Thanks Tom and rjfro22 for that 'refresher'
I remember all of those people, and my impressions of them are very similar to yours. I was early Andrews, and SR 84. Just a kid, I had never met a junkie before then, to my knowledge. Tough bunch of folk! I seem to recall a toilet being used as the hot seat, I guess they got tired of lugging it out from the back room.
I liked Charlie and Darlene, sad to hear they may have returned to artificial joy. I hope they pulled out of it, if it's true.
I really enjoyed the singing too. The story you tell of Irish Eyes, and Art scanning the group really sounds familiar, but I'm not certain I was there. Was that Andrews, under the tarp?
Remember John Murphy from Boston? I used to get a kick out of the way he said part. Sounded like pot. He would throw out a question, and accept multiple responses. To each he would say, "That's pot", if they were anywhere near the topic, that is. Many of us would snicker when he did that. Giddy little pot-heads that we were.
When I became a 'born again newcomer' next time around, it was on SR84. I used to sing with 'The New Crusty Nostrals' I married one of the young ladies in that group. Lasted about 2 years, as I recall.
One day, Art took us all to his house to hear his sterio. The speakers were the largest I had seen in a home. The sound was incredible. He said the sound was very much like being onstage, in the center of a Big Band. Made a jazz fan out of me, My Wife and I are enjoying some right now.
Another time, may have been same day, prior to the home tour, he took a bunch of us to the restaurant of a local golf club for lunch. Jacaranda? Not sure. Fanciest place I had been in to that point.
Since I was a compliant client, I missed all the strip searches, escorts to the bathroom, hot seat, etc., that left so many here scarred for life.
Hey, thanks again for sharing (if I may use that word) your memories with such vivid detail!