We never seem to keep as much documentation in life as we ultimately wish we had. That is why we can only speculate about the beginnings of  Maine Medical Center's Pulse Group meeting. The best guess is that the meeting began in 1981 by Albert B (now deceased), Ricki H. and a few others. Al was an employee at the hospital and his original concept - that a meeting should be available for patients, employees and the  public - holds to this day.

It began as a speaker/discussion meeting in a room off the old cafeteria on Friday nights at 8:00 PM. Today, when smoking is not even allowed on hospital grounds, it is hard to believe that a smoker's meeting was held in the building itself. In a long room with two long  tables placed end to end, it was difficult to see from one end of the room to the other. This would never deter alcoholics from a meeting...in fact, this would have been considered a very typical scenario for a meeting of the day!

In 1985, Maine Medical Center opened the Dana Center and moved the  Pulse Group meeting into Classroom 9. The center, named for a man who  died of cancer, was a non-smoking building and the attendance at the meeting, which was regularly 30 to 50 people, dropped considerably, as  smokers chose other meetings (little did they know how their options  would dwindle as the years passed!) For a while we were down to 5 or 6 people, but the regulars, like Al, Ricki, Mary Alice, John D., Adelle, Jean, Bill W. (not the original!) and Christina L. would not give up. We decided that the meeting would go on no matter what. We often had no money for literature, chips or donations but we knew only one thing mattered: keep the meeting going for those who needed it.

As the group began to grow again, Classroom 9 soon became too small and we moved to Classroom 7 - where we continue to meet to this day. The Dana Center offered us quite a change from the smoke-filled room in the cafeteria. It was brightly lit with florescent lights and had chairs in a classroom layout. The room 'layout' would provide us a lot of  controversy over the years, as we created a circle (actually a square) in the front of the room, with several rows of chairs behind it, then switched to a half-moon layout with chairs facing the speaker, then back again. WE alcoholics struggle with change and we struggle with acceptance. I think we finally realized we were slipping away from our primary purpose and now try to remain on track.

Time passed and again we grew as people learned that no matter what the weather, the Pulse Group meeting would take place. As far as members can recall there has only been one week without a meeting: that was when we were called by the hospital and told not to come because the power was out to the Dana Center and there was no heat. Another time the lights went out in all the classrooms and the meeting was held in the hall as we sat on the floor, leaning against the walls facing each other. There were times when members would cross-country ski to the meeting in a storm to make sure the doors were open for those of use who needed a meeting on a snowy winter night.

The hospital use to provide us with locker space to hold our books and literature. One day we were given the word that the room the locker was in would be turned into office space and we would no longer be given storage space. Boxes of AA material were stored in members' cars for a while until the group got its official L.L. Bean 'tote' bag and the job of 'keeper of the bag' was added to all the other jobs available to members of our group. We have had occasions when the tote bag would not make it to the meeting and we would get to enjoy one of those AA miracles, where one member would begin to recite "How It Works", only to forget a line. Another member would pick up and this would continue until we managed to work our way through the entire reading. Thank God we read it at every meeting and we had all become so familiar with it!

This may sound odd, but food has always played a big part in our group. We have put on some major anniversary parties with much more food than the group could possibly consume. There would be a mix of  'store-bought' and potluck meals, and leftovers would eventually be donated to the Arne Hanson Center. When Walter celebrated his first anniversary, a good friend brought him a pair of fresh lobsters as a gift. Christina L. was our first official 'cake person' and once brought in a homemade cheesecake for Susan D's anniversary. 'Cake person' has been a regular job title for our group, with both Jim L. & Pat O, taking the job very serious. We would usually take requests. (Carrot cakes were often a big favorite). Some folks didn't care for cake - or couldn't eat them - and we began adding watermelon & bowls of  fruit to the 'menu'.

The Pulse group is an 'open' meeting and we would often have family members join us. Christina L. & Bill W. brought their daughters for several years...until the girls decided they were too old. They would sit on the floor in the back and color and drink a lot of hot chocolate. The tradition continues as Harvey M. frequently brings his son with him. Many times parents and other relatives would show up to help a member celebrate an anniversary. Since we are in the hospital, we often have visitors, AA members visiting sick relatives, who take advantage of our meeting. We also have folks join us from 'P6'. Since the hospital will not accept rent from outside meetings such as AA, we 'pay our own way' by providing literature to the hospital and escorting patients from P6 to and from the meeting.

We at the Pulse Group firmly believe in the concept of a group conscience. There were a few occasions when people were elected to the position of group secretary and would proceed to push the group in the direction of their personal agenda. Fortunately, we were willing to use the business meeting as a place to work out our issues and allow group conscience to set the direction for the future of the group. "Principles before personalities" saved us on numerous occasions!

Long ago we voted to make donations according to the service structure and our group contributes many hundreds of dollars a year to the CSO, GSO, Maine Area Service and the Grapevine. We have also made a strong commitment to 'Giving back to AA'. A few years ago we did a commitment to the Cumberland County prerelease. This was a once a week commitment for a year. Currently, we are doing a one-year commitment to the Milestone Foundation in Portland every Tuesday morning at 10 AM. Feel free to join us there. Our group has also set up a 'donation can' and, along with individual contributions, five dollars out of our 'seventh tradition' collection every week goes to corrections. This is been about 20 percent of the total corrections monthly budget this year.

Many good people passed through our group...and many stayed. Bill C. (deceased), Russell W., Barry W. (deceased), Frances & Emery, Frank, Dan D. ('California Dan'), not one but TWO 'Bill  W.s', Nikki (deceased) Pat O'D., Cathy B., Gordon M., Clark L (Gordon & Clark...our on-going comedy team), Jim L., Bill H, Richard K, Alice,  Simonne  M, Larry W, Barbara L, Bob H, Mal C, Walter M, Debra, Bob F, John D, Clay M, Gary G, Mark R, Donald M, and many, and many more. We are fortunate for all the good sobriety that has passed through our doors and is still here today.