I, along with 150 or so of his closest friends, said goodbye to a friend today. He died sober.
I knew him better than I deserved, but not as well as I wanted. He gave me hope when I saw none. He never talked about anyone, but he would speak to anyone. He spoke to me. With a wry smile and a heavy, sometimes almost incomprehensible drawl he let me know it was going to be OK -- today. And somehow it was always today.
My friend reached out for the hand of a lot of suffering men for a lot of years and placed those hands in the hand of God. That's what he was taught to do and that is what he did. He wasn't my sponsor, but he was my friend. I am richer today because of him.
Thank you, Mississippi Pat.
