Aloha Family...taking some time to remember a friend in recovery who just past.  I'm not sad; I am grateful that he and I met and continued our relationship in recovery.

I met Leonard F in 1995 when I took a mutually agreed 5 month look into working for a local alcohol and substance abuse program.  We worked with the youngsters who were just starting out in their drinking and using careers and while I liked working with the young people I never like working with administrative staff which was sicker than the patient.  Leonard of course had a better handle on staying in one place and doing the very best with what he had no matter what.  I'm still working on tolerance and patience and those other tools that keep distractions from getting in the way with HP's will.

Leonard should have died much earlier than yesterday.  He showed me that he should have when he opened up his shirt and revealed the three bullet wounds that bracketed his heart one night during a drinking and using spree.  I forget the whole story and I do remember him telling me that they brought him back to life several times as his body was wanting to follow his spirit outside of the emergency room.  He lived and then became an instrument of God's will.  He got clean and sober and went to school and went into counseling.  He helped many.  He helped me.  He had an Al-Anon oldtimers calm and assurance though he was a member of AA only.

It was stroke and then an aneurism that resulted in the family deciding to shut down the power to the machines which were trying to keep both body and spirit in the same bed and now he's taken up residence in my head and heart.  Small guy...big smile...calm and humble...great example of a recovering alcoholic addict.  If he could he would not let this glitch stop or even slow down his work with others...so I gotta believe he's still at work...helping.  I wanna be more like him when I grow up.

He would laugh at that cause I'm older than him.   (((((Leonard F)))))  A Hui Ho... I'll see you later.