THIS AND THAT....

HE: I WONDER IF TULIPS SMELL?
SHE: I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THEY HAD NOSES!

LITTLE BIT OF THIS AND THAT
AND EVERYTHING ELSE

Saturday, got to attend two AA meetings. Played violin all through the 3 PM Vigil Mass. I have some really beautiful arrangements which are obbligatos to the music liturgy of the whole mass, and I get to do the same thing today, Sunday, at the 10:30 AM. That will be after two more AA meetings. What a wonderfully spent weekend!

It was almost three years ago. I had been playing mass for about a year. The choir director and I had become good friends. We even shared private stories. One day I confided to her about my 'situation' with the catholic church--not being allowed to receive Holy Communion. She listened. The following Sunday, she abruptly stopped playing the communion hymn, grabbed me by the arm, walked me up to the altar, and we both received the host. And it was a huge emotional, spiritual and moving experience for me. It was the first time I had received the Host in over forty years! We both stood on the altar steps and cried...in front of 1,300 church members. No one but she and I knew what had just transpired. A soul had been blest and energized! Me.

She--her name, Jane--was one of several who played a prominent role in my return to the church of my 'yoot'. Every chance I had, was an opportunity to deny God. I was really a tough cookie for God to allow the many miracles He brought about in my life. Never give up. Never despair.

Of course, the biggest miracle was the gift of God's grace to stay sober, the gift of the Twelve Step Program of Alcoholics Anonymous. That gift was wrapped into the same package with all you members of AA. Without the patience, tolerance, and experiences of you peeps, I would have passed out, and passed on, many years ago. Because, as you all know, "I" had to become "we" and "we" had to become "all of us in cooperation with our Higher Power, God".

This week I have a couple violin gigs, plus "a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a little bit of everything else". That quote has a history:

Each morning--about fifteen years ago, when I would ask Joel (a retarded client), "What ya been doin', Joel?"...his answer was--for five years, every day--"Oh, Steve...a little bit of this, a little bit of that, and a little bit of everything else!"

I loved that guy--he taught me so much about life. The simple, uncomplicated life. The life of peace, acceptance, dependence, not CO-dependence. His soul now rests. He now has great knowledge, and great peace.

Today--again, finally--I'm hearing the birds sing, the pattering of a slow rain, and I can smell the roses, even the TULIPS!

In HUGE GRATEFULNESS, love, and service,
Sincerely,
Steve E.