A
Close Shave
THE
year 1890 witnessed my advent as the youngest of five
sons to a fine Christian mother and a hard working blacksmith
father. At the age of eight my father used to send me
after his pail of beer and it was by lapping the foam
off the beer that I first discovered that the taste was
much to my liking. By the time I was fourteen, at which
time I quit school, I had found that wine and hard cider
were also pleasing to my palate. The next six years I
spent learning the art of barbering and by the end of
this period I had become both a proficient barber and
an earnest drinker.
During the next 10
or 12 years I was able to acquire several lucrative shops,
some with poolrooms and restaurants attached. It seemed
quite impossible however for me to stand prosperity so
I would drink myself out of one situation, get myself
together a b it, develop another, and then repeat the
performance.
The time came when
I could no longer refinance myself so I began to float
about the country, getting a job here and there as I could,
but invariably I got fired in a short time because of
my unreliability.
My marriage, which
occurred in 1910 about the time I started my successful
ownership of shops, resulted in our having a family of
ten children who were usually desperately in need because
I used my slender income for booze instead of providing
for them.
p.348
A
Close Shave
I
finally secured a job in a shop in a town of about 4,500
people, where I now live. My reputation for drinking soon
became more or less generally known. About this time a
deacon and the pastor of one of the local churches used
to come in the shop for their work and were constantly
inviting me to church and Bible classes, which invitations
irritated me very much. I earnestly wished they would
mind their own business.
I finally did accept
one or two invitations to social functions at the home
of one of these men, and was received so cordially that
the barrier between us was partially lowered.
I did not stop drinking
however, though my feeling toward these men was kindly.
They at last persuaded me to go to a nearby town to have
a talk with a doctor who had had a great deal of experience
with this type of trouble. I listened to the man for two
h ours, and although my mind was quite foggy, I retained
a good deal of what he said. I feel that the combined
effort of these three Christian gentlemen made it possible
for me to have a vital spiritual experience. This occurred
in March, 1937. I have had n o trouble since.
For about six years
previous to this time I was never at any time completely
free from the influence of liquor.
Since that time I
have regained the love of my family and the respect of
the community, and can truthfully say that the past few
years have been the happiest of my life.
I have busied myself
a great deal during these few years in helping others
who were afflicted as I was, and
p.349
Alcoholics
Anonymous
the
combined efforts of the deacon, the pastor, and myself,
have resulted in nine other men finding a way out of difficulties
which were identical with mine. I feel this activity has
played an important part in my mastery of this most devastating
habit.
p.350
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