...the person attending the group for the very first time! (you never get a second chance for the first impression) Make their meeting one to remember! The genuine caring for new members is desperatly needed for the growth of the group. If a newcomer leaves the group with the feeling "no one really cares" as AA mwembers we did not do our part! Be challenged to share the very best of your recovery with that person because they desperately need the one thing WE can offer more than anyone else! "HOPE!" Lets be the best host and hostess at The Real Party! Sober Living!! What a blast! This is nirvana! Good Health and Be Blessed! Mr. Denny

...the hand of AA to always be there and for that, I am responsible!(paraphrased) Yesterday a young man(32) called for help. He has attended our church for 3 years and had a serious problem with meth.( As if there is any other kind?) He has lost his wife and baby daughter, his job, his home and had made efforts to reconcile with his family to the point he was going home this weekend, good news! So what does he do? SABOTAGE! He goes out and gets a gram of cocaine to celebrate. His wife and family found out through the(grapevine) and his homecoming is off! Today he said he would do everything it takes to have his life back? Sounds familiar huh? We will see if he can put the action behind the words. Recovery does not care a "whit or a tittle" what we think or what we feel. The only things that matter are what we do-------or don't do! We will see wont we? Good health to all and be Blessed!Mr. Denny

on a 3rd D.W.I. in the state of Missouri! This is Dans story. For the last 15 months we have worked very hard to overcome 35 years of addiction in his life. We first worked together 20 years ago on his 1st offense. When I came back from Thailand 2 years ago, (some people get executed for drugs there) we ran into each other at a recovery meeting. Daily phone contact, family illness, employment hardship and sobriety maintenance allowed this man to "dodge a landmine!" He has the privilege of using an (Ignition Interlock devise)on his company and personal vehicle, 200 hours of community service, a stack of fines(I could not reach that high)and an opportunity to prove to himself that this sober life really is worth it! Great work Dan! Good Health to all and Be Blessed! Mr. Denny

very little if we use today! Recovering group members of all types tend to revere the "Old Timers" as those who can not relapse or return to suffering from their addiction. An old adage of recovery is that "The further away you are from your last spree, the closer you may be to your next one!" In other words, the allergy we suffer to chemicals will remain with us for the rest of our days. We can not expect science to "find a cure!" Yes they may someday develop a "pill" or a "therapy" which removes the obsession to use but the risk I take to experiment with their "latest new thing" could kill me! Life is tooooooo gooooood today for me to risk such idiocy in my life! Perhaps that is what recovery step 2 means" to be restored to sanity?" I think so, how about you? Good Health and Be Blessed! Mr. Denny

As addicts and alcoholics choose new ways of living that do not include booze and drugs they are challenged to discover what normal is? When we practice our disease, "drinking, drugging, ripping, running, lying, cheating, stealing and "doin' our own thang" we fail to perceive that our behavior is unusual i.e. dysfunctional! Not everyone drinks warm beer with cigarette ashes in the can. Not everyone finishes the only mixed drink left on the poker table when they come too i.e. regain our senses. Not everyone smokes crack or "bangs a shot of dope in their arm!!! In recovery we learn that there are only degrees of abnormality. Choice is what does separates us from them. As the sickness worsens we will experience the things we vowed to never do. Recovery requires new choices and support to survive. Many of us do not! Good Luck and Health, Be Blessed! Mr. Denny