A Laughing Matter

After an AA lead meeting most people thank the speaker. Rudy bounced out of his chair. He passed several people getting to the podium to thank Phil.  I rose from my chair. Mary Jo put a hand on my forearm. “It’s going to be awhile,” she said gesturing toward Rudy shaking Phil’s hand.

I sat down. The silence grew awkward. “So how’d you get here?” I asked.

“At thirty I married a much older man,” she said. “My sister told me not to count his money in bed.  Sums up what people thought of our relationship. Do you know what we did?” I shook my head. “We laughed and drank at the best restaurants.  We filled a beer cooler and hit roadside barbecues and had a great time.  When he died, I lost my appetite, but I kept drinking.”

“When did you get sober?”

“After two years of getting drunk and feeling sorry for myself, I remembered he’d told me don’t be sad, that I’d laugh again, and maybe we’d even laugh together someday.   That wasn’t going to happen while I drowned my sorrows.  I got sober a couple of years ago. Little by little I’m finding more to laugh about.”

No matter how bad things get today, there’s a good chance I’ll find something to laugh about tomorrow.

2020 Vision ©2017 by Ken Montrose

2020 Vision is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone you might know is purely coincidental.

Other works by Ken Montrose are available at: www.greenbriartraining.com

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