Steady Eddie

" Hi everyone, my name is Steady Eddie and I am a alcoholic, and back in the day it use to be "Jesus Eddie ... Steady.............

I can't count the number of times I heard that, or a variation of that. And now I will never hear it again. On June 7, 2008 my very dear friend Steady Eddie passed on to what I hope is a better place. If anyone deserves to rest in peace it is this man. Not that I really think he will, rest in peace that is. If he has his way, then he is gathering up all the AA angels in heaven and working his magic with them. I am sure it will take weeks and weeks for him to dispense all the hugs to those who went before him. Then he will turn his eyes downward in search of a needy soul still here on earth. And some how, some way, he will continue to touch the lives of those of us left behind.

I can't really tell you the first time I met Eddie. Just seems like all of the sudden he was a part of my life. A part that had always been there. And perhaps he was always there for me, it just took me a while to find him. But find him I did. I joined the throngs of women who loved to dance with this man. 80 something years old, and he would dance us under the table. And he loved it. The Eddie smile would be on his face, and if you did not smile in return, well I am not sure what your problem is. I always had to smile back.

That first dance with him I was still pretty new to AA and being sober ~ for real. Smiling, dancing, none of that was really on my list of things to do. But he got me. Next thing I know, every Sunday when I went to the meeting, there he was standing up to get, and give a great big hug. I was being the gift of unconditional love. Thankfully it did not take me long to know this, and cherish it. Little by slow I got to know this kind hearted man. And he knew EVERYONE! Why then was he taking the time to know me? I don't have a "this is why" answer to that. Its just Eddy. His love and his friendship allowed me to begin my walk into the living. I thought my life was over when I stopped drinking, and here is the 80 something old man jumping out of airplanes, dancing the night away, and all the while calling to me .. Kris.. come on and join us.

Eddy literally "got me going". He got me to the Christmas Party, New Years Party, Retreat, Plays, Area Dances ........... The man had tickets for EVERYTHING AA in New England. And because it was Eddy asking, how could I say no? I can't tell you how much I needed to be at these things that first year. I did not know how badly at the time, but on reflection I can see how much, how very very much it helped me to do these things. Eddy knew. I am not saying that he knew just for me, but he knew how to bring people into the fold of AA. He lived by example and grabbed you to join him. Before you know it, you are enjoying life .... SOBER!! Your biggest regret is not the worse thing you did drunk, but rather the time wasted when you could have been living this wonderful sober life.

Eddys story is not mine to tell, but I can tell you how much of a impression and impact it made on me. He struggled for many many many years trying to get sober. He went into de-tox close to two hundred times. He kept trying. He got some sobriety, but was not really "working" AA. But he was on the fringes .. and sober. Then a fellow AA'er who was also a councilor at the de-tox he went to meetings ... ever so gently took a two by four upside his head and smacked him into AA. And away he went into his new sober life. Getting degrees, awards, making friends, helping, helping, helping.

From Eddys story I learned that the past is just that .. past. I can't change it no matter what. I don't have to be chained to it either. It does not matter how many times it takes a person to get to the halls of AA, the very very most important thing is that they are here TODAY ... today is the only day of sobriety that counts. It is not my place to judge another persons sobriety, if they are at a meeting .. and that is the only meeting they go to all week ... they are at a meeting. You can be sober and still in a lot of pain, it might take a while to want to move a little closer to the middle of AA. And at some point or another ... a two by four may be needed to give a little push. And there is a HUGE difference between helping and judging .

Dance Sober!!! If you are worried about how you "look" dancing, flash back onto some of the things you did drunk ......... Yah, your fine now. Dance and enjoy every single day given to you. I saw Eddy go through some hard stuff, but he always danced.

I honestly could go on and on and on and on about how much I got from Eddy. I am truly blessed to have had his living presence in my life, and continue to be blessed with him in my heart forever. I heard at a meeting the other night, that the death of Steady Eddy was not the death of a era, but rather the birth of a legacy. I have to agree.

Eddy, I hope that you know just how much your love helped me heal. Until we meet again, I am going to keep on dancing!!