Things I've Heard Lately

I heard a woman say that she was going to go to the memorial service for a friend. He had arranged everything for the event prior to his death. It will be a large celebration of his life, with many people in attendance. The eulogy will be given by a Catholic priest, and the party will be held at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. because her friend wanted this to be an international inter-denominational event. Caterers will serve food and a band has been hired. There will be a coffin filled with ice and beer for guests.





A retired businessman told me that he was invited to dinner by his son and his son's partner so that he and his wife could meet his son's new pastor. This man drank so much that he passed out at the dinner table. He had never met the pastor or the pastor's wife before. He felt remorse about embarrassing his son.




When I returned to my table at Karen's Diner this morning to leave a tip I overheard a man saying "Do not judge us for our mistakes; judge us for our love."




This morning I heard a person say "God put these other people in my life for a reason."




A fellow told me that he went to a support group for folks with loved ones who abuse drugs, because his brother is a crack addict. He was introduced to the Jellinek Curve for the first time. As he studied the information handed out, he recognized his own alcoholism which he had been denying.




I heard a man say that sympathy will kill an alcoholic.




A man told me that he had traveled to my city to be pre-screened for a liver transplant. He is hopeful that he will be a viable candidate for this procedure because the disease of alcoholism has destroyed his liver.




I heard a dog whining in fear and confusion, because of the pain from the previous day's surgery. There was nothing I could do that would comfort her. She does not understand that the pain will pass, and that she will be healthier and live longer.




Someone told me that after many years of sobriety they stopped going to meetings and became too busy to pray. They started drinking again because their disease had been waiting patiently all those years for them to become complacent.




I heard a woman in an AA meeting ask me to her home when she found out I would be alone on Thanksgiving.