this morning to pick up my newly-purchased Caddy. I will meet up with Mary Christine and we'll go to one of her favorite AA meetings before I leave for home.

that going to an AA meeting was a no-brainer for me when I planned this short trip (I could have had the car shipped to Houston but I wanted to visit Mary's home.)

that the neighborhood in which I live, MONTROSE, in Houston, was named one of the top ten great neighborhoods in the USA. But I already figured that.

that I joined Classic Chassis Car Club - primarily for gay and lesbian car lovers and collectors in the Houston area

I may not post tomorrow morning. But I have pre-posted and pre-dated a post for Saturday because the date is special to me and I wanted to share it with you.


A champion is someone who gets up, even when he can't.
- Jack Dempsey

Literature

(this video has nothing to do with literature, but I think it's kind of funny)


todAAy i AAm grAAteful & thAAnkful

that the meetings I attend DO NOT allow excessive talk of Jesus or any particular religion; if they had, I would have run out of those rooms as fast as possible

that we read TIGHTROPE yesterday in the Big Book meeting. It's a story in the 4th edition, page 359. Here's a few excerpts that I really identify with ...

... Alcohol helped me to hide my fears; the ability to converse was an almost miraculous gift to a shy and lonely individual.
... My sponsor was gentle with me. He did not push his opinions on me. He had the sense to see that I was so afraid and so used to being alone that I could not face a "hard sell" approach.
... But once a conversation starts, communication frequently continues.

that I bought a classic Caddy yesterday (on eBay) and will pick it up in a couple of days. Some details on that soon.

Know that you are your greatest enemy, but also your greatest friend.
- Jeremy Taylor