Mint?

I attended another meeting last night; and this one was totally unlike the one on Tuesday.  Firstly there was about 5 times more people there - it was packed!  And what a diverse bunch - from the journeyman, well-seasoned yet sober alcoholic; to the rum scally in a stripy blue jumper; to the thigh-length booted yet toothless mother of 6!  Quite a mix.  Anyway, it was really good. I heard really hard tales and I heard some really funny, life-affirming stuff - again a totally diverse range.   The main thing was that the sense of welcoming and safety was tangible...

But amongst all this, something really stood out to me.  Sat next to me was a girl of about 20 - and fitted a particular stereotype that could be defined by such things as a spray-on tan, hooped earrings, face full of make-up applied by Zippy from Rainbow... you get the picture. Conversely, she normally would probably look at me and think look at that pompous hairy weirdo!  With his daft gay scarf and silly hair!  The point is, we are not the kinds of people who would interract (and both of us are normally perfectly happy that this is the case). 

Well, this girl, after about half an hour, offered me a mint...  She offered me a mint. It seems like nothing, nothing at all, but it stood out by a country-mile.  [Warning: getting all earnest again] Just goes to show, that the one thing we have in common, makes all the difference.  Starting to get a sense that this is what AA is all about...