Great Expectations

At every young people's conference I have ever been to, from Memphis to Montreal, the sobriety countdown is one of the most moving parts of the weekend. It starts with a call for people with one year and progresses up to the person in the room with the longest sobriety. The ovation for that person is tumultuous. Then the countdown starts to go in the opposite direction. First six months, then three, then one. Then weeks and days. And finally, just one day. Could there be someone in the room with just one day of sobriety? I've never seen it fail. For an instant the room is very still. Then, from somewhere in the throng, timidly, a lone figure is standing. And all hell breaks loose. The din is like the stock market and a Grateful Dead concert all closing at the same time.