Preacher Steve

I gave a lead last night at a halfway house. This type of facility can provide a tough audience and the meeting was mandatory which meant a goodly percentage of the attendees were dudes in trouble with the law who were being forced to do something that they didn’t want to do. I personally don't like to be told what to do, especially when I don't want to do it. I spent very little time qualifying my membership – if you’re locked up for drug and/or alcohol offenses you’re probably one of us – and most of the time talking about what I do to stay sober, which didn’t seem to enthrall anybody.

I remember how deflating it was the first time I gave a lead at an institution. I was spilling my guts in dramatic fashion, burning with self-righteous fervor, like some backwoods country preacher at a big tent revival, when I began to notice that nobody was listening. A lot of people last night were not listening, and those who weren’t listening were clearly not listening. Some of them were talking quietly and seemed to be enjoying that a lot more than what I was saying. Which is OK. I went to keep myself sober not to save anyone else’s life.

I cut it short.