Singapore friends in AA: My name is Mike and I am an alcoholic. This is my third time in Singapore since 2005, when I came on a merchant navy ship. Last year I was fortunate enough to be in on the beginnings of the Singapore Intergroup’s first meetings. For the first time in my 29 years in AA the opportunity arose to do service work in the area of actual assisting with standing up something new. One of my passions in AA is the Loners International Meeting (LIM) of which I have been an active member since 1984. This part of GSO in New York has been involved since the 1940’s in assisting AA’s around the world. It is an amazing story how the loners came to being. AU.S. merchant marine officer, Bill W and especially Nell, AA’s first secretary, started the LIM on the fly when that young man took AA literature to sea. Now around the world and on ships are people supported in staying in touch with sobriety. Every week in meetings in Singapore I meet people who go to far flung places, places I can’t pronounce much less have ever heard of. We of AA Singapore can assist these places by letting them know we are here and we care. Many in our area speak the languages of South East Asia. I think of Singapore as the capital of Asia and a natural fit for being the AA reach into Asia. Talk is cheap…we all know that. We hope to expand the newsletter to include loners’ stories without the full names. The loners in mail from GSO has complete names. If you travel in Asia I recommend you join the Loners International by writing GSO in New York putting “attention international desk”. State where you are and that you want to join. They will do the rest. God bless you all, fair winds and following seas. Mike F.