Erik William
My name is Erik, I’m an alcoholic. Ralph was one of my AA brothers.
I didn’t really know Ralph all that well if I’m being honest. But I did know him well enough to shed tears when I found out about his passing. At the same time I do feel that all alcoholics and addicts know each other through a bond that’s hard to explain and hard to replicate. I’d imagine that it’s similar to the bond that soldiers in combat share amongst each other - strangers fighting for a common cause, looking out for one another, sometimes even at the expense of their own wellbeing.
At times it feels that losing an AA brother or sister hits even harder than losing those I was closer with. I didn’t even know Ralph was sick until I heard he’d lost his battle. I got to see only his good side and thus I have only good memories of him.
I consider myself to be a pretty good judge of character and, though I only had a few conversations with him, I could definitely see that he had a good heart. I knew this even before it was confirmed by many who were closer to him or who knew him for a much longer period of time.
The silver lining here is that this strengthens my own resolve to keep going, to keep fighting in honor of those who fell too soon. We recover in part for those whose battle has ended. I can say with rock solid certainty that Ralph does want to see all of us again, those he knew in the rooms of AA and those he knew outside of them. He just doesn’t want to meet with any of us in a heavenly way until our own times come. While we are still here, I believe he wants us to keep fighting the good fight, whatever that looks like for each of us.
My heart goes out to each and every person who loved Ralph and cared about him.
Love you Ralph!
- Erik B.
