Thoughts about Lou

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HALF Men's Group

5/3/2022

2 years of the Horses Ass Loving Fellowship (HALF)! Thanks for keeping an eye on the weather for us Lou... See you Sunday!

2 Comments

Cadillac Dan

5/3/2022 03:52:13 pm

If I had to guess… it was January of 2020 when the Sunday morning meeting (9am) secretary was harassing us about parking, ride sharing, and finding ways to lower the number of cars at Holbrook-Palmer park. It became a weekly discussion with a majority of members who couldn’t care less what the city parks issue was, due to the fact we paid our rent and the # of spaces was 2-3 times available of what we were using.

I walked out the meeting door one morning and commented to a few men that, “what we should do is start our own meeting” and “we will call it the Horses Ass” as I pointed to a life size sculpture of a horse and its derrière promptly facing us. We all laughed, and knew we would be back the next week inspite of the parking grumbles and concerns.

A few months later, Covid had shut the world down. All meetings were cancelled and Zoom was the dominate force for AA meetings. I also had to shut down my Monday night dinner meetings with men I sponsored and invited to join us for “book” study. The mood of recovery had taken an ominous turn and all I could think about was meeting outdoors, wear a mask…don’t wear a mask, be safe…what about newcomers? I couldn’t imagine getting sober under these conditions as making the decision to join the fellowship was more than enough of “life changing “ requirements!

And then the thought… THE HORSES ASS! We can meet outdoors, bring our own chairs, pick up coffee at Starbucks, bring some donuts, and make a meeting! We started with 5 men showing up after a few phone calls. A few months later we had 10-15 men sitting in a circle, a few who hadn’t been to a “live meeting” in months! The joy and genuine appreciation to participate in a meeting that everyone got a chance to share, was an incredible foundation. I will never forget Paul B. sitting in our circle, smiling, enjoying the nature, the friendships and when called on stating, “it doesn’t get any better than this!”

I’ll save you the drama of Holbrook-Palmer park employees calling the police one Sunday ( our group count was over 12 -Covid park policy), when rain was forecast, how we drove into the underground parking lot at Barone’s and set up a meeting for 25 plus, amidst the traffic flow and wondering eyes of the public and how we found Flood park.

Two years later we have 35-45 men show up with chair in hand, smile on their face, and genuine love for the men who are committed to our responsibility statement…

I am responsible, when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help,
I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that
I am responsible.

Gene Gene the Recovery Machine link

5/3/2022 04:21:35 pm

Good God Almighty did all this really happen in recent past ! Thank You All for the memories ! Thanks for all the support you have given to make all this happen ! Thank you Daniel for Today !

HALF Men's Group

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"Cadillac" Dan

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