PO Box 1980

Gone are the smoke-filled rooms, the "You're-too-young, I-spilled-more-than-you-drank" attitude, and the great conversations while washing coffee cups and ashtrays. Gone are the small towns with no meetings, the medium-sized towns with only one or two meetings a week, and the state with only two or three roundups a year. No longer are there only two or three women at a meeting. Twenty years of sobriety do not make you the group's old-timer anymore. And sadly, one doesn't hear as much about the joy of going on an old-fashioned Twelfth Step call.

There are still Tradition breaks, bleeding deacons, and the flaring up of egos. We still have a program of recovery that works, Promises that come true, Traditions that solve group conflict, and Concepts to keep our leaders trusted servants. And still with us are the warm welcomes that greet newcomers and the friendships that develop over time in our ever-changing Fellowship, probably due to our unchanging program.

P.S. When my wife asked if I was writing a love letter, I said yes. I have been sober since May 1, 1972.