STEVERONI'S BLOG

ALL ABOUT ME

Been meaning to do this ever since "Lou" Emailed me
to "get it on!" (about 5 hours ago =grin=)

1. I'm eldest (oldest?) of two boys and two girls

2. All four of us are again, now, communicating in a friendly and loving manner

3. I'm an "internal" catholic (according to our Father D***is), attend mass almost every day, play violin there often, and participate more than EVER in my past life

4 Please do not ask me what that means

5. I attended my 50th HS reunion. St Xavier High. Everyone looked so OLD (except moi!) Wish I could post picture on here so you could see how much Pride and Ego I'm dealing with here...do "no teeth and no hair, and fatty throat" help to make ya look young?

5a. I do not fear death--any time--but I REALLY hate growing old, maybe y'all can figure that out, also

6. I was too drunk to "walk" in ceremonies for Bachelor AND Master degree graduations, but I DID get the paper, all scholarship stuff. Imagine that, I still shake my head...

7. At age 11, I habitually opened and sniffed the five-gallon container of muriatic acid on the farm. NOW ya can figger out why I yam like I yam

8. Wanted to be a Jesuit priest. How lucky are those Jebbies

9. Would have been a BAD priest.

10. Will make a terrible saint. I'll sneak past heaven's gate, when Bruce isn't looking or he's checking in another alky

11. My mother forced me to "practice these principles of.....VIOLIN PLAYING (fooled ya?) from the age of six

12. Hated my mother for that

13. Now she's gone, I thank her daily, sometimes hourly

14. My wife Anna loves me very much, here's how I know

15. She bought me a huge (650cc) motor scooter for my birthday

16. At the same time, she purchased a wonderful insurance policy on my life...WAIT a minute....

17. Our four children, her two, and my two, all get along

18. They live far apart

19. I love my bike

20. I love AA

21. I love my wife

22. MAY I NEVER have to choose only one out of the three

23. Played violin in Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

24. At concert in Elmira NY, (my first year) I exuberantly lifted my bow, and it went sailing over the orchestra and landed on the tympani (kettle drums) during a particularly quiet, pianissimo passage

25. They did not fire me

26. I wished that they HAD fired me

27. Spent a long summer at Brevard Music Center in NC (1952) as violinist/camper/maintenance man extraordinaire. (Scholarship, remember?)

28. Fell REALLY, TRULY in love 7 times in 8 weeks in Brevard. I was 19 years old...old?

29. Spent a summer at Tanglewood in Massachusetts (big words--wanted to see if spell checker is working) playing violin

30. Played under (well, not really "under"--holy crapola!) Leonard Bernstein, Conductor

31. He was NOT a conductor on the train

32. Tended bar for many years in many places during off-seasons

33. I was the "best bartender" my boss ever SAW or knew

34. That is exactly what he said just before he fired me. Thanksgiving 1974. I had been sober for eight MONTHS for God's sake. What gives here? Did he not realize how good I was. I had even quit knocking down the cash box

35. I kept a Big Book under the bar, pulled it out when I thought someone needed help

36. I told you...muriatic acid, sniff, sniff, sniiifffff. Ahhhhh!

37. Favorite booze, Alcohol, 190 proof (that's 95% alcohol for you chemistry-deficient people) I know you're not chemically deficient

37. 190 proof BURNS, it burns, burns everything. HAAAAAAAH. I still feel the heat

38. Discovered prostate cancer last year--been treated, all done with that, except it would take a direct interference by God, for me to father children again, that's a result of my ongoing hormone shots and last year's radiation and cyberknife

39. Hormone shots are every three months (84 days apart) and retail for $2,700 EACH

40. I thank God for Medicare (Never thought I'd say something like that--if ya know what I mean)

41. My wife has 23 years in AA Program. We met at an AA meeting on Step 12. I got it mixed up with Step 13

42. Men watch out when a girl says those four words: "We have to talk!" That was 20 years ago

43. Flew to FL in 1965. In the air, I silently cried, thinking it was snowing here--all the roofs were painted white

44. Stayed in FL...who wouldn't! My gosh, there was a Liquor Store in every half-block! I'm HOME, baby, I'm HOME

45. I forget if this is 44 Questions =grin= or 48. Either way, I'm gonna go over. If you're tired quit here, the remaining is boring

46. Miracle: None of our kids are active in alcoholism or other drug addictions

47. Saw a man get run over by a street cleaning machine once. He was killed instantly. In newspaper next day

48. I did not call police. 4AM. I was completely insane with all kinds of shit, afraid I'd go to jail. Street cleaner guy didn't even realize what he did. I was alone with the dead guy. I KNEW they'd think I did it.

49. I drowned once. I was in Sea Scouts. Some fool said he smelled alcohol. They brought me back into the world. Good practice for CRP (or whatever...) I'm not good with acronyms. KUTGW

50. My father was deaf and blind--totally. He operated and managed a dairy farm, loved animals. I could easily write another 50-some items about him. When he died, two nuns wrote an unpublished book about him titled, LIVING WITH JOY. Reminds me of our 12X12, Step twelve, first sentence is: "The joy of living is the theme of A.A.'s Twelfth Step."

51. I speak fluent English...well, at least understandably so

52. I didn't do HALF the things Lou did, but my life was/IS full

53. Yes, believe ME, I am SO grateful for God bringing me here, and for YOU all bringing me back to Him. Thank you, thank you

54. You all are fortunate I'm stopping here. I could stretch this thing into 100 easily

Steve E./steveroni/AlkySeltzer