For the last couple of weeks, I have been creating posts about a guy named “The Frantic Man”.
He is a fictional character based on my personal experiences and thoughts about the steps and principles of AA from early on in sobriety.
The stories are real…I just made up the character to make it more interesting for reading…..and to be able to write about me without saying it was me.
I am my favorite subject.
I love me some me.
I could talk about me ALL day!
But who wants to sounds egotistical? Not me.
While attending the Men’s conference this weekend I was taken aback by an individual I met.
He is the human equivalent of the fictional character of “the Frantic Man”. He doesnt have a stutter but his quiet and shy demeanor along with the way he draws out his speech gave me chills.
I was speaking with the character I created in my mind.
It shouldn’t have been a surprise to me that our issues with coming into sobriety and dealing with life beyond the bottle were strikingly similar.
Our thoughts and experiences were mirror images. Our fears with honesty with others were carbon copies.
Our uniqueness made change hard.
By the end of the conference, we had exchanged numbers, and I have spoken with him on the phone twice.
Out of respect for fiction becoming reality I will no longer post about “the Frantic Man”.
I am hoping he will create his own story and bring it to life.
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If you want to know what I felt like, in a general way, when meeting my character…..then watch this short clip.
It was a terrific ride while it lasted. So long Frantic Man. Stranger than Fiction–one of my all-time favorites!
His journey goes on….just without my narration.