12 years ago I walked down these stairs and into my first AA meeting on my own steam—although my bosses were very supportive that this was how I’d spend the noon hour. I’m ever grateful to them.
Today I walked down these steps to see my dear friend Bob who celebrates 40 years sober today. An unexpected gift was seeing so many old friends who made the same trip.
There was also a young, beautiful woman with terrified, nervous, desperate eyes sitting next to her husband. She walked down the stairs for the first time today. He was there to support her.
Sitting across from them was Bob, with his wife, and some of the good friends he’s made in his 20+ years in Denver. Like me those years ago, she heard a message of hope, laughter at stories most normal people wouldn’t get, a living demonstration of the power of one drunk helping another get well, and the lifelong friends we meet along the way.
This downtown Denver meeting has been going for more than 50 years. Its fortunes up and down like Denver’s. When I was new, it was packed every day with 40 or 50 drunks drawn from downtown’s fanciest offices and dirtiest alleys. These days it’s smaller; a 40% office vacancy and zoom will do that. But the message is the same—a common problem and a common solution that works for us, no matter where we come from.
I love the men and women I met there; they saved and changed my life by spending the noon hour in a basement Monday through Friday. If you can’t control how much you drink, or when you stop, you start again, we’ve found a way to get free.
The hardest part is walking down the steps.
Thank you Bob for being there when I was new and today for the woman who was so brave today.
We do recover.
