(Click on picture to see a short video.)
Wow! What
an experience once again. This was only my second international
convention, but I have to say it was just as exhilarating as the
first.
When we arrived at the convention center to get
our badge holders and souvenir programs, I immediately noticed the
kindness shown by everyone. If two people bumped into each other,
each would say “Excuse me”, simultaneously. People waited patiently
in the mile-long lines, talking and joking with the other line-ees.
There was an almost tangible feeling of acceptance, tolerance and
patience wherever we went.
The opening ceremony gave me chill bumps as each
nation’s flag was proudly carried by a representative of that
nation. There was applause and cheers for each flag, but maybe a
little more for countries like India, Iran, China and Mexico. Ninety
nations were represented at this convention, proving that AA works
everywhere – no matter what the culture is, what language is spoken,
what religion is most prominent, or what type of government runs the
country. Drunks across the world want to get sober and start a new
life!
Saturday night was the “old-timers” time in the
spotlight, with the big meeting in the Alamodome paying homage to
545 members who had 40+ years each. Yes, that’s over 21,800 years of
sobriety with the most going to a man who had 64 years! Twelve
old-timers’ names were drawn from a sombrero (no regular hat here!)
and each one of them had 5 minutes to share. What an interesting mix
of stories and emotions from that loving, sharing group.
Sunday morning brought this great gathering of
drunks to a close with the final meeting of the convention. It was a
great meeting, but there were such mixed feelings because I knew
this was the close of another great gathering, but at the same time,
I didn’t want to acknowledge the end. There were over 54,000
attendees celebrating sobriety and the Alamodome has never seen so
many seats filled – especially by non-drinking participants.
There were many, many other things going on, but
there’s just not room enough to write about them. The Bill and Bob
play was awesome, comedian Mark Lundholm was hilarious, and Sober
City had every piece of convention memorabilia you could want. There
were meetings going on all the time on every topic you could
imagine, dances at three or four of the hotels, hospitality rooms
for most of the states, and, of course, coffee everywhere. When I
asked the woman at Starbucks if there were more people than they
expected, she said they knew there would be a lot of people, but
they weren’t prepared for the non-stop lines that never went away!
All in all, it was nothing less than spectacular.
The weather? Yes, it rained, but that didn’t stop any of us
alcoholics from having a great time. In my drinking days, I know it
certainly wouldn’t have stopped me from drinking and I’ll be darned
if it was going to stop me from having fun in sobriety!
If you’ve never been to an International
Convention, I suggest you go. Just being around so many recovering
people is enough to keep you sober for another day, so what more of
a reason could you want? The next one will be in Atlanta in 2015,
which isn’t a bad drive for all of us Floridians. I think I might
take my motorcycle. Let me see, what will I need to pack?
Convention attendee #3817,
Woodie S.
