The meeting opened up with a quiet time.  The empty chair just sat there in the middle of the room.
Sofa's were over to the  left and arm chairs to the right, with the table and occupied chairs off to the side.
No one said anything about the empty chair in the middle of the room.  Everyone seemed to be very quiet as they looked at it. Bill was thinking about his friend at work, a family man, hard worker when he showed up.  Today the boss let him go.  Said he could no longer allow an alcoholic in the work place.

Marilyn was thinking about her cousin Lille, as she looked at the empty chair.  Lille was drinking and driving, she was killed in a car accident and left behind four boys and a two year old curly head girl.

Kurt looked at the empty chair and thought about his brother, still out there in the bars.  How many times had he said to him "Tony I have a chair waiting for you"  Today Tony whispered goodbye from his hospital bed after one more time in a fight.

Thank God we are sitting down on chairs that were waiting for us.  We got the message and came into a place where laughter, love and sobriety fills the room.

We look over at the empty chair and pray.
We pray for friends. We pray for our family.  We pray for co-workers.
We pray for strangers.
Come in, sit down and enjoy a new way of life, One day at a time.

copyright:  Rose Ann Pollum  Chicago  1996