18_DAY EiGHTEEN - Akron, OH

I didn't share with you because I was dumbfounded by Gettysburg that I arrived in Happy Valley last night just in time to make it to the Berkey Street Creamery and have some dark chocolate ice cream!

Today I woke up to a beautiful day in Happy Valley.  I drove around the campus and took pictures on the shrine Nittany Lion and admired a very beautiful campus.  The one thing I regret was not looking up Joe Paterno's address in the phonebook and driving by to see him.

In case I didn't tell you I'm on my way to the largest cohabitation of Amish people in the country and perhaps anywhere.  Millersburg, OH.  On my way I stopped in Akron to check off some AA history.

This was a cool day!  As I arrived in Akron I drove down to the original Central Office where the door is made out of two Big Books.  It was closed so I didn't get to go inside.  That's ok, check it off the list.

Then I headed down Dr. Bob's Way towards his old house and it was amazing to see that the neighborhood had taken such great care of the place even though there was no source of funding!  All you had to do was look lost and they would say Dr. Bob's house is over there!

Next I wanted to take in a meeting and without thinking I headed to one at the local hospital, ring any bells?  The local hospital?  Me either until I walked in and was directed to the basement and down a hall I passed the chapel of Sister Ignatious!  Wow, I was freaked to see all of the plaques on the wall and the chapel of the very lady who helped so many alcoholics and their families!  Now it hit me, I was in THAT hospital!  The one where the "man on the bed sat"!  I continued down the hall to the last room on the block, ha.  This is where the meeting was being held.  Great meeting, ordinary alcoholics!

I usually stay after the meeting to check out what the locals have to say about the surroundings and today I was running out of daylight.  It was after seven on a cloudy day so darkness was approaching and that means cold!  Well a guy (who I judged and didn't like) was trying to tell me to go to the phone booth?  I didn't listen until he finally said you will miss the entire Akron experience is you don't go down to the Mayflower hotel and see the phone booth!

Here's the story of the phone booth:  Bill Wilson, the co-founder of AA, had been working with a psychiatrist named Dr. Silkworth, trying to get sober.  Dr. Silkworth explained the 3-fold disease of alcoholism how to work with others inflicted.  Well Bill was sober just a little while we he arrived in Akron for a business venture.  He checked into the Mayflower hotel in downtown Akron and went to his business meeting.  The meeting was unsuccessful, so Bill heads back to the hotel to check out.  He has no money to pay the hotel bill, and is standing in the 2nd floor foyer a bar to his left with laughter...a payphone to his right. He says to himself, "I could head into the bar strike up some conversations and find some way to cure these blues and get some money to pay the bill OR I could call the church directory and see if they have another alcoholic in the area I can talk to.  He chose the payphone, found Dr. Bob, and the rest is history!!!!  AA was formed at the moment he and Bob got together and then added Number 3 from the hospital!

So I've been told that the Mayflower is now "sort of " a housing project and you have to be buzzed in to get inside and see the restored 2nd floor.  Wow!  I have an adventure a mission!  I take off downtown to find out that the roads are blocked off because of a minor league baseball game going on.  I ride through the barricade and down to where the policemen are.  The cop says, "can't you see the barricades"?  I told him my story about the Mayflower and he said, "go ahead".  The experience was amazing!  You have to go see the Mayflower whether you're an alcoholic or not!

Bundled up for the cold I head out to Amish land...

Wandering...