A corner of the Bach Yard of D-G (Daughter-Girl) 

with one of three dogs, her German Shepherd, 

age 7-months--chasing a ball.  

This IS a place of PEACE!

LAST INSTALLMENT

of 4,000-mile scooter trip
EXCEPT FOR BITS AND PIECES now and then

This final visit of my Trip 2010 is happening at the home of DG. This is where I began nearly three weeks ago. There is much love in this house..."DG" is "Daughter-Girl". She let me know that "DG" could mean "Dear God", or the preferred "Dear Goddess"--TWO big grins!

DG just told me that recently in her (yes, spacious!) backyard she picked up a dead baby animal, and DG cried as she carried it in her palm to the burial area. It turned out the dead baby animal was "playing 'possom". In fact the dead animal WAS a baby 'possom! Now the 'possom is a "protected animal" in this yard!

She has a plastic pool for the animals' (3 dogs and assorted critters) swimming pleasure.  In the water is sitting a large chunk of concrete block. DG explains this is for stranded frogs, who would drown in time, of exhaustion--trying to escape their wave-frenzied "sea", a two-meter diametered piece of bowl-shaped plastic.grows weeds

This is the same girl who has cultivated a garden of weeds--milkweeds--to keep a home for her friendly Monarch Butterflies, who flutter-by her yard to their milkweed universe OFTEN.

Before I leave you from DG's 'estate', there is one more significant reason one could never NOT like being here. I was taught this morning how to make use of a French Press (coffee maker). Oh, how simple life can be, when one knows H.O.W.  Now that I am making my own coffee, there is a sudden shortage of the bean in this house.
 
One thought before checking out tonight...

How 'awfully' LOVELY to be welcomed into the home of your daughter, when behind all that is my past: chaos, misunderstanding, hurt, powerlessness, deprivation, paranoia, fear, and dread. 

We are friends, we are daughter-and-Poppa, we are...LOVE! Thanks to the God-given program of Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Steps.

Enough from me today--any day.
I am sober today.
Let's enjoy PEACE this Labor Day weekend.

--Steve

The Turning Point?

WHERE YA GOIN'? CAN I GO TOO?

At the risk(?) of a seeming "blog copycat" there is no way today that I can NOT tell you my experience.

Oh, the thrill when Daughter asks, "Where ya goin'?"
To which my answer is "To an AA meeting"...
And Daughter (age 27) asks, "Can I go, too?"
It is the maker of goosbumps--for me.

We have been to meetings together this past week. What a joy to see this new spirituality growing right before my eyes! God is so kind, merciful. He has graced Daughter with a wonderful sponsor, and some terrific new friends. And she uses the telephone--(I never did learn how. Never!) And I am now able, allowed, to observe God's LOVE, melting even the hardest of hearts--here, there, and everywhere.

Numerous miracles have occurred during these two weeks, many of them you could call minor. Piled one on top the other, taken all together, there is unmistakable evidence of God's Guiding Hand in this whole scenario of helping another to the room, to surrender.

You want to know Gratitude? See this stepfather's smile, as he rides to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous with his "Daughter", sober nearly two weeks. God gives us the Gift. All which is left for us, is to accept it, and say "Thank You"....that's whether "we" are a daughter--or a father. And for God to bless both at once...Who could EVER produce more serenity, more forgiveness, more peace, more love, than Him Who set all things into first motion?

Maybe I'll just let things happen, stop trying to "make" them happen. How's THAT for change? Of course, you do not know me--yet, you really do. I am an alcoholic. My name is Steve.

And you ALL have my prayer to stay sober today. I will!

Also my prayer for your peace.
Also, my prayer of LOVE.
Steve

FIRE-GIRL (DAUGHTER!)

A BRIEF GLIMPSE OF MY FAMILY

Note: If God had not pulled my pitifully fearful, paranoiac, struggling, human form into this thing called A.A., none of the following would have any relevancy in my life, today--or ever.

My daughter is a driver-engineer-paramedic, in other words, she's a Fire Fighter. She runs many calls, presently is assigned to a really busy shift.

I have more than a few stories which "Fire-Girl" has written about her "memorable" calls, lives saved, sometimes lost. FG writes of the aftermath of some of her 'runs', we call "the family afterwards". Often she visits in the hospital or at home, someone whose life has been saved. Sometimes she visits the spouse or other family members of a loved one whose life was lost.

Her empathy and compassion (she's simply your 'average firefighter') is astounding to me. I mean--I'm her father--a recovering alcoholic, whose entire prior life was dedicated solely to the satisfaction, pleasure and immediate gratification of.....ME.

The professionalism of these public servants we all know about. The inevitable emotional stress is almost always reserved for a later time, after a particular run, or end of shift. It is then that FG sometimes types a story to her Poppa (can you believe, that's me?). Often her written pieces involve survivors (or non-survivors) of vehicle collisions. Her descriptions of twisted, mangled humans, bodies broken and/or bloodied, would make salable writing if wrought in the wonderfully-keyed words of Mary L.A. (Mary Louisey).

I have FG's permission to publish her stories--unedited--so the following is an excerpt from a very recent "note to Poppa" from my daughter:

"...last shift in the late evening we ran a call in a very rough neighborhood - very poor area, lots of crime, etc.....small fire was in a very tiny little house... but boy it smelled good.... fried chicken!! Anyway, I made a comment about how good it smelled in there and those people wanted to fix me up a plate to take back with me. It was very touching and very humbling.... people who have next to nothing wanting to fix me a plate of food. I had tears in my eyes leaving there. "

Now, please slip back with me about 40 years. I was still 5 years away from my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, and also my sobriety date. Daughter (future Fire-Girl) was about age 3.

Naples, a then-small village, did not even rate mileage signs on the highways e.g., "NAPLES 80 MILES". Along part of our Gulf-of-Mexico frontage was a 7-foot high sea wall bordering a smallish section of a 20-mile long, W.I.D.E. expanse of clean sandy beach.

Future-Fire-Girl, under 3 feet in length, many times stood on top of that wall, shouting out, "ONE...TWO...THREE!!!" It was Poppa's signal to get over there, because this was "jump" time...and she DID jump, right out into nowhere, expecting "Poppa" to catch her. And--even while drunk--I always DID! What faith! What trust! I recall thinking then, "If only I could trust GOD like that"! And now, 34 years after, I think, "If only I could trust GOD like that"!

And I urge (read: PRAY FOR!) all of you--and I, to come finally to trust in God, and believe fervently, that He can and will and does restore us to sanity.

"c. God could and would if He were sought."
(Not caught-grin!)

Peace, and Love, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Steve