Founder's Day
This weekend marks Founder's Weekend/Day, an important moment in time not just for members of AA but also for the citizens of Akron, Ohio.
A lot of folks may have heard of Stan Hywet Hall, but what some folks might not know is that the Gate House at Stan Hywet is where Dr. Bob and Bill W were first introduced to each other. After an overnight marathon discussion the two walked away with the idea for Alcoholics Anonymous.
A few years ago I volunteered at the Gate House and my round of duty happened to coincide with Founder's Day. I had thought the house was pretty neat just because it is historical and because I got to sit there on Saturdays and imagine living there. I also got to go to super secret volunteer places :) Anyway, the Founder's Day experience was unlike anything I have ever experienced before or since.
This is strange because ultimately, I am too cynical to be able to follow the general jist of AA. I believe in taking life by the horns, along with any external forces, and saying, "nope, you're doing what I say now."
I digress.
Ordinarily, volunteering at the Gate House was a pretty quiet, even boring experience. I would sit there for several hours crafting or reading and maybe 2-3 visitors would come in. I would run through my basic spiel (this was Henrietta's house, this den is where Dr. Bob and Bill W met and talked, this is why Henrietta should get more credit). There are a lot of neat pamphlets in there. Sometimes I would imagine I was the original owner of the house, who I think was the estate's gardener. What a day he must have awakened to!
Anyway, on this particular day, there were little dividers up guiding people through the house. The front and back doors were left open, which let in all of the flies who also appreciated the day. And people started to pour in. I would try to greet people. You start in the dining room. "This is where Henrietta got Bill W and Dr. Bob to sit down and eat. Dr. Bob almost didn't make it because he had had a real bender the night before." Then the ropes led the people into the living room, where there are pictures of Dr. Bob and Bill W along with info about their lives and how they came to meet at that place on that day. Information about the cultural influences that inspired Henrietta to inspire them. Then the den, where they actually talked and hatched the idea of AA.
As more and more people started to file through, the sense that I was witnessing a type of worship washed over me. The fact that some of this reverence was raining down on me just because I was the volunteer who was helping people through the experience was also amazing. Many people, giant bikers, tiny women, children, parents, walked up to me and thanked me as if I had come up with the idea myself. Some of them told me their stories. People hugged each other even though they were meeting for the first time. It was like I had married into a close, tight-knit family and I was being welcomed right in.
I've been doing a lot of reading about the importance of "community" in the online world as it relates to our general culture but also to my job. I have been picturing my blog readers as a city because I don't always know who's reading. My Facebook friends are a village. You can come to visit and if we get to know each other you can become a resident. But even though I love being a part of the various online communities I'm in, I don't think I could ever experience COMMUNITY the way I did that day. And I wasn't even REALLY a part of it. I was there like a kind of lamp, really.
It makes me sort of envious that people who struggle with alcoholism have such an entrenched support group, even if I don't embrace how it all goes down. It would be amazing if groups could spring up in real life like they do on Facebook or LinkedIn. It would be amazing to walk into a 100-year-old house and know exactly how everyone was feeling at that exact moment because you all would be there together. Humbling. Unforgettable.
A lot of folks may have heard of Stan Hywet Hall, but what some folks might not know is that the Gate House at Stan Hywet is where Dr. Bob and Bill W were first introduced to each other. After an overnight marathon discussion the two walked away with the idea for Alcoholics Anonymous.
A few years ago I volunteered at the Gate House and my round of duty happened to coincide with Founder's Day. I had thought the house was pretty neat just because it is historical and because I got to sit there on Saturdays and imagine living there. I also got to go to super secret volunteer places :) Anyway, the Founder's Day experience was unlike anything I have ever experienced before or since.
This is strange because ultimately, I am too cynical to be able to follow the general jist of AA. I believe in taking life by the horns, along with any external forces, and saying, "nope, you're doing what I say now."
I digress.
Ordinarily, volunteering at the Gate House was a pretty quiet, even boring experience. I would sit there for several hours crafting or reading and maybe 2-3 visitors would come in. I would run through my basic spiel (this was Henrietta's house, this den is where Dr. Bob and Bill W met and talked, this is why Henrietta should get more credit). There are a lot of neat pamphlets in there. Sometimes I would imagine I was the original owner of the house, who I think was the estate's gardener. What a day he must have awakened to!
Anyway, on this particular day, there were little dividers up guiding people through the house. The front and back doors were left open, which let in all of the flies who also appreciated the day. And people started to pour in. I would try to greet people. You start in the dining room. "This is where Henrietta got Bill W and Dr. Bob to sit down and eat. Dr. Bob almost didn't make it because he had had a real bender the night before." Then the ropes led the people into the living room, where there are pictures of Dr. Bob and Bill W along with info about their lives and how they came to meet at that place on that day. Information about the cultural influences that inspired Henrietta to inspire them. Then the den, where they actually talked and hatched the idea of AA.
As more and more people started to file through, the sense that I was witnessing a type of worship washed over me. The fact that some of this reverence was raining down on me just because I was the volunteer who was helping people through the experience was also amazing. Many people, giant bikers, tiny women, children, parents, walked up to me and thanked me as if I had come up with the idea myself. Some of them told me their stories. People hugged each other even though they were meeting for the first time. It was like I had married into a close, tight-knit family and I was being welcomed right in.
I've been doing a lot of reading about the importance of "community" in the online world as it relates to our general culture but also to my job. I have been picturing my blog readers as a city because I don't always know who's reading. My Facebook friends are a village. You can come to visit and if we get to know each other you can become a resident. But even though I love being a part of the various online communities I'm in, I don't think I could ever experience COMMUNITY the way I did that day. And I wasn't even REALLY a part of it. I was there like a kind of lamp, really.
It makes me sort of envious that people who struggle with alcoholism have such an entrenched support group, even if I don't embrace how it all goes down. It would be amazing if groups could spring up in real life like they do on Facebook or LinkedIn. It would be amazing to walk into a 100-year-old house and know exactly how everyone was feeling at that exact moment because you all would be there together. Humbling. Unforgettable.