by Diogenes of Vat


      Always seeking the truth while living in a tub, my umpty-ump great-great-grandfather, Diogenes of Vat (a really old classical European city), that famed old man kept proving that there was "Nothing new under the Sun." But he just didn't stick around long enough. Something really new and exciting is happening right here, and right now!

      You may already have guessed that "Diogenes" isn't my real name...it is a pseudonym, a nom-de-plume, a pen-name. My real name is "Aloyisious A. Schmertglukken." You can see why I use the name "Diogenes." My nickname is "Yertney Mofab." As you can now see, fooling around with my name will get you nowhere. You can also see that anonymity in practice is basically a wonderful idea for those of us who cannot remember or spell people's names. The fact that we are addicts and alcoholics is just serendipitous, for without that beloved principle, "big-shotism" would have sent Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous down the same Path the Washingtonians took. (The who?)

      Anyhow, allow me to welcome you to the multi-faceted world of Recovery Life. Here, we shall explore the clean and sober world of the hopelessly stricken human beings called addicts and alcoholics. Losers. Lepers. Ne'er-do-wells. But we call you Brothers and Sisters. Our Family. God's Kids. Best Friends. Sponsors. Our Paths range from the sheer humorous to the terribly tragic. But through the difficulties and suffering, well-aided by a well-nourished sense of humor, we grow and learn and finally begin to really live!

      "The Good is the Enemy of the Best," or "White Shadow," is a look into my world as portrayed in this brand spanking new Website created by a truly extraordinary young man of spiritual vision and practical common sense. I also write a column for Recovery Times (recoverytimes.com) under the title, "Ask Your Sponsor." Is there competition between these e-publications? Absolutely not, more like teamwork. We try to carry the message of God's Love to alcoholics and addicts throughout this new world of the Internet.

      Bill W. wrote in the Second Tradition (in which he was considering earning money by doing basic 12-Step work in a prominent hospital for a highly reputable physician), that the people of his AA group caught him up short, confronting him with his own words: "...sometimes the good is the enemy of the best..." Well, that principle is true more often than not in my experience these days, after pursuing the rewards of the program for a quarter-of-a-century. The reward we cherish the most is YOU - Each and every one of you. We meet you on the street. In meetings. At work and at play. Even when we pray and meditate. We laugh and cry together, for we understand each other in deeper and more meaningful ways than even the most dedicated and highly educated Normie in the world. And while we tend to your thoughts and needs, we are healed, and set free from the prisons of addiction and alcoholism.  I look forward to this great adventure. There will be much more to come, so for now, God Bless you all.