I think of myself as a blessed man.
The Good Lord has blessed me...
- He brought me into a loving family and gave me the best mother and father anyone could possibly hope for...
- He gave me the gift of soberity and a second chance to grow up.
- He put me in a position to help others...
I needed help in quitting drinking, I didn't drink everyday but when I did I couldn't stop myself. I got into all sorts of trouble I'd never get into sober. Thank God there came that day when I had enough and was led to the best place for me to get help.
I ended up going to self help groups and a meeting called YANA - the You Are Not Alone group that met three times a week. We'd meet then after we'd go out and drink even more coffee. The group was comprised of a base of about six old timers.
The meeting after the meeting was at a local Pizza Hut. There was the small talk and a lot of bonding. A few times I heard talk of how they thought about getting their own place for years most groups like this rent a room from a church for an evening.
Anyway the word got out that the church we had been using asked us to look for a new place they were in need of the space.
Anyway I often went to the first little tiny strip maul in Eustis, it began as a grocery store with five small store fronts to the side. But the store had long since moved away.
It was next to the Bay Street Baptist Church and had a popular Casa Manyata/Hay Stack restaurant taking two of the store fronts (yes the restaurant had two names! LOL - hey it's Eustis). I often got a beef burrito to go at lunch I was in the construction business.
Beside the two name restaurant there was a rental that had just closed, it was a paint shop. That day I noticed the phone number on it to call to see about renting it.
I wrote it down, as I said that group was looking for somewhere else to land.
So I called.
I think they wanted something like 500 to 550 a month. I said there is no way we could pay that. The man asked what we wanted it for.
I said as a self help meeting place. The blessing was in progress it's just that this man had no idea what he had been led too. I found out later the man I was talking too was the owner of the building he said let me get back to you and got my phone number.
He talked to the church and the church wanted us in. When he called back he said the church considered us missionary work.
Then he told me his story that makes my eyes tear to this day.
He told me his father was an alcoholic and had gotten sober in the self help groups, after about seven years his father began relying on the church but his family was eternally grateful to those groups because his father led a blessed life until his death.
They wanted us in...
I told the old times of the YANA group, their jaws dropped, what they kicked around for years had been removed from their topic list but the new guy. I've always been a risk taker so my brother says, my mom and a football coach taught me to give it a try and not fear failure, just do your best.
Well another man jumped in Bob S. and between the two of us we got 20 people to give 50 bucks each, we raised a 1,000 bucks, got the power turned on, water and rent. It was funny as heck people brought in their old furniture, the first thing was a card table, two folding chairs and a coffee pot.
Soon it looked like stuff a Good Will store would turn their back on. Broken down easy chairs, sofas that required the jaws of life to get out of. We loved it.
I paid the bills and collected the money for about six months, a Women's group came in and joined us at the beginning later others joined.
Anyway this man soon stepped aside, I said to myself if this is God's will I have to let it go, it's a very hard thing to accept that you can step back and things can just thrive.
Within two years I heard two people arguing about something concerning the club, I asked what was going on it was about money. Seems they needed something but didn't want to touch the two one-thousand-dollar bonds they had purchased at the bank.
My eyes watered,it was going to be fine. The moved from that spot after several years to Tavares on 441, then back to downtown Eustis over Mary Gardners Jewelers or right next to over it and then to 802 South Bay Street or 804, where it's been for at least 10 years I think.
They had grown to at least one meeting every night, 5:30 happy hour meetings, eye opener and noon meetings. The people there don't even know who started it anymore and that's OK, all I did was call or I like to believe it was all set up by Someone above?
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