Sunshine
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,010
Sunshine
On May 1st I will have six months.
Today is a gloriously sunny day here. Day started off badly when the postman delivered another rejection letter. I put it in my file trying to ignore the panic in my stomach and headed into town to do some business.
Walking down the street lined with tourists, smiling, talking, laughing, sharing food and wine. I have this feeling in my head that it would be nice to sit in the sun and have a glass of cold white wine. It's a beautiful day and I "earned" it. And then, I saw a familiar face hobbling towards me. I have lived in this city on and off for 33 years and everyone knows the town drunk. He seems to go through phases of being on and off the wagon. Today, he looks as good as he can, clean suit, tidy hair even though he walks with a stick. My mom said she saw him a few months ago, when she was out for an early morning walk and he was so drunk, he lay down in the middle of the road and the staff who work at the local supermarket called an ambulance for his own safety. He used to come begging in my neighbourhood when I was a child. My parents would never give him money but my dad would give him some clean clothes and my mom would make him some sandwiches to take away. The local priests are also very good to him and I know that they sometimes bring him into their house for soup and sandwiches.
Anyway, we passed each other by in the street. I smiled at him and he gave me a nod in return.
I decided to skip the wine and I am sitting in the park with an ice cream cone and the newspaper. In years to come I don't want to be "the town drunk".
Today is a gloriously sunny day here. Day started off badly when the postman delivered another rejection letter. I put it in my file trying to ignore the panic in my stomach and headed into town to do some business.
Walking down the street lined with tourists, smiling, talking, laughing, sharing food and wine. I have this feeling in my head that it would be nice to sit in the sun and have a glass of cold white wine. It's a beautiful day and I "earned" it. And then, I saw a familiar face hobbling towards me. I have lived in this city on and off for 33 years and everyone knows the town drunk. He seems to go through phases of being on and off the wagon. Today, he looks as good as he can, clean suit, tidy hair even though he walks with a stick. My mom said she saw him a few months ago, when she was out for an early morning walk and he was so drunk, he lay down in the middle of the road and the staff who work at the local supermarket called an ambulance for his own safety. He used to come begging in my neighbourhood when I was a child. My parents would never give him money but my dad would give him some clean clothes and my mom would make him some sandwiches to take away. The local priests are also very good to him and I know that they sometimes bring him into their house for soup and sandwiches.
Anyway, we passed each other by in the street. I smiled at him and he gave me a nod in return.
I decided to skip the wine and I am sitting in the park with an ice cream cone and the newspaper. In years to come I don't want to be "the town drunk".
Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Baton Rouge, La.
Posts: 15,234
I wonder if he has any friends. 
I wonder if I have enough courage to
ask him to join me with an ice cream
cone and sit in the park. Maybe offer
him some suggestions to join me at
a meeting. Maybe he would open up
as to why he drinks so much.
Just offering an ear to listen. Maybe
hand him a little book of recovery
prayers I use in my own recovery.
Suggest that if he ever needed to
chat or sit quietly in the park, id
be happy to join him, or him with
me.
It's a solemn reminder that but for
the Grace of my HP and my program
of recovery to live by, there goes I
or that could be me.
All it takes is 2 or 3 people sitting
together sharing ESH with each other
to be an AA or NA meeting. Friends
helping friends in recovery.
Your doing a good job with ur own
recovery Tetra..!!!!
I wonder if I have enough courage to
ask him to join me with an ice cream
cone and sit in the park. Maybe offer
him some suggestions to join me at
a meeting. Maybe he would open up
as to why he drinks so much.
Just offering an ear to listen. Maybe
hand him a little book of recovery
prayers I use in my own recovery.
Suggest that if he ever needed to
chat or sit quietly in the park, id
be happy to join him, or him with
me.
It's a solemn reminder that but for
the Grace of my HP and my program
of recovery to live by, there goes I
or that could be me.
All it takes is 2 or 3 people sitting
together sharing ESH with each other
to be an AA or NA meeting. Friends
helping friends in recovery.
Your doing a good job with ur own
recovery Tetra..!!!!
Realising my life
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Dorset, England
Posts: 3,656
6 months is brilliant, Tetra, and it's clear from your posts just how much progress you've made 
I know that you don't ever want to be the 'town drunk' but you do have the humanity and compassion to smile at him - and that's really important
I know that you don't ever want to be the 'town drunk' but you do have the humanity and compassion to smile at him - and that's really important
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