Man, I wish I had more time on this trip. I have people I need to meet in Orlando, but great opportunities down in Miami. My CS host last night was awesome, and invited me to join him and a group of his friends (and some fellow CSers) in taking a boat around the coast. It's also free day at the museum from 1-4pm, and there are events happening in the evening. But...I also want to see some friends up in Orlando, go to church at the ward I first served in during my mission 5 years ago, and be able to leave Florida first thing Monday morning. So after a quick wander through downtown Miami (and a peek at Herzog and de Meuron's parking structure in South Beach) I headed north.
First ride came from a guy on his way up to Fort Lauderdale, a shortish hop but good for getting me to my next destination. He's gay, and conversation turned to that scene in the Miami area, and religious rules for gays in the Catholic and LDS churches.
The second and final ride was very enlightening. I'd never known much about Alcoholics Anonymous, but my ride has been sober for a year thanks to them. He shared a bit of how the program aims to help people solve their problems through relying on a higher power. 'God,' for lack of a better term. This power may be in the understanding of an actual religion, or it may be something else that the specific participant is comfortable with. It also puts a large amount of emphasis on problems ultimately being caused by selfishness, and that it is through selflessness and service that life becomes good. I also learned that they have a book that describes the principles they strive to follow, divided into a hundred and some pages of fixed explanation of the steps to freedom from alcohol which were written back in the 1930's, and then 40 stories that are periodically swapped out, detailing the struggles, experiences, and ultimately successes of modern individuals. I read a few chapters of the book, both from the beginning and the stories. It's a very good program, that's for certain. It's more spiritually based than I would have ever guessed. And it is so steeped in principles as opposed to quick fixes. I recalled Stephen Covey's comment in the beginning of the Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, that when looking at self help books you can see a trend of principle-driven writings up until the more modern era, then it becomes technique based. AA's 'Big Book' obviously follows the path of the former. It appears to be a very wonderful system.
The evening was just as good as the rides. I had the opportunity to meet up with a family that I knew on my mission, and make plans to visit two others tomorrow. It's incredible to see how boys I knew when they were 7 and 9 are now 13 and 15. I've been out of the area for so long...it's rather incredible how things change, and how things stay the same.
Trip Stats:
Distance Traveled: 216 miles
Total Time: 4:50 hrs
Google Estimated: 3:34 hrs
# of Rides: 2
Total Spent: $3.50
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