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  • Houssy
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    Thanks for sharing that! I am
    Thanks for sharing that! I am 18 months sober (yesterday) and as you said..things get better. I did a 60 day residential recovery program and really became willing, open, and honest. At about one year I was in a high pressure job and struggling because I began to take my will back. I was wanting my ex wife back and not accepting what life was giving me. I took some time off work, then took on a less stressful role there, and worked hard on me and in becoming accepting. Low and behold, through a lot of introspection, meditation, and prayer, I began to really love MYSELF for who I am and realized the relationship I was in with my ex really wasn't a good one for either of us. I moved on, and am now quite content with my single guy life, and cherish life for what it is and am truly grateful that I can see and walk the path my higher power is showing me. Namaste!
  • Anttheknee
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    No more drinks for me.
    Found out I have cirrhosis of the liver. Never a heavy drinker and I haven't used any other drugs for 35 years. I had my last drinks [2 Guiness Stouts and a couple of glasses of Port] last Friday while playing Pinochle with some friends. It'll be difficult to not have a few drinks with my friends when we get together but I don't want to make it any worse than it is already. I guess I'll be drinking seltzer from now on. I hope to be able to handle the alcohol free life.
  • Nigel One
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    Clean shows rock!
    Still haven't seen any of the boys clean yet but hit a STS9 show last night in Grand Rapids clean with a couple other deadheads I hang with here in Kalamazoo. It makes a huge difference in my recovery having like minded individuals in my circle because although the end results are the same no matter where you use, the tour experience and family environment is much different than most of society and for me it's hard to stay clean in a society that says using is acceptable. Any way the first part of the show was kinda shaky but once the music was playing it was amazing. Can't wait to go to my next show and most definitely only wanna go with other clean heads. Looking forward to making a trip down to Indy soon for a Rats Drainditch meeting too. I lost everything in my using including memories of shows and in the end even attending. Glad to be getting that back and consider it one of the greatest gifts of recovery. Big shoutout to Charlie in S.F. for reachin out to me when I first was trying to get clean and my oldest friend Jim in Nashville for putting me in touch to WR online. Not using Facebook anymore but if you are and aren't in the fb group, then get involved. Met some real cool cats in there. NFA Nigel One
  • mona
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    What works for me
    Listening or playing music helps me a lot!
  • Memphis in the…
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    Hang in there Tom!
    Find a pattern interrupt..... Take a walk, get some exercise, call a friend, meditate....experiment with anything that helps you break out of this single moment where you may not be at your best. Then move on to the next moment. Personally, exercise and meditation work the best for me.
  • August West Wh…
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    Hope it's gotten better for ya...
    Your story makes me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Love the grit... I hope that when the chips are down for me I don't waiver. It's good to know you were able to keep your chin up and walk w/ your head held high... it must've felt great to see the looks on the Cops faces when blood test came back clean!!! Keep on keepin' on, wish the best for you!
  • August West Wh…
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    I'm new to this forum and feeling good about being sober!
    I am so glad to know this forum is here~! The local AA meetings are OK, and it helps me to attend sporadically, but I feel I am a "lone wolf" and this group seems more up my ally... over 70 dead shows under my belt,quite a few very sober... but seeing JGB and seeing Garcia/Gris acoustic at the Warfield was like going to church for me... I am not nor was I ever very convinced by organized religion (other than Buddhism...) but that seeing JGB and Jerry w/ GRIS AT THE WARFIELD WAS SOMETHING MAGICAL AND SPIRITUAL FOR ME... the drunk college kids behind us kinda spoiled it one night until the Heads in residency in the front row shut em up... more later! ANY LOUISIANA WHARF RATS OUT THERE!!!??? I still go to shows around New Orleans and BR, but enjoy them better now w/o spending my hard earned cheese on beer. Shout if you out there. Captain Green (Zappa cover band) plays Chelsea's 9/11 AMERICAN AQUARIUM plays Varsity in BR this SAT night. ANY BATON ROUGE WHARF RATS OUT THERE??? These guys are supposed to really do it right.
  • marye
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    cool mona
    thanks for posting that.
  • mona
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    From Don Bryant
    Food For thought for those who may not KNOW: Here is a little HISTORY OF THE WHARF RATS for some of you new comers. I wrote these words fourteen years ago. They stand true today. YOU ARE A WHARF RAT IF YOU SAY YOU ARE-NO JUDGEMENT-NO REQUIREMENT!The Wharf Rats were founded by primarily clean and sober recovering addicts and alcoholics. What you find in the shows and generally throughout the wharf rat scene in no way resembles what the Wharf Rat scene started out as. The Wharf Rats have evolved and maturated if you will. Wharf Rats started out as a group of people in recovery on tour. It began as friendships by Deadheads bonded by Grateful Dead music and mutual recovery from Drug and Alcohol addiction. Some of us feared disclosing our status as Deadheads at our AA and NA meetings. We also had to be extremely vigilant at Dead shows. Some of us realized that Unity is one of the greatest healing powers that we have in recovery. We knew that there were other clean and sober Deadheads around but where were they and how could we get them together? The catalyst for the Wharf Rat Group was the overwhelming since of isolation that addicts and alcoholics were subjected to in Dead shows when we had to go it alone.This was an extreme environment swirling with temptation. Many people fell through the cracks and got wasted. The Grateful Dead created a home for Deadheads that could not be duplicated. The music and scene was much too fun to let it go of just because we sobered up and could no longer indulge our addictions. People blessed with recovery still went to shows. We danced and twirled but somehow a desire for those special bonds that we experienced in the rooms extended to tour. " TOO MUCH OF EVERYTHING IS JUST ENOUGH" is one verse in the song " I NEED A MIRACLE". Our Twelve Steps tell us to " practice these principles in all of our affairs". It only seemed natural that we should gather together, hang out and have fun on tour. We typically would all descend on some local AA or NA meeting during our off days where we would continue to support each other. We began to organize, tour together and find strength in our connections to one another as Deadheads in Recovery. Those early days were much different than the way things are now. We gathered initially to party together drug free. No Table, No meetings and no real purpose other than to get together,have fun and stay clean. Initially, We called the group"The Wharf Rat Group of Alcoholics Anonymous. " That didn't last long. AA General Service Office would have nothing to do with us which was a blessing in disguise. We met out in the open at Grateful Dead shows during the set breaks. Nothing Anonymous about that! We did not meet the criteria of holding an established regular meeting or singularity of purpose that the General Service office wanted. I think the fact that we met at only at Dead shows really freaked them out. We dropped our affiliations and just called ourselves Wharf Rats. Early on a very different problem emerged which helped to define what we became. There were many Deadheads who saw our presence and spirit and wanted to be Wharf Rats some of whom had no problem with drugs or alcohol. Some had never used anything. Others were addicted to food , sex, gambling and the like but had no problem with chemicals. Still others were our family and friends who loved and supported us. This led to our very inclusive membership qualification "You are a Wharf Rat if you say you are". Many ,many people would be very surprised if they really understood how well integrated the Wharf Rats are into the whole Grateful Dead scene, helping out in all sorts of circumstances and striking a unique source of Concert going magic for a myriad of Deadheads. Several well-intentioned attempts to fashion the group in the mold of a traditional AA or NA 12 step group fell by the wayside. We really could not replace AA or NA in a meaningful way for most people nor should we. People need more than they can get on tour and at shows. Our niche became an entry point for Deadheads in crisis or a sort of safe zone for recovering Heads to support and love each other. Deadheads in recovery who had felt misunderstood in both Recovery meetings and by drug using folks at shows finally had a place of their own where we belonged. Some of us were such Big Addicts and such Big Deadheads that those infamous words in "TENNESSEE JED" became our Mantra! "THERE AIN'T NO PLACE I'D RATHER BE". We became Wharf Rats to the core. Who could of known that the synergy between recovery from addiction and The Grateful Dead Mojo would have so much power and meaning? So many of the lyrics we sang and danced to at shows became fixed in our minds as symbolic of another aspect of the new life with which we had been SO blessed to receive. Great old music took on entirely new dimensions. The beautiful music of the GRATEFUL DEAD with its' multi-faceted authenticity rocked us into happy destiny as it soothed our souls. The musical truth blanketed our minds in light of the twelve steps for living. "I NEED A MIRACLE" ,"WHARF RAT", "SCARLET BEGONIAS", "THE WHEEL" and ""BLACK PETER" became Wharf Rat Anthems synonymous with various spiritual axioms of recovery. Deep lifelong friendships formed within the group. We became a Fellowship within a Fellowship. Yes, We began to enjoy the music even more than ever and we began to have more fun than we ever dreamed humanly possible all without the thought of using anything except our God, our Love, The Grateful Dead and Ourselves. What could be better? It really is"all about the music". Don Bryant
  • marye
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    Spiral
    Thanks, congrats and continued good travels along the path!
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Welcome, Wharf-Rats.
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16 years 8 months
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I'll be sittin' in the " No Alcohol " section at Wrigley Field 5/5.Cubs vs Giants.........Game time 1:20 pm Tickets still available :o) It would be so cool to have a whole WharfRat section at Wrigley. See you there. November and more as I wait for the score. They're tellin' me forgivness is the key to every door.
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I will be at the DCU 4/18...this will be my first show w/ out being "chemically" inconveienced...will there be a wharfrat meeting there? And how ill I know they are there and where ? Also I haven't recieved my tix yet...has anyone out there recieved there's? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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thank you... i am so grateful to be here.. when ratdog.org went down, i wondered where i would find some kind fellowship... WHARF RAT: 8 years; 9 months; 5 days... glad to be here...
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17 years 1 month
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Are you the other Charlie I met in PA? If so, Welcome friend! If not, Welcome friend anyway!Peace, Love and Recovery,lefty
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17 years 5 months
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tj crowley traditionally the 'table' is identified w/ 'yellow ballons' usually there's a banner (wharf-rats)attached to the wall inside milieu(s) will have table on main floor directly behind drums/stage above all..if even staying w/ the wharf-rat folk is un-comfortable, the same two feet that brought you dancin in can bring you to the exit sign(s)
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Hello friends, Haven't visited the forum for a couple of months now, but very happy to announce that I recently celebrated my 1 year birthday - hoping to get to a show or two out west in May. If I can make it, I will certainly be on the lookout for fellow wharfrats - would sure love to meet some of you! Kym
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Hey people, DC and Charlottesville are just a couple of weeks away! I'll be doing my 1st shows sober. My last shows were in NC 89 right before getting sober. I'll be on the lookout for the table and yellow balloons-can't wait to see you there!
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16 years 9 months
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Hey y'all. I'm going to Greensboro and the 5/5 Chicago shows. It's just me, one ticket. I'm super-excited but also a little wary because of the cunning, baffling nature of this disease. Any folks here I could meet up with before/after these shows? (Can't wait to look for the yellow balloons!) I want to really have a good, carefree time, and not feel weird if there are triggers, y'know? I've been clean for a few years now but haven't been to hardly any shows. I went to tons of meetings the first few years, got a strong foundation I guess. But for the past five or so – the familiar story – I've gotten "busy" with life: having a kid, work etc. I'm grateful to have remained clean during this time. Actually, since getting my ticket for Greensboro, I've been to more meetings than in the the last five years. But still not in the middle of the boat as I was when first clean. I was so excited when I found archive.org a few years ago. I got back into the Dead without getting tangled in the scene. But it's just been me and the music. My wife – who I met in recovery – unfortunately doesn't get the "dead". Thank god for this forum. Once again, I realize I'm not alone; there are people out there just like me! Peace. ---- I was blind all the time I was learning to see.
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tj crowley not sure if i'll be at any show(s) due to price of tckt's BUT march 28th will be my anni
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RODGER ALLINSON alas yet being clean and sober now for the past six years i can really apreciate and respect what being a wharf rat is all about when i was on tour all those years i could'nt even begin to imagine the concept but now i,m glad that as i go to shows this spring ill have a network to plug into
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15 years 9 months
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Hey Jimmie C and all wharf,sI'll be at Wrigley 4/18, with 11 years clean and sober. I'll let you know how cold it was. -PEACE-
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15 years 8 months
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I've got 8 yrs and L.A., May 9th is my first Dead show, is any one else going??
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17 years 5 months
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Celebrating the resurrection of The Dead on Easter Sunday in Greensboro. Yellow balloons/tables on the premises?
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17 years 5 months
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I'll be there, Lord willin'.
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15 years 10 months
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Well the final weekend before the tour has come and gone, and no west coast freebie, warmup, sendoff, nothin, zilch (I was hopin). Guess the days of the unanounced free show in Golden Gate Park are over. Oh well, see all of you west coast rats @ Shoreline. Hope I don't go into DTs between now and then (deadlirium tremuns) "I'll get up and fly away"
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15 years 10 months
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I have looked for WR groups around chicagoland to no avail.Nobody seems to feel like typing.
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15 years 7 months
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Hi, I am looking for a kind soul in NYC to sell me 3 tix for the 042509 MSG DEAD show for $200 total. I realize this is CRAZY-BELOW the price on the tix. To compensate for this I am offering you a FREE 3 NIGHT stay in San Francisco. I have a lovely studio apt located 3 blocks from the Powell Cable Car turnaround and would love to share my space w/ you for free. SHORELINE May 10th, SHORELINE May 14th, and you've got a free place, heck, I'll let ya stay at my place from the 9th till the 15th!! (Shoreline stay ONLY offered for Wharfrats, and I pay only $150 for the 3 tix) If this works for us, I have a relative in Manhattan that will pick up the tix and pay you, Of course, I am sure we will speak prior. search words to pull up my post quicker: SF NYC MSG Mountain View CA 05/10/09 05/14/09 051009 051409 0510 0514 042409 0424 04/24/09 04/24 $200 $150
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Sorry I havent posted in a while.....life on lifes terms. IM SO EXCITED-its been hard to work, think, eat, sleep, I know you guys understand! April 12 will only be my second show sober but I CANT WAIT!!! I am gonna be doing the family thing most of the time but will be hanging with the Rats too!!!! Did I mention IM SO EXCITED?????!!!!! c u guys sooooooooooon!
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16 years 9 months
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Anyone know of good meetings in Greensboro or Winston-Salem Saturday night or Sunday morning? I'd love to get a meeting in before the show.
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16 years 11 months
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Greensboro, NC I'll be there. 15 yrs clean. See you guys under the yellow balloon. It will be my first WharfRats experience.
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15 years 7 months
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I am just discovering this Wharf Rats thing. Feels like comin home all over again. I have been to lots and lots of shows but hopefully(if I can find a ticket to buy!) May 9 in L.A. will be my first sober show. I have 7 yrs of good trudgin here in L.A. but I'm really excited to see the dead when I'm sober I am REALLY EXCITED!!!!!! LIFE IS GOOD!! May the four winds blow you safely home
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15 years 10 months
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just 2 nights and a wakeup Wife and I are taking our 18 & 20 yr olds to their first show... they grew up listening to The Dead and they are as stoked as their ole man. It was my 20 yr old son that noticed it would be the 38th anniversary of my first show... pretty special and will be my first with my children (double special) See everyone at the Meeting between sets ... Been clean n sober 26 years and gonna shake these ole bones one more time... :-)
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16 years 11 months
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What time will the wharfrats gather at the Greensboro show? Any good Narcotics Anonymous meetings in the area?
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17 years 5 months
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I found out about them 2 years ago at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, TN. This past 17 March 2009 I celebrated 23 years clean and sober. I thank God I survived the 15 years before that. Let your life procede by its own design.
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15 years 10 months
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Hey All,Can't wait until you come up to NJ/NYC. My name is Jason and have been a wharfrat since 2002. Looking forward to seeing you up here! Have fun tonight :) Can find me on aol Notfadeaway18, give me a text when you get to NJ. Jason
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15 years 7 months
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Hey All, Tammy from Philly, PA here, 78 days sober, my 1st sober show will be in Philly Sat May 2nd and i'm nervous, looking for wharfrats to help me stay sober and dance the night away. Please contact me so i don't have to sell my ticket out of fear, i had to give up all of my ppl, places and things. JazzKittenPoet@yahoo.com
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17 years 5 months
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tj crowley meetings usuaaly are during the break but the table is attended to throughout the show
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15 years 10 months
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Looked high and looked low ... No Wharfrat table at the Greensboro show Couldn't find table nor meeting between sets ... Glad I wasn't Jones'n
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15 years 7 months
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I hope to see the yellow balloons at the show tomorrow in Albany. There's nothing like a Dead concert sober!
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Wow, we ended by loudly singing a line from "Black Peter" starting with "See how everything leads up to this day" and people were stopping and staring and taking pics. Big Daddy Don said Jerry sang that at the WR first show. Thanks to the guys at the table for being there when I took a break from the freaky Space stuff the Dead are doing now. I'm SO GRATEFUL for my WR fam and wouldn't have made it these three shows without you!
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Yea, I couldn't find the rats at the greensboro show either. But I had a great time. Thats 6 clean shows for me and looking forward to many more. The boys sound great I hope they start touring more often. This summer or next fall would be killer.
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Made my shows in DC & UVA clean and sober. Thanks for the yellow ballons at both shows. It was a comfort to know you were there, if I needed you. My brother rode shot gun for me. Miracles in sobriety never cease.
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15 years 7 months
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Hello family,Going to the Mountain View show, 6 of us Clean, not Dead Heads. Hope to get to meet some of you there. Anybody going? Janice
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15 years 7 months
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MSG SHOW... WOW!!!! I went with my 69year old Dad, My Brother in Law and a friend. We had section 401, but MIRACLED floor seats, both sets! Cosmic Charlie, U J Band, He's Gone, Gimme Shelter all SUPER DUPER!! Mid Set break Wharf Rat mtng, very nice, extra special. The meeting was so packed, "normies" in the hallway couldn't get by! Hahaha. I shared, said I was Wharfrat from SF. Very warm, good vibes. Sobriety countdown, beautifull. Confetti was thrown and my thick hair soaked it up. I think some of it remains. St. Stephen w/ confetti, in and out of my hair, like spaggetti... I will be at Shoreline both shows, Call me up, my name is Lew. (415) HOLY-GUY Wharf Rat AA mtngs on Thursdays at 8:15, Noe Valley SFCA, hope to see y'all there...
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FYIOn this site's video page, the video of Greensboro featured Big Daddy Don on the floor dancin with his crazy hat! When I met him in G'boro I didn't know who he was, but I found out at the other shows. He was a valuable asset to me at the shows and generous to my driver, gifting her some "Cats Down Under the Stars" jewelry.
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15 years 7 months
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Hi Everyone, Sounds like the shows are amazing and everyone is havin' fun doin' it sober. I live in Carlsbad, CA and was wondering if anyone from San Diego is heading up to the show on May 9th. I'm newly sober and would love to go to the show. I need to go with some wharf rats otherwise I won't be going. I'm leavin' it up to my higher power. I'm puttin' it out there and seein' what comes back. Cuz I no that the life I was livin' was no good but I'm gettin' a new start to live the I should. please email me at phreeang@yahoo.com if you have any info, would like to chat or are goin' to the show and you have room for one more sober head. Lots of Love, Ang
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15 years 9 months
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I see no one has posted to this in a few years so I am reaching out in hopes that someone will respond...any wharf rat action at the 2009 shows?
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15 years 9 months
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Ok, now the site is acting funny..as soon as I posted my question the 2009 comments came up LOL. Hugzzz
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16 years 5 months
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Coming out from Arizona for my first SOBER show on 5/14 and hoping to put some faces to the names I read here. Where should I look for the table and balloons - somewhere inside the venue would be my guess. Will be visiting with friends in the area, but will be on my own at the show and hoping for support! Love y'all - see ya soon!
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15 years 10 months
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Gettin close to showtime folks...would love to get together with other clean and sober rats before show and share experience strength and hope. I went to the NYE Phil/Ratdog shows and my sobriety was in jeopordy for a while. Need to make sure I'm plugged in for this. I plan on getting there very early (lawn seats). Shoot me an email here or rhollis80@yahoo.com ♪♪♪ "I'll get up and fly away" ♪♪♪
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15 years 10 months
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Thanks for the table in Hartford! My 5 years and my buddies 1 year sure did appreciate you being there.
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15 years 7 months
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Meadowlands was great!! Looking for a safe place to meet on lot in Philly?? I'm doing a few shows with Louie, and am always happy to give out a one show sticker and a hug. His Falafal/ Jerry Roll booth is impossible to miss on shakedown. Also looking for an extra ticket both nights.. Haps/ Flaps/ 7 Laps
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15 years 10 months
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Original Wharf Rat from the East coast now living in Wyoming. 24 years clean and looking for Wharf Rats to hang out with at the Denver Show. HP provided a clean rider by "coincidence" when I posted on a local board. Email me at lonesomejohnnie@hotmail.com or call me at 307-248-3117 (cell). Some folks trust in reason, others trust in might, I don't trust in nothing, but I know it'll turn out right.
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15 years 6 months
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Haven't seen any version of The Dead since I sobered up in 2000 and am heading to Shoreline on Sunday... can't wait to feel the music again. Will be with a solid buddy but am hoping to find a meeting at set break... any suggestions from those in the know?Enjoy the shows, take care of each other and be well. Thanks for any help you can hoffer. "once in awhile you get shown the light"
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15 years 7 months
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Just wondering if there will be a booth at the Forum for us? Didn't see one in Philly.....
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16 years 1 month
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wow! what an amazing trip-ya a little strange too I guess!!! Hit up tables in Greensboro, D.C. and Charlottesville-which was AMAZING might I add-Black Peter is so powerful-great shows-great sobriety-I even got some great bumper stickers for my car! Now people can come up to me and ask who August West is-or what a Wharf Rat is for that matter-lol!!! I love all of you my brothers n sisters-thankx for being part of my family!!!peace, love, n sobriety-hcm
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15 years 10 months
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I count 19 shows and no Wharf Rat. Maybe Shoreline?...
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15 years 10 months
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Phil and Friends: 50 times, Ratdog: 45 times, Other Ones: 12 times, The Dead: 1 time ♪♪♪ "I'll get up and fly away" ♪♪♪