I believe it was 1964 when Elvis and Ann Margaret did that! I saw it and it was good! Three years ago, BecomeAnEx did it, and it was even better! The memories still linger on warm spring evenings and hot summer nights! And they are cool memories!
Last weekend, we did it again! And it was AWESOME! I know EXactally where some of us were last week end! Do you remember where you were? Even though so many of you were unable to make the voyage along with us, You were all there! I heard your names! I saw your pictures! And your words were quoted! Often! You see, even though you did not get your body into an airplane, and fly into that special little strip of neon out in the desert, you traveled with us! I can't tell you how many of you traveled in my heart! It would be impossible to guess how many traveled in the hearts of others! But what I can tell you is that if you have ever found help in this community, or if have ever offered help here, then you are a part of us all!
The hardest thing to make one who has not attended one of these get together's to understand is that this is so much more than some friends getting together! It is a representation of all that is good in our love and support for each other! Who among us have not found one or more special people in this community that touched our hearts and changed our lives? Is there anyone here who is not a better person because they are part of something that is so much bigger than the sum of it's parts?
We did not go to Vegas to drink the booze, or watch the reels spin on a slot machine! We did not go to Vegas to cruise Lake Mead and see the Hoover Dam! It was not for Giant Ferris Wheels and ziplines or gondolas in an indoor canal! We went to Vegas to scream to the world that "WE ARE EXER'S! We found a way to beat a horrible addiction! And we have helped each other! And, we can help you! Together we can do anything!" And in 4 editions of this event, to my knowledge, not one single person who attended one has ever picked up a cigarette and relapsed! Not one!
We raised our voices in song to celebrate the changes in our lives! Not just that we quit smoking, but we took our lives back from the jaws of addiction! We are slaves no more! If your voices were not part of this celebration this year, I encourage you to make plans for next year! Be a part of something that will forever be a part of the fabric of your being! And, thank you all for being part of the fabric of mine! Tommy
