March 29, 1977

2525 McCue, #252

I left Paducah, KY on 3/28/77 and arrived in Houston the next day. That was 29 years ago. My friend Phil had moved down the year before and had secured a two bedroom apartment for us. He told me it was across the street from the biggest shopping complex in the Southwest--the Galleria. I was excited to be moving to the fourth biggest city in the US.

The apartment was great! The living room window was right over the waterfall that fed the swimming pool. There was glitter in the ceilings and there was piped in disco music on the intercom. Phil had marijuana and a large bottle of Tanqueray waiting. Heaven. Two days later was Phil's birthday and was the day he threw a welcoming party to introduce me. Afterwards we all went out to the Old Plantation, a large gay disco that on any given night (week nights included) it took 45 minutes to get from one corner to the opposite. There were lots of men, really good looking men. Coming from that small town in Kentucky I was starved!

So that was the start of my new life in Houston. I love it here. The summer heat wilts me every year and the thunderstorms nourish me. We have great mild winters. Houston is where I grew up, really grew up, where I have lived and loved. It is one of the easiest cities to live in and it's still cheaper than most metropolitan areas in the country. I have tried on occasion to leave and start anew elsewhere, but I always come back. It's my home.

Houston is also home to The Lambda Center, a place that rescued me from hell. I do not know if I would be sober today if it weren't for TLC and the wonderful group of drunks that built it, nourish it and keep the traditions of AA in fullest bloom.

It's fun to remember.