The weather and the roads are pretty much closed down. For me and for others there will probably be no meeting today. We’ve had snow, sleet, and then freezing rain. Everything is pretty much shut down up here. So, I will use this medium for my meeting with all of you.
I had to laugh, when I found out these conditions were such as they were. When I was drinking, weather was never a problem. I can remember driving, and sometimes walking, in blizzards and even hurricanes to get to a bar to get a drink. I recall the night before the Kennedy Inaugaration. A bunch of us were in the barroom in downtown Washington, drinking up a storm, while a blizzard was going on outside. When they finally closed the bar down we walked miles back home. We walked up Pennsylvania Ave., past the Whitehouse in the early morning hours, with the Army out on the streets, shoveling snow to clear the way for the event to take place that day. There are a lot of other stories in my mind dealing with what was an obstacle for normal folks. But not for an alcoholic who wants a drink.
When I came into the program, the weather went on regardless of whether I was sober or not. I was sober, but my sponsor didn’t see any bad weather event as a reason not to have a meeting. He dragged me out in ice storms, snow storms, windstorms, whatever. He reminded me that I would go to any lengths to get a drink and that I needed to go to any lengths to stay sober. In fact, one of the jokes at my home group down in Maryland, was my anniversary. I still talk to people down there who laugh at the memories of them. It seemed that you could count on an ice storm and the streets being an ice rink. Those brave enough would always be prepared to attend that event with all of us holding our breath and hoping we wouldn’t break something sliding across the parking lot. Never seemed to fail.
I remember one memorable night and a severe ice storm. It was New Years Eve and our group was holding a party. It at another facility, several miles away from where our meeting place was located. The place was packed, despite the hazardous driving. About a half hour before we would hold our usual meeting that night, my sponsor came over to a group of us and told us we had to go to the church where we met and open up the meeting. We all protested going back out in that weather. He was firm and said that he was going anyway and that we were to follow him. Grumbling and swearing a group of about five of us climbed into our cars and drove slipping and sliding, with freezing rain on the windshields.
We finally arrived at the church and opened the meeting place up. A couple of us set the chairs up and someone made the coffee. Then we sat down resentfully in silence, waiting for the time to open the meeting. Just as we were about to start the outer door opened and a man walked in. When he saw us, the look on his face was startling. It was one of pure relief. He said that he was on his way to get a drink, when he thought that maybe a meeting could save him and he took a chance to stop and go in. He said he couldn’t believe that a meeting would be taking place on a night like this. He thanked us for being there.
All of us sitting there glanced at one another and then at Tom, my sponsor. We were shamefaced at our protestations about opening the meeting that night. Some of us had been sober a few years and had probably reached that feeling of comfort in our sobriety. We were only thinking of ourselves and Tom was thinking about something else. That something else was the man who walked through those doors that evening.
I was thinking about that night and a lot of other nights after that. Talk about a spiritual awakening. At least for me, but I’m also sure that others felt the same way.
I would have gone if I could have today. I still feel the same way after that night. But my ride couldn’t get out of his driveway and his streets were still unplowed. I have this longing inside, so I just have to settle for you all reading this little piece and hope for another day. Maybe tomorrow. But I know that I will stay sober for this day and am grateful that at least on one occassion a man came to a meeting and didn’t drink, because a meeting was available to him.