Monday!

What a day! I went pretty much 12 hours with only a couple breaks of less than an hour and it went by pretty fast. I was worried I'd be sitting through boring stuff. This stuff is anything but boring! Here is a list of what went on today.
1. Liz and I got out of the room at 7 a.m. and went to Daniela Trattoria for breakfast. I'm not sure I need to have pancakes and bacon and eggs every morning but it was good and quick.
2. Our finance committee meeting began at 9 a.m. Our chairperson, Jamie W. from Texas, was pretty nervous but she did a good job of leading. She would go around the entire 8 person committee and every member either got their chance to give their input or pass. I didn't have as good a grasp of the background material for our issues as I should have. Nonetheless, my opinions and statements were greeted with respect and concern by all present. We got through 3 of our four items this morning. We meet again in committee tomorrow morning at 9 and I think the last item will go pretty fast because it is related to the third item.
3. We adjourned our committee at 11:45 and lunch was at noon. They had a buffet which contained hot dogs (with sauerkraut if desired), hamburgers, barbecued ribs and some kind of chicken. They had Dove ice cream bars of about 4 kinds for dessert in addition to some cheesecake which I took a pass on. I DID have a Dove bar. Yummie!
4. After dinner, we had a general session which started at 1:15 p.m. I went outside and stood on the street outside the Paramount building just a few blocks up Broadway on about 52nd street watching people in the warm sunny glory of the day.
5. The afternoon session began with panel 57 delegates from the Southwest and Northeast regions giving their 2 minute "Area Highlights" speech. Again, they had the green, yellow and red lights and the little bell to "ding" you if you went over two minutes. Only two people out of the 14 or so got dinged. It's not that big a deal.
6. At about 2 p.m., Leonard Blumenthal, the Chair of the General Service Board, gave his report after which there was a question and sharing session of about 30 minutes. He was followed by Paul C., class B trustee and chair of the AA World Services Board who gave his report and then hosted a half our of questions and sharing.
7. At about 3 p.m., we had a 15 minute break. This was followed by Arnold R., chair of the Grapevine Board, who gave his report and hosted 30 minutes of questions and sharing.
8. At 3:45 p.m., Vince Keefe, Chairperson of the Trustees Finance and Budgetary Committee gave his report, a PowerPoint presentation like that of the Grapevine report and the AAWS report. Vince hosted a half hour of questions and sharing after his report like the others had.
9. At about 4:30 p.m. the Trustee from Western Canada introduced his two delegates who gave their "Area Highlights". This was followed by the East Central region of which I am a part. I was the last person of the 8 delegates from our East Central region and I delivered my Area Highlights precisely and confidently. I almost choked up at the very end and my "Thank you" was barely audible but I made it. I got several compliments from delegates during some of the breaks after wards. I did add the word "sub" in referring to the Bridging the Gap committee since I did receive and email last night to the effect the BTG is no longer an Area 75 standing committee.
10. Dinner was served at around 6 p.m. It was prime rib and pretty decent. We got a martini glass full of cut fruit pieces for dessert. I used the time before the 7:15 pm start to the evening session to pass out my mementos to the delegates. After giving some of them out to individuals, I decided to just go through the entire meeting room and put one at each place like lots of the other delegates had done. That way, everybody had a chance to get one of my things and I didn't have to try to keep track of who I had "gifted" and who I had not. I recieved several unique mementos today. Larry S. from Northern Illinois gave out a purple bookbag thing. A guy from New Hampshire gave out little bottles of pure maple syrup from Vermont. And Becky, a N.E.R.D. (North East Region Delegate) gave out the US Vermont quarter with a lapel pin assembly glued to George Washington's cheek so that the maple trees with buckets on them show on the front. What a unique and wonderful idea!!
I also took this time to use the pre-printed address labels that I had initialed to adorn the books, mostly large print daily reflections books, that delegates had placed on the book table. I stuck my sticker on May 25th which is my AA birthday. If I stay sober till then, I'll have 20 years of continuous sobriety next month.
11. The evening session began with a presentation by Amy Filiatreau, our non-alcoholic archivist featuring a digitized speech by Bill W., one of our AA founders. It was a very moving experience.
12. From 8:15 p.m. until about 9 p.m., there was a general sharing session where members could step up to the mike and say whatever they wanted for 2 minutes. People asked things like"Why doesn't AA make literature ordering online available to groups and individuals?" Some people just expressed gratitude for the quality of the reports.

So Monday is over. It went so fast. It's hard to believe that I'm saying that. I was so off balance on Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday wondering what this thing was really going to be like. Now I am feeling very much a part of and not apart from. Everyone has treated me so wonderfully and as a delegate, I feel like I'm one of the most important people here. The staff is wonderful. It is an awe-inspiring experience to feel that I am such an integral part of the direction that AA is taking.
When I was elected delegate, I was flattered and humbled by the trust that Area 75 placed in me. I was also very fearful of this thing called the "Conference". It had been built up so much during the Delegates/Past Delegates conference in February and the past delegates had filled me with so many expectations that I wasn't sure I could buy into. I found myself unwilling to plan my life past the Conference.
As of Monday night, again, I feel a part of a wonderful group of loving supportive people. I can see it will be hell to leave this event this weekend.
Liz went to see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island today and I have a note that says she and Bobby F.'s wife (Bobby is from New York state and also on the Finance committee) went to see Phantom of the Opera tonight.
Tomorrow is casual dress day and we go to visit the General Service Offices late in the afternoon. Thank you God for this wonderful privilege you have given me, for this fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and for the rush that is New York City!!

Ciao, babies!!