Road Trip

I picked up New York Greg at the hospital where he is staying with his mom after she had heart surgery and we headed for Lambda to meet up with six others for a road trip. Greg, Queen Noor and I piled into Dave's Rav4. Dennis, William and Aunt Bob settled into Don K's car. In the first car there was sobriety of 23 years, 3 years, 21 months and 19 months. In the second was 28 years, 23 years, 11 years and 8 years. That's a lot of mobile sobriety! We were on our way to Beaumont, TX, seventy-five miles to the east of Houston. Of special note was the very large pecan log Greg bought at Stucky's where they were burning trash behind the store.

The illustrious Don K lived in Beaumont for years, it's where he sobered up and helped found the Lambda chapter there. The group in Beaumont is small and they were craving some new blood (so to speak), when a group is small every one is very familiar with each other's stories. And since this is the self-declared Month of Dennis, my spiritual brother had been asked to tell his story to these small town AAers. He was in good hands, support from his sponsor, a sponsee and six good friends.

We arrived at Bob and Gary's house in a quaint, lushly green section of the city and were greeted by a Shelti, a Scottie and a Westie, all wiggling with excitement. We toured the house, which is under renovation, and the verdant green back yard where Gary proudly showed off the results of his green thumb. Then back into the cars to head to Don's Seafood and Steak House where we were greeted with lots of local color and some mighty big oceanic murals. The ten of us sat at a big round table and were seemingly ignored by the locals--well, we weren't screaming and we weren't drunk...that would have garnered stares I am sure. At dinner local Bob asked if William would also agree to tell his story and he graciously accepted. David went to his car as we were leaving to fetch his camera and was greeted by a couple, the man wearing the same Hawaiian shirt as David who agreed to snap the picture of our group (Dave said it would be posted on his blog).

At Lambda we were treated to turtle cheese cake (turtle is the topping of chocolate, caramel and nuts, not real turtles), met more of the locals and settled into large, comfortable sofas. This was the second time I have heard Dennis' and William's stories, and as usual they were told with honesty, of the times when it was the most rough in their lives, what brought them to their bottom and how they both were rescued from the drowning pool. Sitting there I occasionally looked around the room at the bright and shining faces of these men and one woman and marveled at how lucky I was to be sitting there, stomach full of delicious seafood, drenched in the love and recovery of the program of AA. The moment was perfect and I was filled with gratitude.

When approached to make this trip my first inclination was to decline the invitation; that was my old, tired and fearful self rearing its head. In sobriety I have often been able to say yes when I would have in the past said no. I am willing to take chances today, give in to this program of healing of my old fearful self. I am grateful for another day of making my own sober history.