A torrent

It rained most of yesterday with a huge thunderstorm bringing torrential rains in the evening. We stayed on the boat at the marina this weekend instead of going out. So we got a great view of the approaching storm.

We were planning to go to an open AA meeting which is also a Big Book study. We just made it to the car before the full force of the storm hit.

In the meeting, the reading was from Bill's story. There is much to learn from reading this. I hear something different every time. Some passages that resonated last night:

"Drink was taking an important and exhilarating part in my life."

"Out of this alloy of drink and speculation, I commenced to forge the weapon that one day would turn in its flight like a boomerang and all but cut me to ribbons."

"My drinking assumed more serious proportions, continuing all day and almost every night. The remonstrances of my friends terminated in a row and I became a lone wolf."

"Liquor ceased to be a luxury; it became a necessity."

We saw a friend there that was sober for several years but decided to go back out. She said she was back from a 90 day stint in rehab. The pretty M. that used to be was replaced by a bloated woman aged beyond her years.

I hope that this time is the charm for her. We both hugged her, and as we did the tears came in a torrent. Her daughter is getting ready for college. M. is living with her brother in another state because she has no money, no house, and said that she is close to the rehab location. Bill's story is being told over and over in the desperate lives of so many every day. Very sobering stuff.