13 years ago…

In A.A. we protect anonymity. Not simply because we’re scared of the media, but if we fall, (and we do) it doesn’t reflect badly on A.A. as a whole. So in the spirit of that sentiment, I am going to refrain from mentioning the “Company” name which employed me 13 years ago. 1993. October 4th. One month to the day after my 27th birthday.
My sobriety date was September 12th, 1990. That will become relevant later on. So keep it in mind as I proceed. Anyway…
October 4th, 1993. I had recently moved to Jacksonville on the coattails of a relationship with a more significant title and income. My prior occupations had included everything from nanny to waitress to gas-jockey. None ever lasted more than a year. My “attitude” always got me escorted out of the building, or had forced me to leave before security arrived. I began working at an import store a mile from the new house. I was not big on driving more than a few miles from my safety zone. The pay was, I think, $4.25 per hour. Wow. As it happened, my mother, who was then residing in Minnesota, told me that the place of her employ; the “Company,” had a store in St. Augustine and her manager knew the manager there. He was hiring. Go for it, she said. She, after all, was happy with her job.
So call I did.
Someone asked me recently if I believed in fate. Sometimes I do. And this is one of those times…hear me now.

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