Merry Christmas

to all
a bit of the holiday rush on
so just saying to all
"keep on keeping it on"

"the crew" by frankie, from the old days

To

Formerly known as
THE MINNA STREET GAVONS








December 2004

JUST SENDING A LITTLE SUNSHINE TO THE CREW
AND A HAPPY HOLIDAY TO ALL OF YOU
A trip down memory lane
Of course, can never really explain
Our bonds and friendships and quirks
Like the guy who fell flat on his face in front of Joe’s father………….. WASN’T HE A JERK?

A BRIGHT SPOT HAS ALWAS BEEN
- JOE AND JOHN AND ANGELO AND LOUIE AND PHIL
mike and Kevin and ANTHONY AND BILL
TO PARTY HARDY WITH YOU all ONCE AGAIN
hey, where’s the guy who’s name I forgot?
the guy who, in Pennsylvania, took our you know what
AND I’LL NEVER FORGET THE DAY
JOHN THREW, INTO THE DITCH,
THE BELONGINGS OF THAT POOR, sweet, INNONCENT GIRL Mae
Or was it night?
Or was she a b…..?

But, hey, it is the year 2004
To see you all once again
I couldn’t ask for more
So a happy holiday to each of you
Hey, is that the triumph outside that used to break down even after it had already broken down ?
already?
Whom I still call
“ MY FRIEND”

A VISIT FROM BILL W.

“A VISIT FROM BILL W.”
BY anonymous

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
when all thru the house
Everyone was dead drunk,
even the mouse
The stockings were thrown by the chimney
----Who cared?
No hope at all that St. Nicholas would ever be there
The children all snuggled, with Gypsy Rose wine in their beds
While visions of Ernest and Julio Gallo crushing grapes
danced in their heads
And Mama in her kerchief
and I w/two jugs
Were about to knock off another two 6-packs
of bud chug-a-lugs
When a knock on the door
“---Who the heck could it be?”
As I fell off the couch and crawled on one knee
Opened the door, fell flat on my face
And heard someone say
“Dr. Bob, we’re in the right place”
“You start the coffee, I’ll start the shower”
“Hey, guys” I said, “ Do you want a whiskey sour”
As they shut the door,
I caught a glimpse of the new fallen snow
What me and mamma were in for, little did we know?
One was dressed all in black, from his head to his foot
The other, well, I was so drunk -- who gave a hoot?
They started to twelve step us, right from the start
“You better admit you’re powerless,” Bill W. said,
As he rubbed my face w/snow
Dr. Bob said, “Your life is unmanageable,
John Barleycorn is taking you to hell”
“Give back the Scotch,” I gave out a yell
Bill w. and Dr. Bob all thru the night
They talked and they talked
Me and Mama rolled our eyes
“Who gives a heck? I want a drink!”
We squawked and we squawked
Bill W. gritted his teeth and gave us a long look
Dr. Bob pounded the table as he read the BIG BOOK
Then suddenly it happened ---
THE MESSAGE RANG SO CLEAR
I looked at Mama ////////// she looked at me
“You’re right”, I exulted,
“there will be no more drinking ‘round here”
Sunlight streamed in thru the shutters
As night turned into day
“Mama” I said “get the children ready-----
We’re all going to AA”
Bill W. gave me a pat on the shoulder and a handshake
Dr. Bob gave Mama a hug,
“You can do it,
if meetings, meetings, meetings you make”
Each gave a nod as they walked out the door
To carry the message to so many, many, many more
But I heard them exclaim
Ere they drove out of sight

“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL IN AA
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT”

aa gave me a new act

a lazy afternoon...................nothing much going on
well, let's have some beer
so, i'll have an excuse to act like a moron

went to work, got my paycheck
quiet a few bills to pay
a better idea is to go to a bar
i can pay the bills another day

wife and kids waiting home for me
but frank would wobble in at ten
ooopppsss!!!!! no dinner left tonight
cause i stopped off for a few drinks
...................with a friend

and so life went on without me
i was just too busy drinking and acting stupidly
everytime i was about to win the race
i would take a drink
and right before the finish line
....................................promptly fall on my face


always drank and did what i wanted to do
never said to myself
"hey, frank, drinking makes you act like a fool

love, acceptance, tolerance,patience, humility
so much AA has given to me
so much the program has also taken out of my life

Aa has truly put me on a new track
i'm no longeram playing the fool as part of my act

i'm no longer getting arrested, beat up in fights
or wind up in the emergency room
i no longer have to worry about getting a knife in my back
i no longer think of ending it by jumping in front of the train
i no longer worry about the weather
i love to walk to a meeting in the rain

so here i am to let you all know
if you weren't here, i would have no place to go
THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE
THANK GOD FOR AA
I GUESS THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY

billy at the bat

BILLY AT THE BAT 3/17/00

It looked extremely rocky for the Sudsville 9 that day
No one was keeping score nor cared what inning was in play
So, when Johnnie Walker fell flat on his face at second base
And Jack Daniels did the same
A thunderous cheer echoed
and a Bud was raised by the patrons of the game

Soon another rummy came to bat, the fans, in silence, sat
STRIKE ONE! STRIKE TWO! STRIKE THREE!!!
YOU’RE OUT!!!
Head down, the batter walked away as the fans all yelled
“I’LL DRINK TO THAT”

Ernie Gallo was up next, he made it to base three
Then Julio, his brother, hit a high fly to the left fielder,
who was downing burgundy
But Ernie passed out halfway to home base
Julio stumbled, to first, the wrong way
As the Sudsville 9 sat hopeless in the dugout
The coach, Sam Adams, yelled out
“WE NEED SOMEONE WHO ISN’T DEAD DRUNK
THIS GAME TO PLAY”

The fans were silent, with blurry eyes they looked around
Was there anyone in the stand without a Miller in their hand
To down
Suddenly two stood up with their heads held high
Walked quietly,
confidently, up to the coach with determination
And a bit of procrastination
“TO WIN THIS GAME, WE”LL LIKE TO GIVE IT A TRY

Dr. Bob handed Bill W. the bat, with a cool calculating stare
Bill gripped it mightily, looked Dr. Bob in the eye assuredly
And said
“BOB, WITH YOUR HELP,
I’M KNOCKING JOHN BARLEYCORN
OUT OF HERE”

“BALONY” came the cry from the tipsy crowd
as the Sudsville 9 looked on in despair
“No one can hit the ball without a drink” the fans all ranted
and raved as they grabbed another beer

Strike one; strike two came quickly as the umpire had a schnapps
Dr. Bob looked and wondered if Billy had met his match
Then the pitcher let the ball snap from his hand
Sending it to the plate, whistling thru the air at 90
miles per hour
Bill W. clenched his teeth and swung
The bat cracked as he hit the ball, sending it out of the
park, with all his power

Oh, somewhere not far away for another fan another hangover is brewing
Somewhere another band is playing off-key
As another team is losing
And somewhere someone is raising a beer to his lips as he looks
at the drunk next to him and says, “That’s not me”
But there’s an abundance of joy in Sudsville
Bill W. and Dr. Bob saved the day
For the homerun that they hit
Was the homerun that started AA

Anonymous

a friend of bill's_poems

hi

i lost the password to my last blog
so this is something new


personal poetry

check soon for first poem

frankie