I got into AA in 1999... I was Drinking Too Much and Spiraling Out of Control. "Just by Coincidence" I was Experiencing Many Bad Events... I Got Fired at Work, Got Evicted, Got Injured in a Fight... Became Homeless... and... Started Going to AA Meetings in Chico, California... It Truly Saved my Life.
At AA I was able to Get Some Great Advice. One Lady Taught Me How to Apply for Federal Student Loans to Pay for College. FAFSA - Another Recommended Humboldt State University in Arcata. A Place I Had Never Heard Of But... IT'S MAGICAL! I Studied Computer Science for Four Years paid for by Student Loans and Graduated with a BS Degree. One of my Classmates was Also in AA and He Graduated a Year Before Me and Helped Me Get A Job... After Graduation, I was Immediately Hired at the County of Humboldt Working at The Welfare Office. USING MY COMPUTER SKILLS. I Worked there for Seven Years and Retired with a Pension.
One Blessing of Being a Member of Mom's AA in Chico is that I Became Friends with Many American Indians. They often invited us to Pow Wows and I Got to Dance as a Member of the Tribe. I Had a String of Sleigh Bells That I Wore on My Ankle While Dancing and Those Bells Absorbed the Good Vibrations of the Pow Wow. I Used them for Many Years at The Office I Worked at to Signal the End of the Workday... Just Like Fred Flintstone Has a Whistle, I Rang the Bells and Said Loudly: "STOP WORKING!" - Another time we went to a FIVE DAY Christian Tent Meeting put on by the Tribe. It was a 206 Drum Ceremony. 200 Hand Held Frame Drums and SIX FATHER DRUMS. I Got to Play the BIG Father Drum with Six Other Men and... A Song Magically Appeared in my Head... Later That Night I Wrote Down the Words and Figured out Guitar Chords... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7uD_aWmymg
BIG MEDICINE SONG by Gregory Vanderlaan
Chorus:
Awaken the giant within...(E,F,F#,F)
Awaken the giant within...(E,F,F#,F)
Verse:
Went down to the river (E,G,D,D*,D)
Went down to the sea (A,A*,A)
Drank deep of the water of life (E,G,D,D*,D)
and set my soul free,my soul free (A,A*,A,E,E)
Ya Way is the mountain
the ocean and the sea
may the four winds of the ancients
become one with thee,one with thee
...sing chorus here...
Ya-way,your way (E,G,D)
lead on mighty spirit (A,A*)
Ya-way your way
fill me with light
Ya-way, your way
the path is calling
Ya-way, your way
Rainbow warriors to the fight
Ya-way use me
make me a healer
Ya-way, use me
Big medicine is yours
Ya-way, use me
flowing waves of compassion
Ya-way, use me
My hands are your tools...
...sing chorus here...
The spirit of the buffalo (E,G,D,D*,D)
the spirit of the bear (A,A*,A)
teach us to live in balance (E,G,D,D*,D)
mother eARTh we will share, we'll share (A,A*,A,E,E)
****** (~);-} ******
The Hall "Mom's AA" in Chico was in a Vacant Restaurant attached to an Old Motel... We had Four Meetings a Day Every Day... I Liked to Go Pay my Guitar and Sing at Times When We Were NOT Having a Meeting. For Example: Many of Us Ate Dinner at The Jesus Center Free Meal and The Walked Down the Street To The Hall. Where it was COOL... and We Served Free Coffee... So for an Hour we would sing Folk Songs, Then Have an Hour Long Meeting and then ANOTHER hour of Folk Songs ANOTHER MEETING and Then Sing Until We Went Home... For People That DID NOT HAVE A HOME, they often spent the Night... I Do Remember Playing "THE TIME WARP" and Having Pretty Women Dance... THAT'S BIG FUN... and a LOT more fun than Drinking...
****** (~);-} ******
Another Time I Rode the Greyhound Bus to RENO with the Goal of Going To The BURNING MAN Festival. I Did Not Own a Car so... the Last Few Miles were Going to be Tricky... I Went to an AA Meeting and During My "Share" Asked if anyone was Going to Burning Man and Could I Get a Ride. Everyone Recommended NOT GOING and They Suggested that I Go to an AA Convention at the Hilton in Sparks... I followed their Advice and Not only was there an AA Convention but there was a Bar-BQ Contest in the Parking Lot with a Janis Joplin Imitator Band that also Played Grateful Dead... I Had a Lot of Fun and DID NOT RISK MY LIFE FROM DYING OF THIRST IN THE DESERT... As Was Likely to Happen at Burning Man... Since I Did Not Have a Car Filled with 5 Gallon Jugs of Water, Food, Sunscreen, a Tent etc etc etc... Later I Saw that Same Band at the HYATT Incline Village on Lake Tahoe...
One Blessing of Being an AA Member Was the Fact That we Had Many Wonderful Parties to Go To. I Remember a New Years Eve Pot Luck at the Recreation Center in Bidwell Park. Since we Had Two Large AA Groups in Chico and Another One in Paradise We Could Afford to Rent a Large Hall and Play Records... When I was Drinking I Drank Alone... All of a Sudden I Knew Many Women... and I Married One... Great!
The Other Advantage Was That Joining AA Helped Me Survive. When I was Drinking... I Just Happened to Have My Foot Run Over By a Small Truck While I was Leaving Madison Bear Garden at 2 AM... Ouch... I Had to Use my Bicycle as a Wheelchair for a Couple of Weeks..
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