My brother had a dream about me.

my oakapalloka friends and I were visiting you in western Minnesota and were snubbed as bigots by Dick Van Dyke and the tall moustached white guy that used to be on Benson. You were shipping out to Syria.

Then he goes on to say he's about to leave for Branson, which, my god, has to be worse than Syria by now.

Natch, I know exactly what he means. He worries I'm north rather than south, and that I'm a prisoner rather than free. Also, he frets about his own doubts, since his visit here. He doesn't want to be a bigot, but he knows how often and how cheaply that charge is made and how seldom it sticks in modern-day America.

I don't care anymore what the popular perception is of AA.

There is a popular tv commercial running now, where an eight year old stands up in an AA meeting and says "Hi, I'm Josh and in ten years I'll be an alcoholic."

The setting of the commercial is misleading to the extreme. The adult alcoholics are in shadow, most with their heads bowed in shame. There seems to be a clock ticking, or some cinematic effect which tells you an AA meeting might as well be like a sentence in hell.

Unintended message: to be an alcoholic in AA is as bad as, well, being an alcoholic.
It's where you surrender, so ...makes sense! They got you!

But no meeting is like that. People on their first, desperate visit are often in complete despair, of course, but they are in a room full of cheerful, laughing back-slappers and braggarts, glad to see one another. And it doesn't take long for the newcomer to realize an AA meeting is not a pious confessional.

Never minding all that.

I think I am having the best summer ever, and I'm remembering just how incredibly fun last summer was too, when I was in my long term residential treatment.

This makes me want to take pictures of people. Especially, as I was telling Ma Kettle, of people. Ok, women first, but I meant my friends, my barber, the cop on the beat...And what I want, typically, is pictures of these people with ME! Because I am proud and happy to be alive and this mostly has to do with people in general.

I need finesse, though. I won't take pictures of people unawares, but I'm not sure how to ask them if they mind. Or if they mind taking a picture of me with, say, my cabbie. Or, like, a group shot of me and everyone on a bus. (Damn camera is odd to explain, too.)

Here is one of my ideas. I have my picture taken with a cop while we're both giving each other rabbit ears. Or, he's giving me rabbit ears and I appear to be reaching for his service revolver. You know, a joke picture (yikes, yeah!) Where is my mind going , sometimes?

Best summer so far, and not nearly finished, just started! I'm finally off the internal Child Clock, waiting for those damn 'Back To School' sales. I arrived at Daybreak exactly a year ago today, and it was a longggg summer. Like a summer lifetime, but not because it was slow or boring.

I knew so many people, and our relationships evolved so much in four months, I hardly noticed when the cold weather finally arrived, sometime in October.

Best summer. Wherever I go, whatever I do, chances are I'm going to have a laugh at least. I've even agreed (on automatic, actually have my doubts) to go on a two day float trip.

So far I regret that I haven't started swimming yet. Haven't returned to the fencing class with $200 in gear and a $20 fee.

Need a face tan at least.

Having a G.F. is sort of nice. It's not love, but it's something healthy I think.

Also, I'm considering running for some office in our Oxford House Chapter, since this lease controversy. I think I'd look forward to all those shout matches.

Not too late! Summer is just beginning, don't you know...

have a good weekend, thanks for visiting!