WIPED OUT!

Steveroni just WIPED OUT tonight...back tomorrow. Sorry, peeps!
Bless you.
Love.

TRIVIA

Earthworms are 72% protein, and less than 1% fat. If they were prescribed as the only food in your diet, you'd lose weight, sure enough. I'd starve maybe!

DUCKS AND THINGS!

MOMMA MUSKOVI DUCK UPDATE

Momma Duck "Smiley Face" is still sitting on her eggs, sometimes standing over them, as if they're ready to hatch. I'm betting sometime within a week. She goes off nest twice each day to look for water, and a bite to eat--she refused our Ezekiel Bread! It will be fun to send you all a photo of the ducklings. It will also be fun to use our front door again.

The males have left her alone now, never see them "hangin' 'round any more". She is V.E.R.Y. protective. So when I approach Smiley, I talk in a gentle voice, reassuring her that I mean no harm, that all is well, that God will take care of her and us, and not to fear me.

Know what? She just settles in there and looks at me like she understands. All those years on the farm, ducks were just egg factories and/or dinner. Smiley has become one of the family. (I even told her I love her, and I believe she winked!) F.Y.I.-- PG did hear me say that to Smiley!

SOME AA SAYINGS--NOT!

For today's blog I just had to get un-serious for a change. OK?

TEACHER: Remember children..."I" before "E", except in Budweiser.

Not all chemicals are bad. Without chemicals such as hydrogen and oxygen, for example, there would be no way to make water, a vital ingredient in beer.
-Dave Barry

"Cocaine isn't habit forming. I should know, I've been taking it for years."
-Tallulah Bankhead

"Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut."
-Ernest Hemmingway

"You can tell German wine from vinegar by the label."
-Mark Twain

"I would never do crack... I would never do a drug named after a part of my own ass, okay?" -Dennis Leary

I drink to forget I drink

Alcohol was necessary for me so that I could have a good opinion of myself, undisturbed by the facts.

Once, during Prohibition, I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.

The problem with some people is that when they aren't drunk, they're sober. - William Butler Yeats

Liquor made me feel the way I ought to feel without liquor. – Henry Lawson

I’m not as think as you drunk I am. – Unknown

I don't suffer from stress. I'm a carrier.

This is me: "I don't get resentments. I give them." (That's the truth! I'm not necessarily proud of this.)

And here is my favorite "truth"...spoken by a recovered alcoholic:
"The dead drug leaves a ghost behind. At certain times it will haunt the house."

TRIVIA:

Note: Do not know if this is still true:

Police in Helsinki, Finland rarely give parking tickets. They just let the air out of the tires.

Will y'all stay sober with me today? GOOD!

FRIENDS FOREVER!

Note to "xxx"
...Forgive easily, laugh joyfully, and serve
others with Love and compassion.
There happiness is.
And keep writing.
US

FELLOWSHIP OR FRIENDSHIP

Tuesday I chair the 8 AM "Early Risers" AA meeting. It is the one for which I was a 'no-show' last Tuesday. Do you remember the meeting in which I apologized the next day, and they looked at me as if to say, "Whatcha talkin' 'bout, man?" What a beautiful moment in my week! A moment of virtue being learned.

Anyway, topic tomorrow is about FRIENDS in AA, and what they mean to me. My AA friends mean more to me than all 'friends' before. These are the people--finally--who accept me at face value, who neither fame nor defame, neither applaud nor blame, neither rate, nor berate. They only share out of love.

Friends, the night after my first AA meeting--I did not even know their names--came to the cocktail lounge where I worked and sat at the bar, in what I figured was the AA way to 'police' their own. How wrong was I! They (usually three guys) came in to be supportive for me, at my job, which was pouring a tank-truck-load of alcohol into glasses for people to drink. In fact, these bar visits by my new AA friends probably are a huge reason why I did not drink since the night before my first AA meeting, a long time ago.

So many who helped, spent time--and money, so many who lent their expert advice, so many who did actual physical labor at my house, so many who patiently tolerated my ranting , my lengthy 'shares', my stupid perspectives, my truth-stretching, so many of these are friends today. Most who were here when I first walked into the room, have passed on. But I find myself frequently quoting them, verbatim, though I do not remember who said what...nor when.

Without friends like mine from sober day one, I would not have had "sober day TWO"! I would not be here today. And so for me there is but one goal left...that is to pass it on, help others to recover from alcoholism. And I only can do that by practicing certain principles in ALL my living of life today. Yep, those Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. A spiritual way of living.

In several areas (family?) I have run into brick walls, walls that maybe I have built. God will either remove them, or let them be. He has not yet 'talked' to me about that -grin! Or perhaps I've not listened to the Spirit-Voice.

Back to topic: FRIENDS.

Fellowship means Friendship. I prefer the friendly term, maybe because I felt so friendless for so many years. So empty. So alone. So forsaken, so abandoned. SO DRUNK! I chose the prison I had built for myself, to be the place where i should die. Death did not come. It did not happen. God intervened. New friends, many of whom had lost everything, saw in me something worth saving. And there I was. God intervened. And here I am.

Two of the alcoholics I know have mountain homes, one in Colorado, one in North Carolina. We have a standing invitation to visit, and enjoy what they have worked so hard for. Isn't that just miracle stuff? For me, it is.

And now, with some years of sobriety, God has sent me to you bloggers. What a profound difference you have made in my life. I have a new motivation to write, to learn, to share, to just be among you. I have learned how to better meditate, pray, spread happiness and good cheer, relate and identify with the new person in the room. I am learning where God is, and where He is not.

Without you bloggers, and our unseen but extremely personal and spiritual relationships, my life today might not be overflowing with love, and I might not be eternally grateful. I might never have translated gratitude into action.

PRAYER REQUEST

Two specific matters in the lives of young people close to us which are very disturbing, will be ongoing for some time. And if anyone has room on their prayer list, please add our intentions. Thank you, dear blogger peeps.

Love,
Steve E

TRIVIA

Did you know the literal meaning of Bethlehem? "House of Bread".
WOW!

DA BOMB

NEW DAWN OR NEW WORLD?

My Home group NEW DAWN is where between 60-80 people meet every day at 7 AM. For ten years this was a simple "meeting" without "group" affiliation. Last fall we became a Group, and that's when "stuff" began.

One faction (for want of a better word) was armed and ready for battle. They have pushed through a couple dozen "rules", i.e., nobody allowed to talk beyond 2 minutes. Each business meeting there are constructed and voted more rules, or simple changes in wording of former rules. (Reminiscent of a small bureaucracy.)

Another group wishes for the "old" days when we simply held "group conscience" meetings. They (we) realize the necessity of being a contributing group. Note that all the officer positions are filled, about 30 attend the business meetings, and that is all good. The rub comes here:

Each Thursday we invite a 'speaker' who uses about a half hour, then we discuss anything after that. The last two Thursday-morning speakers shared SO 'from the heart'. They are not "old-timers". Both were slightly nervous, and obviously not versed in the grand art of public speaking. But their (one each of last two Thursdays) messages were clear. They are truly loved by their AA fellow members.

(Briefly!) After each of those Thursday meetings, the chairperson received telephone calls (two different callers), saying he had better get some "better speakers". This has devastated the chairperson, and the speakers, and potential speakers.

Almost all members of the group find the behavior APPALLING! Fear pervades those who might be asked to speak. NOTE: the callers--who broke several Traditions--each are heavily influenced by this group of "old guard" long-timers. Bad scene. This self-righteous group of gurus is called by all--even themselves, proudly--"The Jury"...and yes, there IS a judge.

Maybe it is time for a serious "group inventory" or at the least, some serious 8th and 9th Step work.

We are handling it--you betchum, Red Ryder--but I wanted to put this out there, so every one of us realizes that AA with all its miracled wonderful goodness, experiences some member-waywardness now and then, usually at the group level. But there is not a single cold human heart which cannot be melted by prayer, talking, mediating, more prayer, and finally a splitting of a group...if it comes to that.

And as we know, NOTHING which happens now has not happened before. And survival of Alcoholics Anonymous has prevailed through all these nearly 75 years.

The marvelous miracle we witness daily here, upon which we all agree...is that miracle of one drunk talking to another drunk--and both staying sober. Praise God!

Peace and Love, blogger peeps...
Steve E

TRIVIA

Unnoticed sounds pitched too low for the human ear to recognize, still can make people sad. How sad!

LOVE 'N STUFF

STEVE E THINKING
(I know that is unhealthy)

Just some Saturday night thoughts--no story tonight. I'm in a reflective mode. Cannot say more, because 'Big Brother'--actually, 'Little brother' is watching...

First a short one:

A woman at a bank asked the cashier to cash a check for her.

Citing company policy, the cashier asked for her identification.

The woman gasped. Finally she managed to stutter, "But, but Jonathan, I'm your mother!"

While I might think this is funny, how is it then, I fail to recognize God? God, Who is "Always and Forever" Everywhere? God, Who's very Nature IS Love?

Love is everywhere. Once I have found it...never let it go. I need not seek it, nor discover it, just recognize it. Louis Armstrong sings:

"I see friends shakin' hands
Sayin' "How d'ya do?"
They's just sayin'
"I....Love.....You".

---"What a Wonderful World"

SPECIAL:
And if anyone is in a praying mode today (hopefully, every day?) please pray for PG and Steve E, and for other bloggers who are being challenged these days, and for Mary Christine's safe return home Sunday to those foothills somewhere in the Rockies.

TIP:
Join TSR (The Second Road) sometime today--it's easy. Then come back at 8 PM and join the chat. I'm tellin' ya, if I can do it...ANYONE ( or their dog or cat) can do it! And it IS fun, we'll be there as well as a few other regular bloggers, who shall remain unnamed for the sake of animosity...Say wha?

TRIVIA

"It is a shame that ATHLETICS have become professionalized." Some may agree with Socrates, who said that 2,328 years ago, "somewhere in the foothills of Greece's Pindus Mountain Range".

And yes, you blogger peeps!
Peace to you all, I love you all.
Steve E

Fourth Quarter

FOURTH QUARTER KICK-OFF

FOURTH QUARTER--DON'T GIVE UP

Even in grade school--although I was shunned as a baseball player--I had an edge on playing football. I could lob a pass whole bunches of yards, with fair accuracy. I could fire a short-yardage pass for a quick few yards, or a score. I loved it, (the girls loved it, too!), and, at age of 12, I felt good for the first time since age 5--before I had entered that horrible slice of time called "school".

The guys found out I could throw a football pretty good, and connect to a player at a designated spot, but then came the problem. Fearing injury to my "musician" hands, my parents would not sign for me to play football in high school. Those dreams of being finally accepted by my peers melted into nothingness. High school head coach personally approached to ask me to work out with the team. When I told him I played a violin, he called me a "Sissy", referring to the lowest form of life on earth (if you're a young man, age 14).

So after that, and for 60 years more, life happened. And my life is now in the fourth quarter. The game has not ended, there are passes ahead, yards to gain, downs to play. Every football game is decided in the fourth quarter.

Finishing the game is a matter of heart as much as talent because everybody is spent and this is where desire has to come to the front. You learn a lot about a player and a team in the fourth quarter. Also about life, what is needed to keep the engine purring, until it sputters and dies.

I am learning a lot about myself in the final quarter. There are still blue highways to ride, mountains to climb, sunsets to silhouette, colorful sunrises and flowers to admire, birds and animals to speak with, and peeps to meet and greet.

My very life I owe to Alcoholics Anonymous. I'd so like the time and energy to devote the first part of this fourth quarter to attending meetings up the east coast and into the midwest of U.S., God willing. To this end I am considering a solo trip--exciting to me--of 1000 to 5000 miles, riding my Suzuki scooter.

NOTE: I wrote "CONSIDERING!" OK? But each day I grow more in the belief this can happen. All doctor, dental visits are due within next ten days. And I now have a genuine U.S. passport--which will get me in and out of the state of Georgia -grin!

YA NEVER KNOW!

Prayers for me now, please. I need them. Thank you.
Peace.
Steve E

TRIVIA

Q. Isn't the Cape of Good Hope the southernmost tip of Africa?

A. Nope. Cape Agulhas, 90 miles away, is 32 miles farther south.

Source: L. M. Boyd's "CURIOSITY SHOP"

HAPPINESS IS WITHIN

HAPPINESS IS WITHIN EACH OF US

FLASH FICTION FRIDAY 55
Friday Flash 55 is a story
written in exactly 55 words.
Let the G-Man know if you write one
and read the ones of your fellow writers.

"HAPPINESS"

What can I do to acquire happiness?

Nothing!

Why?

You already have happiness.

Why do I not feel so happy?

Because you are busy creating unhappiness.

How do I get what is already mine?

Rid yourself of unhappiness.

How?

Discover what causes unhappiness, and look at that resolutely.

Unhappiness will then delete itself. Happiness remains!

NOTE: It's possible that writing a Flash 55 once-in-a-while will
train me to write blogs of less length than my usual four pages!
The ideas expressed here were obtained from Anthony De Mello,
"The Way To Love"

Today, let us enjoy Peace, Sobriety, and Love for one another.

Love you, Peeps!
Steve E

TRIVIA

The sperm whale sometimes dives as deep as two miles

HUMILITY

SPECIAL NOTICE "Haunted House" Blogger Rainbow (SueAnn) asked me to inform her peeps that she is OK, and will be away from computer access for one or two weeks

MORE EASY-TO-SWALLOW HUMBLE STUFF

Wednesday was another day of humility for me. I did not go looking for it, but my Pride took a back seat right from the beginning. At a meeting this morning (about 40 people) I announced an apology for not being there Tuesday to chair the meeting as it was assigned.

And you know how many people wondered where is Steve? Not ONE single soul! Isn't that wonderful? I'm serious! You can be so well hidden in the bowels of an AA basement that you can be sick for 3 weeks before someone will offhandedly ask, "Anyone seen Steve around?" Answer: "Nope. Probably out drinkin' somewhere." (And I been here in AA in same town 35 years, peeps!)

The entire group looked at me in wonderment, as if to ask, "What's he talkin' about?" So much for my Pride, my Ego. I needed that early morning fix, believe me. It keeps the ground leveled.

There is a guy attending the early meetings, who has been away for two weeks. He is a popular sort of guy, heavy-duty service type, good sponsor type, solid AA type. he's the kind of guy I wish I had met my first day free of alcohol.

He returned couple days ago from his two weeks "up north". Tomorrow, I'm going to say to him, "I hear you're going 'up north' for two weeks. When do you plan to leave?" (Needs to learn a little humility-grin!)

Remainder of Wednesday vacillated between fun, easy-to handle stuff, to a personal issue which may take years to resolve. Maybe that is what will keep me living to the old, ripe stage of age. Pride really took a beating and humility came out the winner. I am glad. I am sober. I am free.

Maybe we all can be sober, happy and free today?

God loves you all, and I do also.
Steve E

TRIVIA

Q. Why do magicians pull rabbits out of hats? Why rabbits instead of some other animals?

A. Rabbits do not make any noise which could botch up the act.

LET'S LIGHTEN UP...

GOD, IN A MOMENT OF FRIVOLITY

SENSE OF HUMOR

"The Master" was in an expansive mood, so his disciples sought to learn from him the stages he had passed through in his quest for the divine.

"God first led me by the hand," he said, "into the Land of Action, and there I dwelt for several years.

Then he returned and led me to the Land of Sorrows; there I lived until my heart was purged of every inordinate attachment.

That is when I found myself in the Land of Love, whose burning flames consumed whatever was left in me of self.

This brought me to the Land of Silence, where the mysteries of life and death were bared before my wondering eyes."

"Was that the final stage of your quest?" they asked.

"No," the Master said. "One day God said, 'Today I shall take you to the innermost sanctuary of the Temple, to the heart of God himself.'
....And I was led to the Land of Laughter."

--Anthony De Mello, "TAKING FLIGHT", Page 126

Peace, and Love,

Steve E

TRIVIA

"Only the male Robin sings"

WE LOVE BLOGGING

FANCY THIS...

IF a girl--who never speaks to me--walked up to me and said, "Steve, my husband has his sober anniversary tomorrow morning at 7 AM meeting. Could you be there? My husband would like that very much." I would answer either, "OK."...or..."I don't come to meetings on Sunday morning."

Well, I approached a girl who has actually been unfriendly to me, who never comes to meetings on Sunday mornings, and asked her, "My wife will celebrate 24 years of sobriety Sunday morning at the 7AM meeting. Would you mind being there?"

The girl smiled, and said, "Sure, I'll be happy to come...I'll bring a card...Thanks for inviting me."

OK, Peeps, THAT'S the kind of person I'm trying to become, one who unhesitatingly puts myself behind me, and "becomes the other person" in order to please them--and God. Ya see what I've been writing about?

ANOTHER TOPIC: SOBER TEN DAYS

Met a fellow Sunday ("accidentally" sat next to him at the big 7AM gig), sober ten days. The next day--Monday--I was given the privilege to do the First Step 'lead' for the Beginner's meeting. Sat next to the same fellow--this time not accidentally -grin!

For this meeting I had prepped myself Sunday night, using a Big Book, our 12 X 12, and a few other readings, so as to better present Step One to these new peeps. And it came off real well, or rather "satisfactory". Then it became time for Eleven-Day-Old guy to share:

Well, you all know what happened. 11-day-old opened up, and "en sotto voce" (softly spoke) to the group assembled. His words inspired, his story appropriate, his observations acute, his advice succinct, he held us spellbound for ten minutes!

Hearing his "wisdom" after all my poor preparation, well, it humbled me. No, I did not say humiliated. It made me realize that some times the beginner would be a better chairperson than the long-timer, especially for a beginner's Step One discussion.

We Live. We Learn!
Thank You, God, for all of us!
I love it.
I love you!
Peace.
Steve E

TRIVIA---A THOUGHT

"Before borrowing money from a friend...decide which you need most".