Saturday Nite Live

Never gives anyone a chance to participate if needed. Speakers are called on from the front. They don’t care if you might need to share. Don’t bother going here. Find a place where people are willing to listen to you.

SNL has saved more lives than any TEN churches in SJ, put together!!!

I was a foolish kid when I was younger, as many of us were. There are too many idiotic things to list, but my «date which will live in infamy» was when I was dared to take a shot of tequila in seventh grade.
«Betcha can’t take this without throwing up!» Arash said mockingly.
Never to back down for anything, I took the shot. To the amazement of my friends (who all made a trip to the porcelain throne), I didn’t gag or curl up into a little ball with stomach pains. They were shocked that I seemed to enjoy the Cuervo. And I actually did. I can vividly remember the warmth of the shot trickling down my throat. It was Heaven. Thus began my illustrious 18 year career as an alcoholic. The drinking and insanity reached its apex early last year, so I sought help.
Saturday Nite Live is an Alcoholics Anonymous group in San Jose established in 1981. I began going to meetings everyday for a period of time. The first thing that struck me was not the number of drunks in the room or the disheartening stories I heard that were so similar to my own, but the smell. Part urine, part vomit with a sprinkling of cigarette smoke, it fills the narrow room with a stench that’s unmistakably SNL. The old building, inside and out, is not generally a place one would consider to get healthy. But that’s the «charm» of Saturday Nite Live.
There are four meetings everyday at 12 noon, 6pm, 8pm, and midnight. Each meeting has a topic where AA members and/​or guests can participate by reading from «The Book» or sharing at the podium. Guest speakers from others cities and states come weekly at the 8pm Friday night meeting.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a good place to get sober, but it’s not for everyone. I know the percentages of AA members who relapse and it’s not pretty. There are some people who share their stories about sobriety but can be found at a bar drinking away later on that night. I’m not trying to sugarcoat SNL, AA, or any rehab center. Many who go to meetings will continue to use or drink or lie or cheat or steal. It’s not easy.
But Saturday Nite Live is a start… and sometimes that’s all you need.