A Big Party

I strongly tend to do things with one person at a time in quiet places.  Tonight TM, Jon and I went to the airport to pickup Greg.  He came home for the weekend after working in Chicago for the last 6 weeks.  I have known TM for years via her relationship with Greg but never really spent much time talking with her.  Jon has been going to our morning meeting several days a week for the last few months.  Greg is good friends with all three of us and has been for years.

Going out for a late dinner with 3 other people is a large social event for me. I had a good time.  It was good to see my friends doing well.

We went across the highway 99 (aka “International Boulevard” in SeaTac) to the 13 Coins restaurant.  We could not get a table in the dining room and so sat in the lounge where a jazz trio was playing loudly.  TM is an expert on skin care and cosmetics.   She gave Jon an in-depth explanation on suggestions for skin care.  Greg responded with discussion on the incredibly poor customer/food service provided.  It was like watching an entertaining old married couple bicker with love.  I was laughing.

Jon and I were nearly done with dinner by the time they served Greg and TM the same order—medium rare cheeseburger with double swiss and double broccoli—wrong.   Some broccoli was cooked and some was raw.  Their buns were soggy.  They made identical orders differently.  It was an appalling display of crappy by a legendary local restaurant.  The coffee was not only stale, but the coffee making system needed to be cleaned with more than just a rinse.  When they informed the guy acting like he was the manager, he just laughed in an embarrassed sort of way like he knew this problem had been going on for awhile and that it would not be dealt with properly.

I have only been to 13 Coins a few times in my life.  I am not a big late night restaurant guy.  The last time I went was when my brother-in-law Frank flew in my Australia to get sworn in as a US citizen.  Sandy and I watched the ceremony and then Frank took us to lunch.  That was a much nicer event during the early afternoon and was a pleasant memory.

The Greg, Jon, TM and I have been going to AA for decades.  I am the short timer having gone to rehab 15 years ago yesterday.  Jon has a year.  Greg had 6 months yesterday.  TM is closing in on 7 months.  I will have 60 days tomorrow.  From a normal perspective, that is a dismal track record of success.  For addicts like us, that is miraculous progress.  Most addicts simply die in active addiction.  All four of us are as happy as we have ever been in our lives.  We have a newfound serenity and peace that we have sought all our lives.  It is good to be sober today.

I am grateful for my sobriety, my friends in recovery, laughter,  and to Greg for buying us dinner.