I LIVE HERE

Re-Post from December 31, 2009

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2011

Frequently, in getting to know blogger-Peeps, 

I wonder, "Where do you live? What does 

your house look like? Your yard?"  

This is where steveroni lives...

WHERE DO YOU LIVE?

And I am so ever grateful to have a place to live. I do know what it is, to stand in the cold at midnight, snow swirling about howling winds. And I am there shivering with runny nose, fever, wet feet in soggy socks and shoes, feeling OH! so sorry for myself--you know the drill--"Nobody loves me...nobody cares!" I wish I had a hat.



Yeah, right. Boo-hoo-hoo! It is snowing so hard, several inches have accumulated while I'm standing there waiting for a bus--hopefully, heated. My ears are freezing, and my fingers also. If only I had a hat. "Achoo!"


Must remember to get my violin out of hock, and see if these fingers will still do the thing. Where did I leave that hat?



NOTE: I had pawned  my violin (worth $950 at the time) for $5...to buy a quart of "good" vodka. Two weeks later they wanted $17 for it's retrieval. The vodka, with my system of rationing, had lasted seven hours.


Ten more years of this kind of life brought me to my knees--literally--in 1974. I have not had a drink since. My gratitude is ongoing, characterized by activity in the groups of Alcoholics Anonymous. There I found, in twelve steps, a way of life...which makes life worth living.


Many of you Peeps are friends who I never have met, and probably will not experience that face-to-face joy of meeting. But I love you--ALL of you. And as we trudge this road of happy destiny, this road of Poems, Paintings, Music, Love and SOBRIETY, I am humbled. God has granted me SO many gifts, temporal, spiritual, and certainly not the least...YOU Peeps, who I cherish. And I now own eight hats!



Love.
Steve E


HAPPY NEW YEAR!


(See you in 2011)

YESSSS! ANOTHER TRIP LOG

LIGHTNER MUSEUM--ST AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF....

 August 2009, as I rode through St Augustine, on Florida's east coast, just south of Jacksonville, I decided to stop for a few AA meetings, and "Meet the Peeps" (Sounds like "Meet the press", Holy Crapola!)...

Back in St Augustine today--2010--at noon I went to Serenity Club. Guess what? A Women's meeting! So, just momentarily and slightly bumped off the third rail, I remembered a lady, 30 years sober, last year saying she worked 32 years at the Lightner Museum, but I did not remember her name. So, wishing to meet with her again I used the time to go to that Museum--OH! What an interesting place of beauty:

--Old stuff, oily stuff (on canvass--grin!)
Grey stuff, clay stuff
From chairs to hairs (a shrunken head).
Musical instruments and surgical
Mundane and magical...

Statues and Carvings

All under one Huge roof

No luck looking for my AA lady-friend.  Person in charge of volunteers was no help at all...mainly because I had only few clues. I told her I met this lady at a meeting, etc. No help whatever.

I left, riding scooter right up the avenue. My DROID rang. Calling was the lady I had been seeking, RENE. She said her boss mentioned "a fellow on a motorcycle said he met someone who works here--at a meeting, way last year...Sheeeesh!"

Rene said she jumped up and said "That's ME!"  And she called me to return to the museum, this time to the BACK door! The "Family" door!
 
She guided me up to her office,and we had a great AA meeting--including coffee--the two of us with (combined) more than 65 years of sobriety, talking about our beloved AA program and Steps, like excited beginners.

Rene's son, probably between age 35-40 celebrated 10 months of sobriety yesterday. Her husband John, also an AA long-timer, and Rene, decided to take son Greg and me out to "do" Mexican dinner. And DO we DID! Out of this world GoooooD!

Tomorrow we will all meet once more at the 7 AM meeting, just before I leave St Augustine. And ya know what? I'll be BACK here! Why? Because I  L O V E it here!

I'd guess the real gist of this story is that I had said to the "museum lady" earlier, "Well, God just must NOT want us to meet up this year."  And that's JUST when God took over.

Many smaller Puzzling Pieces of this chance meeting, lovely dinner, and promise to meet again happened, but this post would become bloated, and maybe even lengthy, even by MY standards--grin!

PEACE and LOVE to 

All you peeps, seriously!

Whoever wishes, feel free
To spend the day as me...
Not to think of a spree
Or a single drink, you see
We're sober, happy, joyous

...and FREE!

--steveroni

WHERE IS HE? EVERYWHERE!

 

PEEPS IS WHERE HE IS

Today I get to ride 50 miles on my scooter to our district AA meeting.  As a new GSR, I remember last month that the meeting lasted more than 5 hours.  And I fell asleep--sort of.  Today I will not snooze because the temperature is in the 60's and on a bike there is the wind factor.

The 7 AM AA meeting this morning was about God.  Since each of us has--and is certainly allowed--to have our own concept of our Higher Power, this is a tricky topic to address.  The first 164 pages in our Big Book "Alcoholics Anonymous" for me is like a rock-solid creed from which I sometimes veer, but to which I usually try to adhere.

A priest in AA named (believe this!) Father Bill Wilson tells us on his CD that Chapter Four "To The Agnostics" is the most important piece of literature in all of written history.  He had been seeking the "real" God from Rome Italy, to California. Studying in Rome, he acquired TWO doctoral degrees, no dummy, this guy. And he "found God" in Chapter 4 of our Big Book page 55.  In fact, Father Bill Wilson reads aloud this paragraph (about halfway down page 55) TWO TIMES in his talk--it is that important to him, for understanding "where is God"...

The excerpt:

"We finally saw that faith in some kind of God was a part of our make-up, just as much as the feeling we have for a friend. Sometimes we had to search fearlessly, but He was there. He was as much a fact as we were. We found the Great Reality deep down within us. In the last analysis it is only there that He may be found. It was so with us."

Yes, it does say "deep down within us" and "In the last analysis" and "ONLY there that He may be found." WOW!  It almost says to me to look no further that the Peep next to me and I should be able to "see" God. This chapter/paragraph changed my lifelong-held perspective of God--as if God ever needed MY "perspective-change"--grin!!!

Sober, Love, and Peace for today
For ALL you Peeps and me, I pray!

Painting from DEVIANT ART:  "CROWD"  by  tigerlilyn.jpg

GOING AWAY, BUT NOT TODAY

GEOGRAPHY LESSON:
Name the States

RIDE 'N GLIDE

Most of you who read this already know that in a couple weeks I will be riding my scooter (alone) up the east coast from Naples, FL to somewhere north of Miami to St Augustine, Jacksonville, and to a final destination...Richmond Virginia. I'm leaving either August 22, 23, or 24 (Sat, Sun, or Monday.)

After 2 weeks--for the return , I plan to follow I-85 line to Charlotte North Carolina, then to Charleston, South Carolina. From there, back to home, Naples, FL. I have no route planned for that. Maybe through Orlando ("around" Orlando?). I'd like to "do" Mt Dora.

A lot of this ride will be on the "Blue" highways. My GPS will take care of that. And, of huge benefit is that time is not critical. I'm gonna get there when I "get there".

If you are a new reader, I am just coming off my Freshman Year of blogging. And I'm learning. Still learning. BOY, am I "learning". Sheeesh!

For this upcoming scooter trip, I have to admit to a little fear, mainly in my lack of planning. I know I have to get a list of dealers for my Suzuki Scooter, I'll need an oil change. I AM getting a GPS, a couple saddle bags (I think?) a jacket with "armor" (pads around shoulders, elbows, etc.)...and I 'want' a nice tiny camera--I'm looking.

Also, using my laptop, I'll find AA meetings wherever I stop. Have to buy a newspaper to find out where I am??? --grin! (Yesterday's blog!)

So if any Peeps between Naples, FL, Richmond, VA, Charlotte NC, Mt Dora FL, are interested in meeting a sober guy on a scooter, let me know, at fiddlemn@gmail.com. That is the address I'll be receiving mail on the road also. If anyone responds, I will send you my cell number, in case you want to alert me to an AA meeting along the way.

Many years I scoffed (?) at those who said they wished to "find out who they are". Well, I think it's about time for me to trudge that road. I hope to return in several weeks "with a whole new outlook" on life. (sigh)...ANOTHER one? This all sounds so selfish to me as I write it now. But I am praying that God will ride with me and guide me along the way to unselfish happenings.

Another purpose of my ride is to meet a few blogger-friends face-to-face, take my enthusiasm to meetings, and blog my daily thoughts--BIG deal, huh?

An unexpected treat is that I shall visit and hold my first Great-Grandchild. (It) is being born right about.......NOW!

ADDENDUM: 8PM First Great Grandson named Michael Patrick BORN

Peeps, I'm hoping for some spiritual recovery here, so if you feel so inclined, please add me to one of your prayerful thoughts through the day.

"Let us be sober today.
Let us have some peace today.
Let us love today."
Steve

NOTE: As "Riding Day" gets closer, I'll letcha all know more about my plan which has not yet been formulated.