God granted me serenity, courage, and wisdom to handle a potentially stressful
and frightening situation last night. When I picked my daughter up from daycare
we went to CVS to buy Mothers Day cards. When we came back to the parking lot
our car wouldn't start. Don't forget, my wife is out of state on a business trip
this week so we momentarily felt very alone. Fortunately, we have an Aunt and
Uncle who live nearby who did ultimately get the battery jumped and we made it
home an hour and a half later.

Let me tell you about several people we encountered in the CVS parking lot while
trying to safely, calmly, and successfully get thru our challenge:

1- An older lady with a mean look on her face - wouldn't let anyone touch her
car - even though I had jumper cables setup and my baby in the backseat. As she
was pulling away she did ask if she could get someone to help - I told her "No,
I'll wait for someone nicer to come along". I'll pray for her.

2- A policeman - asked if I needed a tow. It was nice to be on the legal side of
the law in sobriety, LOL. That really woulda scared me a few years ago! No, I
declined the tow because I would gave gotten a ride home and left the car locked
up in the parking lot until tomorrow in the worst case scenario.

3- A young couple pulled up in the parking space next to us and before I could
ask for help they popped open their hood and tried to help jump-start my car.
Their battery must have been too weak because we were unsuccessful. But that was
still an awesome, anonymous attempt at trying to help another person. I'm glad
my daughter saw that voluntary assistance with a smile. I hope she grows up to
be a decent person like them.

4- A friend from my AA rooms - He stayed to keep us company for a few minutes
but was waiting for a ride himself. He didn't drive, but was probably the most
compassionate person we met in the CVS parking lot up until this point (Imagine
that!)

5- My uncle came and jumped us and followed us home. We made it. My daughter had
a late dinner and bedtime. The car is parked and I will use our other car
tomorrow since my wife won't need it anyway because she is out of town.

I am grateful that I have a second car in the driveway, that I have friends and
family in the area who care, that I wasn't drunk when speaking to the police
officer, and of course that my daughter felt comfortable and not scared during
our adventure. I am also grateful that I intuitively knew how to handle a
situation which probably would have baffled me, and I'm of course most thankful
that I didn't have to drink - no matter what!

Jonathan, Alcoholic from New Jersey