OH NO!...ANOTHER "STEVE" STORY?

"GIRLS RULE"
One of these gorls is my daughter.
I'm Going on 3.5-hour bike ride
to visit her Monday and Tuesday

NOTE: Thank you to all who commented yesterday on my blog, also to those who read about the girl's suicide...and prayed with me. This is indeed a program of unselfish giving, and receiving...love.

NOTE 2: Leaving early Monday morning to visit my Firefighter/Engineer/Acting Lieutenant daughter, Kathy. Gonna 'bike' up there, about 3.5 hours, and have fun...maybe go to a meeting there.

"SEE YA IN CHURCH!"

Met a guy in church. He was sitting there, next to his--I guess--wife. I had asked him to please hand in my envelope with his own. He asked me why I don't ever play violin at the earlier mass? So I told him I go somewhere else real early in the mornings, EVERY morning. I said to him, "I'd tell you where I go, but it's an 'anonymous' place".

I smiled. He smiled.

Then he blurted out, "Are you a friend of (yeah -grin!) Bill W?" Turned out, he is sober 18 years, we just go to different meetings. It shows me how AA in Naples, FL has grown since I went to my first meeting--there were four of them each week here then. Now there are nearly 300 in the area, and it is true, just like in any of the larger cities--one can hide, become completely lost now in AA rooms here.

That's another reason a HOME GROUP is so important to me--and people I sponsor--these days. When I came into AA in Naples, everyone knew everyone else, and if ya didn't see someone for a week or two, the gossip mill generally routed or lured that person out of whatever lethargy, and back into the meeting hall.

These days I must--no, I WANT to--belong to a home group. They know all about me there--the good, the bad, the ugly..and I am all three! What a wonderful thing to be accepted into a group of 80-90 people.

These are men and women who stay silent while I ramble on about one thing or another. God, I pray for them--to not get tired or bored with me...but they probably would still listen, or in politeness, pretend. Paranoiac me: I wonder if they were just pretending this morning? -grin!

TIME FOR A LITTLE GRATITUDE HERE

I am grateful that:

1. If they don't listen to me now--I'll kick their butts!
2. I'm still able to kick their butts
3. I do not have to prove that
4. My bike gets 50 miles per gallon
5. I don't really care how many mpg it gets--I just L.O.V.E. it still, (or moving!) -grin
6. Little things don't bother me any more. HEY! WHAT DID YOU DAMN SAY????!
7. I belong to Two Home groups, a daily, and a weekly meeting
8. I only get to vote in one of them
9. Whichever I choose is OK
10.Dentist was nice to me
11. I could pay him
12. I could tell him it was too much--$350 for each filling
13. Bloggers visit my blog once
14. Some even return
15. Two friends were going to quit blogging, now are staying...I pray!
16. The blogging 'crews' from Texas, Colorado, Canada, W VA, Michigan, Illinois, NC, SC, England, S Africa, Ohio, North East, Missouri, Australia, Bahamas, Caleefohniah, Utah, and other places are all so wonderful!
17. We can trade news, views, reviews and stories, and still be friends
18. I've not met face-to-face a single blogger--wait! am I grateful for that? NO WAY! (except for one!)
19. My daughter is an 'acting' Fire Dept. Lieutenant, next in line...
20. My son is supervisor in a large company
21. My wife, family, are healthy
22. My AA family--I see them every day, and love them--sometimes!
23. Least, but not last--NO! that wasn't stated correctly, oh, well! MY SPONSOR!!!
24. My early morning meetings...and mass...and sponsees...computer, Cat-Bert, etc., etc.

See, I kept the number under 25, right? Well, almost.

I'll be back Blogging on Wednesday March 11, 2009.
No computers where I'm going. OK?

In love and service,
Steve E.