Seen and Heard It In a Meeting: Snippets of Sobriety from Southwest Philly — by Pete R., Winter Park Men’s Group

Like many people, the place I first got sober is special to me. For me, that place is Southwest Philadelphia, and I share about it a lot. So much, in fact, that I’m sometimes asked, “If things were so good there, what are you doing here?” Don’t get me wrong; I have met hundreds of top-quality friends, sponsors, and sponsees since I’ve been sober in Central Florida. But I never want to forget the people and places that first helped me “get it.” So what did I see in meetings? Signs; the walls of AA rooms in Philly were papered with signs. A few of my favorites:  You’re Not Alone (almost every room in the city)  There are no strangers here, only friends you haven’t met yet. (4021 Walnut St., West Philly)  If your way is so good, what are you doing here? (Life or Death Group, Northeast Philly) So what did I hear in meetings? Wisdom. Sometimes it was funny, sometimes poignant, sometimes aggravating, but it was always what I needed to hear. A few words to the wise:  Don’t drink even if your butt falls off. If it does, put it in a wheelbarrow and bring it to the meeting.  You are not that important, but you are important to us.  Resentment is like wetting your pants; everyone can see it, but you are the only one who feels it.  Fourth step made simple: Be thorough, make no excuses, and accept no punishment.  Don’t come here looking for the people in AA; people will always let you down . . . . . . Come here looking for the AA in people. Several times I heard my friend, Alan, say that when he was new he had a lot of trouble with steps two and three. He told his sponsor that he just didn’t think he could handle the beliefs necessary to get those steps. His sponsor simply said, “Just believe that I believe.” That was enough. For years, I heard Alan sum up his sharing with, “I love Alcoholics Anonymous.” Many years ago, my grand sponsor, Happy Mike, was the speaker at a meeting in Glenside, PA. Only a few months earlier, Mike’s teenage son had been shot and killed. Toward the end of his story, Mike said, “In my prison meetings, I would like to meet the person who killed my son, so I could help him in recovery.” I never before or since heard such a statement of forgiveness. Finally, here’s a little story about Eddie Mac, a member in good standing of AA in my little Southwest Philly neighborhood, a story that taught me AA would always be there for me: When Eddie Mac’s father died, his mother made the necessary arrangements at the Elmwood Avenue funeral parlor. The funeral director offered to provide pall bearers, but Eddie and his mother did not want his father carried by strangers. Eddie walked directly across the street to the neighborhood AA clubhouse. Within five minutes, Eddie had six pall bearers. The moral of the story? Directly across the street from each other, on Elmwood Avenue in Southwest Philly, are the last two groups of people on earth to ever let you down – the funeral parlor and Alcoholics Anonymous.