INTERNATIONAL NEIGHBORS

 

SILENT RECOGNITION

I  live in predominantly a Spanish-speaking area. All the neighbors smile at me and wave as I travel back and forth on my motor scooter. Of course, I began that habit with them several years ago, that habit of waving, smiling, loving after I had finally crawled out from my tomb, from under my very private rock.

This morning on the way to a rehearsal (yesss, another one--grin!), violin ensconced on the rear of my bike, I had to literally STOP in the middle of the road--not a thoroughfare. As I sat there, feeling the warmth of 'old sol' on my body, I practiced what is now becoming habit:  when there is nothing to do but wait--just sit back, have beautiful thoughts of gratitude, peace and love and.....wait.  

A family of the Spanish folks were walking slowly in the roadway, little tots, all the way to (I presume) uncles, aunts, and grandparents.  With brightly colored clothing, and umbrellas of the same hues, they were all smiling, waving, enjoying what God has given them, and me. The wonderful life we have here is no other place where I have been. I waved at them also, with my, well...smiling face (I smile a lot!), and all was good in God's world for this moment.

NOTE to self: What an opportunity to learn some Spanish, from right next door, across the road, or around the corner...

I thanked God for allowing me to see this beautifulness of an extended family all walking, seemingly going nowhere but following the leader nonetheless. And I wondered what went wrong in MY family.

Where was I during those days which should have been OH! so different? Where was my heart? Where was my soul? I DO know at a certain stage of life, booze (alcohol) became my God. It was all I thought about, simply ALL. I could not live with it, and I could not live without it. And be damned with everything else--if I even realized there WAS everything else! My body was wasting and wasted, my soul had blackened, my spirit was dead. When there was nowhere for me to turn, my wife drove me to Alcoholics Anonymous--nor, NOT, a place where I wanted to be seen--or even to BE. EVER! NEVER! And I had my last drink at the midnight before that 8:00 PM AA meeting.
That was March 18, 1974, the most important date in my whole LIFE.

And I am still there today, sober, happy, free of my addictions of alcohol and drugs. There are other problems of living which at times give me great peace, at other times torment. But, as life goes on, I can write with confidence that I fear today NOTHING, neither life...nor death, neither you...nor ME!

AND Peeps, I love you all, more than you realize. Because you, and the God within you are what keeps me sober, alive, and gratefully happy these days. True, some things I would change about me...if I could. I trust that God will do that, as I become ready for Him to do that, and then as I ask Him. And I AM in a place where I can be of service to others now with God's help. What a beautiful place that IS!

Fully in gratitude, to God and YOU my Peeps, I write this from my heart tonight, as I go out right NOW (I'm LATE again!!!) to play another Christmas show.  I'll have to post this later.

By the way, the "Show" tonight was spectacular! Especially the violin section--grin!

Love and PEACE!
Steve E

WONDER WHERE THE YELLOW WENT?

The following story, which seemed appropriate a day ago, is true.  
But it only happened ONCE!


NO CAVITIES??

A "55" Flash Non-fiction Friday


Pharmacists recommend it!
Doctors give away samples!
Patients sing its praises!

Its use was at one time--for me--an essential part of my daily routine:
You know, floss, rinse, brush, bed.

You want whiter teeth?
Gums devoid of soreness?
Refreshing breath?

Brush with Flander's Buttocks Ointment.

I did!

___________________________________________________
                                                                    Hey guys, it was DARK!

Peeps, be at PEACE

I love you, Peeps 

If you want to write a "55" word story, give it a SHOT and

give the G-Man a SHOUT

 HERE and tell him you are IN! 

THREE BAR MICE

It is time for me to step back and laugh a minute. this joke may have come from someone's blog during the past year-and-a-half. If so I apologize. I'm calling it "THREE BAR MICE" (you know: "Three Blind mice"...oh, well!) I'll get serious again tomorrow. Hey it'll be "55" wordless "hAAlf nAAked or "revert" day, or something like that, huh?
 
Now THAT would be serious!

Three Mice at the Bar

Three mice are sitting at a bar in a rough neighborhood late at night trying to impress each other about how tough they are.

The first mouse downs a tumbler of Jack Daniel's, slams the glass onto the bar, turns to the second mouse and says, "When I see a mousetrap, I lie on my back and set it off with my foot.

When the bar comes down, I catch it in my teeth, bench press it twenty times to work up an appetite, and then make off with the cheese."

The second mouse orders up two glasses of Bombay Sapphire, downs them both, slams each glass into the bar.

Turns to the first mouse, and replies: "Yeah, well when I see rat poison, I collect as much as I can, take it home, grind it up to a powder, and add it to my coffee each morning so I can get a good buzz going for the rest of the day.

"The first mouse and the second mouse then turn to the third mouse.

The third mouse, bored, lets out a long sigh and says to the first two, "I don't have time for this bull crap . I gotta get home and screw the cat." 
____________________________________________________


Peeps,the really funny part of this mouse story is that I was ONE of them--for so many years. So, in gratitude, I'll stay SOBER today if you will (even if you will not!), and I'll be with you in PEACE today, and I LOVE you today. Maybe God has a plan to use me today, I'm ready!

TRIED IT--AND LIVED!

I just assumed EVERYONE considered suicide for one reason or another. And I figured most people tried it now and then. Also I just knew those who lived after were not at all serious about it. 

Well, I was wrong on all three counts. And I have not thought about it for maybe eight months or so, but a blog yesterday triggered the memories...ya gotta know how that is!

 Yesterday I found myself enjoying once more "Secretia's"  blog, in which she invites readers to contribute answers to her question-of-the-day.  Sounds kinda like "Trivial trivia" (and it is) but usually great fun for some--me included. Yesterday's question was proposed in this manner:

"Sometimes the hurting gets so
Strong that we wish we were gone.
That's when we pray for
Much happier days...
  Were you ever so sad  that you wanted
  to end your life?
   you CAN be anonymous...   
Posted by Secretia Tuesday Dec 8 at 5:11 AM
39 comments Links to this post"

And I did have a comment to make but decided to post it here instead, because it was definitely a low point in the drunken, chaotic, helpless, "powerless" stage of my life at age 26, in 1958.  And I tell you that from there until 1974, the state, the condition of my life went no way but DOWN. So this is what I wrote at that time (I had already died, OK? --Alright, WHO said "Fine!"--grin!):

At last I have found my solitude
All now is quiet and peaceful
In this room

With Endless futility have I sought  
Serenity--absent ever since I lived
In the womb

At last happiness is mine since
No more must I calculate
My doom

I've considered often this moment
When I look up instead of down
At the bloom

And I SO wish to thank them
The both who laid me here
In my tomb.

--Steve E  August 3, 1958

Peeps, let us soberly, peacefully, 
LOVE all things today! OK?

Information on picture of SUICIDE can be found HERE

REASON TO KEEP DOING IT

AA BIG BOOK

NOTE:  IN NO WAY DOES THIS BLOG OR POSTINGS

HEREIN REPRESENT OR PRETEND TO REPRESENT 

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, OR ANY OF ITS 

MEMBERSHIP.  ALL VIEWS ARE STRICTLY 

AND SOLELY THOSE OF THE AUTHOR...

The AA Preamble

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Copyright © The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.

OH! THAT AGAIN?

Alcoholics Anonymous is a group, millions of People
Reaching toward me, out from themselves
Saying in one great chorus: "Come with US!"
And so I reached my own arms out, grabbed a hand
And found a seat on the bus

Many years we soberly drove
Down and up the Steps
Of which there still are twelve
When did I decide to shelve
These gems, my way of life?

Riding the rear of this caravan
No fun for this active man
So as I make my way up front
To grab onto hands out-held
I feel an unwanted separation

Are the hands I'm holding the slippery ones?
Or are those my own self-oiled, well-oiled palms
Which are causing me to lose the grip
Ah! I caught on to a sleeve
Just as it's about to rip

The Jersey is numbered 4
Why could it not be more?
Because AA Step number 4
AGAIN? Is such a bore (really not!)
Did it once before!

And actually, this is where it starts for REAL!
Because "One, Two, Three, you're OUT!"
Is what many of us get to re-feel
And I, when or if into a funk, recall
This is how peeps get drunk! That's all!

TODAY:

SOBER, Peeps!

PEACE, Peeps!

LOVE, Peeps!

Still Climbing the Trails

I SEE FRIENDS SHAKIN' HANDS

SAYIN' HOW D'YA DO

THEY"RE JUS' SAYIN'

I....LOVE....YOU!
 

 Someone posted awhile back this picture, and I've kept it, thinking to use it one day. I have been SO busy with music preparations rehearsals, and shows, that I'm behind in all phases of blogging.

A blogging-phone-friend told me this morning, "Find a picture you love, and write a few lines, or you will get out of the habit, Steve. We will miss you and you will miss us."

A wakeup call I cannot ignore since it carried with it love, ya know what I mean? "NO, Steve, we DON'T know what you mean!"  

Well, I feel sometimes when one speaks to another with love in their heart, it is the Holy Spirit leading, because therein IS love--and love IS therein. So much for that, heaven is waiting!

Yes it is God's final gift to me, actually it was given from the beginning. I spurned it. Then I was given (really) COUNTLESS opportunities to regain the Gift. But now, instead of it just being handed to me, I find there is this ladder to climb. There may be some broken rungs hiding themselves along the way.  If I am wary, I'll avoid them or be able to hang on.

If I try to spread Tenderness, Peace, Forgiveness, Freedom (from fear, from unnecessary anxiety), Joy, Happiness, Gratitude, and an Abiding Love for God, for Mankind, for Nature, and for those "special" Peeps in my life--if I continually work toward that goal, I might get one more step up that ladder, one step closer to heaven. That's one step away from the "other place". 

If I don't take that first drink, it is a GUARANTEE that I will not become drunk.  If I continue to get to my 7 AM meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous, I'll probably not take that first drink. And I just MIGHT become someone who peeps LIKE to be with, like to enjoy, who even can 
L O V E...

I welcome you Peeps to STAY SOBER today
You are welcomed to the world of PEACE today
And I welcome you ALL to love--and BE loved, today and after!

Off now to play TWO shows!

Please stay with me if I cannot post or comment every day...I   N E E D you!

SUNSHINE ON A STORMY DAY

A STORMY STORY

Thirty-seven years ago I met a Hungarian couple, ages 17-18 who had escaped--after several unsuccessful starts--Communism. They made their way to South America as stowaways on the tramp steamer.  

After two months touring a jungle by canoeing alone down a thousand mile river involving with many, many dangers, adventures and exploits--they found themselves in Miami, Florida. 

On a whim, they rode stolen bicycles the 120 miles across the peninsula to Naples, Florida. And this is where I met Jack and Jill (not their real names). We became friends.  Those were still my drunk days, the final two horrible years.

Jill, age 18, a SO really beautiful young woman, so sweet, so intelligent, became pregnant. Shortly after giving birth, she was riding her bicycle on the side of the Tamiami Trail Highway.  Along came a pickup truck. The right-side rear vision mirror hit her in back of the head, killing her instantly. This left Jack with his baby not yet two months of age.

Last week, 37 years after, I met Jack at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. What a sight we were now, both sober, both happy, enthusiastic, both friends again well-met.

Jack's Toyota with over 300,000 miles, blew its engine yesterday, now junk. So today I  moved his belongings from his addicted son's (age 36) house, to a place more than an hour away from home.  We had a grand reunion on this day, drank triple espressos at McDonald's (GoooooD!) and shared wonderful memories. It rained heavily all the morning, and was not a good day to move, but we got the job done.  I feel so good, having a new friend, sober six years. And this is probably the first male friend I have had for a long time.

Jack reminded me that I am godfather of his 36-year-old alcoholic son. What memories were stirred today, about the untimely death of his young wife at the hands of a drunk driver, and the many happenings since then in each of our lives.  We shared with each other our very soul-thoughts of today...yes we did! He is a very spiritual guy.

I talked him into beginning a written story of their escapes from Hungary, the imprisonments they both suffered, being caught several times, their final getaway. He cannot write well--so I'll get to edit these histories, stories, and it will be SO much fun, because I am already aware of some of the uniqueness of what he has to tell.

So that is my post for today, I decided to blog it. Jack's story is one of hardship, deathly fear which lingers even today, a pure true love, and experiences so wild--which will raise doubt as to their validity. But I know, and Jack knows.




Blogger Peeps, we are sober today.
We are at peace today.
We LOVE deeply...today!

"HARBOUR BRIDGE" by artist  

Australian artist Robert Bosle

artbytv.com

CALLI-GIRL--A THANK YOU

One fortunate day for me many months ago, a poet-artist-blogger named CALLI (click HERE) was posting for us every few days, the progress of a painting of "The Lady in RED".  Well, (what else is new?) I fell in love with RED, and told Calli so. 

Also I love the poetry with which she frequently teases, entices, cajoles and otherwise excites her readers.  CALLI is a God-gifted artist (Art Site HERE), at times sensual, erotic, spiritual...and always full of beauty in her many works, and in her person.

She gifted me with "Lady in Red, henceforth named RED, and also a painted card (inset), and to the left of my computer is a Calli farm landscape in water-color.  (Art Blog HERE).

On my computer screen (on bottom right) is a partial photo of Calli, my blogger-friend and much more. Below is a poetic attempt to publicly thank Calli.  These words just seemed to flow a couple days ago, upon my receiving these wonderful presents.  Calli thank you.  I love you.

 CALLI-GIRL

A piece of you is hanging directly
Above my computer on the wall
Just as you once said
Her name shall be RED. 

A piece of you is here in our house
A Lady in Red
She is very pretty, questioning, 
Dark, somewhat innocent.

A piece of your work, your creativity
Now lends her beauty to my blank wall
RED enhances this corner of my universe
Where I write, dream, meditate...and pray.

Yet she displays a disturbance
Lingering deep within her soul.
I will determine in time what this is:
Her mood, her secret love, her very life?

First perception at seeing Red Lady
Is that her expectations have
Not achieved the reality of a

Lasting and really profound LOVE

"Is this love, my lovely man,
Which marks my completion--
Is it mutual, reciprocative?"
For she is asking, "Do you truly love me?"

Red searches for depth
In her "other"--for his concept of
Her thought, her life, her Being:
And of these... his acknowledged understanding


Hours each day I spend
Searching the eyes of my LADY
Reading her questions.  My friend
Calli--your creation, your work, your GIFT...

A piece of you is in our house
Before me is a reminder that
Though the world itself be a mess
One blessing undestroyed is tenderness.

Calli, a piece of you has embedded itself
In our home. Here she will preserve.
I am so certain to never comprehend,
Oh Calli--what EVER did I to deserve?

My gratitude, my thanks is simply
Overflowing, enough to pour out to others
Service, Hope, Prayer, and LOVE
And know, that in complete charge of all
...is God above.

Peeps--SOBRIETY!

Peeps--LOVE!

Peeps--PEACE

GRIEF

GRIEF

Following is a quote from a Blogger-friend whose young husband lost finally his battle with cancer.  She lives on a part of our globe across the International Date Line.  I decided to post this poem. Also I am deciding this moment to post her blog address HERE in the sincere hope that her most deep, beautifully-worded inspired expressions may help someone who is out there grieving loss of a cherished loved one.

"......grief is what happens to your soul. It knows not age. There is a universal pain that one can always put a finger in it to say, I know that one too even though the details of our stories may vary. And we have yet found another gift of humanity. Compassion. And that's when we shed a tear for a stranger when we learn of their own loss." --Silver

I know a place
Where tomorrow always is
I see white curtains lace
Blowing in sweet breezes
Of tomorrow...today!

When in this my place
The sun daily at last sets
Forever at the same time
Your sun rises there
Because it is tomorrow

Always and forever
Tomorrow is there
Yesterday is never
And now I know why
God made it that way

Just so you could cry
Tomorrow, not today

So smile through tears
Of joy and tender love
For what's been all those years
Will be--is--even more, above
In heaven's perfect place
Today...and tomorrow

New moon, full moon,
A sliver of Silver Moon
A life here is beginning to stir
And from that rebirth soon
Will gush forth loving loveliness
From yesterday--in tomorrow

Writings of exquisiteness
Find themselves unleashed
Upon a world of cyberness.
Today's reminiscence--
Tomorrow's unchained thoughts

Fill us with your beautiful inner self
Empty all which blocks the sunshine
Which he continues to send
In complete total love...your Ben
Today, tomorrow
Forever.

 

--Steve

BY CHANCE? OR NOT!

AMERICA'S COFFEE HOUSE

A CHANCE MEETING!  

AREN'T THEY ALL??

Starbucks takes a couple of my bucks before every rehearsal. This morning I gave the the Barista my order--Venti Bold. A man just ahead of me in line said he'd have the Mild. Out of my big fat mouth--it shocked me--leaped the loudness of one word, "SISSY"!

Some day my mouth will get me killed, but not today--yet.

I found myself next to the same fellow at the condiment cupboard, he said that he cannot take Bold coffee at 9:30 AM. So I told him (what else?) that in past times I was frequently found passed-out-drunk by 9:30 AM. He responded with "Me, too!" So, within seconds of the first time, I was shocked once more. Here I am, in a matter of few  seconds running into a stranger who--as you will see--is one of US!

He said he was sober 6 years, and asked me...so I told him 35 years. Since I DO go to lots of meetings I wondered aloud why I've never seen him? "In which AA meetings would I find you?".

He went through a litany of the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous where he USED TO go; USED TO be a regular at my home group 7 AM meeting, USED TO 'attend' the Serenity Club; USED TO go to the New Attitudes Club; USED TO be at the cookie meeting; USED TO "hit about two to three meetings a week"; USED TO have a sponsor; USED TO work the Steps, etc.

He then launched me into a brief discussion of the "YET's" in AA. His words: "I have not totaled four cars in 3 weeks--YET; I have not been in jail longer than a month--YET; I have never been to prison--YET; I have never hit my wife or children--YET; I have not killed anyone--YET; I have not gone back to that chaotic life where alcohol was my God--YET! A small patch of sand and weeds under the Gordon River Bridge is NOT my home--YET!"

When we had done with that, I got him to agree to meet with me at the 7 AM AA meeting Monday morning (today) and we'd "do" coffee after, or maybe breakfast. OK!

Something entered my brain then, which refused to remain there, and so I said to him--and to myself, "One way to avoid all those "YET's" is to not have so many "USED-TO's"

Peeps, he and I intend to stay sober tomorrow--with you.
I love you, I really do!
Peace is for all of us!

Life is SO much simpler, easier, if I let go and let God...than NOT!