Announcing my 3 months of Sobriety at that Saturday morning meeting was thrilling. I felt so proud and grateful for AA. When the meeting was closed, I asked a member how he got to be an Old Timer. He looked at me real serious, smiled and said, “You don’t drink and go to meetings. You don’t drink between meetings and YOU DON’T DIE! That was my first lesson for the day. As I was walking down the hallway to exit the meeting hall, he yelled, “TonyT”. I turned around to face him. He yelled to me, “Enjoy

Hospital offices closed for the holiday, so AA used the empty rooms for meetings. The 7 Eleven was around the corner, I grabbed a bag of chips, a couple of hot dogs and soda to tide me over between the hospital pocket

the 4th without a Fifth!”. My second great lesson in Sobriety.

Thank God, I listened to that Old Timer 42 years ago. I don’t drink and go to Zoom meetings. Don’t drink between Zoom meetings. I am going to be 84 years old this year in October 2021, Lord Willing. I ain’t dead yet. AA is a 24 hour program to learn many great lessons while attending and sharing. I’ve learned to listen to Listen to Learn. Another great lesson in Sobriety.

Thanks to AA Brick & Mortar meeting rooms, I got a great lesson that day to stay sober. How I miss the hugs, kisses, all of us going to dinner for meals and fellowshipping. Yes, missed but not forgotten. I still go to my meetings, sitting in my underwear while attending meetings in Singapore, Kona or Honolulu, HI, New York Long Island & up in The Bronx NY, San Francisco and Ft. Lauderdale, FL. daily. Who knew AA would ‘morph’ into a new format, Zoom over the internet using WiFi technology.

~ TonyT/San Francisco, CA

Those Friends Thou Hast

Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel.

~ William Shakespeare

Every so often at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting I hear a newcomer share that most of his old friends stopped coming around and that he thought that he was losing them. Sometimes this may be distressful and may cause a person to question whether the sacrifice is worth the loss of those old acquaintances.

day if we wanted to. We did not need a boat or even a set of clubs to associate with each other. The bottle was all that was necessary and without it we had little in common. When the common denominator was gone, trying to hang out with them became awkward for them and for me. I had to accept that reality and let them be. If we have anything else in common, we will know it and share that association with each other, but that was seldom the case except for family members or work associates.

Sometimes the word friend is misunderstood. We often refer to people we are associated with as friends. Others will say that you can count on one hand, the true friends you will have in a lifetime. So where do these associates or acquaintances come in?

We, in A.A. are fortunate indeed for we have a common denominator that has been likened to the survivors on a sinking ship, in a lifeboat, caring for each other. We associate at such a deep and intimate level that we develop true friendships that the average person seldom is exposed to. Understanding this can be a great comfort to those new members who may need to be prepared to move on with their lives.

I played golf for about 35 years and had many so-called golfer friends but when the round of golf was over, we put our clubs in the car and went our separate ways. Fishing was the same. When we finished fishing, we put the rods and tackle box in the car and went home.

If that new member is fortunate enough to adopt the A.A. program for the long haul, he may become the true friend that those old acquaintances in the bar room may need should they become a troubled alcoholic seeking help themselves. I cannot tell you how many true friends I have developed in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, but I have been grappling with them unto my soul for over 50 years now.