AA folks rely on coffee instead

More than a thousand drunks are coming to town this week. They're sober today, by the grace of God and the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

They look like you and they look like me. They don't have horns and most of them don't live under the bridge.

But what should you do if the 1,300 AA members all decide to get drunk at the same time?

"Duck," laughs Claudia S., one of the organizers of the state convention.

"It would be a scary situation," she says.

They call themselves drunks because that is what they are. Living one day at a time, they have found sobriety, following the same 12 steps that people have worked since 1935.

It is a simple program that produces extraordinary results. There are no dues. A desire to quit drinking is the only requirement for membership.

This week's itinerary might as well be the agenda for a Jaycees convention. Except there won't be a hospitality room hosted by Jack Daniels.

Coffee is another matter.

Old-timers in AA laugh about people exchanging their thirst for booze for an addiction to coffee.

According to Claudia S., the budget projects they'll consume 189 gallons of coffee, most of it with caffeine. Drinking decaf is like admitting you used to have umbrellas in your drinks.

"We'll spend $4,800 on coffee. It's our largest expense, other than the cost of the Trade Center," Claudia says.

And yes, they dance.

"We dance without drinking, and some folks get pretty wild on the dance floor, too," Claudia says.

Most of the weekend will be spent sharing, one drunk to another. "There is a bond that you don't find in other groups, even church. We're survivors. We have a bond of the heart," Claudia says.

Six of the eight speakers are women, a lineup that would have been unusual a few years ago. Most are circuit speakers, folks who have a story to tell and the ability to tell it well. They're the closest thing there is to AA superstars.

Anonymity remains the cornerstone of AA. The reason for anonymity was evident recently when Hollywood superstars Mel Gibson and Robin Williams got into trouble with alcohol. Each had talked openly of his involvement with the program and their problems cast an unwarranted shadow on AA.

When Gibson was filming "We Were Soldiers," a movie partially set at Fort Benning, word leaked that he was attending local AA meetings. He should have been Mel G., but some folks gossiped about his attendance.

The story was told about an old-timer who was chairing an AA meeting when Mel G. slipped in. There was a buzz in the room that the old guy didn't understand.

Someone whispered that Mel Gibson was there. He looked at him and asked a question others should have asked.

"Who's that?"

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