#244 Good Morning FRIDAY, August 21, 2015

Hello Everyone,

So I made it through my “story” last night!  I was nervous but blathered on for over 20 minutes!  So now:

S.O.B.E.R.

I had this little sign laminated and I carried it with me last night.  I was going to show it at the podium last night and I had a few other acronyms I wanted to use in my talk last night like:  GOD – Good Orderly Direction, STEPS – Solutions to every problem sober, NUTS – not using the steps!  I also remember now that I didn’t talk about my jobs at Moorings Park – ran out of time, never mentioned growing up in a house with 2 parents who never divorced and 2 older brothers.  I had the whole 8 pages on my phone “just in case” I had a senior moment in the middle of it, but it was a little small to read so I guess God had me say what was important.  I did get to talk about “Frostbite” by Glennon Doyle Melton.  That was really important to me, so I guess I had a “little” control over what I wanted to say.  Polly spoke after me and used her time well.  I always enjoy hearing her story about her “concoction”.  It’s pretty amazing.  AA saved our lives.  She got emotional at the end and got me crying too.  Even as I write this I “tear” up.  It’s really an amazing program and has saved so many lives, but also so many others don’t “get it”.  That is such a shame.  Came home feeling great and ate 2 Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches!  In the “old” days I’d come home and have 2 bottles of wine…….things are much better now!

Learned some tragic news yesterday about Tony Ridgway’s son Will.  He passed away last Sunday.  I believe it was “suicide”.  I was texting Denny Durian and he said that his daughter Alison and Tony “found” him.  The obit says that he died “at home”, but I’m not sure what that meant.  I’m not sure whether he was living with them on Diana Avenue or whether he had his own place.  He was a “brilliant” young man, but “lost” I guess.  His mother suffers from bi-polar disease and I guess he inherited it.  Who knows.  His obit was beautiful.  I bet Tony wrote it.  He certainly had a “way with words”.  He was only 32, and of course I remember when he was born.  I always recalled his pouty, beautiful big brown eyes!  His sister Caroline was a “stand out” also at school.  Both of them brilliant.  So now that is 2 graduates of CSN that have committed suicide.  The other one was Ashley Campbell.  There may be others.  Such a tragic thing for these families.  Probably something that will never leave them – how could it.  I’m planning to go to the service on Monday.  It’s gonna be a sad day – lots of “old memories” popping up.  Beirne was the one to tell me about it by email or else I probably wouldn’t have known.

So yesterday at Sister’s By The Sea committee meeting we were “folding” the program and we discovered about 100 of them were “wrong”.  I used the wrong cover.  So this morning I’m using both of my printers to print 150 more of the right one!  That reminds me, I want to put the program up on the website.  I think I’ll do that now so I’ve got to go.  Thanks for visiting and have a beautiful day today!