HANG OUT--AT THE OPERA?????

LA BOHEME (Puccini)

LET'S HANG OUT!

Several days ago I met this fellow (2 yrs sober) at a morning meeting. We 'connected'--you know how that is--and so we now sit together when we attend the same group. This morning we had breakfast after, and it turns out he'd been 'looking for' someone to HANG OUT with when he is in Naples. Lives in Chicago, but his elderly parents live here. I'm already enjoying this friendship.

Another guy was here couple weeks ago, and we somehow 'connected'. He is now back in Pennsylvania, but called me yesterday. How honored I was to be chosen as one of the recipients of his time, trust, and man-to-man talk. He'll be back down to Naples in December, and hopefully we will again HANG OUT for some hours.

Another man I met last week, (Isn't it funny? Wonder why none of these men have names? -grin) who will be in Naples until mid-February. He, well...he also wants to talk and HANG OUT, until he goes wherever he needs to travel. NOTE: I call HANG OUT..."working our 'beautiful' God-inspired, Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous". The men I know usually don't realize that when they use the expression "Hang Out" -grin!

Of course, most of you blogger peeps know that I am not in that group of "GLUM LOTS Anonymous". Where I would put myself would be in a group called the "Smiling Enthusiasts". Our MOTTO: "We absolutely Insist On Enjoying Life". We might regularly meet, but I believe we'd be one of those "LOV-NMM" Groups "Lots-Of-Visitors...Not-Many-Members" groups.

Anyway, I am really happy that God sends me people to be with, to talk with, and to share breakfast. NOTE: We went this morning to the restaurant where a group of about sixteen long-timers regularly eat after the meetings. One person--whose program I respect and admire--calls them the "INVENTORIES-R-US" Breakfast Club. (OUCH!) I hope one of them is reading this, YEAH! -grin.

ANOTHER TOPIC: OPERA

This week I'm really tied up in opera rehearsals and PEOPLE...I'M LOVING IT!!! Years have passed since I played Opera, in Cincinnati, Ohio during the summers. This one is Puccini's LA BOHEME, and is a very NON-boring type of entertainment. But I will see little of that from the orchestra pit (I play violin FYI).

Performances are Friday night and Sunday afternoon. Sunday night I PROMISE to blog about this experience, and a little bit of what role Alcoholics Anonymous had to play in my enjoyment of this new slice of life--which I thought was never again to be within reach. (BTW, I got comp tickets for Prayer Girl and a friend for Friday night.)

Between now and then, I'm sure gonna miss reading most of your blogs, and commenting in my (ahem!) usual one-or-two-word fashion...BIGGEST GRIN!!!

ONE SOBER HAPPY ALCOHOLIC is signing off for now, with L.O.V.E. for all that is God, all that is AA, and all that is YOU, my blogger FRIENDS, and, like it or not, I truly mean every word I write to you. SO THERE!

REALLY, I'm dying to meet f2f with some of you at Annie K's home 12-14 June, and crash some meetings together--and get a few hugs {{{}}} along the way -grin. And talk, and LAUGH, and talk some more, and...oh, yes, EAT! I'll bring my violin, unless there is an objection...

Who posted this?...and WHEN, did you say?