AA History Lovers
2004
Messages 1575-2117
moderated by
Nancy Olson
September 18, 1929 – March 25, 2005
Glenn F. Chesnut
June 28, 1939 –
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++++Message 1575. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant January Dates in A.A.
History
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/1/2004 4:07:00 AM
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Happy New Year to all 795 AA History Lovers. By popular demand, I am
resuming sending the monthly significant dates in A.A. history.
Nancy
January 1:
1946: The A.A. Grapevine increased the cost of a year's subscription to
$2.50.
1948: "Columbus Dispatch" reported first anniversary of Central Ohio A.A.
Group.
1948: First A.A. meeting was held in Japan, English speaking.
1988: West Virginia A.A. began first statewide toll-free telephone hotline.
January 2:
1889: Bridget Della Mary Gavin (Sister Ignatia) was born in Ireland.
2003: Mid-Southern California Archives moved to new location in Riverside.
January 3:
1939: First sale of Works Publishing Co. stock was recorded.
1941: Jack Alexander told Bill Wilson the Oxford Group would be in his
Saturday Evening Post article on A.A.
January 4:
1939: Dr. Bob stated in a letter to Ruth Hock that A.A. had to get away from
the Oxford Group atmosphere.
1940: First A.A. group was founded in Detroit, Michigan.
1941: Bill and Lois Wilson drove to Bedford Hills, NY, to see Stepping
Stones and broke in through an unlocked window.
January 5:
1941: Bill and Lois visited Bedford Hills again.
1941: Bill Wilson told Jack Alexander that Jack was "the toast of A.A. -- in
Coca Cola, of course."
January 6:
2000: Stephen Poe, compiler of the Concordance to Alcoholics Anonymous,
died.
January 8:
1938: New York A.A. split from the Oxford Group.
January 12:
1943: Press reported the first A.A. group in Pontiac, Michigan.
January 13:
1988: Jack Norris, M.D., Chairman/Trustees of A.A. for 27 yrs. died.
2003: Dr. Earle Marsh, author of "Physician Heal Thyself," sober 49 years,
died
January 15:
1941: A.A. Bulletin No. 2 reported St. Louis group had ten members.
1941: Bill Wilson asked Ruth Hock to get him "spook book," "The Unobstructed
Universe."
1945: First A.A. meeting held in Springfield, Missouri.
1948: Polk Health Center Alcoholic Clinic for Negroes started operations
with 14 willing subjects. The Washington Black Group of A.A. cooperated with
the clinic.
January 17:
1919: 18th amendment, "Prohibition," became law.
January 19:
1940: First A.A. group met in Detroit, Mich.
1943: Canadian newspaper reported eight men met at "Little Denmark," a
Toronto restaurant, to discuss starting Canada's first A.A. group.
1999: Frank M., A.A. Archivist since 1983, died.
January 20:
1954: Hank Parkhurst, author of "The Unbeliever" in the first edition of the
Big Book, died in Pennington, NJ.
January 21:
1951: A.A. Grapevine published memorial issue on Dr. Bob.
January 23:
1961: Bill W. sent an appreciation letter, which he considered long-overdue,
to Dr. Carl Jung for his contribution to A.A.
January 24:
1918: Bill Wilson and Lois Burnham were married, days before he was sent to
Europe in WW I.
1971: Bill Wilson died in Miami, Florida, only weeks after sending a
postcard to Senator Harold Hughes of Iowa, saying he wanted to live long
enough to see Hughes become President.
January 25:
1915: Dr. Bob Smith married Anne Ripley.
January 26:
1971: New York Times published Bill's obituary on page 1.
January 27:
1971: The Washington Post published an obituary of Bill Wilson written by
Donald Graham, son of the owner of the Washington Post.
January 30:
1961: Dr. Carl Jung answers Bill's letter with "Spiritus Contra Spiritum."
Other significant things that happened in January (no specific date
available):
1938: Jim Burwell, author of "The Vicious Cycle," a former atheist, gave
A.A. "God as we understand Him."
1940: First AA meeting not in a home meets at Kings School, Akron, Ohio.
1942: "Drunks are Square Pegs" was published.
1951: The A.A. Grapevine published a memorial issue on Dr. Bob.
1984: "Pass It On," the story of Bill W. and how the A.A. message reached
the world, was published.
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++++Message 1576. . . . . . . . . . . . Wynn L. Freedom From Bondage
From: jeffrey4200 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/1/2004 2:42:00 PM
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She married and divorced four times before finding A.A. The first
time she married for financial security; her second husband was a
prominent bandleader and she sang with his band;
I wanted to know if anyone know the name of the band she sang with
or the bandleaders name. If you have any information please let me
know.
Thank you
Jeffrey Nilsen
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++++Message 1577. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Question On When Districts
Started
From: gratitude . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/1/2004 6:34:00 PM
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Hello AAHLs,
Just so happens there's an article in BOX 459 that speaks about the
district and how it relates to the DCM (the DCMC in larger districts).
Please see quote below:
"The term 'district'' was mentioned during early General Service
Conferences, and both 'district'' and 'district committee member' were
used informally in the 1950s. The term 'district' was included in the
1955 draft of The Third Legacy Manual of World Service (now titled The
A.A. Service Manual) and 20 years later was formalized in a 1975
supplement to The Service Manual.
"In today's Service Manual a district is clearly defined as 'a
geographical unit containing the right number of groups -- right in
terms of the D.C.M.'s ability to keep in frequent touch with them, to
learn their problems, and to find ways to contribute to their growth.
In most areas a district includes six to 20 groups. In metropolitan
districts the number is generally 15 to 20, while in rural or suburban
districts it can be as small as five.' (To encourage maximum group
participation, some areas have incorporated linguistic districts. These
usually have a bilingual D.C.M. or liaison, and their boundaries may be
independent of the conventional geographic district boundaries.)"
Phil L.
Outgoing DCMC Distric 4 - Long Beach
Singleness
of Purpose Workshop - March 21
gratitude@linkline.com
Arthur wrote:
Hi History Lovers
Can anyone help me pin
down the year that Districts started
and the General Service Structure position of District Committee Member
(DCM)
was established?
I would dearly like to
find out in what year the Third
Legacy Manual defined Districts and DCMs. My guess is the early 1960's
but that is only a guess.
The earliest reference to
'district'' I can find
in Conference advisory actions is a 1966 action for a glossary to be
added to
the Service Manual. There is a 1956 advisory action that uses the term
'district'' but it seems more in the context of what would make up
an Area rather than a District.
Any help or citations
from written references would be most
appreciated.
Cheers
Arthur
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++++Message 1578. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine Clip Sheet, Feb. ''48
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/2/2004 4:35:00 AM
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Grapevine, Feb. '48
[Note: There was no clip sheet column for Dec. '47 or Jan. '48.]
The Clip Sheet
Excerpts from the Public Press
Boston, Mass., "Post": "Guernsey Island in the English Channel has an
effective way of handling topers. It still retains its ancient custom of
blacklisting alcoholics, in the hope of reforming them. A member of the
tippler's family applies to the court, which issues an official order that
no one is to sell him liquor thereafter, and to put teeth into the ruling
the court orders a police photo of the offender to be posted in every bar.
In England in the days of Oliver Cromwell drunkards were punished by being
forced to walk around in a barrel with their heads protruding from the top
and their arms dangling on the sides through holes. It has been suggested
that this custom may be the origin of the term 'pickled.'
"The ancient Romans used an 'aversion therapy' that is not unlike certain
modern methods in use. Chronic alcoholics had to drink wine in which live
eels were swimming, on the theory that this would create excessive disgust.
"The word teetotaler, by the way, stems from the French 'the-a-toute a
1'heure,' which means literally 'tea in a little while.'
"Alexander the Great would have lived longer if he had squeezed less grapes.
He was a prodigious drinker, one of the mightiest, in fact, of his era. But
he carried the crock to the spigot once too often. After two nights of
guzzling he drained the so-called Hercules cup, which was the equivalent of
six bottles of wine. He never awoke."
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++++Message 1579. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine Clip Shee, March ''48
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/3/2004 6:04:00 AM
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Grapevine, March '48
Clip Sheet - - Items of Interest from the Public Press
"Pittsburgh Post-Gazette": "Vicious Den of Pinochle Players Unmasked: VICE
RAIDERS CRASH A.A. PARTY -- Police Snoopers Smash into Roomful of
Ex-Drinkers Quietly Whooping It Up for Abstinence -- It was the members of a
police squad who wanted to be anonymous and not the Alcoholics, after an
incident Saturday night which left the four raiders red-faced and
sputtering. As you might or might not know, Alcoholics Anonymous is a group
of persons whose purpose is to rehabilitate tipplers. Saturday night is
usually the thirstiest night of the week for a drinker and, in an effort to
get him 'over the knuckle,' as they say, the A.A.s sponsor a little social
every Saturday eve for members and wives. This social consists of card games
such as bridge, pinochle, '500' and other amusements such as bingo. Everyone
pitches in for the sandwiches and coffee, and a good, dry time is had by
all. Such was the situation Saturday night on the second floor at 3701 Fifth
Avenue where the A.A.s were laughing it up to the tune of 'nine under the B'
and 'four no trump' when there came a knocking at the door. It was the kind
of bold, hard knock that settled silence over the 100 or so persons gathered
in the recreation room. An anonymous member opened the door, and a
broad-shouldered man shouldered his way into the room, flashed a badge, and
blustered: 'What's going on in here? We've had a complaint about this
place.' Three other policemany-looking men followed him and surveyed the
soiree with steely eyes. It was explained that this was a harmless
Alcoholics Anonymous social and they were welcome to join in the card games
if they didn't mind not playing for stakes. The four men clutched their
hats, muttered something about 'we must have made a mistake,' slowly backed
out of the door and tiptoed away. Some of the A.A. members claimed at least
two of the raiders were members of Lieutenant Lawrence Maloney's vice squad.
This, however, the lieutenant denied, declaring that all members of his
squad were with him on other business Saturday night."
Sydney (Australia) "Sun," January 1: "Sydney Women Alcoholics in New Group.
Inaugural meeting of a women's group of Alcoholics Anonymous, first of its
kind in Australia, will be held in Sydney on January 14. The meeting is open
to any woman with an alcoholic problem and no other visitors will be
permitted. ... This society of mutual aid is expanding rapidly in Australia.
Alcoholics Anonymous is nonsectarian and non-political. A.A. is so busy
applying its principles to alcoholic sufferers that it has no place for
arguments about creeds or politics."
Sydney "Sun." January 16: "Women Alcoholics Urge Special Clinic. 'Many women
have experienced mental hospital treatment when recognition of their malady
as a public health problem would have been more humane,' said a spokesman of
Alcoholics Anonymous Inter-Group today. 'We know alcoholism as a disease. In
most cases, proper place for treatment is in a public hospital or alcoholic
clinic. ... Because no hospital or clinic exists, many alcoholics are forced
into institutions and gaols where no treatment for their disease is given.'"
Santa Rosa (Calif.) "Press Democrat": "There was a contribution to Santa
Rosa's Memorial Hospital Fund last week that is, perhaps, one of the most
unusual to date. It was a $1,600 donation. There have been others larger,
others smaller, but none with a more dramatic story behind it. The
contribution is money that might have been wasted, and came from men whose
lives, too, might have been wasted. It came from the Santa Rosa Chapter of
Alcoholics Anonymous. It is the grateful contribution of former alcoholics
now devoting their efforts to aid other victims of alcoholism, including
some now successful businessmen for whom A.A. provided a turning point in
life. ... The substantial hospital contribution is too significant to pass
unnoticed, and calls for some recognition of the role A.A. has been playing
in rebuilding lives right here in our community, lives that faced ruin as a
result of the disease of alcoholism. The local group was established October
9, 1945, with six members. ... There is now a membership of 75, but over 100
have been benefited during the past two years. ... The need for
hospitalization and medical attention is critical in a great many cases.
Since alcoholism is recognized as a disease, the medical profession, the
psychiatrists, courts and the hospitals are cooperating with A.A. in every
way possible. But the A.A. here recognizes the need for an adequate hospital
in Santa Rosa, and is doing its share to get one -- doing it with money that
cured alcoholics might have wasted had it not been for Alcoholics
Anonymous."
Elmira (N. Y.) "Advertiser": "It is a great privilege to attend a meeting of
this wonderful group which has found the way to bring peace and sobriety to
so many hundreds of sick and troubled folks. Its method is simple and
direct. It works for the proud and the humble, the rich and the poor --
works because an alcoholic of any estate is the suffering blood brother of
every other man or woman who has passed beyond the border into the land
where drinking is a thief that steals away family and friends and respect
and money and health and mind and finally life itself -- does all that and
more unless by some miracle he can find the way not to take the drink that
numbs and dooms him."
New York "Herald Tribune": "TOWN'S 80 TOPERS EXILED FROM BARS. Five Women in
Group Facing 90-Day Discipline -- Bedford, Pa. (UP) Drinks were shut off
today for five women and 75 men of "known intemperate habits" in this
mountain community of 3,500. The ban was put into effect through
resurrection of a nearly forgotten state law forbidding sale of liquor to
persons of such habits. Proprietors of each of the 11 bars in the town were
ordered to post in a prominent place lists containing the names of the 80
drinkers in the police department's 'doghouse.' The lists will be brought up
to date every 90 days. If any of the wayward drinkers shows improved habits
their names will be removed. Assistant Police Chief H. A. Clark said: 'We
just decided we'd put up with these people long enough. If we had to help
them home every night, it was a nuisance. If we brought them in and fined
them, we were taking bread out of their wives' and children's mouths. This
will work better.' "
Brewton (Ala.) Standard": "If there were any who might have gone to the
meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous which was held here recently in order to
scoff, we are quite sure that they remained to offer prayerful thanks for an
organization that is doing such a wonderful piece of work. Most of us are
inclined to look on a man or women who is a victim of the alcohol habit as
just another sot. But the A.A.s will soon convince you otherwise. While the
disease is incurable, it can be arrested through the own efforts of the
victim and with the help of his friends, so the A.A.s say. And they not only
say it, they demonstrate it by their own experience. One remarkable thing
about Alcoholics Anonymous is that it is not a crusading organization. It
solicits no members and does not impose itself on any alcoholic who does not
first request help. And therein, in our judgment, lies its greatest
strength. It does not presume to interfere with the personal rights, and
liberties of any person to consume as much alcohol as he chooses. But it
does offer to that person who seeks aid in his problem what seems to be the
greatest 'cure' for drinking that has ever been devised. The word 'cure' as
we have used it here is ours -- not that of the A.A.s. They make no claim
that their philosophy can cure alcoholism. ... The inspiring thing about the
organization is the spiritual rebirth that appears to take place in those
who adopt the philosophy which it teaches."
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++++Message 1580. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine Clip Sheet, April ''48
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/4/2004 2:03:00 AM
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Grapevine, April '48
THE CLIPSHEET -Excerpts from the Public Press
Alliance, Neb., "Times & Herald": "Worn and haggard police officers who
wonder what will happen next on Saturday nights will be very much interested
in a classification of drunks as outlined by a New Jersey police chief some
time ago.
"Police have met most of the following engaging characters and if not, they
will be glad to be on the lookout for the types they haven't yet had the
displeasure to meet.
"Here are the different classifications of persons who have swilled too much
C2-H5-OH in one form or another:
"Alias Joe Louis
"1. The fighting drunk -- gets nasty after a few drinks and wants to fight
anyone he sees, male or female.
"2. The religious drunk -- heads for the nearest church and drops off to
sleep. (This species is comparatively rare in Alliance.)
"3. The leaning drunk -- is reluctant to move and wants to lean on the
nearest upright solid substance, whether it is the policeman, a fellow
pedestrian, lamp post or a plain wall.
"4. The crying drunk -- this obnoxious person carries a good part of the
community's alcohol in his system and a large part of the woes of the world
on his heaving shoulders.
"Unsweet Adeline"
"5. The singing drunk -- here's the person who after a few bottles or drinks
is convinced he can make Tibbett look and sound like a chump. Flats where he
should sharp.
"6. The suspicious drunk -- he's convinced that the police or his companions
or both, are trying to railroad him into some asylum or jail, where he
rightly should be, by the way.
"7. The wife-beating drunk -- this character is usually a small man mentally
and physically and would not engage in a fight with a 7-year-old boy without
the false courage of a bottle. When he drinks he wants to lambaste somebody,
usually his ever-suffering wife.
"8. The running drunk -- this guy is always in a hurry. He goes crabwise
down the street, usually in search of another shot.
"The Big Gesture
"9. The generous drunk -- this slaphappy person is tighter than Jack Benny
with a nickel until he drinks too much and then he makes a fool of himself
by going around waving fistfulls of bills at everybody. It's usually the
money to pay off an old telephone bill.
"10. The loving drunk -- he always wants to kiss every woman in sight except
his own wife.
"11. The talking drunk -- tells interminable stories, invariably about
himself. None of the yarns has any point or interest.
"12. The important drunk -- this is the person who wants to dominate
everybody around him and who is filled with yarns about all the big shots he
knows.
"This unsavory crew are all well known to most policemen. The average
citizen meets them once in a while. They make up 12 good arguments for
Alcoholics Anonymous. Because they aren't.
"VA Recommends A.A.
"Newsweek": Even the harassed doctors, long used to sobering up
lost-week-end revelers, had never seen anything like it. From Friday to
Monday, drunken veterans reeled into Veterans Administration hospitals
demanding the cure.
"Of the thousands who applied, about 10,000 veterans were treated for
alcoholism in 1947, as compared with 6,459 in 1946 and 3,529 in 1945.
"Although tests showed that almost none of the alcoholics had
service-connected disabilities or appeared to be suffering from alcoholism
because of service connections, alarmed relatives, energetic local
politicians, and veterans' organizations insisted that they be cared for in
the already overcrowded VA hospitals.
"Boozers: In exasperation, authorities finally made a nationwide survey
among the VA hospitals. Last week Dr. Harvey Tompkins, assistant chief of
the neuro-psychiatric division, gave Newsweek these facts:
"Two-thirds of the veteran cases are 'pure, uncomplicated alcoholism,' with
no evidence of mental illness. The others have accompanying mental or
emotional ailments ranging from manic-depressive psychoses to less serious
psychoneuroses. More than 10 per cent of all VA neuropsychiatric cases are
alcoholics. (Inexplicably, the Southeast and Southwest account for more than
half the alcoholic patients.)
"The Veterans Administration has no specific treatment for alcoholism. In
some instances it takes weeks, and in others months or years, to curb the
craving for drink. VA doctors have tried insulin injections, forced vomiting
to make the men "rum-sick," and group psychotherapy -- but with very little
success.
"In some hospitals, Dr. Tompkins said, 'as few as 10 per cent of the
patients show themselves amenable to treatment at all.' The great majority
entering the hospital with uncomplicated alcoholism merely stay long enough
to sober up and then demand release.
"A.A. Aid: For the veteran who wants to recover, VA doctors recommend
Alcoholics Anonymous help as the best course. Nearly all VA institutions
have made a working arrangement with this group, providing space in the
hospitals for A.A. meetings and personal interviews with the patients. In
turn, many cured veterans become A.A. crusaders and work in the wards on new
cases.
"Night Club Now A.A.
Des Moines, Iowa, "Register": Babe's nightclub in downtown Des Moines, under
padlock as a liquor nuisance since Oct. 29, was taken over Wednesday by the
Des Moines chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous as a clubroom.
"District Judge Loy Ladd, who had ordered the place padlocked, required the
A.A. group to post a bond guaranteeing that no liquor will be brought on the
premises.
"'I am granting this application because I feel that this particular group
(Alcoholics Anonymous) is one of the best organizations for suppression of
intemperance in existence today,' Judge Ladd said.
"'In Des Moines they have proven themselves successful in curbing and curing
alcoholics,' he said.
"Sentenced to A.A."
Westport, Conn., "Herald": A sentence was imposed in Town Court this week by
Judge Leo Nevas that deserves more than local attention.
"A chronic alcoholic who is a solitary drinker was before the bench. Such
cases have been there before, leaving the judge and prosecutor worried
because the state has no hospital to which the habitual drunkard can be sent
for treatment. Although medicine and jurisprudence are today looking upon
these cases as sick people rather than as only inebriates, nothing official
has been done to cure them.
"The court cannot overlook the offenses when the drinkers become public
nuisances, which the case of this week definitely is. But fines do no good
and jail sentences too often aggravate the mental illness which makes a man
or woman a drunkard. What can the court do? Judge Nevas decided. He imposed
a jail sentence but suspended it on certain conditions. These conditions are
what make his decision important.
"The drunkard, he ordered, must once more become a member of Alcoholic
Anonymous. She must report to the Yale Clinic for treatment. She must keep
in close contact with her own physician. She must report to the probation
officer weekly. Should she fail to do these things she must go to jail even
though Judge Nevas knows well that a term there will do her no good unless
it should frighten her to do the things he has ordered.
"This sentence was imposed in the hope that the woman wants to help herself.
If she doesn't, none of the suggestions will help. Alcoholics Anonymous,
with its increasing record of aid to drinkers, can accomplish nothing
without the determined cooperation of the patient. It is unlikely that the
Yale Clinic can help those who refuse to help themselves.
"Judge Nevas, however, was willing to believe the woman's insistence that
she did not want to drink and would do anything to stop the habit. If she
really means that, the clinic will probably turn her back to society
completely cured.
"This is a little court but into it can come problems of great importance,
and this was one of them. Other courts might well emulate the example set by
Judge Nevas. Other courts, too, might well watch how this case turns out. It
should be of interest to everyone.
"And the case plus the decision emphasizes anew the need for a
state-operated clinic in Fairfield County set up properly for the treatment
of habitual drunkards. There seems to be no other way to help them.
"De-Smartize" Drink
Boston, Mass., "Boston University News": "Our culture is too tolerant of
drunkards of either sex," claims Dr. Herbert D. Lamson, Professor of
Sociology.
"Commenting on the proposed Massachusetts law to control the sale of
alcoholics to women 'barflies,' Dr. Lamson argues that 'the alcoholic
problem should be controlled for both sexes. A law which differentiates
cannot be a far-reaching measure nor can it touch the basic problem.
"'We must de-smartize the drink. We have been sold a bill of goods that it's
smart to consume liquor by persons who have profit motive at stake. Profits
in the industry are great,' continued the sociology expert. 'Alcoholism
plays a great role in family disintegration, and society must face its
abuses.'
"As an alternative program to laws, Prof. Lamson suggests preventive
methods. Alcoholics Anonymous is now in the first stages of the curative
method, but a preventive approach must be begun in schools with health and
alcoholic education, commencing in the grade school and varying at different
school levels.
"'We must have institutions for alcoholics, and not throw them in jail. Jail
isn't helping them solve their problem,' says the doctor. 'Provide
recreational facilities, hobby centers, and athletic contests as outlets for
escape,' concludes Dr. Lamson, 'and it will do more than any patch-work laws
can possibly do.'"
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++++Message 1581. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, June ''44, Mail Call for
the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/5/2004 4:33:00 AM
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This new series comes to us courtesy of Tony C.
Grapevine, June '44
Mail Call for All A.A.'s in the Armed Forces
When the idea of bringing out a New York Metropolitan A. A. paper was
conceived, one of the first thoughts was that it might prove particularly
helpful to our members in the Service. If anyone doubts what such a paper
can mean to these men, here, we think, is the answer. Corporal Hugh B., now
in England, had no knowledge of
our project when he wrote one to us recently: "Your letter of ten days ago
was much appreciated and was one of the most newsy A.A. letters I have
received. Certainly was interesting to hear about the boys and gals all over
the world. Made me think that we should have a monthly publication. Think it
over!"
The records kept by our Central Office show approximately 300 A.A. members
now in Service, with some 40 coming from the New York area and belonging to
various Metropolitan Groups. These figures, due to constant changes, are
probably not complete. Of the New York crowd, the files indicate 26 are in
the Army, 9 in the
Navy, and 5 scattered between the Merchant Marine and other auxiliary
services. Eleven are known to be commissioned officers and the remainder are
serving in the ranks.
These men, and in a few cases women, are as a rule cut off rather abruptly
from any direct contacts with the Groups and are often subject to disturbing
new influences and unusual temptations to take that fatal first drink. They,
it would seem, face a harder battle in their recovery than most of us,
benefiting, as many of us do, from almost daily association with our fellow
members. Yet frequently they come through unscathed! We would like to give
you a few examples of their clear thinking along A. A. principles:
A Navy lieutenant (j.g), who joined A.A. over two years ago, wrote us
recently from a South Pacific Island: "Your mention of John N. [an A.A. of
even longer standing, now a lieutenant in the Army. Ed.] caused me to
investigate. He was evacuated for stomach trouble two days before I looked
him up and for four months he had been only half a mile from my camp. Such
is life!" [Both these men have had fine records of sobriety with A.A. and
have now seen considerable service at an advanced base. What an A.A. meeting
that would have been. Ed.]
In December, John N., the Army lieutenant, had written: "We have arrived at
a New Island and are set up in a coconut grove. Your letter was most
welcome. How often these days I think of the fine times I had in A.A. and
the wonderful people I have met. The whole thing means an awful lot to me
and I thank God for being allowed to be a part of it. My work is interesting
but hectic but I have really improved on the 'Easy Does It' department. I
know who to thank for that too. So Flushing has a separate group now. That
is wonderful!"
Again we quote our naval correspondent: "I should like to address an A.A.
gathering now, as I have a perspective that few get the opportunity to
enjoy, having been completely apart from the Group for nearly a year, and it
is easy to see the fundamentals closely, and determine the main factors -- I
think even more closely than
when one is steeped in A. A. work with daily contact. It is easier to see
how the program works into every day normal life too."
Once more, from Bob H., now an Army sergeant overseas, written last
Thanksgiving Day: "When I think of myself just eighteen months ago, I
realize, too, just how much I have to be thankful for. I've been more
fortunate than most -- maybe someday I'll feel I've earned my breaks. I
should hate to have anything happen to me now, before I have a chance to do
something, however small, worth-while with my life." [This man had worried
about not getting the spiritual side of the program. Ed.]
THE WORDS OF A DANGLING MAN
"'Off Again, On Again Finnegan' has a new lot of loyal rooters: the 'You're
In--You're Out' Selective Service inductees, aged twenty-six to
thirty-eight.
"For the past six months, on alternate Tuesdays, the Home Editions of the
paper you read had us in the Army or Navy 'within a month,' but by Seven
Star Final time, one of the two Washington authorities (the one who hadn't
had a press interview earlier in the day) was quoted as saying that men over
twenty-six would probably not be called 'until later in the year.' And so it
goes, and so we go -- crazy!
"But wait: Easy Does It. How thankful I've been for having that little
'punch-line' pounded into my daily living. To me, that's a first 'first
step.' It keeps me from jumping to conclusions, making snap judgments,
becoming excited or irritated over the way things 'seem' to be. It cautions
me to cut my pace, mentally, and make certain things are as they may seem.
It permits, above all, the serenity that comes, with reflection, as I repeat
the process of turning my will and my life over to the care of My Higher
Power. Does that sound simple? Or do you think I'm putting down one little
word after
another here because that's what our program tells me I should do? Well,
I'll tell you, if twelve months ago I had been riding the Selective Service
Merry-go-round (without A.A.) two things would have happened: (1) My wife
would have been relieved at the prospect of my being in service, preferably
in Timbuktu (if that's at the other end of the world); and (2) I would have
been a rip-roaring, hell-bent-for-another-drink, psychoneurotic alcoholic.
Today, I'm sober and not in service. Tomorrow, I may be in service, I don't
know. But I do know that tomorrow I'll be sober, through the Grace of God
and Alcoholics Anonymous. David R."
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++++Message 1582. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, July ''44, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/6/2004 3:13:00 AM
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Grapevine, July '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
In our first issue we told of the near reunion on a South Pacific Island of
two veteran A.A. members, one a Navy, the other an Army, lieutenant. Our
Navy friend now writes: "Have been having a few A.A. reunions out here on my
own. Finally ran into John N., who has returned to this isle after an
absence of several months. We see each other frequently and reminisce about
the real old days. In addition to Johnny, I had a reunion with the master of
a Liberty ship which came in here a short while ago -- he was a member of
the Frisco group and out on the ship we just left the South Pacific and were
right back in the old atmosphere. Both of us agreed that without the Group,
neither would be here. Such reunions as these do wonders for people who have
been more or less completely cut off, and living in a world apart. Give my
best to all the old gang, and tell them to start those letters coming!"
[That closing sentence should give us pause for thought. Ed.]
The South Pacific lads are, it seems, our most prolific correspondents, and
the following recent letter from Navy Lieutenant Bob W. to a fellow-member
of a New Jersey Group contains so much sound A.A. philosophy that we are
quoting it, in as far as space permits, verbatim:
"Dear Tom: Life has been very full and interesting for the past few months.
I am still living the way you expect me to and if I was ever tempted I am
sure the memory of those who mean so much to me would intervene and put a
halt to such ideas. There are plenty of boys who aren't doing themselves any
good out here but it is quite easy to get a 'don't give a damn' attitude
when you're so far from any civilization. There will be more than ever for
us to do when this is over, Tom.
"News about the new groups is very interesting. Personally I think it is a
healthy sign. Every great philosophy of living, Christianity, Mohammedanism,
or what have you, has grown because the original leader has multiplied
himself by creating other strong leaders who in turn did the same thing.
Whether you conceive of A.A. in the category of a religion or not, it
certainly is a plan of life for those of us who need it and it will spread
only as fast as capable leaders develop to organize in such a way that it
will be accessible to as many as possible. Some are more effective
with certain types than others but there are all types who need the program.
You say you prefer the 'bottle drunks' and the Salvation Army bums. Someone
else wants to deal with 'dignified drunks,' whatever they are. The need for
this thing is far beyond the question of personalities but we still have to
remember that we and our prospects are human beings, so it behooves us to
present our merchandise as attractively as possible. If you work more
effectively with one kind, which is quite likely, and someone else does
better with another, I say full steam ahead on that basis. The underlying
need and the answer to it will remain the same and we will all be happier
because we will be doing our best work. Some of the groups will probably die
off if the leadership isn't there, but they will merge with stronger groups.
"I didn't mean to get going on that subject but I am enthusiastic about the
development. It seemed to me at times that the South Orange meetings were
getting so large as to be somewhat awesome to new members who were naturally
a little shy. One
of the most important holds on the new man is making him feel that he has a
real part in the scheme.
"When you get a chance, please give me the late news. You can do a lot of
good for your SOUTH SEAS BRANCH, you know. One of the extra dividends of
A.A. is that you get to know such damned fine people. Sincerely, Bob." [We,
too, wonder who the "dignified drunks" are and think it would be restful
12th Step work to contact a few. Ed.]
ONCE AGAIN, EASY DOES IT
"Dear Bud: I feel like a rat not having answered your letter long ago; I'm
afraid I'm not a very good correspondent. At least I can now tell you where
I am -- Maui is the spot, the Hawaiian Islands the locale. This must be
almost anti-climactic for you to hear, as I'm sure by this time you have
pictured me anywhere but here -- probably down under, in a jungle surrounded
by Japs. However, I'm in no hurry; I'll probably get there soon enough.
Meanwhile this is a grand spot, and I feel very lucky indeed to be here.
This climate just suits me, the scenery, flowers, etc., are lovely, the
swimming superb, and recreational facilities are excellent. As far as I'm
concerned, these Islands are all they're cracked up to be and more. I've
seen Pearl Harbor, done Honolulu, swum at Waikiki, and lolled around the
Royal Hawaiian. Even so, I'll take Maui.
"I've had several letters from Bob D., and these, together with yours, have
kept me pretty well posted on doings in New York. Was sorry to learn that
the new Club House fell thru; but no doubt this will be only a question of
time. I was interested, too, to learn of the proposed -- shall I say 'Trade'
publication. Sounds intriguing, if it
can be worked out. Give my best to Ed C., Bob D., Chase, Bill C., John, and
all the rest, including the gals. Best regards, Bob H."
[On receipt of Bob's letter, we immediately got in touch with the Central
Office which will send him by Air Mail the address of the Honolulu group
(see story in this and previous issue). As a veteran A.A., "dry" for two
years, we believe he can he of invaluable assistance to that fledgling group
which is trying so hard to consolidate its beachhead, and that he, in turn,
will be pleasantly surprised to find A.A. has now reached the Hawaiian
Island's. Ed.]
First reactions to The Grapevine received from A.A.s in Service are
favorable. Accordingly, we urge all members to send in interesting data,
especially from members overseas, expressing ideas dealing with the Program,
methods of handling their special problems, or amusing incidents of Service
life.
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++++Message 1584. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, Aug ''44, Mail Call for All A. A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/7/2004 3:21:00 AM
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Grapevine, Aug. '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
In answer to our D-day letter, that old raconteur, Warrant Officer Norman
M., shot one back at us from the South Pacific in near record time. His
letter, dated June 15, enclosed as an exchange copy for The Grapevine an
amusing Picture Supplement to an
Air Force paper. Norman writes: "The Grapevine! There's a sardonic double
entendre masthead if I ever saw one. It, like the whole tone of the paper,
is perfectly A.A. in spirit. The utter lack of finality in editorializing as
well as its sense of humor about its mission is grand! And what a gem it is
for an A.A. to get overseas.
Alcoholics are such a peculiarly 'much-in-common' group that I sometimes
doubt how I'd behave in the Tokyo chapter of the A.A.! Comes that day, I
think we'd better start one. Talk of alibis! Whew! The very thought makes me
jittery and I can't get to 24th Street soon enough."
(The ideas expressed in the following letter are, according to the author,
"the result of much meditation during tropical nights on a South Pacific
Island." We hope other members in the Service, wherever stationed, will find
time to meditate and pass on to us as helpful an analysis of their
conclusions on the effectiveness of the
Program.)
"As an officer in the Navy, completely apart from active touch with the
Group for 11 months, I have had considerable opportunity to reflect that
certain phases of the overall picture have been the most important in the
A.A. Program; a program which has proved to be the most powerful influence
in shaping my life. At a distance, not
clouded by too close a perspective resulting from very active participation
in Group matters, one has occasion to get a clearer view of the problem as a
whole. Two years ago I attended my first meeting. It impressed me
terrifically--so much so, in fact, that for the first year I 'worked' the
program every possible moment, i.e., meetings, calls, discussions, etc., as
well as trying to practice the principles. This, combined with the fact that
I reached the portals of A.A. fully 'ripe,' and anxious to do something
about my problem, has made it easy for me to remain 'dry' since that first
meeting. From my reflections on A.A., and what it has meant to me, three
salient factors have impressed themselves on my mind:
"1. The definite and final realization that I cannot take a drink and react
like a normal person. This had been pointed out by others before A.A., but
it took the understanding, and the 'decide for yourself' approach of A.A. to
convince me. Now I realize the fatality of believing that 'this time will be
different,' and know that, no matter how long sober, the same old pattern
will start with the first drink,
whenever taken. To my mind, no other method has been devised to convince the
alcoholic as conclusively of this fact as the plan of A.A., of hearing and
watching (on '12th step' work) other alcoholics and their experiences.
"2. The gradual stirring and awakening of the Spiritual side of my
personality: Before A.A. I had never given consideration to spiritual
thought, or the power to be transmitted and released through contact with
God, and the resultant influence in shaping one's life. Through the Program,
an interest in Spiritual thought evolved, I
know not exactly how, and this contact with a 'Higher Power' has resulted in
the banishment of fear, a peace of mind which I never expected to enjoy, and
a change in my whole method of living. In fact, it has reached into corners
of my life far apart from the problem which led me to A.A.
"3. The friendships which have resulted from being in the Group: These are
truly real friendships in every sense of the word. While I feel that I have
many friends outside of A.A., and also the ties that bind me and my brother
officers. I know that in time of crisis of any kind, none would stand by
with clearer understanding or a more sincere desire to help than each or all
of my many friends in the Group. For from the teaching of A.A. as a program
of living come richer friendships than any others.
"To my mind, any one of the above three factors would, of itself, make the
Program worthwhile. Combined, they have remolded my life, and provided it
with its greatest experience. Y.G."
FROM THE ATLANTIC FRONT
On the eve of D-day, another good A.A. member, an Army officer in a
responsible post, writing from England, gives his method of working out the
problem of lack of A.A. contacts: "We are pretty tense wondering if and when
the big show is going to start. I think often, with pleasure, of our small
meetings. In fact, I believe I have an even deeper appreciation of them and
the friendships made there than I did before. Being over here under present
circumstances gives you a pretty sharp perception of values. A.A. has been
working without a 'slip' for me. By reading and rereading the book and
holding regular thought sessions with myself, I have been able to compensate
in part for the lack of association and group therapy. Feel very confident
but not cocky."
ADDITIONAL OVERSEAS NOTES
From one of our two-man Group on a South Pacific Island (see the last
issue):
"G. and myself have a wonderful time together. To meet one of the boys in a
place like this is really out of the world. He has a jolt which is very
harassing and he takes it right in his stride. His attitude is a fine
example. ... I have met lots of people in my travels but give me the
understanding, tolerant group of people I left
at 24th Street. John"
What locality is your guess on this one? "Both typewriters and ink are
scarce in these parts. So are napkins, matches, good coffee, female legs
with proper curves (all the ladies look like they're muscle-bound), streets
that know where they're going, sunshine, and good plumbing."
From an Island in the South Pacific: "It's so damned hot here that even a
nonalcoholic would 'blow his top' on a drink. "
A London oddity: "A cabbie from Brooklyn who'd been here since the last
war."
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++++Message 1585. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, Sept. ''44, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/8/2004 3:20:00 AM
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Grapevine, Sept. '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
We received a letter from Bill X., who has been in Northern Ireland, which
starts innocently enough with a pat on the hack for the Editors and winds up
with the germ of a great idea for a new column for the paper:
"Congratulations to the staff. Two copies have come along now and Grapevine
has proved a 24th Street extension course for me [24th Street refers to the
New York clubhouse]. It will be particularly helpful for isolated
individuals sweating out the prologues to pub-crawling without the Group;
and for new Johnny-come-latelys out in
Jeeptown, Arizona, with the book only. Grapevine is a meeting by mail.
"That new group in Honolulu will be aided no little by the publication of
their tribulations in getting started because we are all rooting them on
from all over the world. The house organ idea, with the chit-chat, lore and
some party line thinking, establishes a newer sense of unity which projects
the group therapy phase a step further. It's terrific.
"Why not have a little 'Alibi Alley' or 'rationalization of the month'
column, printing the phoniest excuses submitted. For example, 'Well it was
like this, see, it was the night of the invasion, and here I am sitting back
hundreds of miles from the action, squarely behind a typewriter, a
chair-borne paragraph trooper. So, getting such lousy breaks, and being such
an eventful day, how could a little drink or
possibly two hurt anybody, and even if it did hurt a bit, how could it
compare to the thousands of casualties on the beachhead, and how could such
an insignificant taking of a drink or possibly two be noticed during such a
catastrophic, world-shaking event. And, oh yes! I have just been promoted to
sergeant, and that in itself calls
for a little good-humored drink of celebration or possibly two, in itself.'
"'That's right, you only get promoted to sergeant once. After showing up at
noon the next day when I was on duty, and with the shakes no less, I damn
near got busted. since that time I have taken some active steps including
coming clean on the whole
deal to my boss. And I have a date with one of the highest churchmen over
here to pass the story on, etc. Grapevine (the first issue) had come a few
days after the 'slip' and it was a real antidote to the fogs and fears. I
simply sat down and had a
meeting with the whole outfit. So you can understand my enthusiasm for
Grapevine."
Permission, accompanied by the encouraging comment, "More strength and
success to you," was obtained to print this interesting official
communication: "The Army War College Library would appreciate greatly being
placed on your mailing list to receive
future copies, and also to receive a copy of each back number. This is a
subject which has a bearing upon the efficiency of military personnel." To
the Librarian, our best Grapevine bow.
LIEUTENANT RE-DISCOVERS BEAUTIES OF "EASY DOES IT"
One of the strongest motives behind the starting of The Grapevine -- in fact
the main thing that pushed the Editors from the talking to the acting stage
-- was the need so often expressed in letters from A.A.s in the Service for
more A.A. news. We felt that their deep desire for a feeling of contact with
A.A. might be fulfilled at least in
part by such a publication -- by us and for us. And, as the first issue
emerged from the presses, a letter came to one of the Editors from a woman
A.A., a Second Lieutenant stationed in an out-of-the-way place. It was a cry
for help:
"' . . . if things keep up the way they have been going I'm going to be in
more trouble than I can handle. ... I've been recommended for promotion, but
... My work is more than satisfying, but off duty I'm a total loss. There
isn't a single soul here that speaks the same language. ... The Army is a
funny place. One is expected to drink, but not to get noisy or pass out or
do any of the things drunks
do. ... I've met a few A.A.s but we've only been in the same place for a
short time. Several of them were in the same boat as I, skating on thin ice,
but I don't know the outcome. Frankly, I'm scared. Has this problem been
discussed at meetings? If so, has anyone offered any constructive
suggestions? M.L."
A copy of The Grapevine went off by return mail. And now comes this:
"Dear Editors: The second copy of The Grapevine just arrived. Does that mean
I'm to get it every month? It's proving no end of a help to me. Thanks so
much for getting it started, anyhow. ... I guess there isn't much one can do
about the sort of spot that I'm in. There isn't anything wrong but
loneliness and boredom, and there's no way out of that, for now. ... Right
after the first copy of the paper arrived I decided to try to take it a
little easier (I'd forgotten all about 'Easy Does It'). ... I was working so
very hard that the hectic on-duty and the static off-duty hours didn't mix.
For some reason it doesn't seem as bad to be bored now. M.L.
P.S. I got that promotion I wrote you about."
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++++Message 1586. . . . . . . . . . . . Which city is this they are referring to in this passage?
From: alev101@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/8/2004 12:11:00 PM
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Does anyone know which city they are referring to in this passage?
page 163
We know of an A.A. member who was living in a
large community. He had lived there but a few weeks
when he found that the place probably contained
more alcoholics per square mile than any city in the
country. This was only a few days ago at this writing.
(1939) the authorities were much concerned.
Stumped in NYC
Ava
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++++Message 1587. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Which city is this they are referring to in this passage?
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/9/2004 8:42:00 AM
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According to my notes they are talking about Hank P. in Montclair N.J.
-----Original Message-----
From: alev101@aol.com [mailto:alev101@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 5:11 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Which city is this they are referring to in this passage?
Does anyone know which city they are referring to in this passage?
page 163
We know of an A.A. member who was living in a
large community. He had lived there but a few weeks
when he found that the place probably contained
more alcoholics per square mile than any city in the
country. This was only a few days ago at this writing.
(1939) the authorities were much concerned.
Stumped in NYC
Ava
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++++Message 1588. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, October ''44, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/9/2004 3:47:00 AM
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Grapevine, October '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
We are fortunate to have secured the following story for this issue of The
Grapevine from an A.A. who participated in the preparations for D-Day and
the actual invasion. We think his conclusions should he helpful to all
A.A.s:
When we sailed out of New York harbor bound for England I was riding a high
swell of confidence that I would be able to keep on the A.A. beam without
too much trouble. Several factors contributed to that comfortable feeling.
We had just completed a period of training that was pretty tough for a
40-year-old, chair-borne officer, and I
had survived the spells of low spirits that so often accompany physical
exhaustion.
"The Army had twisted, flexed and P.T.'d us into top condition. Among the
officers traveling with me was a close friend who knew about A.A. and was
wholeheartedly in favor of my membership. My foot-locker contained an
elemental A.A. library: 'the' book, Screwtape Letters, Return to Religion,
Lost Weekend, and Christian Behavior, to which I planned to turn for
remindful reading. Finally, I was enroute to a C.O. who previously had been
informed that I was not drinking, thus relieving me of prospects of any
embarrassment, imagined or real, over the 'have-one-on-me' kind of
comradeship with him. So, notwithstanding the thoughts of danger that occur
to anyone moving into a combat zone, I had few misgivings about anything and
particularly not about alcohol even though each hour took me farther from
24th Street and the revitalizing smaller meetings.
"On the arrival in the ETO [European Theater of Operations] I quickly began
to appreciate the difficulties that are likely to confront an A.A. away from
other A.A.s unless the pattern of the new way of
thinking has been carved very deep. England had already been overrun by
Yanks and the British had decided, not without basis, that we liked to
drink, knew how to drink and had the money to pay for our drinks. So, in
their efforts to be hospitable, the Scotch, the Irish, the Welsh and the
English doled out whiskey, gin, rum, and mild bitters from their limited
stock. That was fine for non-alcoholic Yanks, and they went to no greater
excesses than are inevitable for any nationality away from restraints of
home and living under wartime pressure. For quite a time I went along all
right with the aid of the various tools and tricks A.A. had taught. I
re-read my books. Each morning I'd give a few minutes, whether in a flat in
London or a Nissen hut at one of our bases in the country, to the 24-hour
plan and A.A. principles in general. And I'd talk occasionally with my
A.A.-minded friend.
"Then, inspecting old churches and cathedrals and palaces on off-duty hours
in the country began to pall. Presently I realized that the pubs are among
the most interesting places in England. It is true that they offer an open
door to an intimate knowledge of the British, and I was anxious to get to
know the people as well as possible. Even after I began going to the pubs I
managed to sidestep trouble for a long time, a fact which I now make a point
of remembering because it supports a vital lesson that I hope I've learned
too thoroughly to forget, ever.
"D-Day came with an unforgettable air assignment followed soon by a transfer
to France with a succession of hectic experiences on the ground. At least
they were hectic for me and I hit emotional extremes I never had before.
Yet, through it all I stayed on the beam. Although we naturally had to
travel too light for me to he carrying books, I had an A.A. card in a case
with my AGO identification card and I continued that brief contemplation in
the morning. Liquor was available here and there. Where isn't it? Anyway, an
alcoholic will find a bottle even on a Sahara if he puts his mind to it. But
I had no urge.
"Trouble did not develop until I began to get lazy about my way of thinking.
Sometimes I felt in too much of a hurry to re-read my poem or even go
through the premeditated thoughts that had proved so useful, I begun to slip
back into the old pattern. Incredible as it seems, one of the hoariest of
thoughts that bedevil an A.A. seeped into my mind. Perhaps things had been
going too well. Maybe I was cocky. Maybe it was the tension. There always
are plenty of excuses. Presently I was toying with the idea that I had
"progressed" to the point where I could handle a few. Why not try? Mild and
bitters were new drinks. Perhaps they wouldn't have the same effect as
liquor at home. The climate was different, too. From there, of course, it
was an easy step to nibbling. The fact that I did not get drunk the first
few times helped to grease the way right into the hands of Uncle Screwtape.
I even told my friend, who did not know all the wiles of an A.A. on the
loose, that I had found a new system for drinking. Due to restricted stocks,
the 'governor' of many an English pub would lead his customers from whiskey
to gin to rum and finally to bitters during an evening. This switching from
one kind of potion to another enabled me to avoid getting too much of any
one, I said. Amazing, isn't it?
"By blessed luck, no disaster occurred. No one noticed my drinking
particularly. After all, getting mildly drunk was no sin in itself and I
resorted to the old trick of going away by myself to have more after
reaching that point where I knew I was on the edge. After a few hangovers
with the old dreary miseries, I managed to pull up and do
some thinking. A hangover in the comparative peace of your own home is bad
enough. It's infinitely worse when punctuated by the noises and smells and
sights of war. I went back to morning contemplation augmented by mental
pauses during the day wherever I was -- bouncing in a jeep or lying in a
foxhole. At first I didn't put much meaning into what I was saying to
myself. But I was frightened by the picture of what I had sense enough to
know would be the inevitable result if I kept on in the old way. I knew that
in a combat zone they couldn't fool with drunks.
"Back in the A.A. way of thinking, I continued on through more disturbing
experiences in France, even that of the death of some men with whom I was
assigned; I returned to London for a period when the buzz-bombs were at the
worst, with terrifying and
sickening effects at close hand; I resumed going to the pubs for pleasant
comradeship; I sat around while other men were drinking whiskey -- I shared
all of those experiences safely because I was thinking right again.
"Contrasting to that fortunate outcome for me is the fact that months
previous while still in New York, within easy traveling distance of 24th
Street and within telephone reach of several good A.A. friends who were
ready to come to my aid any time -- and
did -- I had a couple of 'slips.'
"All of this adds up in my book as proof that the crux is not in where you
are or what you're doing, but how you're thinking. To be sure, an A.A. is
more in danger the farther he is from other A.A.s. But separation is not
necessarily disastrous, nor proximity a guarantee of safety. T.D.Y."
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++++Message 1589. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, November ''44, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/10/2004 2:44:00 AM
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Grapevine, November '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
On this page in the July issue, we printed a letter from Sergeant Bob H.,
then in Hawaii. Bob has recently returned from the Islands to attend
Officer's Candidate School in the United States. While he was in New York on
furlough, we asked him to contribute an article on how A.A. had helped him
over the rough spots in an Army
career of approximately two years. Emphasis should be placed, we think, on
the fact that Bob entered the Service after only four months as an A.A. He
had, however, so firm a grasp of the program that he has made an
uninterrupted progress in a completely new field of endeavor.
Bob's Story: "Two years ago, about to be inducted into the Army, I was
secretly scared stiff. I had been in A.A. only four months, and while I had
managed to stay 'dry,' it had been touch-and-go with me on a number of
occasions. When I'd had the jitters I'd always been able to stave off that
fatal first drink by getting in contact with one or more members of the
local group. This, combined with frequent
attendance at the various meetings, had sufficed to keep me in line so far,
but what was I to do now? I knew I would have none of the physical contacts
with A.A. upon which I had been relying; and I knew too that without
something to fall back upon I would be a gone goose.
"The solution to which I turned in desperation was the 11th step in the A.A.
program --'prayer and meditation.' I knew nothing about prayer and very
little about meditation, but I reckoned it was a case of start learning or
else. It was very difficult for me at first (it still isn't easy), but by
attending chapel whenever I could, I finally came to believe that I was
discovering some of those spiritual values which in the past I had never
even known existed. Anyway it worked; and it kept me 'dry.' And certainly it
paid dividends from a more materialistic viewpoint -- I got my promotions
with reasonable regularity, and finally received an appointment to an
Officer's Candidate School, to which I am now on my way. Without A.A. I
might now be in line for some bars, but they certainly wouldn't be shoulder
bars."
A BEGINNER IN THE WACS
We are indebted to the Philadelphia Group for a letter from a comparative
newcomer to A.A. The author of this letter, upon learning of A.A. through
her doctor, wanted help so badly that she moved to Philadelphia from her
home 125 miles distant and got a job so that she might attend meetings
regularly: "The fact that I have not written before is no indication that I
have forgotten you or any of the members of A.A. I think of you all quite
often, remembering the few short weeks I spent in your midst. With that
in mind I purposely chose today to write you. It may be just another day to
you, but it marks an anniversary for me. It was just three months ago to
date that I first entered your clubhouse in Philadelphia. Three months that
I have remained 'dry' and
maintained complete sobriety. How well I recall how far away that
three-month period seemed then. Until that time had expired I could not feel
as if I had accomplished anything, but now at least, my feet are on the
first rung of the ladder. But I've learned my lesson well. My fingers are
still crossed. I know I can never be sure.
"Little did I think then that I would be a member of the Woman's Army Corps
today. I led such a useless, wasteful life -- and now, though I am playing
only a very small part -- I am, at least, a useful citizen. Sometimes I have
to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. In the beginning I used to envy you
all so much. You seemed so
light-hearted and gay, so thoroughly happy and at peace with the world. I
used to ask myself, 'Will I ever be like that? Will my mind some day be free
from worry and care?' I doubted it then, for I was still confused, my brain
a tumult of conflicting emotions. The future loomed ahead as some hideous
nightmare. I was convinced that
nothing could ever make me enjoy life again. But you were all so kind, so
tolerant, so helpful, so willing to listen to my tale of woe without
censure, criticism or boredom, that gradually the cobwebs began to
disappear, the weight was lifting from my heart, and I was learning to smile
again. And then before I quite knew what had
happened, I suddenly realized that my decision in coming to your group had
not been in vain -- that I had at last found the contentment that I had been
so long in searching for. Nothing that I could ever do or say could
sufficiently show my gratitude. I regret very much that I was unable to do
anything about the 12th Step, but this war won't last forever and the A.A.s
will always be in existence, so perhaps, God willing, some time in the
future I will have the opportunity to put that into effect.
May God bless you all. K."
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++++Message 1590. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, December ''44, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/11/2004 2:28:00 AM
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Grapevine, December '44
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
Our mail from A.A.s in the armed forces comes from all corners of the globe
and has been particularly gratifying. The Grapevine sends to all members in
Service its Christmas greetings and the fervent wish that soon they may be
with us again in person as they so obviously are in spirit. If we have
helped one individual A.A., as
the following letter seems to indicate, we feel that our efforts have been
more than justified:
"Dear Friend: And I do think of The Grapevine as a friend -- three cheers
for it and the idea that brought it into being. After fourteen months in the
E.T.O. and not another A.A. in sight, the old beam has not burned too
brightly at times. Now with our own publication serving us as something of a
link with you people back there and a
friendly little get-together on paper, it is my belief that our thought
processes won't be so sluggish and we A.A.s will have a better chance of
taking up where we left off without passing through little Hell again. I
could appreciate with ease the experience of the officer in the October
issue. His arguments and alibis for a bit of
pub crawling might have been lifted in full from recent activities of my
own. As he said, a man can carry on alone and stay 'dry,' but it's not so
easy as when you had your group all going in the same direction. You have to
put more thought into your efforts or the first thing you know you'll be
draped over a bar with only its early closing hour and shortage in spirits
between you and a royal binge -- and that isn't just scuttle butt. So thanks
a million for Grapevine. It will be a lift, and may hit on a date when you
need it most. Maybe someday we can make it a weekly. Hugh P., SF
1/c--British Isles, October 20th"
[A weekly? Sailor, you don't know what you're asking!]
TENTING ON PELELIU ISLAND
"Received your letter a couple of days back and I'll try to give you a
little dope now. Our life is improving somewhat around here; when one stops
to consider that everything has to come in by ship over thousands of miles
of water, these guys certainly do a good job. We even have showers now in
our area but most of the men are
still living without tents. I managed to chisel a tent from a guy on about
D+5 so I have been comparatively well off. The only complaint I have is the
number of gents who cut themselves in as partners. Seven men sleeping and
living in one tent reminds me of a 1 and ˝ room apartment with about ten
drunks sleeping overnight! Guess you probably get the picture. Personally, I
would much rather have a shower than a tent. You nearly go crazy being so
dirty for so many days with absolutely no facilities.
However, one manages, and lots of things that happen would be really very
humorous if things were not quite so serious. I feel fine and missed getting
the spell of malaria I rather expected. This is the hottest and wettest of
the Islands, as far us I know. The only saving grace is the wonderful
drainage, due to the coral formation. Under
cruise ship conditions, these Islands would be interesting to visit, but see
that you miss all D Days! They 'ain't' good! Thanks for your letters. It
brings me some closer to the group to hear about it and maybe someday I can
get back to pick up where I stopped. Remember me to everyone.
Sincerely, John N., U.S. Army."
Some weeks later, bound for a new destination, the same correspondent wrote
us further of his adventures, stating: "I have often thought how much better
I am prepared for all these mixups by having a little of the A.A. doctrine.
This is strictly a business where one is able to change some things but, in
the main, it is just a matter of standing whatever is passed out."
SERVICE PAPER INTERESTED IN NATIONAL COMMITTEE
Italy, October 6, 1944
"Dear Marty: I have enclosed a clipping from our Service Paper (Stars &
Stripes, Mediterranean edition). I hope it's the first 'clipping service'
from this part of the world with regard to your newest endeavor in the field
of alcoholism. I know it won't be the last.
"Your new work is something in which I absolutely believe, and of which I
have thought constantly. I intend to spend as much of my time as I can
possibly give, along those same lines, as soon as I am returned to civilian
life. I intend to follow your 'lead' over here by contacting the Editor of
the Stars Si Stripes and offering myself as a bona fide alcoholic, a
three-star example of an ex-rummy, with the ultimate purpose of contacting
alcoholics in this sector who may have read the article and would like to do
something about it. I have some A.A. literature with me, and will be able to
tell them whom to contact for added information, and where to go when they
hit the
States. If, in this way, I could help one man, I would consider the effort a
success.
"I wish to extend the greatest possible good luck to your new educational
program. I know it will succeed and grow, and eventually prove that
alcoholism and alcoholics are what we believe they are, and that therefore
they should be given consideration
in any public social problem work. Sincerely, Harold M."
[A recent letter from Sergeant Hugh B., from England, also mentions that the
Stars & Stripes, European edition, reported the move to organize the
National Committee for Education on Alcoholism.]
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++++Message 1592. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, January 1945, Mail Call for All A.A. s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/12/2004 4:15:00 AM
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Grapevine, January 1945
Mail Call for All A.A. s in the Armed Forces
The first A.A. Seamen's group ever organized was formed in Manhattan, June,
1944. Six months later, in December, the Seamen took over the first A.A.
clubhouse ever opened anywhere (over 4˝ years ago), at 334˝ W. 24th St., New
York, the clubhouse having been vacated by the New York A.A. s for larger
quarters.
That sounds like quick, easy going. Actually, the establishment of the A.A.
Seamen's Club was preceded by many months of consistent work by A.A. and
doctors along the Eastern seaboard. As hospitals became overcrowded, the War
Shipping
Administration and the United Seamen's Service opened 7 Rest Centers
throughout the country, near the largest seaports, where for 3 weeks men of
the Merchant Marine could recuperate from their nerve-racking trips at sea.
In some of the Rest Centers, the doctors have taken particular interest in
steering alcoholic seamen into the A.A. way of thinking. The A.A. Seamen's
Club does not confine itself to the Merchant Marine but hopes to include the
Navy and Coast Guard as well -- all types of seamen.
Already the A.A. Seamen are looking toward the day when they'll have groups
in San Pedro, San Francisco, Baltimore -- in all the ports of the United
States and, eventually, in all the ports of the world. One of the dried up
seamen among those making calls on the alcoholics in the seamen's hospitals
at Staten Island and Ellis
Island is a man who, until a few weeks ago, hadn't bought himself a suit of
clothes in 20 years. John W., always penniless after the binge that
invariably followed his reaching shore, got his clothes from charitable
institutions. The other day John, who was accustomed to getting "a Hop at
the doghouse at 60 cents a week," for the first time in 20 years bought
himself a new suit, new shoes, new overcoat -- and put up at a big New York
hotel at $6.50 a day. And he had one swell time. Sober. While formerly Drink
was the only international language known to seamen when they got off their
ships, an ever increasing number are learning the constructive language of
the A.A. Seamen.
Treasurer of the Club is the non-alcoholic Vice-President of the Bank of New
York, James Carey. Seaman Joe F. is Secretary, and among those on the Policy
Committee are Horace C., an A.A. of 6-years-dry standing, and his
non-alcoholic lawyer brother, Alfred.
(The Grapevine extends best wishes for 1945 to the new Seamen's Club. )
MORE ABOUT SEABORNE A.A.s
We have noticed from the correspondence of A.A. s in Service that, without
group contacts over long periods of time, these men and women frequently
appear to be following the A.A. program, especially the spiritual side, more
closely than many of the rest of us who live in almost daily association
with our fellow members. In this connection, we quote, by courtesy of the
Toledo group, several paragraphs of a letter from one of its Servicemen with
an F.P.O. address:
"You may think that I am making a very broad statement when I say I feel I
know all of the benefits of A.A. I feel I am qualified to say I do, after a
year and one-half without contact of the group. I have been able to do the
same as you that have had constant contact. This is due to a supreme effort
to live up to the teachings of A.A. and the guidance of 'The Supreme Power.'
I was taught how to do this while with the group. Many of you were my
teachers, and convincing ones at that. It , at times, has not been an easy
job but, like yourselves, I am on the twenty-four hour basis, and continue
to place my problems in 'His' hands. A personal inventory has always shown
me a way for improvement. Honesty is a prime factor, and key to our future
progress, and if we are honest with ourselves we will be with others. ...
"To those of you that I know I hope you will continue on your present path
to
happiness and to those of you that I do not, I hope you will find as much
happiness as I have found through A.A. W. M. L."
(The Toledo group, numbering approximately 150, has 15 members who have
served in this War and one who died in Service.)
We have always had a profound curiosity to know more about those gallant
lads known as Seabees. Now, most unexpectedly, we learn that A.A. is
represented, and well, in that branch of Service also. The letter quoted
above was from a Seabee and we are advised from Cleveland that another Ohio
A.A. is not only with them but right in the midst of things in the Pacific:
"N. R. is with The Seabees now in the Philippines and has done a bang up job
staying completely well for over four years, one and one-half of which have
been spent in the Pacific. An outstanding job by a real guy."
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++++Message 1593. . . . . . . . . . . . Bernard B. Smith AA Grapevine Obituary (1970)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/12/2004 12:41:00 PM
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October 1970 AA Grapevine
Bernard B. Smith (1901 - 1970)
The AA General Service Board was still called the Alcoholic Foundation when
he joined it, in June 1944. His advice influenced the decision to hold the
first General Service Conference, in 1951. Chairman of the Board and the
Conference from January 1951 to April 1956, he was serving as first
vice-chairman of the Board at the time of his death. He was an attorney, an
author, and an advocate of Anglo-American understanding; for his efforts in
that cause, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him a decoration. Honorary Commander
of the Order of the British Empire, in October 1957.
A tribute from Bill:
I deeply regret that my health will not permit me to attend the services for
my old friend Bern Smith. His death is a great personal loss to me, for I
have leaned heavily upon him for many years. His wise counsel was always
mine for the asking; the warmth of his friendship, mine from the beginning.
From the very beginning, Bern Smith understood the spiritual basis upon
which the Society of Alcoholics Anonymous rests. Such an understanding is
rare among "outsiders." But Bern never was an outsider - not really. He not
only understood our Fellowship, he believed in it as well.
Just one month ago today, Bern made a remarkable and inspiring talk to some
11,000 of our members gathered in Miami Beach to celebrate our Fellowship's
thirty-fifth anniversary. The subject of his talk was Unity - truly an apt
subject, for no man did more than he to assure Unity within our Fellowship.
For that matter, he did much to assure our very survival, for he was one of
the principal architects of our General Service Conference.
Bern Smith would not want, nor does he need, encomiums from me. What he has
done for Alcoholics Anonymous speaks far louder than any words of mine could
ever do. His wisdom and vision will be sorely missed by us all.
I can only add that I have lost an old and valued friend; AA, a great and
devoted servant.
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++++Message 1594. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, February 1945 Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/13/2004 3:38:00 AM
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Grapevine, February 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
"A rigid disciplinarian, a fine doctor, a good officer -- above all, a
gentleman -- ordered me to sit down. 'Your offense against the Navy is a
serious one. For it, you could be shot. I know you're a sick man, but the
Navy cannot afford to recognize you as such. My suggestion to you is simply
this. You can't stop drinking by
yourself. When you learn that, you have started back. I would recommend
A.A.; it might work.'
"I thanked him, walked back to the locked ward in a large Naval hospital,
and wrote to A.A. Ten days later two men, two fine-looking, happy men, two
strangers, came to see me. They cared not what my type of discharge, nor
what my offense was. They were interested in whether or not I wanted to do
something about my drinking. Such was my introduction to A.A. Since then I
have found a new -- a sober and happy -- way to live. I have found my
answer, the solution to my problems. My yellow, undesirable discharge
brought with it the first understanding of my own condition; the first
freedom from fear; the first shouldering of my just responsibilities. I have
been fortunate in having the opportunity granted me to work with men in this
same Naval hospital. The doctors, the psychiatrists, the Chaplain, have been
frequent visitors to our meetings; not merely once, out of curiosity, but as
repeated visitors and friends, because they were amazed to find that A.A.
worked. These men -- and for them I have the warmest respect and admiration
-- can and do, and will, pass on what they've learned. In my heart I know
some man will be saved from standing mast, the brig, court martial, and
disgrace, because of the advice and help these officers will, and can now,
give him.
Especially to you men out there -- many of us who aren't with you because we
didn't make the grade are now carrying on for the things you're fighting
for.
"The Skipper stands bridge, always alert and willing and eager to heave a
line, so stand to. Here's luck and a happy voyage home. Page D."
Members of the A.A. Seamen's group are making good progress. On January 18th
they extended their activities to include an open meeting within the portals
of the Seamen's Church Institute, attended by more than fifty interested
seamen. As a result the 24th Street group has four new members spreading the
news of the A.A. program along the water front. Officials of the Institute
were so pleased with the outcome that they assigned the main auditorium of
the Institute for a second meeting held January 25th. It is unfortunate that
frequently the seamen are only able to attend a few meetings at their Club
before shipping out again on other hazardous voyages.
A.A. FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE
We have had several interesting letters recently from our most faithful A.A.
correspondent in the Pacific War Zone, an Army lieutenant, who wrote after
coming out of a tough landing operation: "I am well rested now and have
regained my lost weight -- all the other officers have gained too. It is a
funny thing but when it was really rough, very few of us could eat and one
didn't feel hungry. Sort of like getting off a bat -- you know you should
eat but the stuff sticks in your throat. Well, that in one deal I got by and
I consider myself a very lucky person. (Over twenty-six years ago, in the
Champaign country of France, others experienced a similar reaction to food
when the going was
tough -- the bats came later.)"
Our correspondent then added the following reflections about A.A.: "I am not
sure in my mind whether so much publicity is good for A.A. Would like your
views. I'm a liberal on all subjects except A.A."
Again, we quote from a very recent letter from the same officer: "In my
case, you should always look on the envelope in see what address I am
currently working under. I have only been here a short time and immediately
contacted Y. [Reference is to another good A.A. naval officer]. He (Y.) is
impatiently awaiting official word to take off. He has done an excellent job
and deserves a rest -- I hope he can keep out of this area when his leave is
terminated.
"I just finished reading October issue of Grapevine. I enjoy everything
printed therein and I do get set before me some of the things one is liable
to forget over a period of time. We don't care, do we, whether they call
them D days or Zero hours -- but we know that is the time that you can
really get it. If you are a part of it, you understand -- if you have never
experienced it, you don't and can't understand. I have sixteen months
overseas now. It hasn't all been bad and I've had lots of fun in spots. As a
matter
of fact, if it weren't so serious, it would be funny.
"A.A. seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. It is only natural. I, for
one, will be everlastingly grateful for it. I have a long road to travel
but, at least, I know I'm on the right road. Write when you can. The new
quarters for A.A. on 41st Street sound fine. As ever. John"
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++++Message 1595. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Serenity Prayer 1/2 from Grapevine
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/13/2004 11:26:00 PM
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Grapevine, November 1964
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept
the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
THERE'S nothing new under the sun? Well, perhaps there is in the area of material things. Telstar and moon probes are new. As a matter of fact, so is AA, which celebrated a young twenty-ninth birthday this year. But in the spiritual life, when we make a discovery, we're usually waking up to an old truth.
When the Grapevine last reported on the origin of the Serenity Prayer (January, 1950, issue), we had traced it to Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, who set it down in 1932 in very much the form given above. AA first used it on printed cards and at meetings in 1939. Dr. Niebuhr said at the time that he thought it "might have been spooking around for years, even centuries...."
Now an alert AA has sent us a clipping from the Paris 'Herald Tribune' of an article written by its special Koblenz (West Germany) correspondent: "In the rather dreary hall of a converted hotel, overlooking the Rhine at Koblenz, framed by the flags of famous Prussian regiments rescued from the Tannenberg memorial, is a tablet inscribed
with the following words: 'God give me the detachment to accept those things I cannot alter; the courage to alter those things which I can alter; and the wisdom to distinguish the ones from the others.'
These words [are] by Friedrich Otinger, an evangelical pietist of the eighteenth century--"
We don't have the original German of the Koblenz tablet. And we have somewhere a printed card stating that the prayer is a "soldier's prayer from the fourteenth century." So there may be more news on the origins of it to write about in the future. But let us not get carried away by antiquarian research; it is the praying that is going to help me, an alcoholic. Anon.
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++++Message 1596. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Serenity Prayer 2/2 from Grapevine
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/13/2004 11:27:00 PM
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Grapevine, January 1950
The Serenity Prayer
...it's origin is traced...
AT long last the mystery of the Serenity Prayer has been solved!
We have learned who wrote it, when it was written and how it came to the
attention of
the early members of AA. We have learned, too, how it was originally
written, a
bit
of information which should lay to rest all arguments as to which is the
correct
quotation.
The timeless little prayer has been credited to almost every theologian,
philosopher
and saint known to man. The most popular opinion on its authorship favors
St.
Francis
of Assisi.
It was actually written by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, of the Union Theological
Seminary,
New York City, in about 1932 as the ending to a longer prayer. In 1934 the
doctor's
friend and neighbor, Dr. Howard Robbins asked permission to use that part of
the
longer prayer in a compilation he was making at the time. It was published
in
that
year in Dr. Robbins' book of prayers.
Dr. Niebuhr says, "Of course, it may have been spooking around for years,
even
centuries, but I don't think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it
myself."
It came to the attention of an early member of AA in 1939. He read it in an
obituary
appearing in the New York Times. He liked it so much he brought it in to the
little
office on Vesey St. for Bill W. to read. When Bill and the staff read the
little
prayer, they felt that it particularly suited the needs of AA. Cards were
printed and
passed around. Thus the simple little prayer became an integral part of the
AA
movement.
Today it is in the pockets of thousands of AAs; it is framed and placed on
the
wall
of AA meeting rooms throughout the world; it appears monthly on the back
cover
of
your magazine and every now and then someone tells us that we have quoted it
incorrectly. We have.
As it appears in The A. A. Grapevine, it reads:
God grant me the serenity
To accept things I cannot change,
Courage to change things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference.
Many tell us that it should read:
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change;
The courage to change the things I can;
And the wisdom to know the difference.
The way it was originally written by Dr. Niebuhr is as follows:
God give me the serenity to accept
things which cannot be changed;
Give me courage to change things
which must be changed;
And the wisdom to distinguish
one from the other.
Dr. Niebuhr doesn't seem to mind that his prayer is incorrectly quoted. . .a
comma. .
.a preposition . . .even several verbs. . .the meaning and the message
remain
intact.
"In fact," says the good doctor, "in some respects, I believe your way is
better."
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++++Message 1597. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, March 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/14/2004 3:05:00 AM
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Grapevine, March 1945
Mail Call for All A.A. s in the Armed Forces
It is becoming increasingly apparent that A.A. is going to be called upon to
perform a real job in aiding many veterans of this War during or, more
particularly, some time after their re-entry into civilian life. We believe,
therefore, that the following piece, written for The Grapevine by an A.A.
who is himself in the process of
undergoing this readjustment, following Army experiences that included
participation in the invasion of Normandy, is extremely timely.
"Becoming acclimated to a tail-less shirt assuming you can find any at
all--is a small but symbolic problem that every veteran of the military
forces encounters in making the transition to civilian ways of life.
"The tail-less shirt is not the only reason for feeling shorn. The veteran
also feels that a number of other things besides the tail of his shirt are
missing. The Army--or the Navy, or whatever his branch of the service --is
no longer taking care of him. The privileges and protection that the uniform
provides, along with the
responsibilities, have come to an end. Your assignment, whatever it may have
been, has been finished. There's no longer somebody on hand to tell you,
whether you were officer, soldier or sailor, what to do next. You can't even
get cigarets when you want them. You're just another short-tailed civilian,
mister!
"The dischargee not only misses the things he found enjoyable while wearing
a uniform. Strangely, he also misses some of the things he disliked the
most. He may yearn for the very things that used to draw his loudest and
longest gripes. If he happens to be
a veteran from a combat zone, he may even miss some of the gadgets and
conditions that scared him silly while he was in the middle of them. When,
for instance, in New York he hears the weekly Saturday noon air raid sirens
and, after an involuntary
tightening of nerves, he remembers that they're only practice, he may wish
momentarily (only momentarily) that they were the real thing. It's not that
he ever liked robots or enemy raiders; it's that his nerves are still
attuned to the excitement and tension that a combat zone produces in
generous quantities as a daily, and nightly fare. War in one phase or
another has been reality to him. That has now been removed and what's left
seems, at times, unreal and even empty.
"Another void becomes apparent in topics of conversation in normal circles.
What the veteran has been talking about morning, noon and night for however
long he has been in uniform is scarcely suitable now. People just aren't
interested in what Sgt.
Doakes said to Capt. Whoozit. And you certainly can't blame them for that.
Even when they are genuinely interested in hearing something of his
experiences, the dischargee discovers that there's a great deal he can't
express in a way that is understandable to someone who has not felt what he
has. So he tends to avoid the subject--and he certainly does avoid it after
one or two encounters with the occasional person who reacts to war anecdotes
with a look in his eye that says, 'What a line this guy's
got!' In such cases, the dischargee learns that what may be commonplace in
theaters of war may sound fantastic and unbelievable elsewhere.
"All of these factors add up to an emotional disturbance involving
lonesomeness, injured vanity, loss of poise and direction, fear of the
future and resentments. For many persons, of course, relief at being
permitted to return to normal pursuits offsets the other factors. But
reconversion from the military to the civilian world calls for considerable
readjustments for anyone. For an A.A. member, the readjustment may be
especially difficult--and dangerous.
"Paradoxically, an A.A. who has had no or little trouble during his enforced
separation from the group may be in greater danger during this period of
readjustment than the one who has had an up and down fight all the way from
enlistment or induction to discharge, if he has gone through military
service without any slips or near-slips he has scored a real achievement.
The military life imposes severe handicaps on an A.A. It usually prevents
him from practicing many of the steps on which he normally depends. It
divorces him from group therapy, 12th step work and inspirational talks. It
precipitates him into circumstances that are upsetting and that tend to
unbalance anyone's sense of values.
"If the A.A. has survived all of that successfully, he's likely to feel
pretty strong when he returns to normal life. Certainly he feels that now,
once again within his home orbit, among A.A. friends and within reach of all
the help he could ask, he is in much less danger, alcoholically, than he was
in the service away from home. So he may very easily let down. He may drop
his guard. He may become 'too tired' to attend any meetings or do any 12th
step work. He may slack off in doing some of the little things that help to
keep an A.A. growing along A.A. lines.
"If he begins to slide off in any of these ways, he's heading for a tailspin
and a tight inside loop. Whatever hazardous tendencies he may develop will
be aggravated by the emotional disturbances which his military-to-civilian
readjustment is bound to create for him even if he remains squarely on the
beam. The fact is, he has need to double his guard and keep his defenses on
the alert during this period.
"Those are facts which this A.A. had to learn the painful way. But, in
learning those, he also learned that application of the A.A. way of thinking
will ease the transition for the veteran in many ways. Again I have seen how
A.A. not only helps to overcome Personal Enemy No. 1, but how infinitely
effective it is on many other human problems.
"Again, too, I have been reminded forcefully that in A.A. one cannot stand
still for long he either goes backwards or he grows, and he grows only by
using a gradually increasing amount of A.A. T.D.Y."
IT'S FREE FOR SERVICEMEN
"India, January 27
"Dear Grapevine: Was pleasantly surprised to receive two issues of The
Grapevine in the past few days, as I didn't know that our organization had
such a swell publication.
"I don't know whether one of my friends in the Tucson group has paid for a
subscription to The Grapevine for me or if these were sample copies, so will
appreciate receiving that information from you, and will forward the
subscription if such has not been paid.
Hoping that I will continue to keep in contact with all of you through The
Grapevine,
"I am, gratefully yours,
"John F.M., Sgt. Air Force"
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++++Message 1598. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, April 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/15/2004 3:28:00 AM
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Grapevine, April 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
"I have just returned to the States after 20 months overseas, during which
time my only contact with the group has been The Grapevine (but what a
refreshing contact that was!). And, as in most other things these days,
remarkable changes have taken
place, and much progress. After a lapse of so many months, of course the
first thing that strikes one is the tremendous expansion in all groups
everywhere. Many have been obliged to take on new quarters, and the ones
which I have seen have all been an improvement over the old. As we had all
hoped, the A.A. program has been made available to thousands more people who
have been struggling with the problem, and it is a fine thing to meet so
many new and happy A.A.s who have embarked on the wonderful adventure
afforded by the program. An outstanding feature to be noticed today is the
large number of 'high-bottom members,' those who have gained an early
understanding of their problem through A.A. Perhaps because of the fact that
A.A. is becoming so well known nationally, they have not had to bounce all
the way down the hard road, losing everything, before realizing that
something must be done about it, and, what is more important, learning how
to do it.
"It is evident, too, to one who has been away, that present-day conditions
are putting a pressure on the civilian population which has caused day to
day existence to be speeded up in a manner reminiscent of the 'terrific
twenties.' As a result, there is necessarily more drinking going on
generally, I should say, than before the war. During my 17 days on leave in
the New York area, friends have brought me into contact with three people
who have gone beyond the 'safety line' of normal drinking. So the group is
needed more than ever before, in all areas of the country.
"Most satisfactory of all, however, is the fact that in spite of the great
nation-wide expansion in A.A., the same warm, friendly, and happy spirit
prevails everywhere--just as it always has. So, it's great to be home again,
with the grandest bunch of people in the land! Y. G."
"[Attached is a very precious letter written by a young bomber pilot in
Italy, this son of a Springfield A.A., who has been a member since November,
1944. It is addressed to the. A.A.s everywhere in appreciation for what A.A.
has done for him through his mother. C. W.]
"Ten years ago my mother recovered miraculously after almost losing her life
in a Chicago hospital. It was God, and her love for her family, that pulled
her through. It was following this recovery that I first remember her
drinking to excess. Not too much at first, but as years went on, things grew
worse. I'd come home from high school in the afternoon to find her in a
drunken stupor, and inside I'd be boiling mad, and sick at heart. I never
said anything particularly unkind to her while she was like this, as the
words would have been forgotten in the morning, and I'd only get as a reply
to anything I said, that 'everything was o.k.--everything o. k.'
But I'd lie awake half the night planning what I would tactfully say in the
morning.
"Morning came and mother would be her bright, very beautiful and very
gracious self again, and I could never get up enough courage to say anything
that might hurt her.
"So things went on. I'd be afraid to bring a friend home from school because
I didn't want him to see my mother like that. I hadn't cried from pain in
many years, but at night I'd lie in bed, tears rolling down my cheeks,
praying to God to help. God had
answered in saving her life the only other time I asked Him to help.
"At intervals in the last two or three years my mother told my sister and me
that she would give it up. She tried, I know, but never was successful.
There was one way left that I thought would do a lot of good, but it was a
very hard thing for me to do. I wrote a long letter appealing to my mother's
love for her family. It hurt her deeply, as I knew it would, but with her
great love she fought all the pent-up emotional disturbances within her to a
great degree of success. To help reduce the great strain on her mind and to
insure a rapid comeback to a happy life, my sister and a member of A.A.
induced her to join your organization. You don't
know how extremely happy and proud a person I am today. To be fighting 3,000
miles from home and know that your family is back on the road to complete
happiness after ten years of discouraging disappointments is a wonderful
thing and it's even more wonderful to be able to love every little thing
about your mother with all your
heart, and with all your soul.
"I am extremely grateful to you for the way in which you have helped. A
heartful of thanks and sincere good wishes from--a son of one of you. W.A.L
MEDICINE FOR SELF PITY
"I've wanted to write for a long time, but my days are long and full. We all
are too much in this work to really observe it. If I were on a schedule like
this back in the States I'd have blown my top regularly just like the noon
whistle at the biscuit factory.
"Of course, I often think of A.A. It's one of the things we have to do. But
when you see men who have been through the real hell of war, and you hear
from them what it's like (you can't know unless you've been there), or you
see them laugh with tears in their eyes as they tell you how their comrades
were killed all around them, you wonder how you could ever have taken
yourself so damned seriously.
"I'm very well in every way, and living only for the day we can all take up
where we left off. Pvt. John D., BUSH Hospital, France"
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++++Message 1599. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, May 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16/2004 3:08:00 AM
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Grapevine, May 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
This is a quotation from a personal letter received by the editor of the
"Mail Call" page, himself an overseas veteran of World War I. It was written
by a fellow A.A., a sergeant who has been, taking part in the recent
activities on the unquiet Western front:
"About a year ago you sent me a letter concerning a particular attack you
made in the last war, and as I was really in a tight spot recently that
description among many other thoughts came to mind. I remember you wrote
that with all the artillery, mortars and general hell flying you didn't know
how you could survive, but did! That gave me a certain hope and fortified me
in my thinking. Prayer for my other buddies was easy and some Power brought
me through. Slightly wounded, I am practically well now and will be
re-joining my outfit by the time you receive this. Our push looks
successful, with plenty of hard fighting ahead. "
As this issue of The Grapevine deals primarily with the feminine viewpoint
on A.A., we ask indulgence for printing the description of the "particular
attack" referred to in the sergeant's letter above. The letter-writer was
then a young second lieutenant of Infantry and he describes for his father
his initiation into the art of war. His
alcoholic problem had not developed at that time:
"Somewhere in France.
"September 17, 1918
"On the morning of the 12th, I had the greatest experience that comes to any
soldier during his service in this war. I went over the top and,
incidentally, it was the first time I had ever been under fire. One is, I
know, supposed to think of many things during those hours in the trenches
before daylight, and perhaps some may pray a bit and make good resolutions
provided they come through, but my only sensation, that I can recall, was
that I was colder than I had ever been in my life and that anything
requiring motion would be a relief. We were in the trenches four hours
before zero and during that time a terrific artillery barrage went over from
our guns. You would imagine that the noise would be terrible, but it did not
seem to worry me, and as Fritz did not reply we were perfectly safe at that
time. Fritz, I imagine, thought all Hell was loose and God for once far from
being with him. At daylight we rushed up a trench into another, parallel to
Fritz's line, and over we went. I suppose it is nearly impossible to imagine
the confusion of an attack--it is barely light enough to see, shells are
bursting with a crash and a flash all about, and every now and then an enemy
machine gun starts popping. To keep your men together and in place is nearly
impossible. I got up with the company ahead before we reached the German
line, but when I got there I had the platoon together and in proper place,
where I kept most of the men for the remainder of the day. I had men from
many another company and regiment with me during the day. In the trench, we
found only a few machine gunners who had caused us to lie flat at times. We
passed on through a thick woods and advanced about nine kilometers before
the German artillery got our range. Then we caught a little Hell ourselves.
I saw a man killed and my runner wounded not ten feet from me--where I had
been lying only two seconds before. I hadn't had sense enough to be scared
before that, but from then on I didn't enjoy the German artillery. We got
out of that spot by advancing, but late that day, or rather all afternoon,
while we were dug in at our captured objective, they shelled us with
remarkable accuracy. It was unpleasant and unhealthy for more than one. As
for me, I
dug with my mess kit and dug fast. An Austrian 88 would make anyone dig
fast, and he would not have to be paid $5.00 per day either! I would be
interrupted occasionally and flatten out till things quieted a bit.
"Next evening we were relieved; now we are well behind the lines. I
understand that St. Mihiel on our left was taken and the line is straight.
Our casualties and worries all came. from artillery. Men of the company say
we were very lucky, as the regiment has been up against tougher
propositions. Be that as it may, we did what we set out to do and I did not
see a single man hesitate to do his part. As for me, another time I will
know what everything is like. I am now recognized by the old hands as
belonging to the company, having gone under fire with proper behavior--not
hard when the rest all do. Really I believe my big Texas runner (not the one
who was hit) kept me cool. He wasn't fazed by anything--delivered his
messages quickly, and was at other times constantly at my side as a sort of
personal bodyguard. Later when we were
all cold and hungry and worn out (I slept only three or four hours in about
84) he was always cheerful and joked about things when others grumbled. He
too was having his first experience under fire, but little he cared. My
sergeant, an old-timer, did his part well. I have looked on dead and wounded
now, and I know what a poor devil suffers when he is hit, but I am
principally impressed by the fact that with shells falling all around one
has miraculous escapes. The Americans do not halt for a shelling--they go
through and win.
It is all over for the present for us. We are still a bit tired and very
dirty but we are happy. This is certainly a fine outfit--they know they have
a good reputation as fighters and they would go anywhere to keep it. The
cold has been our greatest enemy,
that is at night. I am in A1 shape but unrecognizably dirty. Soon I shall
wash. Cooties are not with me as yet. Abbot T., New York"
NAVY SYMPATHETIC TO A.A.
Capt. Forrest M. Harrison of the U. S. Naval Hospital, Bethesda, Maryland,
recently reported to the press that the alcoholic in the Navy gets separate
barracks, well equipped with magazines, books and special literature "such
as that issued by Alcoholics Anonymous." Meetings are held, and every effort
is made to get the men straightened out through education, physical
rehabilitation, et cetera.
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++++Message 1600. . . . . . . . . . . . re: Lasker Award
From: dgrant004 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16/2004 8:36:00 AM
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Hi All,
Does anyone know if the Lasker Award is currently being kept at AAWS in NYC? Much thanks!
David
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++++Message 1601. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: re: Lasker Award
From: Al Welch . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/16/2004 5:09:00 PM
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Yep, saw it last Friday in the Archives section
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++++Message 1602. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, June 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/17/2004 3:23:00 AM
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Grapevine, June 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
We are fortunate in having received from an A.A. participant, a sergeant of
Infantry, a vivid account of the battle for Germany and his reactions:
"Somewhere, in Europe
"7th Army, April 10
"Dear Elliot: Your marvelous New Year's Day letter, and also The Soul's
Sincere Desire, the book you so thoughtfully sent to me, caught up just
yesterday. Both meant much more to me than if they had been received earlier
in the year. At the first of the year I was called up for combat duty in the
general ground forces reinforcement program after our serious losses in the
December Ardennes set back.
"After a one-month 'get-rich-quick' course in Infantry I left England and
subsequently joined the veteran 3rd Division and participated in the final
stages of the Colmar Pocket campaign. About a month ago we went into the big
campaign as a 'spearhead' unit in cracking the Siegfried Line on the 7th
Army front below Saarbrucken, which with General Patton's swing from the
North came to be known as the Saar-Moselle-Rhine Triangle bagging 125, 000
Krauts--salting away the Saar, as you have been reading in screaming
headlines, no doubt. I am most fortunate to be alive! We fought and beat
crack Waffen SS units, broke the thickest part of the Siegfried (but as you
know you have to spend lots of men to do it) and so I am back here at a
General Hospital
rapidly recovering from a comparatively slight wound, and enjoying the
finest Springtime season of my life and the fragrance of the earth is
something to be truly grateful for, to say the least.
"During a counter attack on a fortified Jerry village we had previously
taken and lost the night before, I had so many close calls it went beyond
any ordinary or extraordinary luck factor, and as you suggested in your
letter I felt something, a factor of divine protection. I didn't expect to
live through that almost overwhelming
maelstrom of utter chaos. Tanks entered the town and ran wild battering down
houses and our rubble positions at fifty yards point blank range. We were
cut off without artillery or armor support and were nearly up against an
impossible tactical setup, i.e., trying to fight Tiger Tanks with your bare
fists. An 88 shell tore the air so close to me the suction of it spun me off
balance. Bullets tore my combat jacket. Shoe mines exploded nearby as we
caught mine fields, shells demolished rooms I had occupied minutes before;
mortars, rockets, screaming Meemies (neberwerfel rockets) pounded us night
and day. Caught inside Jerry lines and enveloped, we later were subjected to
our own artillery barrages and strafing and dive bombing by our Air Force,
etc., etc.
"The point being I felt something soon after the big floor show started.
After our jump-off we were caught and pinned down and Jerry's stuff started
to fly as if he thought he was fighting his last battle. I prayed but I
couldn't quite see why I should have the gall to ask for personal favors or
protection. Someone was going to
get it and there were too many fine, clean, happy twenty-year olds with a
fresh future ahead in my outfit. Why should God be interested in sparing my
rum soaked bones? It didn't make sense and it became practically impossible,
but it was easy to pray for the others and a great happiness and inner calm
(as you mention) welled up within me in doing so. I know that prayer for all
of us was answered! Most of my company were finally captured and are POWs
today which approaches the miraculous in view of the severity of the heavy
fire power thrown against us, and compared to the general casualty
percentages of the overall campaign.
"I felt a nearness to understanding I can't quite explain but I know you
know what I am talking about.
"You told me three years ago on a hot summer day standing at 42nd Street and
Madison. Your waking in the middle of the night with a great sense of
gratitude and merely saying 'Thank you, God,' is the most eloquent prayer I
have ever heard.
"You see, Elliot, how much I appreciate and treasure your letter and book.
The author suggested in the first chapter something I liked very much. Write
up or think up some of your own psalms and prayers, don't be a slave to set
forms. You can't beat the
23rd Psalm or the Lord's Prayer as great literature but maybe something you
can express your own way will have more of that essence of sincerity, for
you at least. Likewise I like to sing hymns and work in some barber shop
harmonies with my rather dubious baritone. Why can't people really enjoy
their religion? That's why I
have trouble sitting in church as they seem to want you to, with a puss this
long. People are supposed to be happy and not fearful I am sure. And as you
say, 'kicking against the traces.' Best regards. Hugh B."
ACCEPT THOSE THINGS WE CANNOT CHANGE
One of our A.A. correspondents who has been actively engaged in the Pacific
War writes us about a subject that probably applies to servicemen especially
but seems to have significance for all A.A.s:
"Waiting is one of the biggest problems in the service. And at certain
times, a five-minute wait can be a real torture. Ernest Hemingway said the
same in one of his books, and when I read it, I thought the concept foolish.
But waiting (or rather patience) is one of the hardest traits to develop and
one of the most necessary. At one of those times of stress I believe it
would be extremely easy to completely lose one's outlook and perspective.
And it doesn't seem to make any difference whether or not the thing for
which you are waiting is dangerous. There is no question that at times the
hold of A.A. over one is lessened. It can't be otherwise, but I do think
that experience teaches one certain danger signals and only a fool would
ignore them. For instance, when a person is rotated and goes home, he is in
a very dangerous period because we know that one can be so happy that, all
of a sudden one may be caught very, very drunk. I know that there must be
people in A.A. who would raise their hands in horror at the idea that an
A.A. doesn't have complete control at all
times. They may be right, but it hasn't been my experience. The reason may
well be because I have been able to attend only one meeting in the last
three years. And I do heartily approve of meeting attendance as insurance
against possible slips. But for
the person who does not have the advantages that meetings give, these blind
spots must be recognized, understood and controlled.
"I guess I have been trying to say that the course is not always smooth and
a person new to A.A. might very well become discouraged. When a blank period
arrives there is only one possible course of 'inaction'--just don't drink.
Sometimes in the space of a very few minutes the upset has passed and all is
serene again. John N., Lt. U. S. Army"
Copies of The Grapevine are sent free to all A.A. servicemen and women. If
you know of any member of the Armed Forces who is not on the mailing list,
please send his or her name to the Editors.
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++++Message 1603. . . . . . . . . . . . big book index
From: judicrochet . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/17/2004 7:14:00 PM
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i have an index for the big book copyright 1975 by Alcoholics
Anonymous World Service, Inc. it's A.A. General Service Conference
approved literature. does any one know how long this was in print
and why it was discontinued. thanks judi
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++++Message 1604. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, July 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/18/2004 1:51:00 AM
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Grapevine, July 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
Some months ago we suggested on this page that perhaps A.A.s in service
often worked out their not inconsiderable problems more realistically than
their civilian brethren and that, almost certainly, they had to place
greater dependence on the spiritual aspects of the program. The quotation
below is part of a recent letter from a soldier stationed in France:
"In the old days (and it's a wonderful thing to think of them as 'old days')
most of us didn't face these conflicts, but they must be faced now, and
faced squarely. So for me there's only one answer and that is our 3rd Step.
That is the answer to so many things if we only be mindful of it. However,
like everything else, now and then we forget. I was feeling particularly low
and in need of help. I got just the lift I needed from my old friend Chet
through his piece on the 3rd Step in the March Grapevine.
"This has been a very personal letter. However, isn't that what this is all
about--getting the right slant on the things that bother us?"
A Marine Tells Us
The following is our first letter from an A.A. who is also a member of the
Marine Corps. It is from a sergeant with a Marine fighter squadron now in
the Pacific, and was written to a friend in the Buffalo group. We think it
bears out our comment at the beginning of this page.
"It was pretty rough most of the way over, but after leaving Honolulu most
of us were pretty good sailors but our only wish was to set foot on terra
firma once again. Had my fill of the deep blue sea--it really is blue and at
night when there is no moon one would think that there was some sort of
indirect lighting due to the phosphorus in the water glowing as the prow of
the boat would churn it up.
"We were able to pitch a one-day liberty in Honolulu and I really took in
the sights--saw the famous beach at Waikiki and also stopped in a quaint
little church and thanked Him for keeping me 'dry' and asked Him to help all
of us in our struggle with alcohol. He has been very good to me, John.
"We finally arrived on this little rock of coral and sand where the Navy and
Marines left a tree or two standing when they knocked the little monkeys out
of here some time back.
"Each day gets hotter and, although the nights cool off, even they are
starting to get a bit warmer. We used to have our choice of either two
bottles of cold brew or two cokes every other night but now they are out of
cokes so I'm drinking warm water out of Lyster bags. Yes, I know just what
two beers would do to me--even out here--and I don't care to experiment.
I'll wait until medical science can find a remedy. This is all I'm allowed
to write. It is lonesome here and I'd sure enjoy hearing from some of the
boys." Dick F. M., Sgt. V. S. Marines, April 8
Our most faithful correspondent in the Pacific seems to have gotten into the
thick of things again, but is still calling on his A.A. philosophy whenever
the going gets tough:
"I have really been busy. Am receiving Grapevine and enjoy it so much. M is
sending September Remember which I look forward to enthusiastically. Y. (a
naval lieutenant) wrote from Boston. He must have been very active. He is a
grand fellow and the new A.A. member should be helped by people like him. We
are getting well set up now. Had my first shower in six weeks yesterday and
you would be surprised how one gets used to taking a bath in a helmet. We
spend considerable time in foxholes but as yet I haven't caught cold. The
snakes around here have me worried--especially when I spend the night on the
ground. We have killed a couple of them and they were deadly. Oh well, it's
just like a lot of other things--bad, but not too bad. My spirits are well
up these days and now I'm happy with a little less. Thank God, it has ended
in Europe." John N., Lt. U. S. Army
A Soldier Avoids That Fatal First Drink
"I have had several pleasant visits with a family I met in Rheims. There
was, at first, a rather awkward situation created by my not taking a glass
of wine at dinner. I'm sure my friends consider it very queer, but the
matter is settled and they have accepted the fact of my not drinking. Later
on, I should like to tell them about A.A. They are intelligent, alert
people, and I might be able to convey the general idea to them." John D., U.
S. Army, France, May 25
Copies of The Grapevine are sent free to all A.A. servicemen and women. If
you know of any member of the Armed Forces' who is not on the mailing list,
please send his or her name to the Editors.
TIME ON YOUR HANDS
"The term 'hobby' not only refers to an occupation pursued as a pastime but
also means 'a slow and steady horse.' To me, the latter definition is more
important to an alcoholic because it's so patently the reverse of the kind
of animal he used to be. One of our most potent slogans is 'easy does it'
... and I think that philosophy should be especially followed when it comes
to picking hobbies.
"The reason we're looking for hobbies is because we know that too much loose
time on our hands represents the most frightening saboteur we have to face
in our aim toward
continued sobriety. But for an alcoholic, too much intensity toward any
objective is equally dangerous, because should circumstances deprive us of
our "hobby crutch" we're ripe for a slip.
"So, in my very humble and still inexperienced opinion, we should take our
hobbies where we find them and have as many as possible that fit into
everyday living instead of concentrating on one or two important ones. For
example, you'd hardly call your family a hobby but it can function very well
as such with priority--and more satisfyingly so than any I have found. The
time I spend planning and executing for my
wife and son the many ordinary pastimes and associations which they missed
during my drinking days has proven to be the happiest heritage which A.A.
has given me. There
is no need to expand on that statement--every alcoholic will recognize
immediately what I'm trying to say.
"The only other important hobby I have (excepting of course my A.A. group)
is to associate as much as possible with friends who are not alcoholics, but
who are fully aware of my status as one and my desire to stay dry. It's been
amazing to me how much help I can get from these friends who, although they
may not fully understand why a guy can't take a drink now and then, respect
and encourage my aims. I guess you'd call that being something of an
"alcoholic hero" to the folks outside of A.A. who are important to me, but
if that be treason, I still feel that I can make the most of it as a
hobby--and you'll agree that results are what count." Jim D.
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++++Message 1605. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, August 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s in the Armed Forces
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/19/2004 3:20:00 AM
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Grapevine, August 1945
Mail Call for All A.As in the Armed Forces
"As a very new A.A.--less than two months--I can find only one gripe. In the
best illogical tradition of the Army it is that I didn't find A.A. soon
enough, specifically, before I went overseas. I had 18 months of the Middle
East and I'm firmly convinced that the toughest job for a soldier who is
trying to get away from alcohol is to be stuck in a non-combat overseas post
in a command the chiefest ingredient of which is boredom.
"I drew Persia and any other GI who has served there can explain to
strangers that the combination of camels, loneliness and free hours with
nothing to fill them leads to an almost immediate discovery of the wines of
the country--vodka, zorovka (a vodka
derivative which borrows a faint brownish color from the stalk of buffalo
grass stuck in every bottle) and mastique (otherwise known as arak, raki and
zibib, a cousin of the absinthe family one gulp of which starts a three
alarm fire in your vitals, several gulps of which puts out both the fire and
you).
"The soldier-alcoholic, whether in a rear echelon, in combat or on garrison
duty in the U. S., has a different set of problems than his civilian
brother-in-allergy. Even a line outfit has its fill of blank hours and
nothing can be blanker than spare time in uniform. Between this boredom and
the occasional hard work or swift action which gives you an excuse and
almost a necessity for emotional relief of some sort, the GI is usually in a
mood where he wants and thinks he needs a short one.
"I found it possible, for short spells of time, to go on the wagon overseas.
But it was never a satisfactory solution. It is too easy, in the Army, to
find an alibi to go off. Maybe you have just come into town from a long
truck convoy over days of dusty roads with no more sustenance than C-rations
and lukewarm canteen water. Maybe you are on a three-day pass from combat.
Maybe you have had a fight with the Old Man and, according to the rigidity
of Army discipline, have no other way of getting back at him than to tie one
on for your own satisfaction. At any rate, when you do hit the town, when
you do get the pass, when you have that fight, you don't lack for friends to
help you drown your sorrows. And you have assisting you liquorwards also a
long and strong, if not entirely accurate, tradition that a good soldier is
a two-fisted
drinker and that you're not an honest-to-goodness soldier until you've been
busted a couple of times for drunkenness.
"These invitations to drink apply equally to the A.A. alcoholic in uniform
as they do to his unenlightened brother, but I honestly believe the A.A. has
a good chance of beating them while the non-A.A. doesn't have better than
100-to-one odds in his favor. Even a fledgling A.A. realizes that the
organization and its philosophy give
him something to cushion the shock of not drinking, something to fill the
open space left in his social life when be puts away the bottle.
"When I went on the wagon in the Army--not as an A.A.--I was acutely
miserable. I haunted the Special Service clubhouse or tent because I knew I
wouldn't get a drink there, but the inanities of most Army entertainments
loomed as even more inane to my still alcoholically critical eyes. I was
constantly aware, every waking hour, that I was engaged in doing something I
didn't like. A.A. hasn't deadened my critical faculties, but today I feel
sure I could get amusement (sometimes perhaps snide), if not full enjoyment,
out of a service club, and I am not a little suspicious that I might find
myself participating in and enjoying the goings on after a while.
"Needless to say, there should be any amount of 12th Step opportunities in
the service, but I'm inclined to think that 12th Step work should be
approached even more carefully than ordinarily when dealing with GIs. All of
us in the Army are living in a close community full of community prejudices
sharper and more quickly applied than in civilian life. The first thing to
convince any alcoholic in uniform should be that by joining A.A. he is not
making himself ridiculous and not abandoning his right to be one of the
boys. If you can convince the boys, too, so much the better. From there
on in you should have relatively clear sailing.
"In my own overseas drinking experience I have had many amusing and
diverting adventures, so amusing and diverting that I get the dry heaves
recalling them. There was the time I got tramped on by the camel, and the
time I passed out on the Avenue Chah Reza in Teheran and had my pants
stolen, and the time I fell head first into a lime-pit and had to take off
my field jacket with a mason's chip hammer, and the endless times I had to
weave back to camp one alley ahead of the MPs. Diverting as hell.
"Whatsa matter with this A.A. they didn't get me sooner? That's my only
kick." Sgt. A. H.
The Seed Was Planted
"I tried to follow the A.A. principles three years ago in my home town of
Anderson, S.C., and it was too much for me all alone, and after a few weeks
I slipped, but several months ago I was able to affiliate with the Oklahoma
City Group and I see now that the Higher Power intended things to work out
this way. I have met some of the finest people in the world and only hope
that after I'm discharged from the Service I will be able to partly repay
them by carrying the A.A. message to Anderson, S. C. Had it not been for
A.A., I'm afraid I would have gotten the little yellow discharge from the
Navy long ago." Jack G. C., Jr., H A I / c, U.S. Navy
Letters Look Good at Front
"I enjoyed your letter tremendously and am rather ashamed that I haven't
written sooner. Ever since the day we hit this Oriental rock the time has
flown--our hours are long and the nights are sleepless--we have had over one
hundred alerts and a goodly number of raids in the short time I've been
here. You see I left my old base in the Pacific in the latter part of April
and now am right in the thick of it. I am writing this during an alert but
haven't as yet heard any ack! ack! which is the signal for this ex-drunk to
dive into his foxhole." Sgt. Richard J. F. M., U.S.M.C.R.
Navy Chaplain Lauds Work
"Dear Editor:
"I have never needed A.A. help myself, but have had some very fine
acquaintances whom it could have assisted long ago and might have kept them
from sailing their ships on the rocks of alcoholic despair and destruction.
"During the past month it has been my great privilege to watch from outside
and also inside observation by attending meetings of A.A. in this city. I
have seen its work and as a minister and chaplain in the Navy, I marvel at
the results it seems to get
from its application to alcoholics.
"I have read all the literature at hand and hope to read more to get an
insight into the very fine results and remarkable record that make for the
conversion of alcoholics to most decent and reputable citizens.
"I am enclosing herewith a check for $1.50 for which you will please put me
on as a yearly subscriber to The Grapevine. Would be glad to have any old
copies and any other literature that you may see fit to send." H.G.G.,
Captain, Ch. C, U.S.N.
Copies of The Grapevine are sent free to all A.A. servicemen and women. If
you know of any member of the Armed Forces who is not on the mailing list,
please send his or her name to the Editors.
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++++Message 1606. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine, September 1945, Mail Call for All A.A.s at Home or Abroad
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/20/2004 2:25:00 AM
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Grapevine, September 1945
Mail Call for All A.A.s at Home or Abroad
(Editor's Note: With the cessation of hostilities, Mail Call is thrown open
to all A.A.s, those still far away with the victorious armed forces, those
returning to civil life, and those on the home front who face the same
fight. )
From a U. S. Marine
In the July 1945 issue we published a letter from an A.A., a sergeant of
Marines in the Pacific, with whom we have since had the good fortune to
carry on an active correspondence. We think part of his most recent letter
should appear here:
"I received your last letter and answered it immediately, but because we
were moving I was unable to mail it. In the meantime, we had some terrific
rainfalls with the result that your letter and others were waterlogged and
had to be destroyed. Now I am
at my new base.
"The little rock I was on was called Ie Shima and was the place where Ernie
Pyle was killed. Being a small rock and just off the west coast of Okinawa,
it was a fairly easy target and as a result was pretty hot with air raids
and alerts. I am in Okinawa now. It's much nicer here--much like our own
country with hills and ravines,
mountains and valleys and plenty of foliage and pine trees. We have lots of
new equipment, including a new mess hall with all its accessories, ice cream
machine and all. There are still a number of enemy stragglers around which
hinders me from doing the exploring I'd like to do--such as into the
mountains and down the valleys and along the rocky coast line. Besides I
have enough work to do to take up most of my time."
Our friend goes on to discuss some of his thoughts about A.A., the probable
reasons for "slips" and the danger of uncontrolled temper. His remarks on
this last subject seem very much to the point:
"Ever since I attended my first meeting I knew that I would have to curb my
temper if I wanted success (sobriety) and since I want that more than
anything else in the world I pray daily that God will grant me patience and
help me control my temper. I've been quite successful along this line and
have, gained twofold results--first, I've removed another obstacle to a life
of complete contentment and second I get along with my family, as well as my
fellow men; 100% better. I believe a temper is an asset when it is well
bridled. No, I'm not cocky--either over my controlled temper or over two
years of sobriety--if I were, I would not be praying daily for help. I need
it.
"Just recently A.A. saved my life--someday I'll tell you about it. Thanks
once again to A.A. that I'm here." D. F. M., Sgt., USMCR
[This was the only letter this month from a member of the Services.]
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++++Message 1607. . . . . . . . . . . . ...officers from Plattsburg
From: pennington2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/20/2004 12:50:00 PM
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As part of an online Big Book study group, the participants are encouraged to read with a dictionary and encyclopedia handy . . . . . . I have also found that the WWW is handy! Reading the first few pages of Bill's story this week, I was
Intrigued by the statement "officers from Plattsburg" and did a search. I found this reference on the web that others may find of interest:
p2
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++++Message 1608. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical Literature, The Amarillo, October 22, 1944
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/22/2004 3:35:00 AM
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THE LOST WEEKEND
Charles Jackson gives us five days out of a man's life while in the
flamboyant arms of alcohol; this type of a book might have been burdensome
or highly sensational--instead the author has given as clear a picture of
what goes on in the mind of an alcoholic as is probably possible. William
Seabrook treated the matter completely in his ASYLUM, but this is the
meticulous and factual account of a good mind holding its own throughout the
flattering of the ego and the anti-social aspects produced by excessive
drinking.
To the layman, alcoholism is merely a state of being drunk, of intoxication;
but to those who have studied psychopathic trends, alcoholism is a release
of all that man has within him, it is the highest and at once the lowest.
Within the confines of the bonds of this stimulant, man achieves his
loftiest ambitions in thought, experiences and aberrations to do with
everything from theft to possible murder, which the true alcoholic shuns. As
the book and serious writers on the subject point out, it is only the drug
addict who will kill to satisfy his appetite. Alcoholics may beg, steal,
borrow or pawn to satisfy that thirst, but murder as a general rule is
foreign to such a disturbed mind.
Mr. Jackson has contributed what is possibly the finest study in print of
true alcoholism from the standpoint of the afflicted; his book is a
priceless primer toward understanding of that great number who find escape
for such a short time down the drinkers' road. After so much trash has been
written on this and kindred subjects, concerning the 'escapist' side of man,
this book should prove invaluable to mankind to understanding not only
alcoholics, but his own reactions based upon whole or part intoxication. Mr.
Jackson is not the type of writer to soft-pedal his ideas, but the sex angle
of this book is well into the background and hardly raises its inquiring
head; of course this might be different in relation to the
subject--assuredly women alcoholics react differently than the males, but in
all people of this type, the sex-life plays a dominant part and this author
has given full scope to the possibility if not elaborating upon it. To those
who have seen patients of this type by the dozens, confined behind
institution walls, this book will find a welcome world of avid readers; to
those whose lives are touched with the "fiery fumes" of this line of escape,
let them read and analyze for themselves, forgetting that dreams are all
necessary to escape the realities of life. No human being should miss this
book, moreover, no human being can afford to.
Source: The Amarillo, October 22, 1944
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++++Message 1610. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: re: clapboard factory explosion
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/22/2004 3:40:00 PM
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DAvid wrote
Does anyone know if the Wombleys clapboard factory explosion (
referenced in Tradition 4 in the 12&12 ) was an actual event, or just a
figure of speech.
I had a discussion with Ozzie Lepper who runs the Wison House in East
Dorset and he claims that the foundations of the clapboard factory can
still be seen.
Jim
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++++Message 1611. . . . . . . . . . . . Origin of Rule #62
From: timwarner1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/22/2004 3:19:00 PM
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Hi everybody,
First of all, please forgive me if this subject has been addressed
previously. I did use the search function in both the
AAHISTORYLOVERS and the AAHISTORYBUFFS groups, to no avail.
Could someone please point me to a description of the origin of our
beloved Rule #62? I'm almost positive that I heard Bill W. describe
the origins of this term on a speaker tape, but I can't for the life
of me remember which speech it was.
The more detail you could provide, the better. Thanks so much.
Yours,
Tim W.
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++++Message 1612. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Origin of Rule #62
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/23/2004 12:12:00 PM
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Hi Tim - Following are some published sources:
Not God, pg 107: This reference suggests that the 'super-promoter" sobered
up in early 1940. He first wrote to the Alcoholic Foundation outlining his
ideas and applying for a "super-charter." The letter on "rule #62" came
later after the ideas collapsed.
AA Grapevine, August 1952 on Tradition Four: This reference is the initial
version of the essay material later incorporated into the 12&12 and AA Comes
of Age. Bill's first editorial on (the long form of) Tradition Four, in the
March 1948 Grapevine, makes no mention of the rule #62 story.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, pgs 147-149: Published in 1953, this is
the generally accepted source of the story.
AA Comes of Age, pgs 103-104: Published in 1957, this version of the story
just mentions a "clapboard factory" and not "Wombley's Clapboard Factory" to
describe the collapse of the grandiose plan. This was part of Bill W's
Second Legacy talk at the historic 20th Anniversary Convention in St Louis,
MO.
The rule #62 story is an endearing one and I believe it sometimes
overshadows the central notion of Tradition Four that "every group has the
right to be wrong." One other thing, is that sometimes this Tradition
unfortunately gets interpreted as an all-too-convenient loophole to
arbitrarily ignore the principles embedded in the Traditions.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: timwarner1990
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 2:19 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Origin of Rule #62
Hi everybody,
First of all, please forgive me if this subject has been addressed
previously. I did use the search function in both the
AAHISTORYLOVERS and the AAHISTORYBUFFS groups, to no avail.
Could someone please point me to a description of the origin of our
beloved Rule #62? I'm almost positive that I heard Bill W. describe
the origins of this term on a speaker tape, but I can't for the life
of me remember which speech it was.
The more detail you could provide, the better. Thanks so much.
Yours,
Tim W.
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++++Message 1613. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob''s Last Drink
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/24/2004 3:21:00 AM
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The following question was received recently from Ted C. in Australia:
Subject: Dr Bob's Last Drink
Can anyone ascertain the EXACT date of Dr Bob's last drink.
Assuming the medical convention that he attended in June actually started on
the 10th, as reported on this forum, and given the travelling time back from
Atlantic City. Add to that the blackout that he had.(pp73-74 Dr Bob & the
GOT) etc., and considering that surgeons only operated on perhaps one day a
week, an exact date could be ascertained.
TedC
I sent him this response, but I do not think it has been previously posted:
This article is written by nationally recognized historian and oft-quoted
Alcoholics Anonymous archivist Mitchell K.
Dr. Bob's Last Drink
Bill W. had met a kindred spirit in Dr. Bob. Both men were born in Vermont,
both were intelligent and both were alcoholics. They somehow knew that
fateful evening in Henrietta Seiberling's Gatehouse home both of them were
going to be okay.
Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to
Atlantic City.
After a few weeks of working with each other and attempting to deliver the
message of recovery to other alcoholics Bill and Dr. Bob did not appear to
be discouraged. Despite their not being able to bring another rummy into the
fold -- they were staying sober. Quite a feat for Dr. Bob who had been
attending Oxford Group meetings even prior to getting together with Bill.
Dr. Bob was feeling so secure that he decided to attend a convention of the
American Medical Association. He had not missed a convention in 20 years and
did not plan on missing this one. Bob's wife, Anne was set against him
attending the convention. She remembered previous ones where he had gotten
drunk.
Dr. Bob assured her that he would not drink. He said that alcoholics, even
those who had stopped drinking, would have to begin to learn how to live in
the real world. She finally agreed and off he went.
Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to
Atlantic City. Once on the train Dr. Bob began to drink in earnest. He drank
all the way to Atlantic City, purchased more bottles prior to checking in to
the hotel. That was on a Sunday evening.
Dr. Bob stayed sober on Monday until after dinner. He then resumed his
drinking. Upon awakening Tuesday morning his drinking continued until noon.
He then realized that he was about to disgrace himself by showing up at the
convention drunk.
24-Hour Blackout
He decided to check out of the hotel and return home. He purchased more
alcohol on the way to the train depot. He waited for the train for a long
time and continued to drink. That was all he remembered until waking up in
the home of his office nurse and her husband back in Ohio.
In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the operation
Bill gave him a bottle of beer.
Dr. Bob's blackout lasted over 24 hours. There was a five-day period from
when Dr. Bob left for the convention to when the nurse called Anne and Bill.
They took Dr. Bob home and put him to bed. The detoxification process began
once again. That process usually lasted three days according to Bill. They
tapered Dr. Bob off of alcohol and fed him a diet of sauerkraut, tomato
juice and Karo Syrup.
Bill had remembered that in three days, Dr. Bob was scheduled to perform
surgery. On the day of the surgery, Dr. Bob had recovered sufficiently to go
to work. In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the
operation Bill gave him a bottle of beer. That was to be Dr. Bob's last
drink and the "official" Founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The operation was a success and Dr. Bob did not return home right after it.
Both Bill and Anne were concerned to say the least. They later found out,
after Dr. Bob had returned, that he was out making amends. Not drunk as they
may have surmised, but happy and sober. That date according to the AA
literature was June 10, 1935.
June 10, 1935, has been considered as AA's Founding Date for many years.
After all, it was the date Dr. Bob had his last drink -- or was it? Recently
discovered evidence appears to differ with the "official" literature.
The "Official" Date
The Archives of the American Medical Association reportedly show that their
convention in Atlantic City, in the year 1935 did not start until June 10th.
How could Dr. Bob have gone to the convention, by train -- check into a
hotel -- attend the convention on Monday -- check out on Tuesday -- be in a
blackout for 24 hours -- go through a three-day detoxification -- perform
surgery on the day of his last drink -- June 10, 1935?
It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or
about, June 17, 1935.
Five days had passed since Dr. Bob left for the convention and returned to
Akron. There was the three-day detoxification process and then there was the
day of the surgery. Approximately nine days had passed from when he left and
the date of his last drink.
If the records of the American Medical Association are in error as to the
date of their convention it is possible that June 10, 1935, was the date of
Dr. Bob's last drink. If the records are in error, the 1935 convention would
have been the only one in the history of the American Medical Association
that was listed with the wrong date.
It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or
about, June 17, 1935. Maybe AA should keep the June 10th date as a symbolic
Founding Date rather than claim it as the actual one? Maybe the date should
be changed to reflect historical accuracy?
Either way, Dr. Bob never drank again until his death, November 16, 1950.
Dr. Bob sponsored more than 5,000 AA members and left the legacy of his life
as an example. Dr. Bob told those he sponsored that there were three things
one had to do to keep sober:
TRUST GOD, CLEAN HOUSE, HELP OTHERS.
More will be revealed…
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++++Message 1614. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Dr. Bob''s Last Drink
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/24/2004 6:57:00 PM
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Hi Ted
The date of June 17 looks pretty compelling as Dr Bob's dry date. Barefoot Bill obtained confirmation from the AMA Archives in Chicago, IL that the 1935 Atlantic City, NJ Convention was held from Mon to Fri, June 10-14, 1935. Also, there is a graphic of the AMA convention program circulating on the web and it clearly indicates June 10-14. There are also good clues in the literature for a deduction.
*In AA Comes of Age (pgs 70-71*) Bill writes "So he [Dr Bob] went to the Atlantic City Medical Convention and nothing was heard of him for several days."
*In Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers (pgs 72-75)* it cites (with my editing for brevity)
Dr Bob ... began drinking … as he boarded the train to Atlantic City. On his arrival he bought several quarts on his way to the hotel. That was Sunday night. He stayed sober on Monday until after dinner... On Tuesday, Bob started drinking in the morning and … [checked out of the hotel]… The next thing he knew … he was … in the … home
of his office nurse... The blackout was certainly more than 24 hours long … Bill and Anne had waited for five days from the time Bob left before they heard from the nurse... She had picked him up that morning at the Akron railroad station...
As Bill and Sue remembered, there was a 3-day sobering up period... Upon Dr Bob's return, they had discovered that he was due to perform surgery 3 days later... At 4 o'clock on the morning of the operation [Bob] … said "I am going through with this...'' On the way to City Hospital ... Bill … gave him a beer…
*In the video Bill's Own Story,* Bill says he gave Dr Bob a beer and a "goofball" [a barbiturate] on the morning of the surgery. The same information is repeated in *Pass It On, pgs 147-149*.
See also *Not God, pgs 32-33.*
Estimate on the turn of events:
*June** Dr Bob*
09 Sunday Checked into Atlantic City Hotel (started drinking on the train on the way in)
10 Monday Stayed sober until after dinner
11 Tuesday Began drinking in the morning - later checked out of the hotel.
12 Wednesday Went into blackout (likely greater than 24 hours)
13 Thursday Blackout continues (may have arrived at Akron train station)
14 Friday Picked up by nurse in the morning at the train station
Then picked up by Bill at nurse's house (5 days after leaving)
Day 1 of 3-day dry out period
15 Saturday Day 2 of 3-day dry out period
16 Sunday Day 3 of 3-day dry out period
17 Monday Day of surgery - Bill gives Bob a beer and a goofball (3 days after Bob's return)
Cheers
Arthur
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: NMOlson@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2004 7:21 AM
Subject: Dr. Bob's Last Drink
The following question was received recently from Ted C. in Australia:
Subject: Dr Bob's Last Drink
Can anyone ascertain the *EXACT* date of Dr Bob's last drink.
Assuming the medical convention that he attended in June actually started on
the 10th, as reported on this forum, and given the travelling time back from
Atlantic City. Add to that the blackout that he had.(pp73-74 Dr Bob & the
GOT) etc., and considering that surgeons only operated on perhaps one day a
week, an exact date could be ascertained.
TedC
I sent him this response, but I do not think it has been previously posted:
This article is written by nationally recognized historian and oft-quoted
Alcoholics Anonymous archivist Mitchell K.
Dr. Bob's Last Drink
Bill W. had met a kindred spirit in Dr. Bob. Both men were born in Vermont,
both were intelligent and both were alcoholics. They somehow knew that
fateful
evening in Henrietta Seiberling's Gatehouse home both of them were going to
be
okay.
Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to
Atlantic City.
After a few weeks of working with each other and attempting to deliver the
message of recovery to other alcoholics Bill and Dr. Bob did not appear to
be
discouraged. Despite their not being able to bring another rummy into the
fold
-- they were staying sober. Quite a feat for Dr. Bob who had been attending
Oxford Group meetings even prior to getting together with Bill.
Dr. Bob was feeling so secure that he decided to attend a convention of the
American Medical Association. He had not missed a convention in 20 years and
did not plan on missing this one. Bob's wife, Anne was set against him
attending the convention. She remembered previous ones where he had gotten
drunk.
Dr. Bob assured her that he would not drink. He said that alcoholics, even
those who had stopped drinking, would have to begin to learn how to live in
the
real world. She finally agreed and off he went.
Dr. Bob kept his promise to Anne. That is, until he boarded the train to
Atlantic City. Once on the train Dr. Bob began to drink in earnest. He drank
all the way to Atlantic City, purchased more bottles prior to checking in to
the hotel. That was on a Sunday evening.
Dr. Bob stayed sober on Monday until after dinner. He then resumed his
drinking.
Upon awakening Tuesday morning his drinking continued until noon. He then
realized that he was about to disgrace himself by showing up at the
convention
drunk.
24-Hour Blackout
He decided to check out of the hotel and return home. He purchased more
alcohol
on the way to the train depot. He waited for the train for a long time and
continued to drink. That was all he remembered until waking up in the home
of
his office nurse and her husband back in Ohio.
In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the operation
Bill
gave him a bottle of beer.
Dr. Bob's blackout lasted over 24 hours. There was a five-day period from
when
Dr. Bob left for the convention to when the nurse called Anne and Bill. They
took Dr. Bob home and put him to bed. The detoxification process began once
again. That process usually lasted three days according to Bill. They
tapered
Dr. Bob off of alcohol and fed him a diet of sauerkraut, tomato juice and
Karo
Syrup.
Bill had remembered that in three days, Dr. Bob was scheduled to perform
surgery. On the day of the surgery, Dr. Bob had recovered sufficiently to go
to
work. In order to insure the steadiness of Dr. Bob's hands during the
operation
Bill gave him a bottle of beer. That was to be Dr. Bob's last drink and the
"official"
Founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The operation was a success and Dr. Bob did not return home right after it.
Both Bill and Anne were concerned to say the least. They later found out,
after
Dr. Bob had returned, that he was out making amends. Not drunk as they may
have
surmised, but happy and sober. That date according to the AA literature was
June 10, 1935.
June 10, 1935, has been considered as AA's Founding Date for many years.
After
all, it was the date Dr. Bob had his last drink -- or was it? Recently
discovered evidence appears to differ with the "official" literature.
The "Official" Date
The Archives of the American Medical Association reportedly show that their
convention in Atlantic City, in the year 1935 did not start until June 10th.
How could Dr. Bob have gone to the convention, by train -- check into a
hotel
-- attend the convention on Monday -- check out on Tuesday -- be in a
blackout
for 24 hours -- go through a three-day detoxification -- perform surgery on
the
day of his last drink -- June 10, 1935?
It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or
about,
June 17, 1935.
Five days had passed since Dr. Bob left for the convention and returned to
Akron. There was the three-day detoxification process and then there was the
day of the surgery. Approximately nine days had passed from when he left and
the date of his last drink.
If the records of the American Medical Association are in error as to the
date
of their convention it is possible that June 10, 1935, was the date of Dr.
Bob's last drink. If the records are in error, the 1935 convention would
have
been the only one in the history of the American Medical Association that
was
listed with the wrong date.
It now appears that the date of Dr. Bob's last drink was probably on, or
about,
June 17, 1935. Maybe AA should keep the June 10th date as a symbolic
Founding
Date rather than claim it as the actual one? Maybe the date should be
changed
to reflect historical accuracy?
Either way, Dr. Bob never drank again until his death, November 16, 1950.
Dr.
Bob sponsored more than 5,000 AA members and left the legacy of his life as
an
example. Dr. Bob told those he sponsored that there were three things one
had
to do to keep sober:
TRUST GOD, CLEAN HOUSE, HELP OTHERS.
More will be revealed…
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++++Message 1615. . . . . . . . . . . . Closing statement
From: friendofbillw89 . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/25/2004 10:01:00 PM
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IN my area we have a closing statement that reads in part...*let
there be no gossip or criticism of another, Instead let the love of
the fellowship grow inside you one day at a time.*
I cannot remember the whole closing statement offhand and could not
find anything in the archives.
Where did that closing originate and can I find a copy or link online?
Nisa
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++++Message 1616. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Closing statement
From: Judi . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2004 8:15:00 AM
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check with al-anon, thats the closing they use here. judi
friendofbillw89 wrote:
IN my area we have a closing statement tha reads in part...*let
there be no gossip or criticsm of another, Instead let the love of
the fellowship grow inside you one day at a time.*
I cannot remember the whole closing statement offhand and could not
find anything in the archives.
Where did that closing originate and can I find a copy or link online?
Nisa
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++++Message 1617. . . . . . . . . . . . When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
From: soomedrunk . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/24/2004 11:50:00 PM
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Hi all,
When and how did the break from the Oxford Group take place.
Was there a specific meeting that occured? How did it happen?
Does that mean there is a meeting that can be said to be the 1st
actual AA meeting? Was there a problem or a fight that caused the
break?
Please help with this.
Most respectfully,
Eric
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++++Message 1618. . . . . . . . . . . . serenity prayer
From: NORMANSOBRIETY@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/24/2004 10:49:00 PM
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Dear All,
I have just read the SERENITY PRAYER BY ELISABETH SIFTON.
Does anyone know if it was a AA member that changed the Serenity prayer as
we know it today. The original Serenity Prayer is:
GOD GIVE US GRACE, TO ACCEPT WITH SERENITY THE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE
CHANGED, COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CHANGED, AND THE WISDOM
TO DISTINGUISH THE ONE FROM THE OTHER.
Does anyone know where the second part of the serenity prayer came from as
it is not mentioned in the book.
Yours in the fellowship
Norrie F. Oban Sunday Scotland UK
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++++Message 1619. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2004 12:21:00 PM
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This message came from Richard K. It had a typo in it which would have been
misleading, so I have corrected the typo and forward it to the group.
Nancy
The break came in stages. The first break came in New York, in
1937. Bill Wilson oftentimes gave several reasons for the split, as
I've heard in countless tapes during the 1940s and 1950s. However, his wife
Lois was more to the point: " (the) Oxford Group kind of kicked us out."
(Pass It On, p. 174)
The break in Akron came in two phases. Cleveland pioneer Clarence Snyder was
vying to get his Catholic prospects into the group. But these folks were
receiving some static from their churches. Chief among the problems was the
Oxford Group practice of (open) group confession. They were facing quite the
dilemma: either leave the Akron alcoholic group and remain in their
parishes, or continue with the group and face excommunication. Clarence had
a meeting with Dr. Bob on May 10, 1939, and announced that his Cleveland
contingent were longer to be coming down to Akron, and that they would begin
a group in Cleveland "for alcoholics and their families only." (Mitchell K,
"How It Worked: The Stroy of Clarence H. Snyder")
The date of this first meeting was May 11, 1935 [correction, 1939] at 2345
Stillman Road, Cleveland Heights. Clarence stated that this group would be
called Alcoholics Anonymous, after the title of the newly-released book.
This has been recognized in some quarters as the first "AA meeting."
Dr. Bob was intensely loyal to the Akron Oxford Groupers who had helped them
in AA's formative years (T. Henry and Clarace Williams, Henrietta
Seiberling, et al.). Exactly when the final split occurred is open to
debate. Most historians point to late 1939 - January 1940. Dr. Bob never
elaborated on the actual facts pertaining to the split, and not much had
been recorded. Letters do exist that confirm 74 members meeting at Dr. Bob's
home at Ardmore Avenue on the last Wednesday of 1939, and by 1940 they were
gathering at the King School.
Regards,
Richard K.
Haverhill, MA
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++++Message 1620. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2004 4:39:00 PM
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Hi,
I actually discussed the Oxford Group break with Bill. He gave 1937 as
the time of the break in New York and 1939 as the time in Akron. But he
quickly said that the Akron people stayed with the Oxford Group only because
of the help they were getting from T. Henry and Clarace Williams,
nonalcoholic Oxford Groupers who had provided the use of their fine home for
Wednesday night meetings of alcoholics.
I think the New York break came because the O.G. people had become
critical of Bill, and Sam Shoemaker's assistant pastor had gone out of his
way to knock them. The Akron people began finding the Oxford Group
connection unsatisfactory, and some of this may have been due to the Oxford
Group's growing public relations problems. (Frank Buchman, the O.G.
founder, had committed a terrible P.R. blunder in a 1936 newspaper
interview.) When the Akron people finally did break, in late 1939, Dr. Bob
described it to Bill as getting out from under their yoke, which suggests
that the alcoholics had become unhappy with the arrangement. They then met
in Dr. Bob's house for a short time before going to King's School. Bob told
Bill they had 75 in his house for a meeting. If you ever visit the house in
Akron, you'll be amazed that they could squeeze 75 in there!
I explain much of this in my book "New Wine," which is published by
Hazelden (if it's permissible to say so!).
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "soomedrunk"
Sent: Saturday, January 24, 2004 11:50 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
> Hi all,
>
> When and how did the break from the Oxford Group take place.
>
> Was there a specific meeting that occured? How did it happen?
>
> Does that mean there is a meeting that can be said to be the 1st
> actual AA meeting? Was there a problem or a fight that caused the
> break?
>
> Please help with this.
>
> Most respectfully,
> Eric
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++++Message 1621. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Closing statement
From: CBBB164@AOL.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2004 10:25:00 AM
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The subject phrase can be found in the suggested closing for Al-Anon
meetings.
http://home.bham.rr.com/therealmuddy/Meeting%20closing.txt
In God's love and service,
Cliff Bishop -
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++++Message 1622. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/26/2004 8:57:00 PM
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Hi
Eric
The
short answer is: NY broke away in Aug 1937 and Cleveland/Akron broke away in
May/Oct 1939.
A much longer answer
follows (it turned into an essay).
I
got the impression you are looking for all the info you can get on the
Oxford
Group.
*Sources (with
page number references)*
AABB _Alcoholics Anonymous_,
the Big Book, AAWS
AACOA _AA Comes of Age_, AAWS
AGAA _The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics
Anonymous_, by Dick B (soft cover)
BW-RT _Bill W_ by Robert
Thompson (soft cover)
BW-FH _Bill W_ by Francis
Hartigan (hard cover)
BW-40 _Bill W_ *My First 40 Years*,
autobiography (hard cover)
DBGO _Dr Bob and the Good Old-timers_,
AAWS
EBBY _Ebby the Man Who Sponsored Bill W_
by Mel B (soft cover)
GB _Getting Better Inside Alcoholics
Anonymous_ by Nan Robertson (soft cover)
GTBT _Grateful to Have Been There_by Nell Wing (soft cover)
LOH _The Language of the Heart_,
AA Grapevine Inc.
LR _Lois Remembers_, by
Lois Wilson
NG _Not God_, by Ernest
Kurtz (expanded edition, soft cover)
NW _New Wine_, by Mel B
(soft cover)
PIO _Pass It On_, AAWS
RAA _The Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous_,by Bill Pittman, nee _AA the
Way It Began_
(soft cover)
SI _Sister Ignatia_, by
Mary C Darrah (soft cover)
www Web
search (typically using Google search engine)
*1908*
Jul.,
Frank N D Buchman arrived in England to attend the Keswick Convention of
evangelicals. After hearing a sermon by a woman evangelist, Jessie
Penn-Lewis,
he experienced a profound spiritual surrender and later helped another
attendee
to go through the same experience. His experiences became the key to the
rest
of his life's work. Returning to the US, he started his 'laboratory years''
working out the principles he would later apply on a global scale. (NG 9, NW
32-45, PIO 130)
*1918*
Jan.,
Frank Buchman met Sam Shoemaker in Peking (now Beijing) China. Shoemaker had
a
spiritual conversion experience and became a devoted member of Buchman's
_First Century Christian Fellowship_. (NW
29, 47-52, RAA 117-118, AGAA 209)
*1921*
Frank
Buchman was invited to visit Cambridge, England. His movement _The First
Century Christian Fellowship_
would later become the _Oxford Group_
and receive wide publicity during the 1920's and 1930's. Core principles
consisted of the 'four absolutes'' (of honesty, unselfishness, purity and
love -
believed to be derived from scripture in the Sermon on the Mount).
Additionally
the OG advocated the 'five C's'' (confidence, confession, conviction,
conversion
and continuance) and 'five procedures'' (1. Give in to God, 2. Listen to
God's
direction, 3. Check guidance, 4. Restitution and 5. Sharing - for witness
and
confession). (DBGO 53-55, CH 3) (GB 45 states Buchman dated the founding and
name of the OG when he met with undergraduates from Christ Church College of
Oxford U).
*1922*
Frank
Buchman resigned his job at the Hartford Theological Seminary to pursue a
wider
calling. Over the next few years, he worked mostly in universities
(Princeton,
Oxford and Cambridge). During the economic depression, students
(particularly
in Oxford) responded to his approach and were ordained ministers. Others
gave
all their time to working with him. (www)
*1928*
Summer,
a group of Rhodes Scholars returned home to S. Africa, from Oxford U,
England
to tell how their lives changed through meeting Frank Buchman. A railway
employee labeled their train compartment _The
Oxford Group_. The press took it up and the name stuck (the name _First
Century Christian Fellowship_ faded).
(RAA 120, www)
*1931*
Rowland
H (age 50) was treated by Dr. Carl
Gustav Jung in Zurich, Switzerland. It is believed that he was a patient for
about a year, sobered up and then returned to drinking. Treated a second
time
by Jung, Rowland was told that there was no medical or psychological hope
for
an alcoholic of his type; that his only hope was a vital spiritual or
religious
experience - in short a genuine conversion experience. Bill W later wrote
that
this was 'the first in the chain of events that led to the founding of AA.''
(NW
11-19, NG 8-9, EBBY 59, LOH 277)
Dec.,
Russell (Bud) Firestone (alcoholic son of Akron, OH business magnate Harvey
Firestone Sr.) was introduced to Sam Shoemaker by James Newton on a train
returning from an Episcopal conference in Denver, CO. Newton was a prominent
Oxford Group member and an executive at Firestone. Bud, who was drinking a
fifth or more of whiskey a day, spiritually surrendered with Shoemaker and
was
released from his alcohol obsession. Bud joined the OG and became an active
member (but later returned to drinking). (NW 15, 65, AGAA 8-9, 32-36)
*1932*
Rowland
H found sobriety through the spiritual practices of the Oxford Group (it is
not
clear whether this occurred in Europe or the US - and it could have occurred
in
1931). Rowland was a dedicated OG member in NY, VT and upper MA and a
prominent
member of the Calvary Episcopal Church in NYC. He later moved to Shaftsbury,
VT. (NW 10-19, NG 8-9, PIO 113-114, AGAA 28, 141-144, LOH 277-278, www)
*1933*
Jan.,
Harvey Firestone Sr. (grateful for help given his son Bud) sponsored an
Oxford
Group conference weekend (DBGO says 10-day house party) headquartered at the
Mayflower Hotel in Akron, OH. Frank Buchman and 30 members (DBGO says 60) of
his team were met at the train station by the Firestones and Rev Walter
Tunks
(Firestone's minister and rector of St Paul's Episcopal Church). The event
included 300 overseas members of the OG and received widespread news
coverage.
The event attracted Henrietta Sieberling, T Henry and Clarace Williams and
Anne
Smith. (NW 65-67, CH 2, DBGO 55, AGAA 9, 37-51, 71)
Early,
Anne Smith attended meetings of the Oxford Group with her friend Henrietta
Sieberling (whose marriage to J Frederick Sieberling was crumbling). Anne
later
persuaded Dr Bob to attend. The meetings were held on Thursday nights at the
West Hill group. (NW 67-68, SI 32, 34, DBGO 53-60, CH 2-3, 28-29) Beer had
become legal and Dr Bob previously went through a beer-drinking phase ('the
beer experiment''). It was not long before he was drinking a case and a half
a
day fortifying the beer with straight alcohol. In his Big Book story, Bob
says
that this was around the time when he was introduced to the OG. He
participated
in the OG for 2 ˝ years before meeting Bill. (DBGO 42, AABB 177-178, NW 62)
*1934*
Jul.,
Ebby T was approached in Manchester, VT by his friends Cebra G (an attorney)
and F Sheppard (Shep) C (a NY stockbroker). Both were Oxford Group members
who
had done considerable drinking with Ebby and were abstaining from drinking.
They informed Ebby of the OG in VT but he was not quite ready yet to stop
drinking. (EBBY 51-55, PIO 113)
Aug,
Cebra G and Shep C vacationed at Rowland H's house in Bennington, VT. Cebra
learned that Ebby T was about to be committed to Brattleboro Asylum. Cebra,
Shep and Rowland decided to make Ebby 'a project.'' (NG 309)
Aug.,
Rowland H and Cebra G persuaded a VT court judge (who
happened to be Cebra's father Collins) to parole Ebby T into their custody.
Ebby had first met Rowland only shortly before. In the fall, Rowland took
Ebby
to NYC where he sobered up with the help of the Oxford Group at the Calvary
Mission. (RAA 151, AACOA vii, NW 20-21, 26, EBBY 52-59, NG 9-10, PIO 115,
AGAA
155-156)
Nov
(late), Ebby T, while staying at the Calvary Mission and working with the
Oxford Group, heard about Bill W's problems with drinking. He phoned Lois
who
invited him over for dinner. (EBBY 66)
Nov.
(late), Ebby visited Bill W at 182 Clinton St and shared his recovery
experience "one alcoholic talking to another.'' (AACOA vii, 58-59) A few
days later, Ebby returned with Shep C. They spoke to Bill about the Oxford
Group. Bill did not think too highly of Shep. Lois recalled that Ebby
visited
several times, once even staying for dinner. (AACOA vii, NG 17-18, 31`,
BW-FH
57-58, NW 22-23, PIO 111-116, BW-RT 187-192)
Dec.
7, Bill W decided to investigate the Calvary Mission on 23rd St. He
showed up drunk with a drinking companion found along the way (Alec the
Finn).
Bill kept interrupting the service wanting to speak. On the verge of being
ejected, Ebby came by and fed Bill a plate of beans. Bill later joined the
penitents and drunkenly 'testified'' at the meeting. (AACOA 59-60, BW-40
136-137, NG 18-19, BW-FH 60, NW 23, PIO 116-119, BW-RT 193-196, AGAA
156-159,
EBBY 66-69)
Dec.
11, Bill W (age 39) decided to go back to Towns Hospital and had his last
drink
(four bottles of beer purchased on the way). He got financial help from his
mother, Emily, for the hospital bill. (AACOA 61-62, LOH 197, RAA 152, NG 19,
311, NW 23, PIO 119-120, GB 31).
Dec.
14, Ebby visited Bill W at Towns Hospital and told him about the Oxford
Group
principles. After Ebby left, Bill fell into a deep depression (his
'deflation
at depth'') and had a profound spiritual
experience after crying out 'If there be a God, will he show himself.'' Dr.
Silkworth later assured Bill he was not crazy and told him to hang on to
what
he had found. In a lighter vein, Bill and others would later refer to this
as
his 'white flash'' or 'hot flash'' experience. (AABB 13-14, AACOA vii, 13,
BW-40
141-148, NG 19-20, NW 23-24, PIO 120-124, GTBT 111, LOH 278-279)
Dec
15, Ebby brought Bill W a copy of William James' book _The Varieties of
Religious Experience_. Some
references indicate that it may have been Rowland H who gave Bill the book.
(AGAA 142) Bill was deeply inspired
by the book. It revealed three key points for recovery: [1] calamity or
complete defeat in some vital area of life (hitting bottom), [2] admission
of
defeat (acceptance) and [3] appeal to a higher power for help (surrender).
The
book strongly influenced early AAs and is cited in the Big Book. (AACOA
62-64,
LOH 279, EBBY 70, SI 26, BW-40 150-152, NG 20-24, 312-313, NW 24-25, PIO
124-125, GTBT 111-112, AABB 28)
Dec.
18, Bill W left Towns Hospital and began working with drunks. He and Lois
attended Oxford Group meetings with Ebby T and Shep C at Calvary House. The
Rev
Sam Shoemaker was the rector at the Calvary Church (the OG's US
headquarters).
The church was on 4th Ave (now Park Ave) and 21st St. Calvary
House (where OG meetings were usually held) was at 61 Gramercy Park. Calvary
Mission was located at 346 E 23rd St. (AABB 14-16, AACOA vii, LR
197, BW-40 155-160, NG 24-25, PIO 127, GB 32-33, AGAA 144)
Dec
(late), after Oxford Group meetings, Bill W and other OG alcoholics met at
Stewart's Cafeteria near the Calvary Mission. Attendees included Rowland H
and
Ebby T. (BW-RT 207, BW-40 160, AAGA 141-142, NG 314)
*1935*
Early,
Bill W worked with alcoholics at the Calvary Mission and Towns Hospital,
emphasizing his "hot flash" spiritual experience. Alcoholic Oxford
Group members began meeting at his home on Clinton St. Bill had no success
sobering up others. (AACOA vii, AABB, BW-FH 69, PIO 131-133)
Mar./Apr.,
Henrietta Sieberling encouraged by her friend Delphine Weber, organized a
Wednesday-night Oxford Group meeting at T Henry and Clarace Williams' house
on
676 Palisades Dr. The meeting was started specifically to help Dr Bob who
later
confessed openly about his drinking problem. OG meetings continued at the
William's house until 1954. (DBGO
Apr.,
Bill W returned to Wall St and was introduced to Howard Tompkins of the firm
Baer and Co. Tompkins was involved in a proxy fight to take over control of
the
National Rubber Machinery Co. based in Akron, OH. (BW-RT 211, NG 26, BW-FH
74,
PIO 133-134, GB 33)
May,
Bill W went to Akron but the proxy fight was quickly lost. He remained
behind
at the Mayflower Hotel very discouraged. (BW-RT 212, PIO 134-135)
May
11, (AGAA says May 10) Bill W, in poor spirits,
and tempted to enter the Mayflower Hotel bar, realized he needed another
alcoholic. He telephoned members of the clergy listed on the lobby
directory.
He reached the Rev. Walter Tunks who referred him to Norman Sheppard who
then
referred him to Henrietta Sieberling (47 years old and an Oxford Group
adherent). Bill introduced himself as 'a member of the OG and a rum hound
from
NY.'' Henrietta met with Bill at her gatehouse (Stan Hywet Hall) on the
Sieberling estate. She arranged a dinner meeting the next day with Dr Bob
and
Anne. (AACOA 65-67, SI 21, BW-RT 212-213, DBGO 60, 63-67, NG 26-28, PIO
134-138,
GB 19) Note: some stories say that when Henrietta called Anne, Dr Bob was
passed out under the kitchen table. He was upstairs in bed.
May
12, Mother's Day - Bill W (age 39) met Dr Bob
(age 55) Anne and their young son Bob (age 17) at Henrietta Sieberling's
gatehouse at 5PM. Dr Bob, too hung over to eat dinner, planned to stay only
15
minutes. Privately, in the library, Bill told Bob of his alcoholism
experience
in the manner suggested by Dr Silkworth. Bob opened up and he and Bill
talked
until after 11PM. (AACOA vii, 67-70, BW-RT 214-215, DBGO 66-69, NG 28-32,
BW-FH
4, GB 21)
May,
Bill W wrote a letter to Lois saying that he and Dr Bob tried in vain to
sober
up a 'once prominent surgeon'' who developed into a 'terrific rake and
drunk.''
Henrietta Sieberling arranged for Bill to stay at the Portage Country Club.
(DBGO 70, 77)
Jun.,
Bill W moved to Dr Bob's house at the request of Anne Smith. Bill insisted
on
keeping two bottles of liquor in the kitchen to prove that he and Bob could
live in the presence of liquor. Both worked with alcoholics and went to
Oxford
Group meetings on Wednesday nights at the home of T Henry and Clarace
Williams.
T Henry lost his job due to the proxy fight that brought Bill to Akron.
(AACOA
141, NW 68-69, 73, DBGO 70-71, 99-102, PIO 145-147, AGAA 186, NG 317)
Favored
Scripture readings at meetings were _The
Sermon on the Mount, First_ _Corinthians
Chapter 13 and the Book of James_. (AAGA 193, 208-209, 253) (GTBT
95-96 says that meetings were held at Dr Bob's house and moved to the
Williams'
house in late 1936 or early 1937)
Aug.
26, Bill W returned to NYC. Meetings were held at his house at 182 Clinton
St
on Tues. nights. His home also became a halfway house, of sorts, for drunks.
(AACOA 74, BW-RT 225, PIO 160-162, GTBT 96, GB 51, AGAA 145)
*1936*
Bill
W's efforts in working only with alcoholics were criticized by NY Oxford
Group
members. Similarly, in Akron, T Henry and Clarace Williams were criticized
as
well by OG members who were not supportive of their efforts being extended
primarily to alcoholics. (NG 44-45, NW 73, AGAA 76)
Aug.
26, Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group experienced an international public
relations disaster. A _NY World Telegram_
article by William H Birnie, quoted Buchman as saying, 'I thank heaven for a
man like Adolph Hitler, who built a front-line of defense against the
anti-Christ of Communism.'' Although the remark was taken out of context in
its
reporting, it would plague Buchman's reputation for many years. It marked
the
beginning of the decline of the OG. (NW 30, 96, DBGO 155, BW-FH 96, PIO
170-171, GB 53, AGAA 161)
*1937*
Early,
Bill W and Lois attended a major Oxford Group house party at the Hotel
Thayer
in West Point, NY. For the previous 2 ˝ years they had been attending two OG
meetings a week. (NW 89)
Late
spring, leaders of the Oxford Group at the Calvary Mission ordered
alcoholics
staying there not to attend meetings at Clinton St. Bill W and Lois were
criticized by OG members for having 'drunks only'' meetings at their home.
The
Wilson's were described as 'not maximum'' (an OG term for those believed to
be
lagging in their devotion to OG principles). (EBBY 75, LR 103, BW-RT 231, NG
45, NW 89-91)
Aug.,
Bill and Lois stopped attending Oxford Group meetings. The NY AAs separated
from the OG. (LR 197, AACOA vii, 74-76)
*1938*
Nations
of the world armed for World War II and Frank Buchman called for a 'moral
and
spiritual re-armament'' to address the root causes of the conflict. He
renamed
the _Oxford Group_ to _Moral Re-Armament_. (www, NW 44)
*1939*
May
10, Led by pioneer member Clarence S (whose Big Book story is _Home
Brewmeister_) the Cleveland, OH group
met separately from Akron and the Oxford Group at the home of Albert (Abby)
G (whose
Big Book story is _He Thought He Could Drink
Like a Gentleman_). This was the first group to call itself _Alcoholics
Anonymous_. The Clevelanders
still sent their most difficult cases to Dr Bob in Akron for treatment.
(AACOA
19-21, NW 94, SI 35, DBGO 161-168, NG 78-79, PIO 224, AGAA 4, 201, 242).
Oct.
late, (AACOA viii says summer) Akron members of the 'alcoholic squad''
withdrew
from the Oxford Group and held meetings at Dr Bob's house. It was a painful
separation due to the great affection the alcoholic members had toward T
Henry
and Clarace Williams. (NW 93-94, SI 35, DBGO 212-219, NG 81, GTBT 123, AGAA
8-10, 188, 243)
*1941*
Nov.,
Dr. Sam Shoemaker left the Oxford Group (then called _
italic;">Moral Re-Armament_) and formed a fellowship named _Faith at Work._
MRA was asked to completely
vacate the premises at Calvary House. Shoemaker's dispute with Buchman was
amplified in the press. (EBBY 75-76, AAGA 161, 244)
*1949*
Jul.
14, in a letter to the Rev Sam Shoemaker Bill W wrote 'So far as I am
concerned, and Dr Smith too, the Oxford Group seeded AA. It was our
spiritual
wellspring at the beginning.'' (AGAA 137)
*1961*
Frank
N D Buchman died. _Moral Re-Armament_
had declined significantly in numbers and influence and became headquartered
in
Caux, Switzerland. (NW 45, 97-98) A month after Buchman's death Bill W wrote
to
a friend regretting that he did not write to Buchman acknowledging his
contributions to the AA movement. (PIO 386-387)
*2002*
Apr.,
MRA changed its name to _Initiatives of
Change_. (www)
The
role of the Oxford Group is an interesting and significant one. I get a
sense
that the underlying tension occurred because the Oxford Group was out to
save
the world and Bill was primarily focused on saving drunks.
The
OG influence in Akron appeared much stronger and orthodox even though the
Calvary Church in NY was the OG US headquarters. Dick B has written books
that
are very informative in providing insight on the OG's influence on AA. One
of
the books, _Anne Smith's
Journal 1933-1939_, is a particularly interesting read.
Cheers
Arthur
*From:* soomedrunk
*Sent:* Saturday, January 24, 2004 10:51 PM
*Subject:* When did the break from Oxford Groups take place
Hi all,
When and how did the break from the Oxford Group
take place.
Was there a specific meeting that occured? How did
it happen?
Does that mean there is a meeting that can be said
to be the 1st
actual AA meeting? Was there a problem or a fight
that caused the
break?
Please help with this.
Most respectfully,
Eric
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++++Message 1623. . . . . . . . . . . . Oxford Groups -> Initiatives of Change
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/27/2004 11:28:00 PM
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Where did our ancestor the Oxford Groups go? They became Moral
Rearmament which was also called MRA. They're still around
today trying to "remake the world." As of 2001, MRA became
Initiatives of Change. I quote:
NAME CHANGE 2001
With the approach of the new millennium, there
is world-wide recognition that the words
'moral re-armament' no longer hold the same
resonance as they did in 1938. In 2001 the
new name Initiatives of Change (IC) is
announced to the world's media by the Caux
President, Dr Cornelia Sommaruga (former
President of the international Red Cross),
and Professor Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of
the Mahatma.
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++++Message 1624. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: serenity prayer
From: J. Lobdell . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/27/2004 8:59:00 AM
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The book is inaccurate (and perhaps tendentious) in its dating the prayer
1943 as it was already in existence by 1941 and (by Dr. Niebuhr's testimony)
in the 1930s. Nor can Mrs Sifton's 1943 revision be counted as the original
wording.
>From: NORMANSOBRIETY@aol.com
>Reply-To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] serenity prayer
>Date: Sun, 25 Jan 2004 03:49:49 EST
>
>Dear All,
>
> I have just read the SERENITY PRAYER BY ELISABETH SIFTON.
>Does anyone know if it was a AA member that changed the Serenity prayer as
we
>know it today. The original Serenity Prayer is:
>GOD GIVE US GRACE, TO ACCEPT WITH SERENITY THE THINGS THAT CANNOT BE
CHANGED,
>COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS THAT SHOULD BE CHANGED, AND THE WISDOM TO
>DISTINGUISH THE ONE FROM THE OTHER.
>Does anyone know where the second part of the serenity prayer came from as
it
>is not mentioned in the book.
>
> Yours in the fellowship
>
> Norrie F. Oban Sunday
>Scotland UK
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++++Message 1627. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Back to Basics
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/29/2004 11:44:00 AM
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AA's Forgotten Beginning - The Alcoholics Anonymous "Beginners' Classes"
(Facts and thoughts transcribed from a talk given by Wally P. on 11/23/96 in
Mesa, Arizona. Wally is the author of the book "Back To Basics: The
Alcoholics
Anonymous Beginners' Meetings, 'Here are the steps we took...' in Four
One-Hour
Sessions".)
Initial growth in Alcoholics Anonymous took place in Cleveland, Ohio.
Clarence
S. and the guys went out actively pursuing drunks and brought them off bar
stools and street corners. We don't do that today, but we were doing it back
then [late 1930's and 1940's]. And it worked!
In early 1940, when there were about 1,000 members of AA, more than half
were
from Cleveland. The book 'AA Comes of Age' talks about it on pages 20 and
21:
"It was soon evident that a scheme of personal sponsorship would have to be
devised for the new people. Each prospect was assigned an older AA, who
visited
him at his home or in the hospital, instructed him on AA principles, and
conducted him to his first meeting." So even back in the early days the
sponsor
was taking the sponsee to meetings and getting together with him, rather
than
having the sponsee track the sponsor down. 'AA Comes of Age' continues by
saying, "But in the face of many hundreds of pleas for help, the supply of
elders could not possibly match the demand. Brand-new AA's, sober only a
month
or even a week, had to sponsor alcoholics still drying up in hospitals."
Because
of this rapid growth in Cleveland, the idea of formalized classes started.
In
the book 'Dr. Bob and the Good Old-timers' it states on page 261, "Yes,
Cleveland's results were the best. Their results were in fact so good that
many
a Clevelander really though AA had started there in the first place." Over
half
of the fellowship was from Cleveland up and through the mid-1940s.
During the winter of 1941 the Crawford Group (founded in February 1941)
organized a separate group to help newcomers through the Steps. By the first
issue of the Cleveland Central Bulletin, October 1942, the Crawford
"Beginners'
Class" was listed as a separate meeting. And in the second issue, in
November
1942, there was an article entitled "Crawford Men's Training". This refers
to
possibly the first "Beginners' Class". "The Crawford Men's Training System
has
been highly acclaimed to many. Old AA's are asked to come to these meetings
with
or without new prospects, where new prospects will be given individual
attention
just as though they were in a hospital. Visiting a prospect in his home has
always been handicapped by interruptions. But the prospect not daring to
unburden himself completely for fear of being overheard by his relatives and
by
the AA's reticence for the same reason. Hospitalization without question is
the
ideal answer to where the message will be most effective; but the Crawford
training plan strikes us as being the next best."
In the early days they weren't sure if you could get sober if you didn't go
to
treatment. That was one of the early questions - could a person get sober
without going to a three or five-day detox. Because it was during that detox
that sometimes ten and twenty AA members came to visit the new person. And
each
hour the prospect was awake he would hear someone's story - over and over
again.
And something gelled during these hospital stays. But they were trying to do
it
outside of the hospital and this is where the first of the classes came
from.
These classes continued at Euclid Avenue Meeting Hall through June 1943 and
at
that time the Central Bulletin announced a second session - "The Miles
Training
Meeting". The bulletin read, "The Miles Group reports they have enjoyed
unusual
success with their training meetings. The newcomer is not permitted to
attend a
regular AA meeting until he has been given a thorough knowledge of the
work."
The newcomer couldn't go to a meeting until he completed the training
session. A
lot of places didn't allow you to go to AA meetings until you had taken the
four
classes. You didn't just sit there - you had already completed the steps
when
you went to your first AA meeting. "From 15 to 20 participate at each
training
meeting and new members are thoroughly indoctrinated."
These meetings grew and spread and visitors came from out of town and out of
state. In 1943 the Northwest Group in Detroit, Michigan standardized the
classes
into four sessions. "In June 1943 a group of members proposed the idea of a
separate discussion meeting to more advantageously present the Twelve Steps
of
the recovery program to the new affiliates. The decision was made to hold a
Closed Meeting for alcoholics only for this purpose. The first discussion
meeting of the Northwest Group was held on Monday night June 14, 1943 and
has
been held every Monday night without exception thereafter (as of 1948). A
plan
of presentation of the Twelve Steps of the recovery program was developed at
this meeting. The plan consisted of dividing the Twelve Steps into four
categories for easier study." The divisions were:
1. The Admission
2. Spiritual
3. Restitution and Inventory
4. Working and the message
"Each division came to be discussed on each succeeding Monday night in
rotation.
This method was so successful that it was adopted first by other groups in
Detroit and then throughout the United States. Finally the format was
published
in it's entirety by the Washington, DC Group in a pamphlet entitled 'An
Interpretation of our Twelve Steps." The first pamphlet was published in
1944
and contains the following introduction: "Meetings are held for the purpose
of
aquatinting both the old and new members with the Twelve Steps on which our
Program is based. So that all Twelve Steps may be covered in a minimum of
time
they are divided into four classifications. One evening each week will be
devoted to each of the four subdivisions. Thus, in one month a new man can
get
the bases of our Twelve Suggested Steps." This pamphlet was reproduced many
times in Washington, DC and then throughout the country and is even still
being
printed in some areas today.
In the Fall of 1944, a copy of the Washington, DC pamphlet reached Barry C.
-
one of the AA pioneers in Minneapolis. He wrote a letter to the New York
headquarters requesting permission to distribute the pamphlet. We talk about
"Conference Approved Literature" today; but this is the way the Fellowship
operated back then. This is a letter from Bobby B., Bill W.'s secretary,
printed
on "Alcoholic Foundation" stationary. This is what she says: "The Washington
pamphlet, like the new Cleveland one, and a host of others, are all local
projects. We do not actually approve or disapprove these local pieces. By
that I
mean the Foundation feels that each group is entitled to write up their own
'can
opener' and to let it stand on it's own merits. All of them have their good
points and very few have caused any controversy. But in all things of a
local
nature we keep hands off - either pro or con. Frankly, I haven't had the
time to
more than glance at the Washington booklet, but I've heard some favorable
comments about it. I think there must be at least 25 local pamphlets now
being
used and I've yet to see one that hasn't some good points."
And then in 1945 the AA Grapevine printed three articles on the "Beginners'
Classes". The first one was published in June and it described how the
classes
were conducted in St. Louis, Missouri. This has to do with the "education
plan"
and they called it the Wilson Club. "One of the four St. Louis AA groups is
now
using a very satisfactory method of educating prospects and new members. It
has
done much to reduce the number of 'slippers' among new members. In brief it
is
somewhat as follows: Each new prospect is asked to attend four successive
Thursday night meetings. Each one of which is devoted to helping the new man
learn something about Alcoholics Anonymous, it's founding and the way it
works.
The new man is told something about the book and how this particular group
functions. Wilson Club members are not considered full active members of AA
until they've attended these four educational meetings."
In the September 1945 issue of the Grapevine the Geniuses Group in
Rochester, NY
explained their format for taking newcomers through the Steps. The title of
the
article was "Rochester Prepares Novices for Group Participation". This is
how
they perceived the recovery process to operate most efficiently: "It has
been
our observation that bringing men [and woman] into the group
indiscriminately
and without adequate preliminary training and information can be a source of
considerable grief and a cause of great harm to the general moral of the
group
itself. We feel that unless a man, after a course of instruction and an
intelligent presentation of the case for the AA life, has accepted it
without
any reservation he should not be included in group membership. When the
sponsors
feel that a novice has a fair working knowledge of AA's objectives and
sufficient grasp of it's fundamentals then he is brought to his first group
meeting. Then he listens to four successive talks based on the Twelve Steps
and
Four Absolutes. They are twenty-minute talks given by the older members of
the
group and the Steps for convenience and brevity are divided into four
sections.
The first three Steps constitute the text of the first talk; the next four
the
second; the next four the third; and the last Step is considered to be
entitled
a full evening's discussion by itself." This group taught the Steps in order
rather than in segments.
In December 1945, the St. Paul, Minnesota Group wrote a full-page
description of
the "Beginners' Meetings". The description of their four one-hour classes
was:
"New members are urged to attend all the sessions in the proper order. At
every
meeting the three objectives of AA are kept before the group: to obtain and
to
recover from those things which caused us to drink and to help others who
want
what we have." In 1945 Barry C., of Minneapolis, received a letter from one
of
the members from the Peoria, Illinois Group. In the letter, the writer, Bud,
describes the efforts of Peoria, Illinois in regarding the "Beginners'
Classes".
"In my usual slow and cautious matter I proceeded to sell the Peoria Group
on
the Nicollet Group. Tomorrow night we all meet to vote the adoption of our
bylaws slightly altered to fit local conditions". (No one taught the classes
the
same way. They were taught based on a group conscience.) "Sunday afternoon
at
4:30 our first class in the Twelve Steps begins. We're all attending the
first
series of classes so we'll all be on an even footing. We anticipate on
losing
some fair-weather AA hangers-on in the elimination automatically imposed by
the
rule that these classes must be attended. This elimination we anticipate
with a
"we" feeling of suppressed pleasure. It is much as we are all extremely fed
up
with running a free drunk taxi and sobering-up service."
Then sometime prior to 1946 in Akron, Ohio the Akron Group started
publishing
four pamphlets on the AA Program. They were written by Ed W. at the
direction of
Dr. Bob, one of the co-founders of AA. Dr. Bob wanted some "blue-collar"
pamphlets for the Fellowship. In one of the pamphlets, "A Guide to the
Twelve
Steps", it reads: "A Guide to the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is
intended to be a simple, short and concise interpretation of the rules for
sober
living as compiled by the earliest members of the organization. The writers
and
editors are members of the Akron, Ohio Group where Alcoholics Anonymous was
founded in 1935. Most of the ideas and explanations were brought out in a
series
of instruction classes conducted by veteran members of the group." So this
proves the classes were being taught in Akron, Ohio. There are a lot of
places
they were being taught.
Then the classes were actually formalized into a book called "The Little Red
Book" in 1946. The inscription on the inside cover says, "The material in
this
Little Red Book is an outgrowth of a series of notes originally prepared for
Twelve Step instruction to AA beginners." So we know the "Little Red Book"
came
out of these four one-hour classes also. "Few books have had greater record
for
humble service than the Little Red Book upon which so many members have cut
their AA teeth." A manuscript drawn up from these notes was sent to Dr. Bob
at
the request of USA and Canadian members. He approved the manuscript and the
book
was published in 1946. Dr. Bob approved of "The Little Red Book". So Dr. Bob
not
only authorized the publication of the Akron pamphlets, he also endorsed
"The
Little Red Book", both of which were products of the "Beginners' Classes".
Even our first AA group handbook, originally entitled "A Handbook for the
Secretary", published by the Alcoholic Foundation in 1950, had a section on
the
"Beginners' Classes". At the time there were only three types of meetings:
Open
Speaker Meetings, Closed Discussion Meetings, and Beginners' Meetings. There
was
no such thing as an Open Discussion Meeting in the early days of Alcoholics
Anonymous. In the Beginners' Meetings, which are described in the Meeting
section, the handbook states: "In larger metropolitan areas a special type
of
meeting for newcomers to AA is proved extremely successful. Usually staged
for a
half-hour prior to an open meeting, this meeting features an interpretation
of
AA usually by an older member presented in terms designed to make the
program
clear to the new member. (Note: The Chicago Group held their "Beginners'
Classes" a half-hour prior to their Open Meeting. When publishing the group
handbook, the New York office only described Chicago's format.) After the
speaker's presentation the meeting is thrown open to questions." In each of
the
four one-hour classes there was always a session for questions afterwards.
"Occasionally, the AA story is presented by more than one speaker. The
emphasis
remains exclusively on the newcomer and his problem."
The four one-hour classes were taught all over the country. Some other
cities
include Oklahoma City, Miami Florida, and Phoenix Arizona.
If these classes were so important, then what happened to them? Most of the
people who have joined AA in the last twenty-five years or so have never
even
heard of them. Ruth R., an old-timer in Miami Florida, who came into AA in
1953,
gave some insight into the demise of the "Beginners' Classes". "At that time
the
classes were being conducted at the Alana Club in Miami - two books were
used:
"Alcoholics Anonymous" (Big Book) and the "Little Red Book". Jim and Dora
H.,
Florida AA pioneers, were enthusiastic supporters and they helped organize
several of the classes and served as instructors." (Note: Dora was a Panel 7
Delegate to the General Service Office.) Ruth recalled that the classes were
discontinued in the mid-1950s as the result of the publication of the book
"Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" by Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing Inc.
In
the Miami area the "Twelve and Twelve" replaced both the "Big Book" and the
"Little Red Book" and "Step Studies" replaced the "Beginners' Classes". In
the
process, the period for taking the Steps was expanded and modified from 4
weeks
to somewhere in between 12 and 16 weeks. The Fourth Step inventory was
modified
and became a much more laborious and detailed procedure. What was originally
conceived as a very simple program, which took a few hours to complete,
evolved
into a complicated and confusing undertaking requiring several months.
Studying the Steps is not the same as taking the Steps. In the "Beginners'
Classes" you take the steps. The Big Book says, "Here are the steps we took"
not
"here are the steps we read and talked about." The AA pioneers proved that
action, not knowledge, produced the spiritual awakening that resulted in
recovery from alcoholism. On page 88, the authors of the Big Book wrote, "It
works-it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God
discipline
us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is
action
and more action. Faith without works is dead."
(This concludes the description of the "Beginners' Classes" during Wally
P.'s
talk in Masa, Arizona on November 23, 1996. Wally P. is an AA Archivist from
Tucson, Arizona. For two years he researched and studied areas of the
country
that held "Beginners' Classes" back in the 40's and '50's. He then started
teaching the classes under the guidance of his sponsor who took the classes
in
1953 and never drank again. In March of 1996 Wally mentioned the "Beginners'
Classes" as part of his historical presentation at the Wilson House in East
Dorset, Vermont. Wally then wrote and published a book entitled "Back to
Basics:
The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners' Classes - Take all 12 Steps in Four
One-Hour
Sessions." Since then, there have been over 1000 "Back to Basics" meetings
and
groups started all over the world. Now, almost 60 years since the classes
were
first originated, newcomers are once again being taken through the Twelve
Steps
in four one-hour "Beginners' Classes".
On Saturday 4/11/98, members of the "Into Action Big Book Group" of Berkeley
Heights, N.J. went to see Wally give a presentation of the "Beginners'
Classes"
in Philadelphia. Members went through the Steps in the four one-hour
classes,
all in one day. This group then began facilitating the classes in June 1998
in
various locations throughout New Jersey and has taken thousands of AA
members
through the Steps since. They have expanded the classes to be five,
one-and-one-half hour sessions, to include more of the material for each
Step in
the Big Book.
The Cherry Hill Group of Southern New Jersey has taught Beginners' Classes
every
Sunday evening since May 1997.
The Woodlands Group in Texas have been conducting the "Beginners' Classes"
since
April 1998. Within one year, about ten "Back to Basics" meetings resulted
from
the Woodland group and approximately 1,650 alcoholics were taken through the
Steps that year! The Woodlands and subsequent groups in Texas are enjoying a
75-93% success rate like the Cleveland groups had in the 1940's.
Wally P. has a website containing much information on the AA "Beginners'
Classes" at www.aabacktobasics.com on the World Wide Web.)
-----Original Message-----
From: friendofbillw89 [mailto:friendofbillw89@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 5:16 PM
Subject: Back to Basics
I have attended a few *cycles* of the Back to Basics meetings in my
area. It is where we do all 12 steps in 4 one-hour sessions. What
is the history of working the steps in this method? I was told this
was the way it was done in the early days in Akron.
Nisa
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++++Message 1628. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical literature, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 21, 2004
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/30/2004 2:30:00 AM
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This was sent to me by John B., but without a proper subject line, so I have
copied it and am sending it for him.
Nancy
From the Christian Science Monitor, January 21, 2004, edition
How far can 12 steps go?
Thousands attest to the power of 12-step programs in breaking the hold of
addiction. But might the popular programs be wrong for some?
By Jane Lampman | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Americans have a penchant for 12-step programs. The original beacon for a
path out of addiction - Alcoholics Anonymous - has grown past 50,000 groups
in the US (and twice that worldwide). And its message is being reincarnated
in self-help fellowships to fight drugs, gambling, overeating, sexual
addictions, smoking, and even indebtedness.
Conventional wisdom has it that the 12-step approach -- in which an
individual acknowledges his or her powerlessness before the addiction, turns
to a higher power, and takes specific steps to change -- is the most
effective route out of addiction. Its popularity seems to support that. Some
90 percent of residential and outpatient treatment programs draw directly on
its principles.
Yet there are many who question not that it helps thousands, but whether its
predominance may get in the way of some people finding their freedom. There
are issues, some critics say, related to its quasi-religious nature, its
definition of addiction as an incurable disease, the creation of long-term
dependence on the program, and the way courts and other agencies mandate
addicts' participation. Are some with alcohol or drug problems being coerced
to follow a path that may not be suited to their needs and beliefs?
"The problem is that people think AA is the only correct treatment," says
Lance Dodes, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical
School. "That's true only for a subset of the population, and many people
are harmed by it."
An AA representative declined to respond, saying it is the group's tradition
to refrain from controversy and not comment on what others say about
alcoholism or about AA.
Over the past 70 years, AA has helped huge numbers to find sobriety and a
new lease on life. "If you look at the number of groups and 2,000,000
members worldwide, it's clearly got longevity and appeal," says Barbara
McCrady, clinical director of Rutgers University's Center of Alcohol
Studies. Yet AA's own surveys show that of the people who attend a meeting,
9 out of 10 drop out within the first year. Research hasn't yet been done on
its siblings, Narcotics Anonymous (NA) and others, she says.
For many who stay with it, the benefits can't be overestimated. A big-time
drinker who turned to drugs after a family tragedy, "Alan" was in denial
about his situation. Near the end of college, though, he was weary and tried
unsuccessfully to quit. It was only when he tagged along with a friend to an
NA meeting that his turnaround began.
"Listening to people's stories, I knew I was an addict and these were people
I could relate to," he says. "Going to meetings, I'd stay clean for a while
and then use. It took six months 'til I got clean for the last time." He's
been free for six years but attends meetings several times a week.
"Once you stay clean for a while you realize drugs were only the tip of the
iceberg," adds Alan who asked that his real name not be used. "You also need
to change your compulsive behaviors and how you react to situations. There's
a wealth of knowledge in that room."
Keith Humphreys at Stanford University's School of Medicine sees this kind
of "instillation of hope" as a crucial factor in changing addicts' lives.
"Most people feel defeated and have a frightening sense they can't control
their own behavior," he says. "They go to a group and see others who've had
the same problem now doing well, and that instills a lot of hope."
Twelve-step groups provide a valuable public health benefit, says Dr.
Humphreys. Not only are they widely available, but one cost study showed
that people going to the groups require $5,000 less per person from the
healthcare system annually. "Multiply that by more than a million people
getting treatment each year, and they are taking an extraordinary burden off
the system," he adds.
At the same time, the very limited research done so far doesn't back up the
conventional wisdom. Comparisons of professional treatment based on 12-step
with other professional treatment modes show no superior outcomes.
Longitudinal studies of self-help groups in treatment showed them comparable
on most dimensions with any other kind of treatment except in the area of
abstinence, where they had better results.
Given the limited evidence and quasi-religious nature of 12-step plans, some
object to the way courts and other agencies mandate addicts' participation.
"Several aspects of AA don't work for everyone -- such as its spiritual or
religious nature, or the emphasis on powerlessness, or its group approach,"
says Stanton Peele, a psychologist and lawyer who has written several books
on addiction, including "Resisting 12-Step Coercion."
Some courts have ruled it unconstitutional to require participation because
they deem the program religious, while others have ruled it is not. AA
literature emphasizes that its message is spiritual but not religious --
that people decide on their own what the higher power is, and for some it is
simply the group itself. The only membership requirement is the desire to
stop drinking.
Other issues some find troubling relate to theories of addiction. The
12-step message is that addiction is an incurable disease, that while
alcoholics can become sober, they remain alcoholics, and should stay in the
program to maintain that sobriety. In each meeting, people introduce
themselves: "I'm [name], and I'm an alcoholic," no matter how long they've
been clean.
The disease model isn't helpful, Dr. Peele says. "If you had an 18-year-old
drinking way too much on weekends, would the best approach be to take him to
AA and convince him he has a lifelong disease?" he asks.
Dr. Dodes, who has treated various forms of addiction, says the disease idea
takes the moralizing out of it, which is good, but discourages people from
understanding the problem. "They think it's a physical problem, which it's
not, or a genetic problem, which it's not, or a biological or chemical
problem, which it's not," he says. In his book "The Heart of Addiction," he
describes it as psychological.
"All addictions are an attempt to treat a sense of overwhelming
helplessness," which is accompanied by rage over that helplessness, he says.
He helps people identify the kind of helplessness that's troubling them and
address it, "not by white-knuckling it but because they understand what is
happening."
While AA requires you to make "a fearless moral inventory" and make amends
to those you have hurt, Dodes adds, that sometimes leaves people feeling
something is very wrong with them while not getting to the root of their
emotional trouble.
While many talk of a genetic element to alcoholism, Dodes reviewed the
genetic research and says there is no such gene, that there is at most the
idea of a susceptibility gene, but it's not been discovered either. McCrady
suggests addiction has psychological, genetic, and/or social components.
Others object to what they see as the creation of a dependency on the
program itself. An alternative program, Woman in Sobriety, for example, aims
to help people take responsibility for themselves and then move on with
their lives on their own.
Yet the ongoing group support offers valuable benefits, some argue. People
who leave addictions behind usually require new friends who don't drink or
take drugs. "I have friends that have over 20 years of abstinence," says
Alan. "They've been through all kinds of crises ... but didn't return to
use. That gives you strength."
Practitioners and problem drinkers, however, say drinking problems differ
greatly and it's a fallacy that one must be in lifelong recovery. "There are
people with less severe problems who can benefit from a limited period of
counseling and then they are just done with it," says McCrady.
In fact, a 1996 study showed that three-quarters of those who'd recovered
from alcohol problems had done so on their own. For her book, "Sober for
Good," Ann Fletcher interviewed some 200 people who had recovered through
various means, from AA to secular self-help groups, psychological
counseling, and religion.
But there are also millions who don't know where to go for help. An
estimated 14 million Americans have drinking problems; only 1 in 10 receives
treatment. Experts say more treatment options for addictions need to be
supported.
Meanwhile, those in AA and NA point to results. "I was at a regional NA
conference in Richmond last weekend with about a thousand people," Alan
says. "All these people who used to be addicts, what was their drain on
society? Now they're clean and working and productive. It's amazing."
The Twelve Steps
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as
we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so
would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact
with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried
to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all
our affairs.
Source: Alcoholics Anonymous
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++++Message 1629. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Periodical literature, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 21, 2004
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/30/2004 11:12:00 AM
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Hi Nancy,
I appreciate your going to the effort of copying the Jane Lampman article
from the Christian Science Monitor. It is a good article, although some AA
members may feel it's too critical.
I have followed criticisms of AA ever since the first major one appeared in
Harper's magazine in 1963. This was really the first time AA had received
serious criticism in an important publication, and many of us were enraged
by it. While AA World Services made no direct reply to the article, Bill W.
did offer an excellent response in the April, 1963, issue of The AA
Grapevine. This can be found today in "The Language of the Heart," a
collection of Bill's articles published over the years in The Grapevine. See
"Our Critics Can Be Our Benefactors," p. 345. I consider it a masterpiece of
conciliatory writing.
Since then, we've had much more criticism of various kinds, and there are
even several books which take AA to task. While some of the critics are
malicious, others are honest and sincere in pointing to problems with the
way our program is presented. Bill often acknowledged that we don't have all
the answers and should never present our program as the only solution to
problem drinking.
Criticism is almost always difficult to accept, but Bill explained that we
can benefit from it. I feel very secure about our program. As for any
statistics about its success percentages, my answer is 100%. I haven't had a
drink since I fully accepted the program on April 15, 1950.
All the best,
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1630. . . . . . . . . . . . Tyler Tex Morning Telegraph 2004 -57th anniv
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/31/2004 5:34:00 PM
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MEMBERS SHARE STORIES, SUPPORT AT AA ANNIVERSARY
By: MEGAN MIDDLETON, Staff Writer January 10, 2004
Gayle S. still wells up with tears when she thinks about the day more than 20 years
ago that a pastor told her about Alcoholics Anonymous.
She said he threw an Alcoholics Anonymous book down on the table in front of
her,
letting it make a loud thud, and told her, "'These are the only people who
can
help
you. There's more love in Alcoholics Anonymous than there is in my big old
...
church.'"
And that night she went to her first AA meeting.
"Those women just grabbed me and welcomed me," Gayle, a former Tyler
resident,
said.
"They overwhelm you with love because they know how you feel."
And for more than 20 years Gayle has remained sober.
"This is a deadly disease, treated, in my case, only by abstinence from
alcohol," she
said.
About 700 AA members from East Texas and throughout Texas and the country
attended
Saturday's celebration of the group's 57th anniversary in Tyler, which began
Friday
and continues Sunday at Harvey Convention Center.
AA members identify themselves with only their first names and initials to
preserve
the anonymity on which the group is based.
On Saturday participants listened to several speakers from across the state
and
nation tell their stories of dealing with alcohol and its effect on their
lives.
They also had a barbecue dinner and a dance.
More speakers are scheduled for Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. The cost for the
weekend
is $10.
Gayle, who came from Kerrville to attend the conference, said the AA
anniversary
celebrations are important because "it tells us there's continuity in
Alcoholics
Anonymous."
"If Alcoholics Anonymous had not arrived here, many of us would not have
found
sobriety," she said.
A Saturday afternoon speaker, Maryann W. of Corpus Christi, kept the crowd
laughing
while also bringing a message of the importance of AA.
Maryann was married and became a mother at 15 years old, she said, and to
deal
with
her feelings she eventually turned to drinking.
"My solution was alcohol," she said. "It was my best friend."
She described the kind of drinker she was, comparing how different people
would
react
to having a fly in their drink. She said the non-drinker would ask for a
Diet
Coke, a
heavy drinker would ask for a different glass, and "I would have the fly by
the
nape
of the neck saying, 'Spit it out, spit it out!'"
"It was never enough," she said to the laughing crowd.
She explained that her husband, who also drank, was her "cover" and the
"reason"
she
drank.
But one day she realized that it wasn't him.
"What happened to me in 1977 was the most amazing grace," she said. "I saw
myself for
what I really was, and I remember thinking, 'It's not his fault.' I uttered,
'God
help me.'"
Some time after receiving help at a treatment center, she met with a woman
from
an AA
group.
"I zeroed in on her eyes," she said. "I looked at her eyes, and they were
bright
and
shining and they danced ... and they were full of life."
What hooked her on AA were the people, she said.
"I was enamored and enthralled with you," she said to the crowd. "You hooked
my
soul,
and I didn't know you hooked my soul."
Despite her jokes, she said "being forced to your knees is a blessing" and
warned
about thinking of ways to avoid doing what you know you need to do.
"Alcoholism is just beneath the skin," she said. "Don't think it ever goes
away."
DEMETRIUS
Those listening to the speakers had their own stories as well.
Demetrius J., an AA district committee member, has been sober for more than
nine
years. He first came to AA, he said, to save his marriage and his job.
"After being in here a couple of days, I began to stop trying to save my
marriage and
stop trying to save my job and started trying to save my life," Demetrius
said.
To be sober "feels wonderful," he said. But he knows what might have been
had he
not
found help.
"I believe if it wasn't for Alcoholics Anonymous, I'd been in jail or an
institution
or I'd be dead," he said. "Alcoholics Anonymous guided me back to my God."
He said he took his first drink, whiskey, at 10 years old and began drinking
"for the
confidence" he believed it gave him.
"It would make me 10-foot-tall and bulletproof," he said. "It would make me
sauve and
debonair. It would also make the life of the party. It would also make me
Dr.
Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde. I drank 20 years trying to escape who I was."
He swore off drinking time and time again during those 20 years, but when he
saw
that
he was hurting other people, that he might lose his children and his job, he
knew
something had to change.
"When I realized I had to drink to live and lived to drink, then and only
then
did I
realize I had to do something about my drinking."
And while contemplating suicide when he was "all alone" in his house, he
said,
"three
words came into my mouth, 'God help me.'"
GAYLE
For Gayle, the drinking began after the birth of her second child in 1965,
and
it
became a "security blanket" for her, she said.
"I had denied being an alcoholic," she said. "I blamed my husband."
But, like Maryann, one day she realized she couldn't shift the blame
anymore.
Her husband, who also drank, left on a business trip, and she got drunk by 8
p.m.
every night.
"I couldn't blame it on him anymore," she said.
The hardest part about dealing with the problem was admitting she had one,
she
said.
But coming to AA helped her look at her drinking in a different way.
"It gave me an opportunity to see that I was not a bad person trying to get
good,"
she said. "I was a sick person trying to get well."
And she said AA is important because of the people there who can relate to
each
other
and help each other.
"Another alcoholic can help an alcoholic when no one else in the world can,"
Gayle
said. "They can help them where professionals might not be able to."
She has remained sober since 1980.
To say that she has been sober for 24 years, "to me, it sounds wonderful,"
she
said.
"It's not to brag by any means. I never thought I would live to be 24 years
sober and
have a wonderful, fruitful ... life. My life is just so full now."
But she must stay on her toes, she said, and be vigilant and diligent.
"You can't be careless about your sobriety," she said. "It (alcoholism) is
always
beneath the surface."
Gayle and Demetrius advised those battling a drinking problem to find an AA
meeting
to attend.
"Look in the phone book under Alcoholics Anonymous, call and find out where
a
meeting
is," Gayle said. "Take some action. You can't sit at home ... and expect to
get
any
better."
For more information on AA meetings in Tyler, call the Central Service
Office at
(903) 597-1796.
Megan Middleton covers Gregg and Anderson counties. She can be reached at
903.596.6287. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com
©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2004
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++++Message 1631. . . . . . . . . . . . Stepping Into History -Westchester
Journal News Jan04
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 1/31/2004 7:42:00 PM
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Stepping Into history
By ROB RYSER
THE JOURNAL NEWS of Westchester County NY
(Original publication: January 20, 2004)
BEDFORD HILLS -- It's hard to say how Alcoholics Anonymous would have ended
up
if
Bill and Lois Wilson had stayed homeless in 1941.
Bill Wilson's only work then was with alcoholics, and his 1939 book about
the AA
fellowship had not gotten the acclaim that the group's early members
expected.
Lois was finding scattered jobs as a decorator, but her real work was
keeping
the
couple off the street. The Wilsons slept at 51 places in two years.
Then 1941 brought what Bill Wilson called a godsend -- a chocolate brown
cottage
in
Bedford Hills with French doors that Lois adored and a fieldstone fireplace
that
reminded Bill of the East Dorset, Vt., home where he was born.
The house belonged to actress Helen Griffith, whose husband drank himself to
death
and whose alcoholic friend had been "revived" by an AA group in New Jersey.
She
knew
the Wilsons were destitute and offered them what Bill Wilson later called
"unbelievably easy terms."
The impact that the Wilsons had during the next four decades in the home
they
named
Stepping Stones is still being lived out today. Yet the contributions they
made
to
the understanding of alcoholism, the requirement for spiritual steps in
recovery
and
the need for families of alcoholics to have their own support are so
substantial
that
the National Park Service is preparing to crown the contemporary couple's
home
as
historic.
"The Wilsons' influence on 20th-century society is immeasurable," reads the
nominating statement, prepared by Margaret Gaertner, a preservation
specialist
with
the Dobbs Ferry architectural firm Stephen Tilly. "AA enabled, and continues
to
enable, millions of people around the world to achieve and sustain permanent
sobriety."
Although it may seem contradictory to call a 20th-century home historic in a
region
where historic properties often have 200-year pasts, the nominating form
says
the
Wilsons are legends who make it easy to forget that as recently as 1940,
alcoholism
was considered one of society's great unsolved public health enigmas.
Bill Wilson proclaimed that alcoholism was a disease three decades before
the
American Medical Association did in 1956. The 12-step solution that Wilson
and
AA
co-founder Dr. Bob Smith created to treat the physical, mental and spiritual
dimensions of alcoholism has become the standard for U.S. hospitals and
clinics.
Remarkably, AA was proved not in hospitals but in church basements, where
recovering
alcoholics shared their experiences, strength and hope to help others find
the
inspiration and power to stop drinking.
"Wilson realized that only another alcoholic could truly understand the
tangled
emotions evoked by his debilitating ordeal," reads the nominating form.
The Wilsons' cozy Dutch Colonial, with its barn-like gambrel roof and
cement-block
studio where Bill Wilson wrote, could be added to the state's Register of
Historic
Places in the spring. Stepping Stones could then join the National Register
of
Historic Places by summer.
Managed by a foundation that Lois Wilson formed in 1979, eight years after
Bill's
death at 71, Stepping Stones is a sacred site for Alcoholics Anonymous and
Al-Anon,
the 12-step program co-founded by Lois Wilson for the spouses and children
of
alcoholics.
Yet, Stepping Stones is not mobbed with pilgrims. A mere 1,000 visitors stop
by
each
year -- and up to half of those come for the annual picnic in June.
"We could increase our visitors by 100 percent, and we could handle it,"
said
Eileen
Giuliani, Stepping Stones' executive director.
Of course, she means that theoretically. For one thing, Stepping Stones is
surrounded
by single-family homes and wants to keep the peace. The other matter is that
not
all
recovering alcoholics and Al-Anons know that Stepping Stones is the Wilson
home,
much
less that it is in Bedford Hills.
The historical designation is sure to raise awareness among AA's 2.2 million
members
in 100,000 groups worldwide, and among the 29,000 Al-Anon groups with some
387,000
members in 115 countries, according to the organizations' estimates.
Giuliani said federal recognition will advance Stepping Stones' mission to
protect
the Wilson museum and archives, and promote the tenets of the AA experience.
Neighbors -- for once in Westchester -- seem ready to yield to the prospect
of
more
cars in the neighborhood.
"It's fine with me, and I've been here seven years," said Kim Cassone, a
mother
of
two who lives near Stepping Stones on Oak Street. "They were out there to
help
people
who had problems, and that is a good thing."
Once at Stepping Stones, visitors often feel an unmistakable presence: The
air
seems
sweet, as though bread has been baking, but no one has lived here since Lois
died at
age 97 in 1988.
The house is as Lois Wilson left it -- wall lengths of books stacked five
shelves
high, scores of grandmotherly collections, a gallery's worth of photos and
framed
proclamations by dignitaries ranging from Pope Paul VI to President
Eisenhower.
Susan Cheever, a Manhattan resident, will publish a biography, "My Name is
Bill:
Bill
Wilson -- His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous," this month.
Cheever,
who grew up in Ossining, is the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning
short-story
writer
John Cheever, whose own battle with alcohol she documented in her 1984
memoir,
"Home
Before Dark."
"It is a very powerful place," Cheever said of Stepping Stones. "The ghosts
are
still
there."
It is a rite for visitors to sit at the 1920s porcelain-topped kitchen table
where
Bill Wilson had a spiritual breakthrough with his childhood friend Ebby
Thatcher, one
month before Bill got sober in December 1934. Ignoble as the little white
table
seems, it is venerated at Stepping Stones, sometimes drawing tears from
those in
recovery.
"I was overwhelmed," said Mark W., 51, of Topeka, Kan., a businessman who
has
been
sober 10 years and is obliged under AA's 12 Traditions to be anonymous when
speaking
to the media.
He has made three pilgrimages to Stepping Stones in the past three years. It
was
his
second visit with his wife when he dropped his composure and cried.
"I already knew how much I lost drinking," he said. "But sitting there made
me
realize how much I gained by staying sober."
Other relics nearly as special to visitors are the desk in Bill's backyard
studio and
the desk in the home's upstairs library, where in 1951 Lois Wilson organized
the
first Al-Anon groups.
It was on Bill Wilson's desk, which he brought to Stepping Stones from New
Jersey,
that he wrote the important opening 11 chapters to "Alcoholics Anonymous" --
the
575-page AA textbook that has sold 20 million copies.
"I don't want to call Stepping Stones a shrine, but it is pretty close,"
said
Mark.
W. "If it hadn't been for those people, I wouldn't be sane."
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++++Message 1633. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Group, Member, Growth and Recovery Statistics
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/1/2004 4:28:00 PM
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Hi History Lovers
Below is a table of group and membership data reported by GSO. The figures come from Conference reports except where cited. The numbers must be interpreted very carefully, very skeptically and in proper context. Group counts include only those asking GSO to be listed (thousands do not). Groups may or may not report membership estimates or update estimates over time. Members can be counted in multiple group estimates and the composition of the numbers has changed at various times from “reported” to “estimated.”
In 1994, a major revision occurred in the GSO’s counting methods. The number of groups reported by GSO no longer included those described as "meetings" which chose not to be considered "groups." Such "meetings" (typically special interest) are included in prior year’s data. The 1994 revision can erroneously be interpreted as a steep drop from 1993 to 1994 when, in fact, it simply reflects a procedural change in counting methods.
AA is in about 150 countries (with 51 GSOs overseas). Each year, the NY office attempts to contact overseas GSOs and groups requesting to be listed in their records. Where current data are lacking, the NY GSO uses earlier year's figures. An estimate of membership of non-reporting groups is arrived at by taking an average of reporting groups.
From the beginning, the numbers are, at best, "fuzzy" and do need to be interpreted prudently to avoid drawing erroneous conclusions. The table data are not an accurate measure of a specific year’s increase or decrease. However, trends over the decades are indicative (but not exact) of AA groups reaching more places and more AA members achieving recovery.
Average (mean) annual growth in groups and members is 6% and 7% respectively.
(Message over 64 K, truncated.)
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++++Message 1634. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical Literature, Akron Beacon
Journal, IA, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2004
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/2/2004 2:46:00 AM
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Thu, Jan. 08, 2004
A.A. members object to relocating history
Hospital may move world's first alcohol treatment site
By John Higgins
Beacon Journal staff writer
The first hospital in the world to acknowledge alcoholism as a disease
rather than a moral failing might move its revered treatment center to a
different floor.
St. Thomas Hospital would continue to provide alcoholism and drug treatment,
but Ignatia Hall would lose its fifth-floor home. The hospital wants to use
that space as a psychiatric unit for Alzheimer's and dementia patients; the
unit would be the first of its kind in Akron.
The rearrangements probably wouldn't attract much attention at most
hospitals, but to recovering alcoholics worldwide, Ignatia Hall is a sacred
site. Named after Alcoholics Anonymous pioneer Sister Ignatia, it became the
first alcohol treatment center in the world in 1939.
It's a history that the 75-year-old hospital, now part of Summa Health
System, proudly claims. But tinkering with the past to accommodate the
future is a tricky business.
Ignatia Hall, which has been on the fifth floor since the early 1980s, has
become a shrine for the thousands of pilgrims who visit Akron each summer to
commemorate the birthplace of A.A.
Local A.A. members have heard rumors about the proposed changes for a few
months. Some have talked about trying to make Ignatia Hall an official
historical landmark to ensure the hospital doesn't mess with it.
"A lot of members are upset," said Rob of the Akron Intergroup Council of
Alcoholics Anonymous, which does not publicize the last names or titles of
its staffers.
"Even if we banded together and started to whine, it's a business decision,
and it's strictly the bottom line. (The hospital) doesn't care about the
history," he said, speaking for himself as a recovering alcoholic.
The council coordinates weekly meetings for 6,000 to 8,000 A.A. members in
the Akron area and oversees the annual Founders Day events. As a matter of
policy, A.A. doesn't take a position.
Hospital officials say money has nothing to do with the planned change.
"The legacy will continue. There's been no question about that," said Dr.
Robert A. Liebelt, the treatment center's medical director. "We're not going
to get rid of Ignatia Hall."
Patients who need medically supervised detoxification, a process that
typically requires three days' stay, probably would be moved to a medical
surgical floor. Liebelt said they would have to be kept together, separated
from other patients, to ensure confidentiality.
"It will be a designated area and have the same ambience that Ignatia Hall
as it stands today has," Liebelt said. "It's just that it will be in another
part of the hospital."
After those first three days, patients begin what is traditionally known as
treatment, which can include talk therapy, group meetings and other
counseling.
That had been done in Ignatia Hall until those patients grew too numerous
and were then scattered in classrooms throughout the hospital. More
recently, those services have had a permanent home on the third floor in the
former medical library.
Summa spokeswoman Carrie Massucci said the changes are still tentative and
the hospital has no timeline for the proposed transition.
But should plans go through, the hospital would want that space for elderly
psychiatric patients because it would be near other psychiatric services.
"Summa Health System now has the only dedicated senior services program in
Akron," she said. "This is just another way that we can continue to serve
that population."
The hospital hasn't forgotten about its past, she said. Since Ignatia Hall's
founding, "we've relocated those services at least six times," she said.
"They stayed in St. Thomas Hospital, but they've moved around."
Sister Ignatia originally put the cots in the chapel's choir loft, now
walled in, so the patients could participate in Mass, Liebelt said.
But for the last 20 years, visitors to Ignatia Hall have always found it on
the fifth floor. So have the former patients who return to the place they
say saved their lives.
At least 3,000 visitors paid homage at Ignatia Hall last summer during the
Founders Day celebration, which now attracts 10,000 visitors from around the
world.
"It's really sad that they would destroy their own heritage," said Mary C.
Darrah, the Fairlawn author of Sister Ignatia: Angel of Alcoholics
Anonymous. "Over the years, people have become more and more interested in
the founding places of A.A. It's like a family. They want to go back to
their family roots."
She likens relocating the center to tearing down A.A. co-founder Dr. Bob
Smith's house, another pilgrimage site, and rebuilding it somewhere else.
Physical locations matter.
"This is the birthplace of the first treatment center affiliated with A.A.,"
Darrah said. "That's a major piece of history that belongs to the community.
And the community should at least, in my opinion, have input."
Liebelt said the memorabilia will be relocated along with the patients, and
the pilgrims will still have a place to visit.
The center was already on the fifth floor when Liebelt began in 1982. He
stopped counting about three years ago, but he figures he's treated 15,000
patients and cares as much about the history of the place as anyone else.
"The legacy of Ignatia Hall and St. Thomas Hospital is doing well and is
viable and will continue to do well and be viable," Liebelt said.
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++++Message 1635. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 step prayers--a prayer for each step
From: buickmackane0830 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/3/2004 5:03:00 AM
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Good morning,
I just been granted the privilege of working on the archives for my local intergroup. We have a newsletter which does a good job of putting information for our groups. We have been printing prayers for each step. I questioned this and was told A.A. at one time used these prayers. I have searched on my own and could not find 12 step prayers for each step connected to A.A.
Does anyone know of such prayers connected to A.A. (except 3rd, 7th step) In the big book and then there is the 11th step in the 12+12.
What really bothered me was the relious implication of the prayers so if any one is aware of these prayers connected to AA or know where I can find their connection to AA please email.
Note: I found 12th step prayers.
Thank you
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++++Message 1636. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Stepping Into History -Westchester Journal News Jan04
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/3/2004 1:02:00 PM
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Hello group!
My mother lives not far from Bedford Hills & she sent me the below Journal
News article. It contained extras not mentioned below so I just wanted to
include them here. Take it easy & God bless!
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
Historic Place
Stepping Stones (picture) has been nominated for the National Register of
Historic Places because Bill and Lois Wilson (picture) are national figures
who co-founded significant social movements, not because the homestead
itself has important architecture. Yet, the nomination notes that the six
buildings on the 8-acre Stepping Stones homestead are intact and unified.
Designed in matching brown shingle siding, white casings and trim, and with
bright blue doors, the buildings retain a high level of historic integrity."
Among the highlights:
-A three-bedroom Dutch Colonial main house, built in 1920 as a summer
cottage.
-A large living room dominated by a stone fireplace and wall-length French
doors.
-The kitchen includes a porcelain-topped table where Wilson first discussed
with a newly sober friend the importance of trusting the God of one's own
understanding.
-A winding stair leading to a second-floor library preserved as Lois Wilson
left when she died in 1988.
-A collection of antiques, glassware, china, photographs, printed materials
and musical instruments of the Wilsons, including Bill Wilson's cello and
Lois
Wilson's piano, which visitors are encouraged to play.
-Bill Wilson's homemade backyard studio, named Wit's End, has a large
picture
window and the desk where he wrote four books about the AA experience.
Information
Alcoholics Anonymous: Call 212-647-1680, visit the Web site www.aa.org, look
up local listings under Alcoholics Anonymous in either the telephone
directory's white pages or Yellow Pages, or write Alcoholics Anonymous,
Grand
Central Station, P.O. Box 459, New York, N.Y. 10163.
Al-Anon Family Groups: Call Al-Anon Information Services at 914-946-1748,
visit
the Web site www.al-anon.alateen.org or write to the World Service Office
for
Al-Anon and Alateen, 1600 Corporate Landing Parkway, Virginia Beach, VA
23454-5617.
Stepping Stones: Call 914-232-4822, visit the Web site
www.steppingstones.org,
or write Stepping Stones Foundation, Box 452, Bedford Hills, N.Y. 10507.
Excerpts from Bill Wilson's letters
In the Spring 1941, after 23 years of marriage and a stretch of homelessness
that had lasted two years, Bill and Lois Wilson moved to their first and
only
true home in Bedford Hills. Originally they called the home "Bi-Lo's Break,"
because a friend had offered it to them for one-fourth of what it cost to
build. In the next four decades, as the AA and Al-Anon movements that the
Wilsons co-founded grew, they added land and buildings to their beloved
homestead, which they renamed Stepping Stones. Here are excerpts from three
letters Bill Wilson wrote about Stepping Stones. The letters are the
property
of the Stepping Stones Foundation.
From a Jan. 11, 1941 letter to his mother, Emily Wilson:
"It is a rather large house perched on a hill with a magnificent view
extending
for miles....This house was a dream of Mrs. Griffith, an artist and
well-known
actress. Her husband died of alcoholism so she feels quite partial to Lois
and
me.
"[Griffith] spent about $25,000 on it before getting tired of the project. I
think it can be bought for five or six thousand dollars and hope the
Alcoholic
Foundation will undertake to make the purchase on a small monthly payment
plan
over a period of years so that my earnings, if they materialize, can go into
improvements."
From an April 23, 1941 letter to AA co-founder Dr. Bob Smith in Ohio:
"This place is going to be a godsend for Lois and me....We can't get over
the
peace and quiet....
"From anyplace in this living room, you may look out over the treetops on a
swell view of rolling wooded country."
From an undated letter many years after the Wilsons moved to Stepping
Stones:
"The idea of Westchester real estate seemed out of the question....
"One day we visited a new A.A. member in Chappaqua....We remembered the
Bedford Hills house Mrs. Griffith had described....Lois and I drove over
with
[them] to see the house....We broke in at the back window and looked
around....
"At the very next meeting Mrs. Griffith approached Lois and me....She told
us
we might have the Bedford Hills place for $40 a month....It was a great
year,
1941."
-----Original Message-----
From: t [mailto:tcumming@airmail.net]
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2004 7:42 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Stepping Into History -Westchester Journal
News Jan04
Stepping Into history
By ROB RYSER
THE JOURNAL NEWS of Westchester County NY
(Original publication: January 20, 2004)
BEDFORD HILLS -- It's hard to say how Alcoholics Anonymous would have ended
up
if
Bill and Lois Wilson had stayed homeless in 1941.
Bill Wilson's only work then was with alcoholics, and his 1939 book about
the AA
fellowship had not gotten the acclaim that the group's early members
expected.
Lois was finding scattered jobs as a decorator, but her real work was
keeping
the
couple off the street. The Wilsons slept at 51 places in two years.
Then 1941 brought what Bill Wilson called a godsend -- a chocolate brown
cottage
in
Bedford Hills with French doors that Lois adored and a fieldstone fireplace
that
reminded Bill of the East Dorset, Vt., home where he was born.
The house belonged to actress Helen Griffith, whose husband drank himself to
death
and whose alcoholic friend had been "revived" by an AA group in New Jersey.
She
knew
the Wilsons were destitute and offered them what Bill Wilson later called
"unbelievably easy terms."
The impact that the Wilsons had during the next four decades in the home
they
named
Stepping Stones is still being lived out today. Yet the contributions they
made
to
the understanding of alcoholism, the requirement for spiritual steps in
recovery
and
the need for families of alcoholics to have their own support are so
substantial
that
the National Park Service is preparing to crown the contemporary couple's
home
as
historic.
"The Wilsons' influence on 20th-century society is immeasurable," reads the
nominating statement, prepared by Margaret Gaertner, a preservation
specialist
with
the Dobbs Ferry architectural firm Stephen Tilly. "AA enabled, and continues
to
enable, millions of people around the world to achieve and sustain permanent
sobriety."
Although it may seem contradictory to call a 20th-century home historic in a
region
where historic properties often have 200-year pasts, the nominating form
says
the
Wilsons are legends who make it easy to forget that as recently as 1940,
alcoholism
was considered one of society's great unsolved public health enigmas.
Bill Wilson proclaimed that alcoholism was a disease three decades before
the
American Medical Association did in 1956. The 12-step solution that Wilson
and
AA
co-founder Dr. Bob Smith created to treat the physical, mental and spiritual
dimensions of alcoholism has become the standard for U.S. hospitals and
clinics.
Remarkably, AA was proved not in hospitals but in church basements, where
recovering
alcoholics shared their experiences, strength and hope to help others find
the
inspiration and power to stop drinking.
"Wilson realized that only another alcoholic could truly understand the
tangled
emotions evoked by his debilitating ordeal," reads the nominating form.
The Wilsons' cozy Dutch Colonial, with its barn-like gambrel roof and
cement-block
studio where Bill Wilson wrote, could be added to the state's Register of
Historic
Places in the spring. Stepping Stones could then join the National Register
of
Historic Places by summer.
Managed by a foundation that Lois Wilson formed in 1979, eight years after
Bill's
death at 71, Stepping Stones is a sacred site for Alcoholics Anonymous and
Al-Anon,
the 12-step program co-founded by Lois Wilson for the spouses and children
of
alcoholics.
Yet, Stepping Stones is not mobbed with pilgrims. A mere 1,000 visitors stop
by
each
year -- and up to half of those come for the annual picnic in June.
"We could increase our visitors by 100 percent, and we could handle it,"
said
Eileen
Giuliani, Stepping Stones' executive director.
Of course, she means that theoretically. For one thing, Stepping Stones is
surrounded
by single-family homes and wants to keep the peace. The other matter is that
not
all
recovering alcoholics and Al-Anons know that Stepping Stones is the Wilson
home,
much
less that it is in Bedford Hills.
The historical designation is sure to raise awareness among AA's 2.2 million
members
in 100,000 groups worldwide, and among the 29,000 Al-Anon groups with some
387,000
members in 115 countries, according to the organizations' estimates.
Giuliani said federal recognition will advance Stepping Stones' mission to
protect
the Wilson museum and archives, and promote the tenets of the AA experience.
Neighbors -- for once in Westchester -- seem ready to yield to the prospect
of
more
cars in the neighborhood.
"It's fine with me, and I've been here seven years," said Kim Cassone, a
mother
of
two who lives near Stepping Stones on Oak Street. "They were out there to
help
people
who had problems, and that is a good thing."
Once at Stepping Stones, visitors often feel an unmistakable presence: The
air
seems
sweet, as though bread has been baking, but no one has lived here since Lois
died at
age 97 in 1988.
The house is as Lois Wilson left it -- wall lengths of books stacked five
shelves
high, scores of grandmotherly collections, a gallery's worth of photos and
framed
proclamations by dignitaries ranging from Pope Paul VI to President
Eisenhower.
Susan Cheever, a Manhattan resident, will publish a biography, "My Name is
Bill:
Bill
Wilson -- His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous," this month.
Cheever,
who grew up in Ossining, is the daughter of Pulitzer Prize-winning
short-story
writer
John Cheever, whose own battle with alcohol she documented in her 1984
memoir,
"Home
Before Dark."
"It is a very powerful place," Cheever said of Stepping Stones. "The ghosts
are
still
there."
It is a rite for visitors to sit at the 1920s porcelain-topped kitchen table
where
Bill Wilson had a spiritual breakthrough with his childhood friend Ebby
Thatcher, one
month before Bill got sober in December 1934. Ignoble as the little white
table
seems, it is venerated at Stepping Stones, sometimes drawing tears from
those in
recovery.
"I was overwhelmed," said Mark W., 51, of Topeka, Kan., a businessman who
has
been
sober 10 years and is obliged under AA's 12 Traditions to be anonymous when
speaking
to the media.
He has made three pilgrimages to Stepping Stones in the past three years. It
was
his
second visit with his wife when he dropped his composure and cried.
"I already knew how much I lost drinking," he said. "But sitting there made
me
realize how much I gained by staying sober."
Other relics nearly as special to visitors are the desk in Bill's backyard
studio and
the desk in the home's upstairs library, where in 1951 Lois Wilson organized
the
first Al-Anon groups.
It was on Bill Wilson's desk, which he brought to Stepping Stones from New
Jersey,
that he wrote the important opening 11 chapters to "Alcoholics Anonymous" --
the
575-page AA textbook that has sold 20 million copies.
"I don't want to call Stepping Stones a shrine, but it is pretty close,"
said
Mark.
W. "If it hadn't been for those people, I wouldn't be sane."
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++++Message 1637. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob Memorial Edition of the AA
Grapevine (1951), Part 1 of 3
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/2/2004 12:17:00 PM
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Dr. Bob Memorial Edition
January 1951 AA Grapevine
(for those of you that don't know, this has now been discontinued by GSO)
Part 1 of 3
Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that
thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar,
and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer
thy gift. - Matthew V, 23-24
For 120,000 of us...and for the thousands yet to come...we who have cause
for eternal gratitude dedicate this issue of the AA Grapevine to the memory
of the Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous our beloved DR. BOB.
A Tribute from Bill
Dr. Bob
SERENELY remarking to his attendant, "I think this is it," Dr. Bob passed
out of our sight and hearing November sixteenth at noonday. So ended the
consuming malady wherein he had so well shown us how high faith can rise
over grievous distress. As he had lived, so he had died, supremely aware
that in his Father's House are many Mansions.
In all those he knew, memory was at floodtide. But who could really say what
was thought and felt by the five thousand sick ones to whom he personally
ministered and freely gave a physician's care; who could possibly record the
reflections of his townsmen who had seen him sink almost within the grasp of
oblivion, then rise to anonymous world renown; who could express the
gratitude of those tens of thousands of AA families who had so well heard of
him but had never seen him face to face? What, too, were the emotions of
those nearest him as they thankfully pondered the mystery of his
regeneration fifteen years ago and all its vast consequence since? Not the
smallest fraction of this great benefaction could be comprehended. He could
only declare, "What indeed hath God wrought?"
Never would Dr. Bob have us think him saint or superman. Nor would he have
us praise him or grieve his passing. He can almost be heard, saying, "Seems
to me you folks are making heavy going. I'm not to be taken so seriously as
all that. I was only a first link in that chain of Providential circumstance
which is called AA. By Grace and great fortune my link did not break; though
my faults and failures might often have brought on that unhappy result. I
was just another alcoholic trying to get along - under the Grace of God.
Forget me, but go you and do likewise. Securely add your own link to our
chain. With God's help, forge that chain well and truly." In this manner
would Dr. Bob estimate himself and counsel us.
It was a Saturday in May, 1935. An ill-starred business venture had brought
me to Akron where it immediately collapsed leaving me in a precarious state
of sobriety. That afternoon I paced the lobby of Akron's Mayflower Hotel. As
I peered at the gathering crowd in the bar, I became desperately frightened
of a slip. It was the first severe temptation since my New York friend had
laid before me what were to become the basic principles of AA, in November
1934. For the next six months I had felt utterly secure in my sobriety. But
now there was no security; I felt alone, helpless. In the months before I
had worked hard with other alcoholics. Or, rather, I had preached at them in
a somewhat cocksure fashion. In my false assurance I felt I couldn't fall.
But this time it was different. Something had to be done at once.
Glancing at a Church Directory at the far end of the lobby, I selected the
name of a clergyman at random. Over the phone I told him of my need to work
with another alcoholic. Though I'd had no previous success with any of them
I suddenly realized how such work had kept me free from desire. The
clergyman gave me a list of ten names. Some of these people, he was sure,
would refer me a case in need of help. Almost running to my room, I seized
the phone. But my enthusiasm soon ebbed. Not a person in the first nine
called could, or would, suggest anything to meet my urgency.
One uncalled name still stood at the end of my list - Henrietta S. Somehow I
couldn't muster courage to lift the phone. But after one more look into the
bar downstairs something said to me, "You'd better." To my astonishment a
warm Southern voice floated in over the wire. Declaring herself no
alcoholic, Henrietta nonetheless insisted that she understood. Would I come
to her home at once?
Because she had been enabled to face and transcend other calamities, she
certainly did understand mine. She was to become a vital link to those
fantastic events which were presently to gather around the birth and
development of our AA society. Of all names the obliging Rector had given
me, she was the only one who cared enough. I would here like to record our
timeless gratitude.
Straightway she pictured the plight of Dr. Bob and Anne. Suiting action to
her word, she called their house. As Anne answered, Henrietta described me
as a sobered alcoholic from New York who, she felt sure, could help Bob. The
good doctor had seemingly exhausted all medical and spiritual remedies for
his condition. Then Anne replied, "What you say, Henrietta, is terribly
interesting. But I am afraid we can't do anything now. Being
Mother's Day, my dear boy has just brought in a fine potted plant. The pot
is on the table but, alas, Bob is on the floor. Could we try to make it
tomorrow?" Henrietta instantly issued a dinner invitation for the following
day.
At five o'clock next afternoon, Anne and Dr. Bob stood at Henrietta's door.
She discreetly wisked Bob and me off to the library. His words were,
"Mightly glad to meet you Bill. But it happens I can't stay long; five or
ten minutes at the outside." I laughed and observed, "Guess you're pretty
thirsty, aren't you?" His rejoinder was, "Well, maybe you do understand this
drinking business after all." So began a talk which lasted hours.
How different my attitude was this time. My fright of getting drunk had
evoked a much more becoming humility. After telling Dr. Bob my story, I
explained how truly I needed him. Would he allow me to help him, I might
remain sober myself. The seed that was to flower as AA began to grow toward
the light. But as dear Anne well guessed, that first tendril was a fragile
thing. Practical steps had better be taken. She bade me come and live at
their menage for awhile. There I might keep an eye on Dr. Bob. And he might
on me. This was the very thing. Perhaps we could do together what we
couldn't do separately. Besides I might revive my sagging business venture.
For the next three months I lived with these two wonderful people. I shall
always believe they gave me more than I ever brought them. Each morning
there was devotion. After the long silence Anne would read out of the Good
Book. James was our favorite. Reading him from her chair in the corner, she
would softly conclude "Faith without works is dead."
But Bob's travail with alcohol was not quite over. That Atlantic City
Medical Convention had to be attended. He hadn't missed one in twenty years.
Anxiously waiting, Anne and I heard nothing for five days. Finally his
office nurse and her husband found him early one morning at the Akron
railroad station in some confusion and disarray - which puts it mildly. A
horrible dilemma developed. Dr. Bob had to perform a critical surgical
operation just three days hence. Nor could an associate substitute for him.
He simply had to do it. But how? Could we ever get him ready in time?
He and I were placed in twin beds. A typical tapering down process was
inaugurated. Not much sleep for anybody, but he cooperated. At four o'clock
on the morning of the operation he turned, looked at me and said, "I am
going through with this." I inquired, "You mean you are going through with
the operation?" He replied, "I have placed both operation and myself in
God's hands. I'm going to do what it takes to get sober and stay that way."
Not another word did he say. At nine o'clock he shook miserably as we helped
him into his clothes. We were panic stricken. Could he ever do it? Were he
too tight or too shaky, it would make little difference, his misguided
scalpel might take the life of his patient. We gambled. I gave him one
bottle of beer. That was the last drink he ever took. It was June 10, 1935.
The patient lived.
Our first prospect appeared, a neighboring parson sent him over. Because the
newcomer faced eviction, Anne took in his whole family, wife and two
children. The new one was a puzzler. When drinking, he'd go clean out of his
mind. One afternoon Anne sat at her kitchen table, calmly regarding him as
he fingered a carving knife. Under her steady gaze, his hand dropped. But he
did not sober then. His wife despairingly betook herself to her own parents
and he disappeared.
But he did reappear fifteen years later for Dr. Bob's last rites. There we
saw him, soundly and happily sober in AA. Back in 1935 we weren't so
accustomed to miracles as we are today, we had given him up.
Then came a lull on the 12th Step front. In this time Anne and Henrietta
infused much needed spirituality into Bob and me. Lois came to Akron on
vacation from her grind at a New York department store, so raised our morale
immensely. We began to attend Oxford Group meetings at the Akron home of T.
Henry W. The devotion of this good man and his wife is a bright page in
memory. Their names will be inscribed on Page One of AA's book of first and
best friends.
One day Dr. Bob said to me. "Don't you think we'd better scare up some
drunks to work on?" He phoned the nurse in charge of admissions at Akron
City Hospital and told her how he and another drunk from New York had a cure
for alcoholism. I saw the old boy blush and look disconcerted. The nurse had
commented, "Well, Doctor, you'd better give that cure a good workout on
yourself."
Nevertheless the admitting nurse produced a customer. A dandy, she said he
was. A prominent Akron lawyer, he had lost about everything. He'd been in
City Hospital six times in four months. He'd arrived at that very moment;
had just knocked down a nurse he'd thought a pink elephant. "Will that one
do you?" she inquired. Said Dr. Bob, "Put him in a private room. We'll be
down when he's better."
Soon Dr. Bob and I saw a sight which tens of thousands of us have since
beheld, the sight of the man on the bed who does not yet know he can get
well. We explained to the man on the bed the nature of his malady and told
him our own stories of drinking and recovery. But the sick one shook his
head, "Guess you've been through the mill boys, but you never were half as
bad off as I am. For me it's too late. I don't dare go out of here. I'm a
man of faith, too; used to be deacon in my church. I've still faith in God
but I guess he hasn't got any in me. Alcohol has me, it's no use. Come and
see me again, though. I'd like to talk with you more."
As we entered his room for our second visit a woman sitting at the foot of
his bed was saying, "What has happened to you, husband? You seem so
different. I feel so relieved." The new man turned to us. "Here they are,"
he cried. "They understand. After they left yesterday I couldn't get what
they told me out of my mind, I laid awake all night. Then hope came. If they
could find release, so might I. I became willing to get honest with myself,
to square my wrongdoing, to help other alcoholics. The minute I did this I
began to feel different. I knew I was going to be well." Continued the man
on the bed, "Now, good wife, please fetch me my clothes. We are going to get
up and out of here." Whereupon AA number three arose from his bed, never to
drink again. The seed of AA had pushed another tendril up through the new
soil. Though we knew it not, it had already flowered. Three of us were
gathered together. Akron's Group One was a reality.
We three worked with scores of others. Many were called but mighty few
chosen; failure was our daily companion. But when I left Akron in September,
1935, two or three more sufferers had apparently linked themselves to us for
good.
The next two years marked the "flying blind" period of our pioneering time.
With the fine instinct of that good physician he was, Dr. Bob continued to
medically treat and indoctrinate every new case, first at Akron City
hospital then for the dozen years since at famed St. Thomas where thousands
passed under his watchful eye and sure AA touch. Though not of his faith,
the Staff and Sisters there did prodigies. Theirs is one of the most
compelling examples of love and devotion we AAs have ever witnessed. Ask the
thousands of AA visitors and patients who really know. Ask them what they
think of Sister Ignatia, of St. Thomas. Or of Dr. Bob. But I'm getting ahead
of my story.
Meanwhile a small group had taken shape in New York. The Akron meeting at T.
Henry's home began to have a few Cleveland visitors. At this juncture I
spent a week visiting Dr.Bob. We commenced to count noses. Out of hundreds
of alcoholics, how many had stuck? How many were sober? And for how long? In
that fall of 1937 Bob and I counted forty cases who had significant dry time
- maybe sixty years for the whole lot of them! Our eyes glistened. Enough
time had elapsed on enough cases to spell out something quite new, perhaps
something great indeed. Suddenly the ceiling went up. We no longer flew
blind. A beacon had been lighted. God had shown alcoholics how it might be
passed from hand to hand. Never shall I forget that great and humbling hour
of realization, shared with Dr. Bob.
But the new realization faced us with a great problem, a momentous decision.
It had taken nearly three years to effect forty recoveries. The United
States alone probably had a million alcoholics. How were we to get the story
to them? Wouldn't we need paid workers, hospitals of our own, lots of money?
Surely we must have some sort of a textbook. Dare we crawl at a snail's pace
whilst our story got garbled and mayhap thousands would die? What a poser
that was!
How we were spared from professionalism, wealth, and extensive property
management; how we finally came up with the book "Alcoholics Anonymous" is a
story by itself. But in this critical period it was Dr. Bob's prudent
counsel which so often restrained us from rash ventures that might have
retarded us for years, perhaps ruined us for good. Nor can we ever forget
the devotion of Dr. Bob and Jim S. (who passed away last summer) as they
gathered stories for the AA Book, three-fifths of them coming from Akron
alone. Dr. Bob's special fortitude and wisdom were prime factors in that
time so much characterized by doubt, and finally by grave decision.
How much we may rejoice that Anne and Dr. Bob both lived to see the lamp lit
at Akron carried into every corner of the earth; that they doubtless
realized millions might someday pass under the ever-widening arch whose
keystone they so gallantly helped carve. Yet, being so humble as they were,
I'm sure they never quite guessed what a heritage they left us, nor how
beautifully their appointed task had been completed. All they needed to do
was finished. It was even reserved for Dr. Bob to see AA come of age as, for
the last time, he spoke to 7000 of us at Cleveland, July, 1950.
I saw Dr. Bob the Sunday before he died. A bare month previous he had aided
me in framing a proposal for the General Service Conference of Alcoholics
Anonymous, AA's third legacy. This bequest, in pamphlet form, was actually
at the printers when he took his final departure the following Thursday. As
his last act and desire respecting AA, this document will be sure to carry a
great and special meaning for us all.
With no other person have I ever experienced quite the same relation: the
finest thing I know how to say is that in all the strenuous time of our
association, he and I never had an uncomfortable difference of opinion. His
capacity for brotherhood and love was often beyond my ken.
For a last word, may I leave with you a moving example of his simplicity and
humility. Curiously enough, the story is about a monument - a monument
proposed for him. A year ago, when Anne passed away, the thought of an
imposing shaft came uppermost in the minds of many. People were insistent
that something be done. Hearing rumors of this, Dr. Bob promptly declared
against AAs erecting for Anne and himself any tangible memorials or
monument. These usual symbols of personal distinction he brushed aside in a
single devastating sentence. Said he, "Annie and I plan to be buried just
like other folks."
At the alcoholic ward in St. Thomas his friends did, however, erect this
simple plaque. It reads:
IN GRATITUDE
THE FRIENDS OF DR. BOB AND ANNE SMITH
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE THIS MEMORIAL
TO THE SISTERS AND STAFF OF
ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL
AT AKRON, BIRTHPLACE OF ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS, ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL BECAME
THE FIRST RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION EVER
TO OPEN ITS DOOR TO OUR SOCIETY.
MAY THE LOVING DEVOTION OF THOSE WHO
LABORED HERE IN OUR PIONEERING TIME
BE A BRIGHT AND WONDEROUS EXAMPLE
OF GOD'S GRACE EVERLASTINGLY SET
BEFORE US ALL.
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++++Message 1638. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob Memorial Edition of the AA
Grapevine (1951), Part 2 of 3
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/3/2004 9:53:00 AM
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Dr. Bob Memorial Edition
January 1951 AA Grapevine
Part 2 of 3
Without heroics ... as he would wish it,
this is the story of
Dr. Bob
the physician whose 'practice' reached half across the world...
Dr. Bob was born August 8, 1879, in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, a typical New
England village of some 7000 souls. As the only son of parents prominent in
civic and church activities, his early childhood was spent under strict
parental guidance.
Signs of inner revolt came at an early age. In later years the doctor liked
to tell his children, Sue and Robert, of how he was put to bed every evening
at five o'clock. He would go quietly enough, a fact which might have led the
modern child-psychology-wise parent to suspect the worst, but which
seemingly went unnoticed by the young man's parents. As soon as he was
reasonably sure that he was considered safely asleep, he would arise, dress
and slip quietly downstairs and out the backdoor to join his village gang.
So far as is known he was never apprehended while on his nocturnal
expeditions.
The call of the woodland trail was far more fascinating to young Rob, as his
schoolmates called him, than the stuffy schoolhouse to which he was forced
to make his reluctant way each morning. His active young mind was more apt
to be concentrating upon the best method to trap a bear than on the dull
drone of his teacher's voice. He wanted to be free to roam. Rebellion surged
within him at the thought of restraint of any sort...study and home-work
were "musts"...even the keenness of his youthful mind was not enough to make
up for his lack of application to his daily lessons. Serious repercussions
often followed which led to accusations of "waywardness" by his parents and
his teachers.
Though his scholastic neglect may have disgraced him with his elders upon
occasion, his schoolmates loved him. Whether it was because his habitual and
sometimes adventurous revolts against restraint gave him a glamorous aura or
because of the accuracy with which children often sense traits of character
obscure to adults, they made him a popular and sought-after member of their
class.
Freedom from some of the "musts" came with vacations. He was released, then,
to wander the hills, hunt, and trap and swim in the sea. Often Rob and his
friends went into Canada on hunting trips. On one of these forays into the
wilds, hunting was so poor that the boys lived on eels, blueberries and
cream of tartar biscuits for three weeks. They did flush a particularly
large woodchuck. They stalked him for several hours. Finally they had him
within shooting range. After being shot at for sometime, the woodchuck
disappeared. This episode later caused Rob's father, the Judge, to remark
that the woodchuck probably went in to get out of the noise.
The incident of the woodchuck and a tale of a great bear chase cast some
shadow of doubt on young Rob's prowess as a hunter and woodsman. Off to the
woods one day, went the young hunter and a schoolmate. The boys sauntered
along, kicking at stones ... building castles in the air...talking about the
things that spirited adolescent males talk about. Suddenly they saw before
them a huge bear. The bear, who was probably as astonished as the boys, took
to the woods at a gallop. The young hunters were hard at his heels. The day
was hot, the brambles thick, courageous daring was at its height...the bear
got away. "I don't believe," Dr. Bob used to say, "that we ran as fast as we
might have!"
In the summers the family often spent some weeks in a cottage by the sea.
Here Rob became an expert swimmer. He and his foster sister, Nancy, spent
many hours building and sailing their own sailboats. It was here that he
saved a young girl from drowning. This event must have left an
impression...probably of the advisability for every child to learn to swim
at an early age. He taught his own children, Robert R. and Sue, to be expert
swimmers at the age of five. The three of them would set out every vacation
morning to swim the channel near their cottage. This feat often caused
distraught neighbors to call their mother to tell her that her babies had
fallen out of a boat in the middle of the channel.
While the boy, Rob, was high-spirited, considered rebellious and wayward he
was industrious and labored long and hard at anything he wanted to do. He
was still very young when it became apparent that he was ambitious as well
as willing to work. He wanted, above all else, to become a medical doctor
like his maternal grandfather.
When he was about nine years old he began to show signs of liking to work,
especially out of doors. That summer he was at a neighbor's farm helping the
men load hay. Perhaps he was resting, perhaps he was prowling around poking
under bushes to see what he could see...he saw a jug...he pulled the cork
and sniffed. It was a new odor to this son of strict New England parents. It
was an odor that he liked. If the stuff in the jug smelled so good, it
should taste good too. And it was good. He liked the taste. He liked the way
it made him feel. A little boy; a jug of hooch; the first securely welded
link in the chain.
By the time he reached his teens, Rob was spending parts of his summers
working on a Vermont farm or juggling trays and lugging baggage as a bellhop
in an Adirondack summer hotel. His winters were passed trying to avoid the
necessity of having to attend high school in order to receive a diploma. It
may have been during his high school days that young Rob learned much of
what there is to know about a billiard table. Later when his son, Robert,
would tease him about this accomplishment as being the product of a
mis-spent youth, Dr. Bob would just smile and say nothing. He was a good
student in spite of himself and graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy in
1898.
It was at a party given at the Academy that Dr. Bob first met Anne. A
student at Wellesley, she was spending a holiday with a college chum. It was
a small, reserved girl whom the tall, rangy Rob met that night. With an
agile mind to match his own, Anne had a cheerfulness, sweetness and calm
that was to remain with her through the years. It was these same qualities
that were in the future to endear her to hundreds as Anne, Dr. Bob's wife.
After high school at St. Johnsbury Academy came four years of college at
Dartmouth. At long last the rebellious young colt was free of his parents'
restraining supervision. New experiences were to be explored and enjoyed
without having to give an accounting.
His first discovery in his search for the facts of life on the campus was
that joining the boys for a brew seemed to make up the greater part of
after-class recreation. From Dr. Bob's point of view it was the major
extra-curricular activity. It had long been evident that whatever Rob did,
he did well. He became a leader in the sport. He drank for the sheer fun of
it and suffered little or no ill-effects.
Fame came to him at Dartmouth - no accolades for scholarship...no letters
for athletic prowess...his fame came for a capacity for drinking beer that
was matched by few and topped by none...and for what the students called his
"patent throat." They would stand in awe watching him consume an entire
bottle of beer without any visible muscular movement of swallowing.
The prospects of getting drunk in the evening furnished Rob and his cronies
with conversations which ran on all day. The pros and cons of whether to get
drunk or not to get drunk would invariably drive one of their mild-mannered
friends to distraction. He would rise in spluttering protest to say, "Well!
If I were going to get drunk, I'd be about it!"
As often as not...they were about it. There were times, though, when a
change of scenery seemed more to their liking. Like the time Rob and a
friend got it into their heads that going to Montpelier, Vermont was a fine
idea. Admiral Dewey had just returned from Manila and was to parade through
the town. Being in the usual state of financial embarrassment, how to get
there caused a fleeting problem, but being convinced that where there was a
will, a way would certainly present itself, they hopped a freight. In the
morning weary but mightily pleased with themselves, they descended from the
boxcar in Montpelier. As they walked up the street toward the parade route
they met a fellow Dartmouth student. The boys greeted him with as much
dignity as their grimy faces and straw-flecked garments would allow. To
their astonishment his "Hello" was most cordial. Wouldn't they like to go to
the State House with him? There, from the reviewing stand, the boys viewed
the parade with their Dartmouth friend, whose father was the Governor of
Vermont.
Through the carefree days at college he studied just about as much as he had
to, to get by. But he was a good student none-the-less. Here he made friends
whom he was to know and to see from time to time through his life ...friends
who did not always approve of his drinking prowess, but loved him in spite
of it.
His last years at Dartmouth were spent doing exactly what he wanted to do
with little thought of the wishes or feelings of others...a state of mind
which became more and more predominate as the years passed. Rob graduated in
1902..."summa cum laude" in the eyes of the drinking fraternity. The dean
had a somewhat lower estimate.
Now that he held a Dartmouth diploma, it seemed advisable that the willful
young man settle down to making a living and a solid, secure future for
himself. He wasn't ready to settle down to a job. The strong desire to
become a medical doctor was still with him. His mother, who had never
approved of this career for her son, hadn't altered her views. He went to
work.
For the next three years his business career was varied, if not successful.
The first two years he worked for a large scale company; then he went to
Montreal where he labored diligently at selling railway supplies, gas
engines of all sorts and many other items of heavy hardware. He left
Montreal and went to Boston where he was employed at Filene's. What his
duties were there, have never been recorded.
All through this three year period he was drinking as much as purse allowed,
still without getting into any serious trouble. But he wasn't making any
headway either. Whatever his duties at Filene's were, they certainly were
not what he wanted to do. He still wanted to be a doctor. It was time he was
about it. He quit his job at the store and that Fall entered the University
of Michigan as a premedical student.
Again he was free of all restraint and doing just as he wanted to do.
Earnestly, he got down to serious business... the serious business of
drinking as much as he could and still make it to class in the morning. His
famous capacity for beer followed him to the Michigan campus. He was elected
to membership in the drinking fraternity. Once again he displayed the
wonders of his "patent throat" before his gaping brothers.
He, who had boasted to his friends..."Never had a hangover in my
life...began to have the morning after shakes. Many a morning Dr. Bob went
to classes and even though fully prepared, turned away at the door and went
back to the fraternity house. So bad were his jitters that he feared he
would cause a scene if he should be called on.
He went from bad to worse. No longer drinking for the fun of it, his life at
Michigan became one long binge after another. In the Spring of his Sophomore
year, Dr. Bob made up his mind that he could not complete his course. He
packed his grip and headed South.
After a month spent on a large farm owned by a friend, the fog began to
clear from his brain. As he began to think more clearly he realized that it
was very foolish to quit school. He decided to return and continue his work.
The faculty had other ideas on the subject. They were, they told him,
completely disgusted. It would require no effort at all to get along without
his presence on the Michigan campus. After a long argument they allowed him
to return to take his exams. He passed them creditably. After many more
painful discussions, the faculty also gave him his credits.
That Fall he entered Brush University as a Junior. Here his drinking became
so much worse that his fraternity brothers felt forced to send for his
father. The Judge made the long journey in a vain effort to get him
straightened out.
After those long disasterous binges when Dr. Bob was forced to face his
father he had a deep feeling of guilt. His father always met the situation
quietly, "Well, what did this one cost you?" he would ask. Oddly enough this
feeling of guilt would come, not because he felt that he had hurt him in any
way, but because his father seemed, somehow, to understand. It was this
quiet, hopeless understanding that pained him deep inside.
He was drinking more and more hard liquor, now, and coming up to his final
exams he went on a particularly rough binge. When he went in to the
examinations his hand trembled so badly he could not hold a pencil. He was,
of course, called before the faculty. Their decision was that if he wished
to graduate he must come back for two more quarters, remaining absolutely
dry. This he was able to do. The faculty considered his work so creditable
he was able to secure a much coveted internship in City Hospital in Akron,
Ohio.
The first two years in Akron, as a young intern, were free of trouble. Hard
work took the place of hard drinking simply because there wasn't time for
both. At one time during his internship he ran the hospital pharmacy by
himself. This added to other duties took him all over the hospital...running
up and down the stairs because the elevators were too slow...running here,
rushing there as if the devil were after him. All this frenzied activity
never failed to bring about an explosive, "Now where is that cadaverous
young Yankee!" from one of the older doctors who became particularly fond of
him.
Though the two years as intern at City were hectic, Dr. Bob had time to
learn much from the older men who were glad to share their knowledge with
him. He began to perfect his own skills so that he might become a
specialist, a surgeon.
When his two years of internship were over he opened an office in The Second
National Bank Building, in Akron. This was in 1912. His offices were in the
same building until he retired from practice in 1948.
Completely out on his own now, and again free to do as he chose - some money
in his pocket and all the time in the world. It may have been that reaction
set in from all the work, the irregular hours, the hectic life of an intern;
it may have been real or imagined; whatever caused it, Dr. Bob developed
considerable stomach trouble. The remedy for that was, of course, a couple
of drinks. It didn't take him long to return to the old drinking habits.
Now he began to know the real horror, the suffering of pain that goes with
alcoholism. In hope of relief, he incarcerated himself at least a dozen
times in one of the local sanitariums. After three years of this torture he
ended up in a local hospital where they tried to help him. But he got his
friends to smuggle him in a quart. Or, if that failed, it wasn't difficult
for a man who knew his way around a hospital to steal the alcohol kept in
the building. He got rapidly worse.
Finally his father had to send a doctor out from St. Johnsbury to attempt to
get him home. Somehow the doctor managed to get him back to the house he was
born in, where he stayed in bed for two months before he could venture out.
He stayed around town for about two months more, then returned to Akron to
resume his practice. Dr. Bob was thoroughly scared, either by what had
happened, by what the doctor had told him, or both. He went into one of his
dry periods and stayed that way until the 18th Amendment was passed.
In 1915 he went back to Chicago to marry Anne. He brought her back to Akron
as his bride. The first three years of their married life were free of the
unhappiness that was to come later. He became established in his practice.
Their son Robert was born and life began to make a sensible pattern. Then
the 18th Amendment was passed.
Dr. Bob's reasoning was quite typical at this time, if not quite logical. It
would make very little difference if he did take a few drinks now. The
liquor that he and his friends had bought in amounts according to the size
of their bank accounts, would soon be gone. He could come to no harm. He was
soon to learn the facts of the Great American Experiment.
The government obligingly made it possible for doctors to obtain unlimited
supplies of liquor. Often during those black years, Dr. Bob, who held his
profession sacred, would go to the phone book, pick out a name at random and
fill out the prescription which would get him a pint of whisky.
When all else failed there was the newly accredited member of American
society, the bootlegger. A moderate beginning led to Dr. Bob's usual ending.
During the next few years, he developed two distinct phobias. One was the
fear of not sleeping and the other was the fear of running out of liquor. So
began the squirrel-cage existence. Staying sober to earn enough money to get
drunk...getting drunk to go to sleep...using sedatives to quiet the
jitters...staying sober...earning money...getting drunk...smuggling home a
bottle...hiding the bottle from Anne who became an expert at detecting
hiding places.
This horrible nightmare went on for seventeen years. Somehow he had the good
sense to stay away from the hospital and not to receive patients if he were
drinking. He stayed sober every day until four o'clock, then came home. In
this way he was able to keep his drinking problem from becoming common
knowledge or hospital gossip.
Through these mad years Dr. Bob was an active member of the City Hospital
Staff and often he had occasion to go to St. Thomas Hospital, where in 1934,
he became a member of the Courtesy Staff and in 1943, a member of the Active
Staff. It was during one of these visits to St. Thomas, in 1928, that in the
course of his duties, he met Sister Mary Ignatia.
The meeting seemed of no particular consequence at the time. Many Sisters
came to St. Thomas, then departed for duties elsewhere. Though neither of
them knew it, the meeting was to have great importance to them both in the
years to come. Sister Ignatia, like the others, never knew of the inner
turmoil with which this man was beset..."He just always seemed different
than the rest...he brought something with him when he came into a room...I
never knew what it was, I just felt it..."
So perhaps it was, then, that the Hand that moves us all was beginning to
speed up the events that led to Dr. Bob's meeting with the stranger.
Anne and the children now lived in a shambles of broken promises, given in
all sincerity. Unable to see her friends, she existed on the bare
necessities. About all she had left was her faith that her prayers for her
husband would somehow be answered.
It then happened that Dr. Bob and Anne were thrown in with a crowd of people
who attracted Dr. Bob because of their poise, health and happiness. These
people spoke without embarrassment, a thing he could never do. They all
seemed very much at ease. Above all, they seemed happy. They were members of
the Oxford Group.
Self conscious, ill at ease most of the time, his health nearing the
breaking point, Dr. Bob was thoroughly miserable. He sensed that these
new-found friends had something that he did not have. He felt that he could
profit from them.
When he learned that what they had was something of a spiritual nature, his
enthusiasm was somewhat dampened. Unfortunately his childhood background of
church twice during the week and three times on Sunday had caused him to
resolve that he would never appear in a church so long as he lived. He kept
that resolve for 40 years except when his presence there was absolutely
necessary. It helped some to find out that these people did not gather in a
church but at each other's homes.
That they might have the answer to his drinking problem never entered his
head but he thought it could do him no harm to study their philosophy. For
the next two and one half years he attended their meetings. And got drunk
regularly!
Anne became deeply interested in the group and her interest sustained Dr.
Bob's. He delved into religious philosophy, he read the Scriptures, he
studied spiritual interpretations, the lives of the Saints. Like a sponge he
soaked up the spiritual philosophies of the ages. Anne kept her simple faith
in prayer...and her courage - Dr. Bob got drunk.
Then one Saturday afternoon, Henrietta called Anne. Could they come over to
meet a friend of hers who might help Bob...
At five o'clock Sunday evening they were at Henrietta's door. Dr. Bob faced
Bill W. who said, "You must be awfully thirsty...this won't take us long..."
From the moment Bill spoke to him, Dr. Bob knew that here was a man who knew
what he was talking about. As the hours passed, Bill told of his experiences
with alcohol; he told him of the simple message that a friend had brought...
"Show me your faith and by my works I will show you mine..."
Slowly, at first, then with sudden clarity, Dr. Bob began to understand.
Bill had been able to control his drinking problem by the very means that
Dr. Bob, himself had been trying to use...but there was a difference. The
spiritual approach was as useless as any other if you soaked it up like a
sponge and kept it all to yourself. True, Bill had been preaching his
message at any drunk who would listen; he had been unsuccessful 'til now,
but the important thing was that by giving his knowledge away, he, himself,
was sober!
There was one more short binge for Dr. Bob after that talk. On June 10,
1935, he took his last drink. It was high time now to put his house in
order. With his quiet professional dignity, his ready humor, he got about
it.
Bill stayed on in Akron for several months, living with Dr. Bob and Anne. It
wasn't long before they realized that they needed another drunk to help, if
they could. The two men went over to City Hospital. They asked the nurse on
"admitting" if she had an alcoholic in the hospital. They were taken to a
room where a man lay strapped to the bed, writhing in agony, "Will this one
do?" the nurse asked. "This one" would do very well. That human wreck to
whom they talked that day and several times after, came out of the hospital,
sober. Bill D. became the third member of the little group...AA Number
Three!
Dr. Bob now was a man with a purpose and the will to live. When the fog
cleared out of his brain, his health had improved. He felt so good in the
summer of 1935, at 56 years of age, that he took Bob and Sue out to the
tennis courts one day. He played them six straight sets of tennis. The kids
were done in.
Anne began to live again, too. She was happy with her husband's new-found,
joyful sobriety. She was no longer friendless, alone. Her kitchen table was
almost always littered with coffee cups, a fresh pot-full sat waiting on the
stove. Her faith, her belief in prayer and divine guidance went far to carry
the men through that first summer.
In the year 1935, there were few men alive who would accept the fact that
alcoholism is a disease, which should be treated as such. Prejudice and
ignorance were some of the problems facing Dr. Bob as he set about helping
sick alcoholics with his professional skill and his new-found spiritual
understanding. City Hospital was often filled with drunks smuggled in under
trumped-up diagnosis. The oldtimers who were hospitalized during those first
years were admitted as suffering from "acute gastritis."
Since he was on the courtesy staff at St. Thomas, run by the Sisters of
Charity of St. Augustine, Dr. Bob felt that he might enlist the help of
Sister Ignatia. He knew that it had never seemed right to her that a drunk
should be turned away. She couldn't understand why a drunk on the verge of
DT's was turned away but a drunk with a bashed-in head was admitted. They
were both sick. They both needed help.
His first approach to her on the subject was casual. He didn't tell her much
nor did he make any promises. He just told her that he was trying to treat
alcoholics by a new method. He and some other alcoholics, he said believed
that alcoholism could be controlled by medical attention coupled with the
spiritual. His remarks, though brief, made sense to her.
It wasn't long before Dr. Bob brought in an alcoholic. Sister admitted him
as having acute indigestion. He was put to bed in a double room. Then Dr.
Bob told her quietly, "We'd like to have him in a private room in the
morning." As if it weren't bad enough to have an illegal admittance on her
conscience this man was asking for a private room! Morning found the patient
peacefully asleep, on a cot in the room where flowers were trimmed and
arranged for patients' rooms!
FOR HE IS THE ROCK UPON WHICH AA IS FOUNDED
After that more and more "acute gastritis" cases woke up in St. Thomas
Hospital. In August, 1939, Dr. Bob brought a patient to Sister for
admittance. So far as is known, he was the first alcoholic ever to be
admitted into a general hospital under the diagnosis: Alcoholism. Dr. Bob
never could remember just what the policy of the hospital was at that time,
nor did he recall ever having asked.
Since that August day there have been 4800 cases admitted into St. Thomas.
Until Dr. Bob retired, he visited the ward each day to give personal
attention to each patient. His cheerful, "Well, what can I do for you?" was
heard in the ward for the last time, on Christmas, 1949. On that day Sister
played the organ for him and showed him the beautiful new chimes ...talked
of her hopes of more beds and furniture for a lounge outside the ward. The
chimes tell the story of the bitter criticism of 10 years ago to the
complete co-operation from everyone connected with the hospital today. But
so long as Sister Ignatia goes about her duties on the admitting desk and in
the AA ward, whenever a drunk is brought in a call will come, "Sister, you'd
better come. One of your boys is downstairs!"
Dr. Bob and his first few red-eyed disciples continued to meet with the
Oxford Group. But they were a 'special interest' bloc. The unpredictable
nature of the alcoholic and his preoccupation with the earthy realities of
drinking and drunkenness, led the tactful Doctor to the idea of separate
meetings.
Without fuss or bother, Dr. Bob announced that there would be a meeting for
the alcoholics...if any of them cared to come. When the meeting came to
order, all of the little band were there. Dr. Bob put his foot on the rung
of a dining room chair, identified himself as an alcoholic and began reading
The Sermon on the Mount. Still not known as Alcoholics Anonymous, this was
the first Akron meeting for alcoholics only.
Word of the work being done in Akron began to spread to nearby Cleveland.
Men began coming over to be hospitalized in St. Thomas or City Hospital. The
growth of the group speeded up. By 1939, they were meeting in Akron's Kings
School. They had long since outgrown Anne's small house. Through all the
growth, the hurts that come with growing pains, the gossip, the little
grievances, Dr. Bob listened to them all.
Occasionally, he advised. He became the "father confessor" to the group. So
sacred to him were confidences, that he would not break them for anybody or
anything.
Anne used to tease him about being "so close-mouthed" that she claimed she
didn't know a thing that was going on. She laughingly told him that she
would divorce him unless he told her some of the things he knew...but she
was quick to retract her statement because she knew, even for her, he would
not break a confidence.
By 1939, there were enough men coming to Akron from Cleveland to make it
seem advisable to start a Cleveland Group. The first meeting was held in May
of that year. The break away from the Akron group brought with it
disagreements. The only thing that kept them on an even keel, say those
pioneers, was the sound wisdom of Dr. Bob. How he kept his sanity seemed a
miracle. There he was, they say, in the midst of a bunch of unstable people,
not yet dry behind the ears. It may have been because he would never allow
one man to speak ill of another unless that man were present, that the
Cleveland off-spring survived.
By the end of 1939, Cleveland had proved a big point in AA history. It had
proved, first that one group could break from another. This they proved
conclusively because by the end of the year there was not one Cleveland
group...there were three! The two splits had been brought about by
differences of opinion. It seemed that no matter what happened the group
activity would go on. Cleveland proved, too, that alcoholics could be
sobered up on what almost amounted to a mass production basis. By 1944, the
Cleveland membership was well past 1000. Dr. Bob's wise counsel was
right..."there's no use worrying about these things. As long as people have
faith and believe, this will go on."
In the years that came after that meeting on Mother's Day, 1935, Dr. Bob
gave freely of himself to all who came to ask for help, to seek advice...to
laugh or to cry. In so helping others, he began to rebuild himself.
Professionally, he became loved and respected by all who worked with
him...socially he was once again the kind, dignified man who Anne and their
friends knew and admired.
Dr. Bob, as Anne had known him to be, was possessed of calm professional
dignity which gave courage and heart to his patients. In the years to come,
this dignity, was to play a large part in the lives of the hundreds who came
to his door. Never given to loose talk, Dr. Bob controlled his tongue as
surely, as steadily and as potently as he did his scalpel. He used the gift
of speech with the same concise economy, the sureness of purpose, that went
into each deft movement of his surgeon's hands.
More often than not his observations were sprinkled with salty humor. Dr.
Bob had the rare quality of being able to laugh at himself and with others.
As much a part of him as his quiet professional dignity, was this keen sense
of humor. He spoke with a broad New England accent and was given to dropping
a remark or telling a riotous story absolutely deadpan. This sometimes
proved disconcerting to those who did not know him well, especially when he
referred to the poised, charming Anne, as "The Frail."
Seldom did he call his friends by their given names... it was Abercrombie to
those men of whom he was particularly fond - or Sugar to close women
friends...a friend in the loan business was Shylock. This tall "cadaverous
looking Yankee" who held his profession sacred and walked through life with
dignity would tell anyone who questioned him as to his hopes, his
ambitions...that all he ever wanted in life was "to have curly hair, to tap
dance, to play the piano and to own a convertible."
One of the very early Akron members says that the first impression he had of
Dr. Bob was of a gruff person, a bit forbidding, with a habit of looking
over his glasses. He gave the impression of looking right through to your
soul. This AA says that he got the impression that Dr. Bob knew exactly what
he was thinking... and found out later that he did!
When he met Dr. Bob for the first time, what was offered seemed to the new
man, a perfect answer to an immediate and serious problem... it was
something to tell a boss who, at the time was none too sympathetic to his
drinking. Dr. Bob knew that the man wasn't being honest with him, and he
knew he was kidding himself. No lectures were given, no recriminations. Dr.
Bob began to make a habit of stopping by the man's house after office hours.
About twice a week he stopped for coffee and the two men discussed
...honesty. Then Dr. Bob suggested that the man stop kidding himself. Their
discussion moved on to faith...faith in God. The new man went to his
employer and, for the first time, saw the practical power of real honesty. A
problem which had looked insurmountable, vanished, just melted away.
Dr. Bob always began his day with a prayer and meditation over some familiar
Bible verse, then he set about his work in "My Father's vineyard..." The
work in the "vineyard" was not easy in those years. No "preaching" would
have served, either to the alcoholics who came his way or to those skeptic
members of his profession. He began, now to make AA a way of life.
His life began to be an example of patience and serenity for all to see and
to benefit by if they so chose. It was too early in the years of education
on alcoholism to be able to speak of the disease above a whisper...Dr. Bob
and Sister Ignatia developed a little code...the boys on the third floor
were called the Frails, while the surgical patients were spoken of in the
most proper professional terms. Often while he went about the business of
washing up he had to listen in silence to bitter remarks from his fellow
doctors..."Too bad this hospital is so full that a fellow can't get a
patient in...always room for the drunks though -."
In the years to come he was to live to hear himself introduced as the
co-founder of "the greatest," "most wonderful," "must momentous movement of
all times..." For these tributes he was grateful, but he laughed them off
and upon one occasion was heard to remark..."The speaker certainly takes in
a lot of territory and plenty of time..."
In his drinking days, Dr. Bob was two people, two personalities. After his
return to sobriety he remained two personalities. As he made his rounds
through the hospitals he was the medical practitioner but as he entered the
door of the alcoholic ward he became, Dr. Bob, a man eager, willing and able
to help his fellowman. Those who worked with him say that as he left the
hospital each day they felt that two men went out the door... one a great
M.D., the other a great man.
Dr. Bob and Anne lived simply and without pretense in their modest home.
Here they shared the joys of parenthood, the sorrows, the companionship of
their friends. He was an industrious man, willing to work for the creature
comforts that he loved. He accepted with humility any material wealth that
came his way. Something of a perfectionist, he loved diamonds, not for
possession, but for the beauty of their brilliant perfection. He would go
out of his way to look at a diamond owned by another...he would go out of
his way, too, to look at a favorite view of his beloved mountains and sea.
If he had any pride in possession it was for big gleaming automobiles. He
owned, through his life, many of them. He treated them with the care that
their mechanical perfection deserved. The car that he probably loved the
most was the last one he bought just before the end...the convertible. The
car that symbolized a lifetime ambition. His friends will remember him in
the summer of 1950, at 71, speeding through the streets of Akron in his new
yellow Buick convertible - the long slim lines made even more rakish with
the top down. No hat, his face to the sun, into the driveway he sped,
pebbles flying, tires screeching, he'd swoosh to a stop! Fate, however,
permitted him only 150 miles of this joyous "hot-rod" driving. It was with
reluctance, that summer, that he gave in to his illness. For the forty fifth
year he returned to his home in Vermont...in the staid and sedate sedan..."I
won't be able to see the mountains so well...but my legs are a little long
for that roadster..."
Until the last summer his days were spent in the routine of the hospital...
his office and his club, for recreation. During almost all of his adult life
in Akron, Dr. Bob lunched at the City Club. In his drinking days, it was
often to hide away in a room until he was found by friends. But in later
years it was to enjoy the companionship of his good friends, some of whom
joined him in his new-found sobriety, others had no need of the help he
could give them...other than the pleasure of his friendship.
Noon would almost always find him at the same table in the corner of the
men's dining room. There, for more than ten years he was served by the same
waitress, Nancy. Dr. Bob always greeted her with, "How's my chum today..."
They were good friends. As Nancy served him his simple lunch of melon or
grapefruit, soup, milk or coffee and his favorite Boston Cream Pie, they
discussed her problems. Once, Nancy, who was ill at the time, became
uncontrollably angry and threw a cracker basket at another waiter. Dr. Bob
admonished..."Now, now Chum, don't let little things bother you..." The next
day he sent her "As a Man Thinketh So Is He" and "The Runner's Bible."
Nancy always looked forward to serving Dr. Bob and his friends..."he was
such a good fellow..." Often when there was much discussion, arguments and
pros and cons, Nancy would ask him why he didn't say something, to which
he'd answer... "Too much being said already!" To Nancy, Dr. Bob was "such a
good kind man...he had such a simple faith in prayer."
After luncheon, if time permitted, Dr. Bob joined his cronies for a game of
Rum or Bridge. He was expert at both; and he always played to win. The man
who would give you his last dollar, though his own creditors might be hard
at his heels, would take your last cent away from you, if he could, in a
card game...but he never got angry. He had the habit of keeping up a steady
chatter through the game, his cronies say that it could have been annoying
except that it was always so funny that you had to laugh.
Dr. Bob vowed that it was silly to take the game seriously...never could see
how these tournament players got so serious about this thing. Once when he
and Anne were in Florida, he was airing his views to a stranger on the
seriousness of some bridge players. The subject had come up because a bridge
tournament was scheduled for that day. The two men sat together discussing
bridge until they talked themselves into entering the tournament...since
they had nothing better to do. The stranger and Dr. Bob made a good showing
among the "serious" players. They won that afternoon but upset their
opponents to such a degree as to cause one to remark, "If you had bid right
and played right you never would have won!" Whereupon Dr. Bob said, "Quite
so," as he accepted the first prize.
For some obscure reason, Dr. Bob always carried a pocket-full of silver. It
may have been a hangover from the insecure squirrel-cage days of the eternal
fight to keep enough money in his pocket just because he liked to hear the
jingle but there were times when he had as much as ten dollars in his
pocket.
He had one particular friend with whom he would match a fifty cent piece by
way of greeting. No matter where the two met, each would silently reach into
his pocket, draw out the silver and match. Silently the winner took the
money from the other. The first time Dr. Bob underwent serious surgery, he
could not have visitors. His coin-matching friend came to the hospital to
call. He was met there by Emma, the woman friend and nurse who cared for
Anne. Emma met the visitor in the guest lounge. She greeted him silently
with a coin in her palm...silently they matched. Dr.Bob was the richer by
fifty cents.
This man of two personalities would weep as he told you of his fear that his
skill would not enable him to save the life of a charity patient; then again
he would weep as he told of what seemed to be a miraculous recovery. He
would weep, too, from laughter at some story which struck his fancy.
As his son, Bob, grew into manhood, Dr. Bob shared with him the incidents
and the fun of the day. He could hardly wait, it seemed, to get home to tell
young Bob some story picked up at the hospital. Young Bob tells of how he
would tell a good story, or listen to one, then lean back in his chair to
laugh until the tears streamed down his cheeks. Then with a familiar
gesture, he took off his glasses to wipe the tears away...still chuckling.
"Our home was a happy one, in those days," said young Bob, "I never heard a
cross word between my mother and my father."
The war, then marriage took young Bob from home and to Texas where he now
lives. Bob laughs as he tells of his father's first meeting with his
bride-to-be. He looked her up and down then remarked, in his dry and
disconcerting fashion; "She's all right, son.
She's built for speed and light house-keeping!"
Young Bob often remarked to his father about his seemingly endless knowledge
of medicine, philosophies and general bits of information. To which Dr. Bob
would reply, "Well, I should know something, I've read for at least an hour
every night of my adult life - drunk or sober." Sometime during the course
of all the reading, he delved into Spiritualism...he even tried the
mysteries of the Ouija board. He felt that in some far distant centuries,
the science of the mind would be so developed as to make possible contact
between the living and the dead.
All the reading of the years had included studies on alcoholism, too. This
scientific knowledge coupled with his experiences with alcoholics including
himself might well have led him to a strictly scientific approach. He could,
with ease, have spoken of statistics, cures and the like because he
undoubtedly listened to more "case
histories" than any other man alive. He listened patiently to each man in
the ward, to every person who came to his home for advice, and there were
hundreds.
He remained plain Dr. Bob, alcoholic, who came to believe that the disorder
was more on the psychological and spiritual side rather than the physical.
The thinking of the alcoholic patient was all beclouded, his attitudes were
wrong, his philosophy of life was all mixed up, he had no spiritual
life...the whole man was sick. As one man said, "He came to me in the
hospital, he sat quietly by my bed and talked, then he prayed to his God for
me...that's what stuck...that he took the time and interest and the
compassion to pray for me..."
The happy years of Dr. Bob's sobriety were marred, at last, by Anne's
illness and blindness. Cataracts were completely covering her eyes, so that
she could not see...even after surgery her last years were spent in shadows.
Dr. Bob began, then, to be her eyes as much as he could. Still in medical
practice, though, he could not be with her every hour. It was then, in his
own quiet way that he found a solution.
In 1942, years before Anne's blindness had become serious, two strangers
came to his office, a man and his wife, Emma. The man was seeking the help
that Dr. Bob could give him. The three sat in his office and talked for
almost an hour, while in the reception room waited the "paying patients."
Occasionally, after that first meeting, Dr. Bob and Anne stopped by their
house; they saw them each week at the AA meeting in King School.
Dr. Bob knew that Anne's blindness was fast growing worse and that she
needed daily care...he knew too, that she would be unhappy to think of
herself as a burden to anyone. It came vacation time, the children were gone
which meant that the house must be left empty...the dog to his own devices.
What better plan than the nice couple, who lived down the street should come
to the house while they were on vacation...to keep it in running order and
watch over the dog? Would the couple consider throwing some clothes into a
bag and going over to the house? So it was for eight years Emma, a nurse,
and her husband came from time to time to stay at Dr. Bob's house...until it
was necessary for Emma to be with Anne at all times. In the last years of
Anne's illness she kept house for them and during the day, when Dr. Bob was
at his office, she watched over Anne.
Through those last years together Anne, though in ill health, stood ever
ready to give words of hope and encouragement to all who came to her door.
Her first thoughts were for others, never herself, no matter how badly she
might feel. When Dr. Bob and Anne prepared for their last trip together,
Anne said, "You know, I don't really care to go but Dad wants too, and he
may never be able to make the trip again...it will make him happy. "Of the
same trip, Dr. Bob said of Anne, "I don't really want to go, but Anne wants
it. It will make her happy." Each took the long trip feeling that it was
making the other happy. It was in June, 1949, just after their return, that
Anne passed away. At the time of her passing, Dr. Bob, said, "I will miss
her terribly, but she would have had it no other way. Had she survived this
attack she would have been in the hospital for months...then there would
have been months at home in bed...she would have hated being a burden...she
could not have stood it."
In the summer of 1948, Dr. Bob found that he, too, was suffering from a
serious malady. He closed his office and retired from practice, so that he
and Anne could live their last days together, quietly. For a time after Anne
died, there was some indecision in the house. It was understood that Emma
and her husband, who had by this time been spending most of their time at
the house, would leave and go to their own home. Dr. Bob was to get a
housekeeper or a nurse. He did interview one woman, but his heart wasn't in
it. It was then that they all felt that Anne had reached out and made their
decision for them.
For the first few weeks after Anne's death, Dr. Bob and Emma dreamed of Anne
almost every night. To Emma, she seemed troubled. One night Emma's dream of
Anne was so real as to be almost a vision. Emma knew what she must do. Next
morning she faced Dr, Bob. "Do you want us to stay with you?" His answer was
quick and simple, "Yes." None of them dreamed of Anne again.
So it was that the couple who once came to Dr. Bob for help, came to spend
the last year and one half with him...they gave up their apartment and lived
with him until he too, passed on.
Ever the professional man, Dr. Bob watched the progress of his disease each
day. When at last, he knew that the malady was malignant and hopeless, he
accepted it with calm and lack of resentment. He felt no bitterness at the
doctors who had failed to make an early diagnosis..."Why should I blame
them? I've probably made a lot of fatal mistakes myself!"
Between the times that he was forced to stay in bed or to go to the hospital
to undergo surgery, he lived his life as normally as possible and got as
much enjoyment out of it as he could. After Anne's death, he and a good
friend drove to the West Coast, where they renewed old acquaintances; then
they went on to his home in Vermont...and to Maine. Wherever he went AAs
showered him with attention and kindness. Of this he said, "Sometimes these
good people do so much for me, it is embarrassing. I have done nothing to
deserve it, I have only been an instrument through which God worked."
At home Dr. Bob settled down to enjoying his friends and the things he could
do for them...between his serious attacks he enjoyed "Emmy's" good food. "I
never saw a man who could eat so much sauerkraut...he would go without his
dessert, just to have another helping!" Then came the television set.
Emma's husband went to Dr. Bob one day telling him that he was in the mood
to buy a television set. "Well," said Dr. Bob, who didn't like
television...would have no part of it... "I guess if you can buy the set, I
can give you the chimney for the aerial." The beautiful new set arrived in
due time but Dr. Bob would have none of it. He absolutely refused to look at
it. Then one night, as he lay on the davenport, Emma caught him peeking
around his newspaper! The "sneaking a look" went on for days until he
succumbed and became a fan. After that he spent long pleasant hours watching
the TV shows...especially the tap dancers..."Hmph," he'd grunt, "that's
easy...nothing to it...anybody can do it!" At the time of the Louis Charles
fight, he stayed in bed all day so that he would be rested enough to see the
fight that evening!
As a patient, Dr. Bob behaved himself very well except for one thing. He
refused to take his pills as they were scheduled. Instead he put his old
"patent throat" to use. He kept a shot glass, which he filled with all the
pills he was to take for the day. While Emma looked on in awe, even as the
brothers of yore, he'd throw back his head and toss off the pills at one
gulp..."What difference does it make? They all go to the same place anyway!"
That he knew the exact progress of his disease was evident to Emma and those
close to him, although he never complained, even when in pain. After a
doctor's call he would say to Emma, "Sugar, don't kid me now. This is the
end isn't it?" Emma always answered with, "Now you know better. You know
exactly what's going on!"
During the Spring and Summer of 1950, when he had to husband his strength
and measure it out carefully, Dr. Bob expressed the wish to do three things.
He wanted to attend the First International Conference of Alcoholics
Anonymous in Cleveland. He wanted, once again, to go to St. Johnsbury,
Vermont, for his vacation. And he wanted to spend Christmas with his son in
Texas...two of his wishes were fulfilled.
As the days passed and the date of the Conference drew nearer, he began more
and more, to conserve his energy. Most of his days were spent in his
room...on the davenport watching the TV tap-dancers and listening to the
pianists. Those who were close to him watched him grow weaker...then
rally...
While the last, mad days of preparations for the Conference were going on in
Cleveland, it seemed, at times, to his close friends, that he would not
gather the strength to do the thing that he so much wanted to do. Even to
the last minutes before the Big Meeting, on Sunday, it was doubtful whether
he would be granted the vigor he needed to appear in the Cleveland
Auditorium to say the few words that he wanted to say to the thousands
waiting to hear and see him.
Those gathered that hot Sunday afternoon, now know, that when at last Dr.
Bob joined the others on the platform they were witnessing another milestone
of the movement built on simple faith and works...At the time, this throng
was perhaps too close to history to know the full meaning of what was taking
place before them...Now he came forward to speak to the thousands...with
quiet dignity...even as that night so long ago, when in Anne's living room,
he put his foot on the rung of a dining room chair to read The Sermon on the
Mount...he leaned forward against the lectern to say:
"My good friends in AA and of AA. I feel I would be very remiss if I didn't
take this opportunity to welcome you here to Cleveland not only to this
meeting but those that have already transpired. I hope very much that the
presence of so many people and the words that you have heard will prove an
inspiration to you - not only to you but may you be able to impart that
inspiration to the boys and girls back home who were not fortunate enough to
be able to come. In other words, we hope that your visit here has been both
enjoyable and profitable.
"I get a big thrill out of looking over a vast sea of faces like this with a
feeling that possibly some small thing that I did a number of years ago
played an infinitely small part in making this meeting possible. I also get
quite a thrill when I think that we all had the same problem. We all did the
same things. We all get the same results in proportion to our zeal and
enthusiasm and stick-to-itiveness. If you will pardon the injection of a
personal note at this time, let me say that I have been in bed five of the
last seven months and my strength hasn't returned as I would like, so my
remarks of necessity will be very brief.
"But there are two or three things that flashed into my mind on which it
would be fitting to lay a little emphasis; one is the simplicity of our
Program. Let's not louse it all up with Freudian complexes and things that
are interesting to the scientific mind but have very little to do with our
actual AA work. Our 12 Steps, when simmered down to the last, resolve
themselves into the words love and service. We understand what love is and
we understand what service is. So let's bear those two things in mind.
"Let us also remember to guard that erring member - the tongue, and if we
must use it, let's use it with kindness and consideration and tolerance.
"And one more thing; none of us would be here today if somebody hadn't taken
time to explain things to us, to give us a little pat on the back, to take
us to a meeting or two, to have done numerous little kind and thoughtful
acts in our behalf. So let us never get the degree of smug complacency so
that we're not willing to extend or attempt to, that help which has been so
beneficial to us, to our less fortunate brothers. Thank you very much."
As he returned to his seat on the platform, those who watched could easily
see that the exertion of saying the brief words of counsel had left him
physically weak and spent. Try as he would, he was forced to leave after a
few moments. In consternation thousands of eyes followed him as he left the
stage.
He was driven back to Akron, that afternoon by a friend. As Dr. Bob was
helped into the automobile, he seemed physically very near complete
exhaustion. As they drove the thirty odd miles from Cleveland to Akron, some
inner strength seemed to revive Dr. Bob so that by the time they drove up to
his home he was almost his old self. The man who seemed on the point of
collapse only an hour before, said "Well, if I'm going to be ready to go to
Vermont next week, I'd better be about it."
Shortly after the Conference, he did go to Vermont. Dr. Bob, his son and his
daughter-in-law, drove, in the sedan, to his boyhood home, where he visited
old friends for the last time...and worried all the time for fear the
convertible would not be comfortable for Emma and her husband to drive on
their long vacation trip..."Should've taken it myself..."
Upon his return home, he was admitted into St. Thomas hospital for a minor
operation...one of so many that had come during the last years. Then home to
Emma's good cooking and rest.
In November, his doctors found it advisable to perform another of the minor
operations. This time, he went to City Hospital, where in 1910 he had come
as an intern and where later, he and Bill had talked to "the third man." On
Wednesday, November 15, a day after the operation, an old friend called and
spoke to him. "Why, I'm just fine Abercrombie, just fine..."
Close to noontime on Thursday, November 16, 1950, he was resting. The nurse
in attendance stood by his bed, watching...waiting for any change that might
come. Dr. Bob, M.D., lifted his hand to the light...with professional calm
he studied the color...with a final confirming glance, he spoke... "You had
better call the family...this is it..."
--so reconciled with his brothers, he placed his gifts upon the alter and
went his way...
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++++Message 1639. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob Memorial Edition of the AA
Grapevine (1951), Part 3 of 3
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/3/2004 9:53:00 AM
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Dr. Bob Memorial Edition
January 1951 AA Grapevine
Part 3 of 3
From Dr. Walter F. Tunks, the man who answered the telephone...
EULOGY
TODAY we are paying our respects to the memory of a friend whose name and
influence have extended around the world. A phrase of St. Paul's well
describes him; "As unknown, yet well known." Affectionately we called him
Doctor Bob - and thousands who never knew him are greatly in his debt. Dr.
Bob would not want us to hang any haloes around him. He would ask us,
rather, to carry on the work in which he had so influential a part. There is
no need for me to tell you the story of his life. It is well known to any
who are familiar with the work of Alcoholics Anonymous, of which he was a
co-founder.
Let me merely point out how often in history God has used human weakness to
demonstrate his redeeming power. Next to Jesus, no one has influenced human
history more than St. Paul. Who was he? He was the chief persecutor of the
Christian Church. He had stood by and watched young Stephen stoned, with
never a word of protest. Then one day God caught up with him, turned him
straight around in his tracks and Saul the persecutor became Paul the
Apostle and chief defender of Christianity. Had you and I been living in the
fourth century near the city of Carthage, we might have heard of the
escapades of a fast living young man named Augustine. He was lecherous and
profligate and all but broke his saintly mother's heart, though Monica's
prayers for him never ceased. Then one day as he walked in the garden, he
heard a voice which said to him, "Tolle, Lege" - Take, Read - and, opening
the Bible at random, he came upon this passage: "The night is far spent, the
day is at hand. Let us, therefore, cast off the works of darkness and let us
put on the armor of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in
rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and
envying. But put ye in the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the
flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." So a man was reborn, and Augustine the
dissolute, became St. Augustine, one of the most prominent leaders in the
Christian Church.
You know the story of Dr. Bob's weakness. Then something happened to him
that profoundly changed his life and that of thousands of others who shared
the same weakness. In a desperate hour, he and Bill turned to God for help
they couldn't find anywhere else, and Alcoholics Anonymous was born. By Dr.
Bob's side was a brave and understanding wife whom we laid to rest last
year. With wisdom and patience, she helped guide the AA group in its early
days and never ceased to be a power for good. And now Bob has gone to be
with the one he loved so much.
Here is the lesson of his life. God can use human weakness to demonstrate
his power. No man need stay the way he is. With God's help he can throw off
the chains of any enslaving habit and be free again to be what God wants him
to be. His monument is not the money he left in the bank, but the gratitude
in the hearts of so many men and women who own more than they can ever repay
to his example.
O GOD we thank Thee for the life and service of Thy dear servant, Doctor
Bob, whom we remember at Thy alter this day. Bless and prosper the work of
Alcoholics Anonymous, in whose founding he played such an all important
part. Prosper the work of this organization that it may reclaim the lives of
many who are ashamed of their own weakness. This we ask in the name of Him
who taught us that no failure ever need be final - our Saviour, Jesus
Christ.
Hail and Farewell...
It is such a little while ago he stood before us, sick unto death and strong
unto faith...
Strong still unto the task begun...
Firm still, and he spoke in a strong, sure voice
Ten minutes. How many thousand times ten minutes
Had he served ten times ten thousands of us who were halt, and sick, and
steeped in fear?
And in ten minutes there again were strengths anew, and old truths
reaffirmed
In the strong, sure voice...in the tired, frail body.
How far from St. Thomas house of healing in Akron
To the surging conclave of Cleveland?
In miles as far as the Marshall isles are far;
As near as the first lengthening step of one drunk taking one clear stride
forward,
And as far as fifteen years are far, and as near as one new ray of hope in
one new breast.
The little man who had sworn Hippocrates great oath
Had helped to heal beyond it.
This be the arch of his memorial: the towering span
Of Fellowship, held high upon the heritage
By which we grow.
And this be the echo of his founding voice:
The weakest knock of whosoever seeks
The opening
Of any AA door...
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++++Message 1642. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant February dates in AA
History-corrected
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/5/2004 2:45:00 AM
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Thanks to members from Philadelphia for the correction of the date Jim
Burwell moved to Philadelphia.
Nancy
FEB 1:
1918 - Original date set for Bill Wilson's marriage to Lois Burnham. The
date was moved up because of the war.
FEB. 2:
1942 - Bill Wilson paid tribute to Ruth Hock, AA's first paid secretary, who
resigned to get married. She had written approximately 15,000 letters to
people asking for help
FEB. 5:
1941 - Pittsburgh Telegram ran a story on the first AA group's Friday night
meeting of a dozen "former hopeless drunks."
FEB. 8:
1940 - Bill W., Dr. Bob, and six other A.A.s asked 60 rich friends of John
D. Rockefeller,Jr., for money at the Union Club, NY. They got $2,000.
1940 - Houston Press ran first of 6 anonymous articles on A.A. by Larry J.
FEB. 9:
2002 - Sue Smith Windows, Dr. Bob's daughter died.
FEB. 10:
1922: Harold E. Hughes was born on a farm near Ida Grove, Iowa. After his
recovery from alcoholism, he became Governor of Iowa, a United States
Senator, and the leading dark horse for the Presidential Democratic
nomination in 1972, until he announced he would not run. He authored the
legislation which created the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, and other legislation to help alcoholics and addicts.
FEB 11:
1938 - Clarence Snyder ("Home Brewmeister" in 1st, 2nd & 3rd editions) had
his last drink.
Feb. 12:
1945 - World War II paper shortage forced reduction in size of the Big Book.
Feb. 13:
1937 - Oxford Groups "Alcoholic Squadron" met at the home of Hank Parkhurst
("The Unbeliever" in the 1st edition of the Big Book) in New Jersey.
1940 - With about two years of sobriety, Jim Burwell ("The Vicious Cycle")
moved to the Philadelphia area and started the first Philadelphia A.A.
group.
FEB 14:
1971 - AA groups worldwide held a memorial service for Bill Wilson.
2000 - William Y., "California Bill" died in Winston Salem, NC.
Feb. 15:
1946 - AA Tribune, Des Moines, IA, reported 36 new members since Marty Mann
had been there.
Feb. 16:
1941 - Baltimore Sunday Sun reported city's first AA group begun in 1940 had
grown from 3 to 40 members, with five being women.
FEB. 18:
1943 - AA's were granted the right to use cars for 12th step work in
emergency cases, despite gas rationing.
FEB.19:
1967 - Father "John Doe" (Ralph Pfau), 1st Catholic Priest in AA, died.
FEB 20:
1941 - The Toledo Blade published first of three articles on AA by Seymour
Rothman.
Feb. 21:
1939 - 400 copies of the Big Book manuscript were sent to doctors, judges,
psychiatrists, and others for comment. This was the "multilith" Big Book.
Feb. 22:
1842 - Abe Lincoln addressed the Washington Temperance Society in
Springfield, IL.
Feb. 24:
2002 -- Hal Marley, "Dr. Attitude of Gratitude," died. He had 37 years of
sobriety. Hal testified, anonymously, before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on
Alcoholism and Drug Abuse on December 3, 1970.
Feb. 26:
1999 - Felicia Gizycka, author of "Stars Don't Fall," died. Born Countess
Felicia Gizycka in 1905, she was the daughter of Count Josef Gizycki and
Eleanor Medill Patterson. She married Drew Pearson in 1925 and divorced him
three years later. She married Dudley de Lavigne in 1934, but the marriage
lasted less than a year. In 1958 she married John Kennedy Magruder and
divorced him in 1964. For most of her professional career, she went by the
name Felicia Gizycka.
Other February happenings for which I have no specific date:
1908 - Bill Wilson made boomerang.
1916 - Bill Wilson & sophomore class at Norwich University was suspended for
hazing.
1938 - Rockefeller gave $5,000 to AA.
1939 - Dr. Harry Tiebout endorsed AA, the first psychiatrist to do so.
1940 - First organization meeting of Philadelphia AA is held at McCready
Hustona's room at 2209 Delaney Street.
1940 - 1st AA clubhouse opened at 334-1/2 West 24th Street, NYC.
1943 - San Francisco Bulletin reporter Marsh Masline interviewed Ricardo, a
San Quentin Prison AA group member.
1946 - Baton Rouge, La., AA's hold their first anniversary meeting.
1946 - The AA Grapevine reported the New York Seaman's Group issued a
pamphlet for seamen "on one page the 12 Steps have been streamlined into 5."
1946 - Des Moines Committee for Education on Alcoholism aired its first show
on KRNT.
1946 - Pueblo. Colorado, had a second group, composed of alcoholic State
Hospital patients.
1951 - Fortune magazine article about AA was published in pamphlet form.
1959 - AA granted "Recording for the Blind" permission to tape the Big Book.
1963 - Harpers carried article critical of AA.
1981 - 1st issue of "Markings," AA Archives Newsletter, was published, "to
give the Fellowship a sense of its own past and the opportunity to study
it."
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++++Message 1643. . . . . . . . . . . . Carl K. Obituary (1948)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/5/2004 10:37:00 AM
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February 1948 AA Grapevine
EDITOR DIES
Carl K., editor of The Empty Jug, died of a cerebral hemorrhage, Saturday
night, July 13, in Memphis, Tenn. Carl was a member of the Chattanooga Group
and was well known throughout the South.
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++++Message 1644. . . . . . . . . . . . Alcoholics Cannot Learn to be
''Social'' Drinkers (1995)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/5/2004 4:00:00 PM
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This article appeared in the July 29, 1995 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. It
followed shortly after an article featuring an advocate of teaching
alcoholics "responsible drinking" habits.
James E. Royce, S.J., Ph.D. is professor emeritus of psychology and
addiction studies at Seattle University and author of a leading textbook on
alcoholism.
Alcoholics cannot learn to be 'social' drinkers
by James E. Royce
Can alcoholics be conditioned to drink socially? Under such titles as "harm
reduction" and "moderation management" that old question has been
resurrected. Moderate drinking is certainly a more appealing goal to many
problem drinkers than total abstinence. But medical professionals and
additions counselors are unanimous in their opposition. Are they just rigid
prohibitionists?
As a lifetime member of the board of directors of the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, I must point out that the big problem is
that alcoholism is a progressive disease, often labeled as "problem
drinking" in its early stages. Monday's cold is the flu on Wednesday and
pneumonia on Friday. Most alcoholics are sure they can control their
drinking on the next occasion. The result is killing alcoholics, who can
expect a normal lifespan if they remain abstinent. For decades I have
defined an alcoholic as one who says, "I can quit any time I want to."
Self-deception is so typical of alcoholics that the American Society of
Addiction Medicine included the term "denial" in its latest definition. Talk
of harm reduction just feeds that denial.
Most research fails to adequately separate true alcoholics from alcohol
abusers or problem drinkers, which makes reports of success misleading. We
can't know how many of the latter may progress into true alcoholism. The
most thorough research (Helzer and Associates, 1985) studied five- and
seven-year outcomes on 1,289 diagnosed and treated alcoholics, and found
only 1.6 percent were successful moderate drinkers. Of that fraction, most
were female and none showed clear symptoms of true alcoholism. In any case,
it would be unethical to suggest to any patient a goal with a failure rate
of 98.4 percent.
We psychologists know that conditioning is limited in its ability to produce
behavioral changes. To attempt to condition alcoholics to drink socially is
asking of behavior modification more than it can do. Some have thought one
value of controlled-drinking experiments could be that the patient learns
for himself what he has not been able to accept from others, that he cannot
drink in moderation - giving all that extra scientific help might destroy
the rationalizations of the alcoholic who still thinks he can drink socially
"if I really tried." Actually, most uses of conditioning in the field have
been to create an aversion against drinking, to condition alcoholics to live
comfortably in a drinking society and to learn how to resist pressure to
drink. In that we have been reasonably successful, since this is in accord
with the physiology and psychology of addiction.
The discussion about turning recovered alcoholics into social drinkers
started in 1962, but no scientific research had been attempted until 1970,
when Mark and Linda Sobell, two psychologist at Patton State Hospital in
California with no clinical experience in treating alcoholics, attempted to
modify the drinking of chronic alcoholics, not as a treatment goal but just
to see whether it could be done. The research literature is largely a record
of failure, indicating that the only realistic goal in treatment is total
abstinence.
The prestigious British alcoholism authority Griffith Edwards (1994)
concluded that research disproved rather than confirmed the Sobell position.
Drs. Ruth Fox, Harry Tiebout, Marvin Block and M.M. Glatt were among the
authorities who responded in a special reprint from the 1963 Quarterly
Journal of Studies on Alcohol to the effect that never in the thousands of
cases they had treated was there ever a clear instance of a true alcoholic
who returned to drinking in moderation. Ewing (1975) was determined to prove
it could be done by using every technique known to behavior modification,
but he also did careful and lengthy follow up - and at the end of four years
every one of Ewing's subjects had gotten drunk and he called off the
experiment. Finally, Pendery and Maltzman (AAAS Science, July 9, 1982)
exposed the failure of the Sobell work, using hospital and police records
and direct contact to show that 19 of the 20 subjects did not maintain
sobriety in social drinking, and the other probably was not a true
alcoholics to begin with.
The Research of Peter Nathan indicates that whereas others may be able to
use internal cues (subjective feelings of intoxication) to estimate
blood-alcohol level while drinking, alcoholics cannot; so that method of
control is not available to them. To ask a recovered addict to engage in
"responsible heroin shooting" or a compulsive gambler to play just for small
amounts is to ignore the whole psychology and physiology of addiction.
Alcoholism is not a simple learned behavior that can be unlearned, but a
habitual disposition that has profoundly modified the whole person, mind and
body. That explains the admitted failure of psychoanalysis to achieve any
notable success in treating alcoholics, and renders vapid the notion of
Claude Steiner in "Games Alcoholics Play" that the alcoholic is a naughty
child rather than a sick adult. Even the Sobells' claimed successful cases
are now reported to have given up controlled drinking. For them abstinence
is easier - for them trying to take one drink and stop is sheer misery. The
reason is that one cannot "unlearn" the instant euphoric reinforcement that
alcohol gives.
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++++Message 1646. . . . . . . . . . . . Alan Guiness/A Members Eye View of
AA
From: burt reynolds . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/6/2004 8:05:00 PM
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Does anyone know anything about the man whose speech became the pamphlet
"A Member's Eye View of AA"?
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [5]
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++++Message 1647. . . . . . . . . . . . Recollections Of AA''s Beginnings
(1952)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/7/2004 5:39:00 PM
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November 1952 AA Grapevine
Thus Do I Remember.
An Editorial Brings Some Recollections Of AA's Beginnings. . .
Dear Grapevine:
So September is the month of remembering! I am glad that you added "reading"
and especially "re-dedication."
I remember...the amazing friendliness of Akron AA in 1938. We were given an
address book with all names listed (few could afford telephones then) and
the earnest invitation to "call at any time." And we did.
I remember...meetings. We were from Cleveland, and every Wednesday, rain or
snow or shine, we made the 70-mile round trip to Akron. We made it eagerly,
willingly; anxious to be with new friends. Often there would be pot-luck
supper on Saturday nights. We were too poor in material possessions to
entertain, but how wealthy we were in friendships!
I remember...the emphasis on "morning meditation and morning reading," and
all of us equipped with the 5˘ Upper Room. That was a must.
I remember...every lesson that Anne dished out in her gentle and inimitable
manner. "Dorothy, everyone has been kind to you as a newcomer. Never forget
to pass that friendliness and kindness along!"
I remember...when several manuscript chapters of "The Book" came. Anne and I
read them to each other till 4 a.m., and Anne said: "Pray with me that this
will help others."
I remember...Anne every time I hear the Twelve Steps read, for the fifth
chapter was one that we read so eagerly one night.
I remember our first AA New Year's Eve party in Akron. Anne had gotten two
new dresses, her very first new clothes. When I asked her which dress she
would wear, she said "I can't wear a new dress. There will be so many who
have no new clothes," and she wore the dress we were so accustomed to seeing
on her.
I remember...the word spreading like wild-fire: "Bill and Lois are coming!"
When they arrived we would all be congregated to greet them. They would hide
their weariness (as they still do) and greet us with warmth and affection.
I remember...it says in the Big Book "We are like the passengers of a great
liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck..."
How true it was of us then!
D.M., La Jolla, Calif.
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++++Message 1648. . . . . . . . . . . . General Service Conference - 1956
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/8/2004 2:43:00 AM
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General Service Conference - 1956
"Petition, Appeal, Participation and Decision"
By Bill W.
God has been good to Alcoholics Anonymous. These sessions of the Sixth
General Service Conference now ending have marked the time when our Society
has taken the first step into the brave new world of our future. Never have
we felt more confident, more assured of the years to come than we do this
afternoon.
This Conference thinks, I am sure, that its main structural concepts are
approximately right. I am thinking of the relation of AA groups to their
Assemblies, the method of choosing Committeemen and Delegates, Directors and
Headquarters Staffs; also the relation of the Trustees, essentially a body
of custody, to the operating services of the Headquarters, the Grapevine,
Service office and AA Publishing. These interlocking relations are something
for high confidence already based on considerable experience. Nevertheless
we shall remain aware that these structures can be changed if they fail to
work. Our Charter can always be amended.
And of course, we shall always be much concerned with those lesser
refinements that can improve the working of our main structure.
Recent Improvements:
On the first evening here, I explained some of our recent improvements of
this Charter - how our newly formed Budget Committee is a fresh assurance
that we can't go broke, how our new Policy Committee can avert blunders in
this area and take the back breaking load of minor matters off of the
Trustees, how our Nominating Committee can insure good choices of new Staff
members, Directors and Trustees. In short, our Board of Trustees is now
fitted with eyes, ears and a nose that can guarantee a much improved
functioning. So far, so good.
But our structure of service is no empty blueprint. It is manned by people
who feel and think and act. Therefore any principles or devices that can
better relate them to each other in a harmonious and effective whole are
worth considering.
So I now offer you four principles that might someday permeate all of AA's
services, principles which express tolerance, patience and love of each
other; principles which could do much to avert friction, indecision and
power-driving. These are not really new principles; unconsciously we have
been making use of them right along. I simply propose to name them and, if
you like them, their scope and application can, over coming years, be fully
defined.
Four Key Words:
Here are the words for them: petition, appeal, participation and decision.
Maybe all this sounds a bit vague and abstract. So let's develop the meaning
and application of these four words.
Take petition. Actually this is an ancient device to protect minorities. It
is for the redress of grievances. Every AA member, inside or outside our
services, should have the right to petition his fellows. Some years ago, for
example, a group of my old friends on the outside became violently opposed
to the Conference. They feared it would ruin AA. To put it mildly, they
thought they had a grievance. So they placed their ideas on paper and
petitioned the AA groups to stop the Conference. Lots of our members got
sore; they said this group had no right to do this. But they really did have
the right, didn't they?
Yet in our services, this right is often forgotten or unused. It is my
belief that every person working in AAs services should feel free to
petition for a redress of grievances or an improvement of conditions. I
would like to make this personal right unlimited.
Under it, a boy wrapping books in our shipping room could petition the Board
of AA Publishing, the Board of Trustees, or indeed, the whole Conference if
he chose to do so -- and this without the slightest prejudice against him.
Of course, he'd seldom carry this right so far. But its very existence, and
everybody's knowledge of it, would go far to stop those morale breakers of
undue domination and petty tyranny.
Let's look at the right of appeal. A century ago a young Frenchman,
deTocqueville, came to this country to look at the new Republic. Despite the
fact that his family had suffered loss of life and property in the French
Revolution, this nobleman-student had begun to love democracy and to believe
in its future. His writing on the subject is still a classic. But he did
express one deep fear for the future: he feared the tyranny of the majority,
especially that of the uninformed, the angry, or the close majority. He
wanted to be sure that minority opinion could always be well heard and never
trampled upon. How very right he was has already been sensed by the
Conference.
Therefore, I propose that we further insure, in AA service matters, the
right to appeal. Under it, the minority of any committee, corporate Board,
or a minority of the Board of Trustees, or a minority of this Conference,
could continue to appeal, if they wished, all the way forward to the whole
AA movement, thus making the minority voice both clear and loud.
Protective Safeguard:
As a matter of practice, this right, too, would seldom be carried to
extremes. But again, its very existence would make majorities careful of
acting in haste or with too much cocksureness. In this connection we should
note that our Charter already requires in many cases a two-thirds vote (and
in some instances a three-quarter vote) for action. This is to prevent hasty
or inconsiderate decision by a close majority. Once set up and defined, this
right of appeal could greatly add to our protection.
Now we come to participation. The central concept here is that all
Conference members are on our service team. Basically we are all partners in
a common enterprise of World Service. Naturally, there has to be a division
of duties and responsibilities among us. Not all of us can be elected
Delegate, appointed Trustee, chosen Director, or become hired Staff member.
We have to have our respective authorities, duties and responsibilities to
serve; otherwise we couldn't function.
But in this quite necessary division, there is a danger -- a very great
danger -- something that will always need watching. The danger is that our
Conference will commence to function along strict class lines.
The elected Delegates will want all, or most all, of the Conference votes,
so they can be sure to rule the Trustees. The Trustees will tend to create
corporate boards composed exclusively of themselves, the better to rule and
direct those working daily at the office, Grapevine and AA Publishing. And,
in their turn, the volunteer Directors of the Grapevine and Publishing
Company will tend to exclude from their own Board any of the paid staff
members, people who so often carry the main burden of doing the work. To sum
it up: the Delegates will want to rule the Trustees, the Trustees will want
to rule the corporations and the corporate directors will want to rule the
hired Staff members.
Headquarters Experience:
Now Headquarters experience has already proved that this state of affairs
means complete ruin of morale and function. That is why Article Twelve of
your Conference Charter states that "No Conference member shall ever be
placed in a position of unqualified authority over another."
In the early days, this principle was hard to learn. Over it we had battles,
furious ones. For lack of a seat on the several boards and committees that
ran her office, for lack of defined status and duties, and because she was
"just hired help," and a woman besides, one of the most devoted Staff
members we ever had completely cracked up. She had too many bosses, people
who sometimes knew less and carried less actual responsibilities than she.
She could not sit in the same board or committee room as a voting equal. No
alcoholic can work under this brand of domination and paternalism.
This was the costly lesson that now leads us to the principle of
participation.
Participation means, at the Conference level, that we are all voting equals,
a Staff member's vote is guaranteed as good as anyone's. Participation also
means, at the level of the Headquarters, that every corporate Board or
Committee shall always contain a voting representation of the executives
directly responsible for the work to be done, whether they are Trustees or
not, or whether they are paid or volunteer workers. This is why, today the
president of AA Publishing and the senior Staff member at the AA office are
both Directors and both vote on the Board of AA Publishing. This puts them
on a partnership basis with the Trustee and other members of the Publishing
Board. It gives them a service standing and an authority commensurate with
their actual duties and responsibilities. Nor is this just a beautiful idea
of brotherhood. This is standard American corporate business practice
everywhere, something that we had better follow when we can.
In this connection I am hopeful that the principal assistant to the Editor
of The Grapevine, the person who has the immediate task of getting the
magazine together, will presently be given a defined status and seated on
the Grapevine's Board as a voting director.
So much, then, for the principle and practice of "participation."
Now, what about decision?
Our Conference and our Headquarters has to have leadership. Without it, we
get nowhere. And the business of leadership is to lead.
The three principles just described -- petition, appeal and participation --
are obviously checks upon our leadership, checks to prevent our leadership
running away with us. Clearly this is of immense importance.
But of equal importance is the principle that leaders must still lead. If we
don't trust them enough, if we hamstring them too much, they simply can't
function. They become demoralized and either quit or get nothing done.
How, then, are AA's service leaders to be authorized and protected so that
they can work as executives, as committees, as boards of trustees or even as
a Service Conference, without undue interference in the ordinary conduct of
AAs policy and business?
The answer lies, I think, in trusting our leadership with proper powers of
decision, carefully and definitely defined.
Trusted Executives:
We shall have to trust our executives to decide when they shall act on their
own, and when they should consult their respective committees or boards.
Likewise, our Policy, Public Information and Finance Committees should be
given the right to choose (within whatever definitions of their authority
are established) whether they will act on their own or whether they will
consult the Board of Trustees. (Our Headquarters can, of course, have no
secrets.)
Similarly, the Grapevine and AA Publishing Boards should be able to decide
when to decide when to act on their own and when to consult the full Board
of Trustees.
The Trustees, in their turn, must positively be trusted to decide which
matters they shall act upon, and which they shall refer to the Conference as
a whole. But where, of course, any independent action of importance is
taken, a full report should afterward be made to the Conference.
And last, but not at all least, the Conference itself must have a defined
power of decision. It cannot rush back to the grassroots with all its
problems or even many of them. In my belief the Conference should never take
a serious problem to the grassroots until it knows what their own opinion
is, and what the "pros" and "cons" of such a problem really are. It is the
function of Conference leadership to instruct the Group Conscience on the
issues concerned. Otherwise, an instruction from the grassroots which
doesn't really know the score can be very confusing and quite wrong.
Informed Groups:
Therefore Conference Delegates must have liberty to decide what questions
shall be referred to the AA group and just how and when this is to be done.
The conscience of AA is certainly the ultimate authority. But the grassroots
will have to trust the Conference to act in many matters and only the
Conference can decide which they are. The Conference, however, must at all
times stand ready to have their opinions reversed by its constituent groups
but only after these groups have been thoroughly informed of the issues
involved.
Such, I think, are the several powers of decision that our Conference and
Headquarters leadership must have or else fail in their duty. Anarchy may
theoretically be a beautiful form of association, but it cannot function.
Dictatorship is efficient but ultimately it goes wrong and becomes
demoralized. Of course AA wants neither.
Therefore, we want leadership that can lead, yet one which can be changed
and restrained. Servants of our fellowship, however, our leaders must always
remain trusted. We surely want leaders who are enabled to act in small
matters without constant interference. We want a Conference that will remain
extremely responsible to AA opinion, yet a body completely able to act alone
for us when necessary -- even in some great and sudden crisis.
Such then could become the AA service principle of decision.
If we now begin to incorporate the words petition, appeal, participation and
decision into our service thinking and action, I believe that many of our
confusions about AA's service functions will begin to disappear. More
harmony and effectiveness will gradually replace the service gears that
still grind and stick among us.
Of course, I am not now announcing these as permanent principles for
definite adoption. I only offer them as ideas to ponder until we meet again
in 1957.
Therefore I don't see why we should delay trying the experiment I have just
outlined above. If it doesn't work, we can always change.
AA has often asked me to make suggestions and sometimes to take the
initiative in these structural projects. That is why I have tried to go into
this very important matter so thoroughly.
Please believe that I shall not be at all affected if you happen to
disagree. Above all, you must act on experience and on the facts, and never
because you think I want a change. Since St. Louis, the future of AA belongs
to you!
P.S. Some AAs believe that we should increase our Board from 15 to 21
members in order to get the 10 alcoholics we need. This would involve
raising the non-alcoholics from 8 to 11 in number. But, might this not be
cumbersome and needlessly expensive? Personally, I think so.
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++++Message 1649. . . . . . . . . . . . General Service Conference - 1957
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/9/2004 3:05:00 AM
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General Service Conference - 1957
The Need for Authority Equal to Responsibility
By Bill W.
The Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous in its present short form suggests
that AA shall forever remain unorganized, that we may create special boards
or committees to serve us -- never governmental in character.
The Second Tradition is the source of all of the authority which, as you
know, lies in the group conscience of which this Conference is the
articulate voice worldwide.
Those are the basics on which our structure of service rests, whether at the
group level, the Intergroup or AA as a whole. What we want of the service is
primarily to fill a need that can be met in no other way. The test of any
service really is: "Is it necessary."
If it is really necessary, then provide it we must, or fail in our duty to
AA and those still to come. Experience has shown that certain necessary
services are absolutely indispensable at all levels. We make this
distinction: The movement itself is never organized in any governmental
sense. A member is a member if he says so. He cannot be coerced. He cannot
be compelled. In that sense we are a source of benign anarchy.
When it comes to the matter of service, the services within themselves
obviously have to be organized or they won't work. Therefore the service
structure of Alcoholics Anonymous and more especially of this Conference is
the blueprint in which we, as flesh and blood people, operate, relate
ourselves to each other and provide these needed services. And it is the
evolution of this blueprint within which we function that has been my chief
concern for the last dozen and a half years.
The usefulness of AA to us in it, and more particularly to all those still
to come, even the survival of AA, really depend very much on the soundness
of our basic blueprint of relating ourselves together so A.A. can function.
That is the primary thing. That is what we have come to call the structure.
Let's have a brief overall look at our structure again. Then see at what
point it may possibly need refinement and improvement. I hope we never think
that the cathedral of AA is finished. I hope that we will always be able to
refine its lines and enhance its beauty and its function.
Very obviously the unit of authority in AA is the AA group itself. That's
all the "law" there is. Everything that we have here in the way of authority
must come from the groups.
To create the voice of AA's conscience as expressed in the groups, we meet
in group assemblies. And then to obviate the usual political pressures, we
choose Committeemen and Delegates by the novel methods of no personal
nominations and use of a two-thirds vote.
Now arrived here, how are Delegates to be related to the Board of Trustees?
It was the original parent of the groups and a hierarchy of service quite
appropriate to our infancy, but one which must now become directly amenable
to Delegates and those closely linked to Delegates.
That question was responsible for a great deal of thought and speculation in
time past. And I think our seven years' experience has suggested that, in
broad outline, we are somewhere near right.
The Board of Trustees as a hierarchy had certain great advantages, which we
want to keep. For the long pull, it had immense liabilities. It was a law
unto itself. Now, it must become a partner. We have the Board, which is more
or less of an appointive proposition, and the staff members and directors of
services, largely appointed, subject to your consent, of course. We had the
problem of how the electees are going to relate to the appointees.
In the first place, in this Conference, we put all of ourselves in the same
club. The Trustee, for example, becomes a Conference member with one vote,
and a custodial duty. A Director of a service agency becomes a Conference
member, with a service duty. At the level of this Conference, we are all
equal; we are all in the club. Mid you note that the appointees have been
set in a great minority to the electees to insure that Area Delegates will
always have adequate powers of persuasion.
The Board of Trustees, you remember, is a legally incorporated entity. It
has to be that way first of all to transact business. It has to be that way
to give its several members and committees appropriate powers and titles
which denote what they do. We have to have that much organization in order
to function.
Theoretically, as Bernard Smith has pointed out, the Board of Trustees has
been legally undisturbed by all the recent change. Nevertheless, in a
Traditional and psychological sense, the Trustees' relations to the groups
and to you has been profoundly altered, not because Delegates have legal
power but because Trustees know that Delegates are their linkage to AA as a
whole. They also very well know that if you don't like what they do, you can
go home and cut off Area support.
In order to have anything functional, people have to have an authority to
act. Very obviously there are all kinds of questions arising where the basic
problem is "Who should act? And where should the committee or board or
individual act, and when should he act?"
A Conference, a movement, can't actually run anything. A Board of Trustees
really can't run anything. We operated on that mistaken idea for a while. We
have to classify the kind of thing that each worker, each Board, does -- and
the kind of thing the Conference does and the kind of thing that AA must do
to keep this Fellowship functioning. In other words there must always be an
authority equal to the responsibility involved in service work.
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++++Message 1650. . . . . . . . . . . . Development of Online General
Service
From: John Phipps . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/9/2004 6:42:00 PM
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*Online General Service -- A
History for Representatives to the Online Service Conference
*
******************************************************************************************************
*Forenote:
*
The purpose of this document is to provide a basis of history as
background for Online Service Conference members. The online AA
groups share a common history both of Alcoholics Anonymous service
structure and of AA development on the internet. It is this unique
combination of shared histories which led to the Online Service
Conference.
*Development of General Service.
*
The general service structure of Alcoholics Anonymous sprang from the
early success and spread of AA throughout the United States and Canada,
then across the world. The founders, particularly Bill W. and Dr. Bob,
realized that the program of recovery which they had founded in the late
1930's had become a "movement" only a few years later. After the
Jack Alexander article of 1941 in the Saturday Evening Post, the number
of groups rapidly quadrupled and continued to grow rapidly. As AA spread,
it began to change to adapt to new areas, then new nations. The
need for a unifying structure soon became obvious.
Some means of gathering the group conscience of all the groups was
needed. The increasing age of the founders made it clear that their
term of leadership was nearing an end. Early attempts to answer
group questions and policy issues were handled one-at-a-time by Bill W.,
aided by Ruth Hock, using the US mails as the principal glue which held
the growing movement together.
The first International Convention celebrated AA's fifteenth anniversary
in Cleveland in July 1950. The first General Service Conference
convened in New York City in April 1951. Both the International
Conventions and the General Service Conferences have been used to express
AA's collective group conscience over the years. The "three
legacies" of recovery, unity and service were adopted at the
International Convention of 1955, the year of publication of the second
edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.
Development of the general service structure in the United States and
Canada is chronicled in some detail in AA Comes of Age, published in
1957, the year in which membership went over 200,000. It is recommended
reading for those interested in early AA history. However, very
little is available concerning the development of general service
structures in nations other than the US and Canada.
Bill W's suggestions for the continuation of the Fellowship were written
as the "Traditions" of AA in 1945, published in the Grapevine in 1946,
and not at all enthusiastically received by the Fellowship. Bill
and wife Lois traveled far and wide in an attempt to persuade the members
of new groups across North America that the Traditions were
meaningful and useful. Finally, they were adopted at the
International Convention of 1950 at Cleveland. In that same year, Dr. Bob
fell seriously ill, and the trustees authorized Bill W to lay out a plan
for a General Service Conference, to insure continued guidance for the
Fellowship .
On the heels of his difficult experience with "selling" the Traditions,
Bill struggled with the Conference structure. He wrote, "... how on
earth were we going to cut down destructive politics, with all its usual
struggles for prestige and vainglory?" He also wrote, "Though the
Conference might be later enlarged to include the whole world, we felt
that the first delegates should come from the US and Canada only."
We know now that the expansion of the Conference to the world did not
come in Bill's lifetime, and is yet to be realized. There is no
"World General Service Conference" of Alcoholics Anonymous which
addresses policy issues and expresses the collective conscience of the
worldwide Fellowship. In its place, some 52 General Service Offices
and a growing number of General Service Conferences have sprung up to
meet the needs of Alcoholics Anonymous groups around the world.
Some of these emulate the US/Canada pattern closely; others are more
unique to the locale in which they exist. The boundaries of the
Conferences usually follow national frontiers, but there are linguistic
Conferences which flow over the borders of nations, as did the original
General Service Conference of the United States and Canada.
A World Service Meeting was begun in New York City in 1969, with 27
delegates from 16 countries, and has been held biennially since; however,
the meeting is not a part of the general service structure of the
Fellowship, and does not attempt to express the group conscience of the
world's AA's. It is an information-sharing meeting for attendees.
*AA on the Internet*
====================
Little is known of the first AA members to contact other members using
computer-based communications. It is likely that AA members among
the first users of email sought out others to share experience, strength
and hope. There are fragmentary records and oral histories of AA
members using the earliest bulletin board systems (BBS) through local
telephone connections via modems which were both slow and limited in
reliability. Hardware concerns were in the forefront, and communication
among computers over distance was possible, but difficult.
By 1986, there were AA meetings, or at least meetings of AA friends, on
bulletin boards in Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago, and
probably other American cities. A few staff members in the
New York General Service Office were aware of AA members meeting
electronically, and began keeping contact addresses in the late
1980's. According to the AA Grapevine's "From Akron to the
Internet" timeline of AA communications, "Q-link," one of the earliest
online AA groups, began in 1986, grew to 200 members in two years,
and GSO began keeping a partial list of online AA groups by 1988. A
meeting for online members was provided at the Seattle 1990 International
Convention, which may have been the first face to face meeting of AA
onliners from a wide area. It was well attended, but did not result in a
lasting organization for online members.
The internet developed rapidly into an international communications
system, and facilitated written communications at long distances.
Local bulletin boards and small access providers added newsgroup and
email capabilities, which soon made the local net technologies
redundant. Early internet AA groups used multiple addresses (cc:
lists) for email to reach all member mailboxes with a single post.
When a member changed email addresses, or internet service providers, all
members had to change the address in order to keep the system up to date
and whole. Early members remember this as a constant headache.
Mailing list technology was a breakthrough in providing a suitable online
home for email-based AA groups. Listserv and Majordomo software
"reflected" a message sent to a single common address onward to a
multitude of recipients, and greatly eased maintenance of address lists,
which could now be updated centrally. A new AA service position as
online group "listkeeper" was born, and became key to the growth of the
Fellowship in the new medium.
Other online technologies, including "chat rooms," "guest book"
technology on WWW sites and newsgroups all have played roles in the
development of AA online, and continue to be used in varying ways by
online groups, but the greatest growth has been in email-based groups,
which number some 240 groups with perhaps 8000 participants as the Online
Service Conference came into being in mid-2002. (No accurate census is
available. Numbers based on estimates).
*
Online AA Comes Together
*The first online AA groups depended upon word of mouth by their own
members to identify and enroll new members. There was no complete online
directory of groups. Each group carried out its efforts
independently, finding its own way to sharing recovery in the new
medium. Some groups grew very large, notably the Lamplighters
Group, perhaps the first online meeting to formally identify itself as an
AA group. It took its name from the General Electric "Aladdin's
lamp" logo which identified the GEnie online service provider on which
the group met. It grew swiftly in the early 1990's to hundreds of members
and a full spectrum of AA committees and elected service
positions emulating the largest face to face groups. Other meetings
and groups felt that it was important to remain small to permit good
online sharing on AA topics, and broke off to form new groups repeatedly
when group size exceeded 30 or 40 members. Some groups related to one
another on the basis of a common internet service provider.
New online groups were founded for specialized membership, such as women,
men, gay or lesbian, etc. Other groups formed around a
preference for certain meeting styles, such as Big Book study,
weekly topic discussions, or other styles. Email groups sometimes "spun
off" chat meetings that appealed to a sector of their members. The
groups were clearly autonomous. There was no central online body, and
little communication among the existing groups.
Rumors surfaced that one of the earliest groups, "Meeting of the Minds"
(MoM) had registered as a group with the General Service Board of the UK.
Some of the group's founders had been Scots. In the UK, a unique
district had been designated "District 11" to contain those
English-speaking AA groups not meeting in the British Isles, particularly
those meeting on the European continent.
In the US, Lamplighters Group attempted to follow suit by sending a
standard group registration form to the US/Canada General Service Office
in 1994. Because the form asked for place and time of meetings, the
group identified itself as an online group and was denied registration
for that reason.
The GSO of the US and Canada explained that only groups which met face to
face within the boundaries of the US and Canada could be registered in
their Conference. A group which met on the internet, ("in
cyberspace") could not be included, and could have no voice or vote in
its Conference. *No criticism based on how the AA Traditions were
followed online ever was voiced by the General Service Office nor any AA
trustee.* It was agreed that a list of online groups would be
maintained in the New York offices and provided to anyone seeking online
participation in AA.
The online groups were pleasantly surprised in the same year when their
request to participate was approved, and a "loving invitation" was issued
to provide workshop speakers on the topic of online AA and to host a
hospitality room for the 1995 International Convention in San Diego.
Speakers for the panel were easily located, and a "Living Cyber
Committee" was formed online to host the hospitality room and plan its
activities.
A member of the Living Cyber Committee worked for a San Francisco Bay
company which had just replaced its computing machinery with newer
models, and was able to borrow some idle older machines to be used in the
hospitality room as demonstrations of online AA. Online groups
agreed to share with conventiongoers, and in some cases nonattending
members set up special lists or held "model" meetings online for
convention participants.
The "Cyber Suite," as the hospitality room came to be known, was a major
success by any measure, and a watershed event for online AA. The
"buzz" around the San Diego Convention halls led thousands of visitors to
the online demonstrations. Another important activity of the room
was to provide a meeting place for "friends who had never met face to
face" from the participating online groups. Every day there were
whoops of recognition as members encountered those previously known only
as usernames on their monitors. Delegates and trustees were briefed
on the new medium as they visited, and online groups took turns in four
hour shifts as "hosts" for the room.
As the convention came to a close, a few members of the Living Cyber
Committee and a few new friends from online groups vowed to continue
serving together in some manner after they returned to their home
computers. A handful, perhaps less than a dozen, set about to form
a service structure for the online groups. After a few weeks of
discussion, it was determined that the most flexible AA service
organization, and easiest to found, was an intergroup. In short
order, the Online Intergroup of AA (OIAA) was formed, incorporated in New
Jersey, and brought into initial operation on the internet.
Efforts continued by individual members, online groups and the new online
intergroup to find a place in the general service structure of Alcoholics
Anonymous. Requests to attend the US/Canada General Service
Conference in observer status were denied. Requests to attend the
World Service Meeting in observer status were denied, even after
recommendation was made by a WSM committee that online organizations
participate in their meetings, as a view to the future. Few, if any, area
delegates to the US and Canada General Service Conference were online AA
participants, and many without experience viewed the growing number of
new online groups with suspicion and open derision.
In 1998, with no representatives of online AA groups in attendance, the
US/Canada General Service Conference determined that online groups
applying for registration would be classified as "international
correspondence meetings."
The online intergroup, OIAA, was listed under that directory
classification also, rather than among "Central Offices, Intergroups and
Answering Services."
Another "loving invitation" was issued, this time to OIAA, to participate
in the 2000 International Convention in Minneapolis. Rather
than a single workshop, the program included several individual
presentations by online members. A trustee with online experience chaired
a panel on "AA in Cyberspace - Now", followed by "AA in Cyberspace -
Future,." plus other specialized online topics.
A hospitality room again was hosted in Minneapolis by OIAA, and equipped
with online computers demonstrating how AA had grown on the internet;
however, its location outside the main flows of convention traffic, plus
growing public familiarity with computers and the internet, resulted in
somewhat less conventiongoer curiosity and attendance than five years
earlier in San Diego.
Online members were pleased beyond measure when their medium of AA
participation was favorably mentioned in the last paragraph of the new
Foreword to the Fourth Edition of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Fellowship's
basic text. They were equally shocked when the first US/Canada
General Service Conference after the Fourth Edition's publication voted
to remove a sentence from the paragraph in future printings. The
proscribed sentence alluded to the equivalence of online meetings and
face to face groups. Even without the sentence, the paragraph
remains a strong endorsement of online AA, ending, "Modem to modem or
face to face, AA's speak the language of the heart in all its power and
simplicity," clearly marking recognition of online AA in the basic text,
if not in the general service structure..
*
Establishment of an Online Service Conference*.
In November 2001, OIAA members decided to start again from the beginning
and study the matter of how online AA groups might best fit into the
worldwide Fellowship, with emphasis on how online groups might
participate in a general service structure. The chairman appointed
a study committee, headed by Ewart F. of South Africa, who invited
participation by a mixed group of online members, some of whom had long
experience with the issues.
It became clear early in study committee discussions that there were a
limited number of ways in which online groups might join together in
pursuit of a meaningful group conscience. The possibilities narrowed to
three patterns; (1) Online Group in Existing Area, (2) Online Area for
Online Groups, and (3) Online Conference for Online Groups. The
following is a much-abbreviated summary of the committee's evaluation of
each pattern of participation, with benefits and problems of each
pattern, from the records of the study group:
(1) "Online Group in Existing Area." This
is the easiest and most obvious pattern of participation. An online
AA group might participate as part of an existing face to face area,
based upon some chosen geographic location, perhaps the home address of
the group's elected GSR. The problems are many, including probable
nonacceptance by some areas, and probable unwillingness of some online
members to support a single distant geographic area. Ultimately,
the problem lies in the question, "What was discussed at the area
meeting?" There are no face to face areas which share the concerns
of online groups and vice versa. Onliners in a group with worldwide
membership will have little interest in the plans for visits to treatment
centers in Wyoming or the convention planned for Puerto Rico. Members of
face to face groups in those areas would likely have little interest in
plans for an online hospitality room at the next International
Convention.
(2) "Online Area for Online Groups." It
might be possible for the US and Canada General Service Conference to
create a new area equivalent to a state or provincial area, perhaps
called the "Online Area." It is easy to conceptualize, but the most
difficult pattern to achieve. First, there are no delegates
in the US/Canada General Service Conference who represent online groups,
so there is no one to advance the proposal against known opposition
-- it is "politically impossible." Second, there are many online
members who are not residents of the US or Canada, and would have
problems analogous to the "distant area" difficulties outlined above. A
decision would have to be made whether to assume that all online members
are American and Canadian for group conscience purposes, or whether each
national or linguistic conference should create a separate "Online Area."
Neither is fully satisfactory, and both are unlikely to be
attainable.
(3) "Online Conference for Online Groups." This
pattern follows the model of most "new nations"(or linguistic
zones) as they come into the AA Fellowship. First, a few groups are
established, then perhaps an intergroup or central office, then a
new general service structure evolves, especially adapted to the
characteristics of the "new nation." An Online Service Conference
would represent no geographic nation, but would include all the AA groups
in "cyberspace," that is, those which operate on the internet, which has
no national boundaries. This pattern would insure a Conference richly
populated with AA viewpoints from many parts of the world. It would
be necessary to replace the missing national General Service Office with
some mechanism to act for the Conference between its meeting times, but
such a Conference could be assembled online with less difficulty than a
face to face Conference.
Of the three options, all study committee members agreed that the Online
Service Conference held out the only real hope for meaningful
participation by online AA members in the group conscience process.
The potential for future participation by an Online Service Conference in
the World Service Meeting or conceptual "World Service Conference" is an
attractive, if uncertain, possibility. The question remaining was whether
or not the online groups would understand and support the concept of an
Online Service Conference of their own.
The OIAA study committee formulated an Online General Service Statement,
as follows: "We, the members of Alcoholics Anonymous who share our
experience, strength and hope on the internet, now assemble to discuss
our common purpose and establish the Online Service Conference to unify
our voice in the worldwide Fellowship of AA." This was
offered to online groups for their endorsement..
The committee chairman reported to the OIAA chairman that the committee's
work was finished, and that it should be dissolved to reassemble and
continue its work outside the intergroup. This ended affiliation
between the intergroup and the new general service structure under
development. Former committee members took on the tasks of
identifying online groups and inviting them to meet, and established
procedures to keep the confusion of a new organization to a minimum,
including a new "Steering Committee" to act in the role of a General
Service Office between Conference meetings in "cyberspace." Six committee
members were designated to serve as "Interim Steering Committee" to guide
activities for the first meetings of the new Conference, and an agenda
was prepared for the first meeting, set for July 1, 2002.
*
*The first meeting on the Online Service Conference was held July
1-31, 2002, when the Interim Steering Committee assembled approximately
49 interested members representing around 32 online groups. There was
discussion of many issues of concern to online AA groups, including how a
group conscience could be formed online, issues of internet publication
of AA copyrighted documents, online anonymity, relationships with "face
to face" AA bodies, and other concerns.
The first Online Service Conference representatives together passed only
two actions; the first, ratifying the Conference as beginning a general
service structure for online AA and planning to meet again in January
2003; the second, to elect six members of a Steering Committee to stand
for the Conference and prepare an agenda in the interim between
meetings.
The second Online Service Conference met January1-31, 2003, with 59
members (including 33 group representatives, plus alternates and steering
committee) continuing discussion of many of the issues considered in the
first Conference. The agenda included (1) definition of an "online
AA group," (2) online literature publication and AAWS copyrights, (3)
using online AA to reach those who cannot be served by "face to face" AA,
(4) anonymity guidelines for the internet, (5) issues affecting world
unity of the AA Fellowship, (6) future OSC participation with other AA
organizations. New committees were organized, including one to search for
more online AA groups who might be invited to OSC, a Literature
Committee, a Translation Committee and a Web Committee. Nominations were
taken for candidates for the Steering Committee, to be voted at the third
Online Service Conference in July 2003. No Online Advisory Actions
were voted during the second conference.
The third Online Service Conference met July 1-31, 2003 with 43 groups
represented, plus alternates and steering committee members, totaling 57
members. Two actions were considered - a definition of online AA
groups, and a recommendation that online groups provide representatives
to OSC for two year periods. Neither passed with substantial
unanimity and both were referred for further study. Committees were
formed to study the issues which had been offered. New members were
elected to fill vacant Steering Committee positions. As in the previous
assembly, no Online Advisory Actions were voted during the third
conference.
The fourth Online Service Conference met January 1-31, 2004 with 48
groups represented, plus alternates and steering committee members,
totaling 73 members. The most significant action at the assembly
was introduction of a proposed Charter for OSC presented by James C. from
the UK, as chairman of the Voting Methods Committee. The Web Committee
also presented its work on the OSC website for comment by the
assembly. No voting actions were offered with the agenda or acted
upon during the conference assembly.
*
John P., OSC Listkeeper
*Rev: Feb 8, 2004
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++++Message 1651. . . . . . . . . . . . Bill W. Yale Correspondence (1954)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/10/2004 10:48:00 AM
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The Bill W. - Yale Correspondence
Bill's letters declining an honorary degree, unpublished in his lifetime,
set an example of personal humility for AA today and tomorrow.
EARLY IN 1954, after considerable soul-searching, Bill W. made a painful
decision that ran counter to his own strong, self-admitted desire for
personal achievement and recognition.
The AA co-founder declined, with humble gratitude, an honorary degree of
Doctor of Laws offered by Yale, one of the nation's oldest, most famous, and
most prestigious universities. Acceptance would have brought him - and AA -
enormous amounts of favorable publicity. The university, too, would have
received respectful recognition from press, public, and the academic world
for presenting the degree. Yet he turned it down.
Would a yes from Bill have vastly changed AA as we know it today? Would the
change have been for better, or for worse? Could Bill's acceptance of the
honor have sown seeds that, in time, would have destroyed AA? These are some
of the questions that figured in Bill's perplexity and in his prayers.
The Grapevine is publishing the correspondence between Bill and Reuben A.
Holden, then secretary of the university. The exchange of letters followed a
personal visit to Bill from Mr. Holden and Professor Selden Bacon in January
of 1954. The following week, Bill received this letter:
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
January 21, 1954
Dear Mr. W :
I enclose a suggested draft of a citation which might be used in conferring
upon you the proposed honorary degree on June 7th.
If your trustees approve this formula, I should then like to submit it to
the Yale Corporation for their consideration.
The wording can be considerably improved. We shall work on that during the
next few months, but in every instance we shall be sure it has your
unqualified blessing.
Thanks for your hospitality on Tuesday and for your thoughtful consideration
of our invitation.
Very sincerely yours,
Reuben A. Holden
(Naturally, Bill's full name was used in all this private exchange. In
observance of the Eleventh and Twelfth Traditions, the Grapevine is
maintaining his anonymity at the public level.)
This is the first draft of the text of the citation:
W.W.:
Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. For twenty years, this Fellowship has
rendered a distinguished service to mankind. Victory has been gained through
surrender, fame achieved through anonymity, and for many tens of thousands,
the emotional, the physical, and the spiritual self has been rediscovered
and reborn. This nonprofessional movement, rising from the depths of intense
suffering and universal stigma, has not only shown the way to the conquest
of a morbid condition of body, mind, and soul, but has invigorated the
individual, social, and religious life of our times.
Yale takes pride in honoring this great anonymous assembly of men and women
by conferring upon you, a worthy representative of its high purpose, this
degree of Doctor of Laws, admitting you to all its rights and privileges.
From the office of the Alcoholic Foundation (now the AA General Service
Office), Bill sent this reply:
February 2, 1954
Mr. Reuben Holden, secretary
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Dear Mr. Holden,
This is to express my deepest thanks to the members of the Yale Corporation
for considering me as one suitable for the degree of Doctor of Laws.
It is only after most careful consultation with friends, and with my
conscience, that I now feel obligated to decline such a mark of distinction.
Were I to accept, the near term benefit to Alcoholics Anonymous and to
legions who still suffer our malady would, no doubt, be worldwide and
considerable. I am sure that such a potent endorsement would greatly hasten
public approval of AA everywhere. Therefore, none but the most compelling of
reasons could prompt my decision to deny Alcoholics Anonymous an opportunity
of this dimension.
Now this is the reason: The tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous - our only
means of self-government - entreats each member to avoid all that particular
kind of personal publicity or distinction which might link his name with our
Society in the general public mind. AA's Tradition Twelve reads as follows:
"Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding
us to place principles before personalities."
Because we have already had much practical experience with this vital
principle, it is today the view of every thoughtful AA member that if, over
the years ahead, we practice this anonymity absolutely, it will guarantee
our effectiveness and unity by heavily restraining those to whom public
honors and distinctions are but the natural stepping-stones to dominance and
personal power.
Like other men and women, we AAs look with deep apprehension upon the vast
power struggle about us, a struggle in myriad forms that invades every
level, tearing society apart. I think we AAs are fortunate to be acutely
aware that such forces must never be ruling among us, lest we perish
altogether.
The Tradition of personal anonymity and no honors at the public level is our
protective shield. We dare not meet the power temptation naked.
Of course, we quite understand the high value of honors outside our
Fellowship. We always find inspiration when these are deservedly bestowed
and humbly received as the hallmarks of distinguished attainment or service.
We say only that in our special circumstances it would be imprudent for us
to accept them for AA achievement.
For example: My own life story gathered for years around an implacable
pursuit of money, fame, and power, anti-climaxed by my near sinking in a sea
of alcohol. Though I survived that grim misadventure, I well understand that
the dread neurotic germ of the power contagion has survived in me also. It
is only dormant, and it can again multiply and rend me - and AA, too. Tens
of thousands of my fellow AAs are temperamentally just like me. Fortunately,
they know it, and I know it. Hence our Tradition of anonymity, and hence my
clear obligation to decline this signal honor with all the immediate
satisfaction and benefit it could have yielded.
True, the splendid citation you propose, which describes me as "W. W.," does
protect my anonymity for the time being. Nevertheless, it would surely
appear on the later historical record that I had taken an LL.D. The public
would then know the fact. So, while I might accept the degree within the
letter of AA's Tradition as of today, I would surely be setting the stage
for a violation of its spirit tomorrow. This would be, I am certain, a
perilous precedent to set.
Though it might be a novel departure, I'm wondering if the Yale Corporation
could consider giving AA itself the entire citation, omitting the degree to
me. In such an event, I will gladly appear at any time to receive it on
behalf of our Society. Should a discussion of this possibility seem
desirable to you, I'll come to New Haven at once.
Gratefully yours,
William G. W
Six days later, Mr. Holden replied:
Dear Mr. W :
I have waited to respond to your letter, of February 2 until we had a
meeting of the Committee on Honorary Degrees, which has now taken place, and
I want to report to you on behalf of the committee that after hearing your
magnificent letter, they all wish more than ever they could award you the
degree - though it probably in our opinion isn't half good enough for you.
The entire committee begged me to tell you in as genuine a way as I can how
very deeply they appreciated your considering this invitation as thoroughly
and thoughtfully and unselfishly as you have. We understand completely your
feelings in the matter, and we only wish there were some way we could show
you our deep sense of respect for you and AA. Some day, the opportunity will
surely come.
Meanwhile, I should say that it was also the feeling of the committee that
honorary degrees are, like knighthoods, bestowed on individuals, and that
being the tradition, it would seem logical that we look in other ways than
an honorary-degree award for the type of recognition that we should like to
give the organization in accordance with the suggestion you made in your
last paragraph. I hope this may be possible.
I send you the warmest greetings of the president of Yale University and of
the entire corporation and assure you of our sincere admiration and good
wishes for the continued contribution you are making to the welfare of this
country.
Cordially yours,
Reuben A. Holden
The series of letters ends with Bill's acknowledgment:
March 1, 1954
Dear Mr. Holden,
Your letter of February 8th, in which you record the feelings of the Yale
Corporation respecting my declination of the degree of Doctor of Laws, has
been read with great relief and gratitude. I shall treasure it always.
Your quick and moving insight into AA's vital need to curb its future
aspirants to power, the good thought you hold of me, and your hope that the
Yale Corporation might presently find the means of giving Alcoholics
Anonymous a suitable public recognition, are something for the greatest
satisfaction.
Please carry to the president of Yale and to every member of the board my
lasting appreciation.
Devotedly yours,
Bill W
Recently, the Grapevine received a letter from an AA who was a trustee on
the AA General Service Board at the time of this offer to Bill. The former
trustee, Cliff W. of California, recalls talking to Bill at the board
meeting following the ex-change of correspondence.
"I suggested that we make a pamphlet of these letters, as his refusal letter
was truly magnificent. Bill grinned and replied, 'Not while I'm alive. I
don't want to capitalize on humility.'" Cliff suggested to the Grapevine
that it would now be proper to print the letters.
During Bill's lifetime, copies of the Yale correspondence were privately
circulated within the Fellowship, with Bill's knowledge and consent. Jim A.,
who in 1965 was AA public information chairman for a central office in a
large West Coast city, wrote to Bill, asking permission to show the letters
to anonymity-breakers "...as an example that AA probably does not need their
individual names to keep it going or to make it more effective."
In reply, Bill wrote, "Certainly, you may show that Yale correspondence in a
limited way. But I see you agree that it would not be exactly right on my
part to consent to its general publication at this time. Actually, I'm not
so damn noble as you suppose. In reality, I rather wanted that
degree...However, I think the principle of anonymity will be so invaluable
to us, especially in future time, that one in my position should really fall
over backwards in trying to demonstrate the principle. By way of example, it
might help in the years to come."
Ten years before this, just one year after the Yale correspondence had ended
and less than two weeks before the Twentieth Anniversary AA Convention in
St. Louis in 1955, Bill replied to a Canadian AA friend who felt that
publishing the letters at that time would "help consolidate AA and fortify
the anonymity Tradition."
"I agree with you in part," Bill answered, "that publication now could help
temporarily. But I do think that publication would imply my permission and
would therefore be not a little ego manifestation on my part.
"Actually, when I declined the degree, I did it with the long future in
mind. I could picture a possible time when AA might find itself in some
great contention and crisis. At that time, this letter, though bearing the
dead hand, might have a marked, even a deciding, effect...Anyhow, I would be
disinclined to have it generally published at present - that is, published
under circumstances which will surely indicate to the reader that I have
given my consent."
Under present circumstances - seven years after Bill's death - there is
clearly no possibility of the consent that he called an "ego manifestation."
The Grapevine feels that AA members, now numbering around eight times as
many as were sober in 1954, have a right to know of Bill's example of both
courage and humility. This correspondence may help all of us appreciate the
sacrifice Bill made for us, and for the countless alcoholics yet to come to
our Fellowship for help.
February 1978 AA Grapevine
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++++Message 1652. . . . . . . . . . . . GV March 94 -- Nicollet Group, Minn
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/10/2004 12:15:00 PM
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Grapevine, March 1994
[from column/series What We Were Like]
Minneapolis: the Nicollet Chapter
Most AA members in these parts know the story of Pat C., the drunken
newspaperman who
borrowed the Big Book from the Minneapolis Library, read it, and wrote to
the
Alcoholic Foundation [forerunner of the General Service Office] asking for
help
on
August 9, 1940. The Alcoholic Foundation replied to Pat and sent his name on
to
the
Chicago Group. Two members of that group came to see Pat in November of
1940.
Pat
took his last drink on November 11, 1940, and began working with others, and
the
first AA meeting in Minneapolis occurred shortly afterward. That is the
history
and
the founding that we hear about most in the Twin Cities, and many AA groups
all
over
the state can trace their beginnings back to Pat C. and 2218 First Avenue
South,
the
first (and still operating) Alano Society in this part of the country.
We had other beginnings and other pioneers, however, and this is the story
of
another
Twelve-Step call, another pioneer, and another longstanding AA foundation
stone
in
Minneapolis: There is a group that meets in Minneapolis, at 6301 Penn Avenue
South,
which celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in October 1993. The name of the
group
is
the Nicollet Chapter and it began in 1943 when Barry C. left 2218 to start a
new
group, styled after the groups of his friend and AA's co-founder, Dr. Bob of
Akron, Ohio.
It was a big deal when the Nicollet Chapter left 2218. Until that time, 2218
was the
hub of all of the AA activity in this area. 2218 was mother and mentor to
many
AA
groups, and most early groups asked for and got a lot of help in starting.
But
the
Nicollet Chapter started, autonomous from 2218 and clearly wanted to stay
that
way,
and it shook a lot of AA members up. Was this a fight? Was there a problem?
Was
somebody going to get drunk? Barry and Pat both said no, but a rift was
created
between 2218 and the Nicollet Chapter that never quite healed.
Barry C. had quietly gotten sober in April of 1940, a few months before Pat,
after a
visit from a sober Chicago friend, Chan F. (who was also one of the two AAs
who
visited Pat in November). But Barry was chronically ill most of his life,
and
spent
much of the first months of his sobriety incapacitated. Barry was in the
hospital
when Pat got sober and began working with others. He always had a much
"lower
profile" than Pat, and did not contend Pat's status as the founder of AA in
Minnesota. Pat, however, made certain that Barry's part in our history was
known, as
witnessed in this 1941 letter to his fellow Minneapolis AAs: "Many of you,
perhaps,
don't know it but Barry C. was the first practicing AA in Minneapolis . . .
Only
the
fact that he was hopelessly invalided for a long time prevented Barry from
getting
out and organizing. You all know what he has accomplished since he has been
able
to
get around. That guy has more ideas in five minutes than I have in five
weeks,
and we
all owe him a note of thanks ..."
Barry C. corresponded with Bob and others in Akron, Cleveland and Chicago,
and
the
Nicollet Chapter resembled in many ways the early meetings in Akron. Barry
believed
that all of the alcoholics' solutions were in the Big Book. He believed that
alcoholism was a family problem and that recovery must include the entire
family
-
the attendance of wives was strongly suggested. The Nicollet Group's most
unusual
characteristic was its intolerance of "slippers." Prospective members were
asked
if
they were ready, willing, and able to practice the Twelve Steps. If not,
they
were
asked to do their drinking outside of AA. Faith in the program was
considered
paramount, and once a member lost their faith, it was felt that it could not
be
easily regained.
These were the principles that the Nicollet Chapter started with, and stayed
with.
They hung with each other, did Twelfth Step work, helped start AA in Sioux
Falls,
South Dakota, and Winnipeg and Manitoba, Canada, which still have groups
modeled
on
the Nicollet Group. Those groups still correspond today, and still believe
that
their
way of practicing the teachings of the Big Book are the best way. In their
ideology,
the Nicollet Group members stayed to themselves. The growth of AA in
Minnesota
and
nationwide did not change them. The adoption of the Traditions did not
change
their
meetings, and the General Service structure did not concern them.
And, fifty years later, the Nicollet Groups' 100 or so members still stick
to
the
original. Stepping into the meeting is sort of like stepping back in time.
There
is
coffee, yes, and more food than usual at a meeting place. Folks know each
other,
and
have no trouble spotting outsiders and greeting them. The Twelve Steps and
the
Serenity Prayer are prominently displayed everywhere, but the Traditions are
not.
Don't look for notices of upcoming conventions or roundups - you won't find
Nicollet
Group members at these events. They have their own social gatherings. There
also
won't be notices of upcoming general service assemblies or district
meetings, or
notices of intergroup happenings. They do not participate in these events.
When I was newly sober, I asked an older AA member about our cofounders, Dr.
Bob and
Bill W. She told me about Dr. Bob wishing to keep AA simple, and about Bill
the
super
AA promoter. She told me an old AA joke: that if Dr. Bob had his way, AA
would
never
have made it out of the midwest, and if Bill had his way, it would be set up
as
an
international franchise. She said that between the two of them, they created
the
balance between simple service and service organization that we needed to
function
and carry out our primary purpose.
I don't know if this is what Dr. Bob had in mind, but I thought of this when
I
visited
the Nicollet Group. There was love there, and Twelfth Step work, and
newcomers,
and
talk of the Steps, and families, and sharing, and picnics, and announcements
to
visit
members in the hospital. I met a man and his wife, in their late twenties,
who
were
celebrating their one year membership in the group. I met couples who were
20 or
25
year members. I saw (and was given to pass on to our area archives) a wealth
of
historical materials - correspondence, articles, photographs - all telling
of
the
miracles and the timelessness of alcoholics working together.
As a group, Nicollet is recognizing that in order to survive AA groups need
to
work
together. For the first time in many years, the Nicollet Group is listed in
our
local
intergroup directory. They know they need to work with others, as do we all.
Autonomy
is a valued possession, and we cannot deny the Nicollet Group theirs. There
is a
lesson in autonomy here for me as an AA member. I see our autonomy must end
when
others are affected, as it states in the Fourth Tradition. The Nicollet
Group
will be
richer for interaction with the rest of us, and we will be richer for our
interaction
with them.
The Nicollet Group deserves recognition for their fifty years of meeting
together,
growing together, and staying sober together. They have contributed much to
the
fabric of AA.
Anonymous, Minneapolis, Minn.
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++++Message 1653. . . . . . . . . . . . 10th General Service Conference -
1960 (Part One of Two)
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/11/2004 3:19:00 AM
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Proposal by Bill W.
For
Twelve Concepts For World Service
10th General Service Conference - 1960
This proposal, delivered by Bill W. at the closing of the 10th General
Service Conference, is of great historical significance as it was the first
time that Bill had spoken to the Fellowship on the subject of the Twelve
Concepts.
The transcript has been verified against the original voice recording.
_________
The last of the sand in the hourglass of our time together is about to run
its course. And you have asked me, as of old, to conclude this conference,
our tenth.
I always approach this hour with mixed feelings. As time has passed, each
year succeeding itself, I have found increasing gratitude beyond measure,
because of the increasing sureness that AA is safe at last for God, so long
as he may wish this society to endure. So I stand here among you and feel as
you do a sense of security and gratitude such as we have never known before.
There is not a little regret, too, that the other side of the coin -- that
we cannot turn back the clock and renew these hours. Soon they will become a
part of our history.
The three legacies of AA - recovery, unity and service -- in a sense
represent three utter impossibilities, impossibilities that we know became
possible, and possibilities that now have borne this unbelievable fruit. Old
Fitz Mayo, one of the early AAs and I visited the Surgeon General of the
United States in the third year of this society, told him of our beginnings.
He was a gentle man, Dr. Lawrence Kolb, since become a great friend of AA,
and he said: "I wish you well. Even the sobriety of such a few is almost a
miracle. The government knows that this is one of the greatest health
problems we have, one of the greatest moral problems, one of the greatest
spiritual problems. But we here have considered recovery of alcoholics so
impossible that we have given up and have instead concluded that
rehabilitation of narcotic addicts would be the easier job to tackle."
Such was the devastating impossibility of our situation.
Now, what had been brought to bear upon this impossibility that it has
become possible? First, the Grace of Him who presides over all of us. Next,
the cruel lash of John Barleycorn who said, "This you must do, or die."
Next, the intervention of God through friends, at first a few, and now
legion, who opened to us, who in the early days were uncommitted, the whole
field of human ideas, morality and religion, from which we could choose.
These have been the wellsprings of the forces and ideas and emotions and
spirit which were first fused into our Twelve Steps for recovery. And some
of us got well. But no sooner had a few got sober then the old forces began
to come into play. In us rather frail people, they were fearsome: the old
forces, the drives, money, acclaim, prestige.
Would these tear us apart? Besides, we came from every walk of life. Early,
we had begun to be a cross section of all men and women, all differently
conditioned, all so different and yet happily so alike in our kinship of
suffering. Could we hold in unity? To those few who remain who lived in
those earlier times when the Traditions were being forged in the school of
hard experience on its thousands of anvils, we had our very, very dark
moments.
It was sure recovery was in sight, but how could there be recovery for many?
Or how could recovery endure if we were to fall into controversy and so into
dissolution and decay? Well, the spirit of the Twelve Steps, which has
brought us release, from one of the grimmest obsessions known -- obviously,
this spirit and these principles of retaining Grace had to be the
fundamentals of our unity. But in order to become fundamental to our unity,
these principles had to be spelled out as they applied to the most prominent
and the most grievous of our problems.
So, out of experience, the need to apply the spirit of our steps to our
lives of working and living together, these were the forces that generated
the Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.
But, we had to have more than cohesion. Even for survival, we had to carry
this message. We had to function. In fact, that had become evident in the
Twelve Steps themselves for the last one enjoins us to carry the message.
But just how would we carry this message? How would we communicate, we few,
with those myriad's who still didn't know? And how would this communication
be handled? And how could we do these things, how could we authorize these
things in such a way that in this new hot focus of effort and ego we were
not again to be shattered by the forces that had once ruined our lives?
This was the problem of the Third Legacy. From the vital Twelfth Step call
right up through our society to its culmination today. And, again, many of
us said: This can't be done. It's all very well for Bill and Bob and a few
friends to set up a Board of Trustees and to provide us with some
literature, and look after our public relations, and do all of those chores
for us we can't do for ourselves. This is fine, but we can't go any further
than that. This is a job for our elders. This is a job for our parents. In
this direction only can there be simplicity and security.
And then we came to the day when it was seen that the parents were both
fallible and perishable (although this seems to be a token they are not).
And Dr. Bob's hour struck. And we suddenly realized that this ganglion, this
vital nerve center of World Service, would lose its sensation the day the
communication between an increasingly unknown Board of Trustees and you was
broken.
Fresh links would have to be forged. And at that time many of us said: This
is impossible. This is too hard. Even in transacting the simplest business,
providing the simplest of services, raising the minimum amounts of money,
these excitements to us, in this society so bent on survival have been
almost too much locally. Look at our club brawls. My God, if we have
elections countrywide, and Delegates come down here, and look at the
complexity -- thousands of group representatives, hundreds of committeemen,
scores of Delegates - My God, when these descend on our parents, the
Trustees, what is going to happen then? It won't be simplicity; it can't be.
Our experience has spelled it out.
But there was the imperative, the must. And why was there an imperative?
Because we had better have some confusion, we had better have some
politicking, than to have an utter collapse of this center. That was the
alternative. And that was the uncertain and tenuous ground on which this
Conference was called into being.
I venture, in the minds of many, sometimes in mine, the Conference could be
symbolized by a great prayer and a faint hope. This was the state of affairs
in 1945 to 1950. And then came the day that some of us went up to Boston to
watch an Assembly elect by two-thirds vote or lot a Delegate. And prior to
the Assembly, I consulted all the local politicos and those very wise
Irishmen in Boston said, we're gonna make your prediction Bill, you know us
temperamentally, but we're going to say that this thing is going to work.
And it was the biggest piece of news and one of the mightiest assurances
that I had up to this time that there could be any survival for these
services.
Well, work it has, and we have survived another impossibility. Not only have
we survived the impossibility, we have so far transcended it that I think
that there can be no return in future years to the old uncertainties, come
what perils there may.
Now, as we have seen in this quick review, the spirit of the Twelve Steps
was applied in specific terms to our problems, to living, to working
together. This developed the Traditions. In turn, the Traditions were
applied to this problem of functioning at world levels in harmony and in
unity.
And something which had seemed to grow like Topsy took on an increasing
coherence. And through the process of trial and error, refinements began to
be made until the day of the great radical change. Our question here in the
old days was: Is the group conscience for Trustees and for founders? Or are
they to be the parents of Alcoholics Anonymous forever? There is something a
little repugnant -- you know, They got it through us, why can't we go on
telling them?
So the great problem, could the group conscience function at world levels?
Well, it can and it does. Today we are still in this process of definition
and of refinement in this matter of functioning. Unlike the Twelve Steps and
the Twelve Traditions which no doubt will be undisturbed from here out,
there will always be room in the functional area for refinements,
improvements, adaptations. For God's sake, let us never freeze these things.
On the other hand, let us look at yesterday and today, at our experience.
Now, just as it was vital to codify in Twelve Steps the spiritual side of
our program, to codify in twelve traditional principles the forces and ideas
that would make for unity, and discourage disunity, so may it now be
necessary to codify, those principles and relationships upon which our world
service function rests, from the group right up through.
This is what I like to call structuring. People often say, What do you mean
by structuring? What use is it? Why don't we just get together and do these
things? Well, structure at this level means just what structure means in the
Twelve Steps and in the Twelve Traditions. It is a stated set of principles
and relationships by which we may understand each other, the tasks to be
done and what the principles are for doing them. Therefore, why shouldn't we
take the broad expanse of the Traditions and use their principles to spell
out our special needs in relationships in this area of function for world
service, indeed, at long last, I trust for all services whatever character?
Well, we've been in the process of doing this and two or three years ago it
occurred to me that I should perhaps take another stab -- not at another
batch of twelve principles or points, God forbid, but at trying to organize
the ideas and relationships that already exist so as to present them in an
easily understood manner.
(continued in Part Two)
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++++Message 1654. . . . . . . . . . . . 10th General Service Conference -
1960 (Part Two of Two)
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/11/2004 3:25:00 AM
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As you know the Third Legacy Manual is a manual that largely tells us how;
it is mostly a thing of mere description and of procedure. So I have cooked
up in a very tentative way something which we might call Twelve Concepts for
World Service. This has been a three-year job. I found the material, because
of its ramifications, exceedingly hard to organize. But I have made a stab
at it and the Concepts, which are really bundles of related principles, are
on paper and underneath each is a descriptive article. And I have eleven of
the articles and perhaps will soon wind up the Twelfth.
Now, to give you an idea of what's cooking, what I've been driving at, I'll
venture to bore you with two or three paragraphs of the introduction to this
thing.
"The Concepts to be discussed in the following pages are primarily an
interpretation of AA's world service structure. They spell out the
traditional practices and the Conference charter principles that relate the
component parts of our world structure into a working whole. Our Third
Legacy manual is largely a document of procedure. Up to now the Manual tells
us how to operate our service structure. But there is considerable lack of
detailed information which would tell us why the structure has developed as
it has and why its working parts are related together in the fashion that
our Conference and General Service Board charters provide.
"These Twelve Concepts therefore represent an attempt to put on paper the
why of our service structure in such a fashion that the highly valuable
experience of the past and the conclusions that we have drawn from it cannot
be lost.
"These Concepts are no attempt to freeze our operation against needed
change. They only describe the present situation, the forces and principles
that have molded it. It is to be remembered that in most respects the
Conference charter can be readily amended. This interpretation of the past
and present can, however, have a high value for the future. Every oncoming
generation of service workers will be eager to change and improve our
structure and operations. This is good. No doubt change will be needed.
Perhaps unforeseen flaws will emerge. These will have to be remedied.
"But along with this very constructive outlook, there will be bound to be
still another, a destructive one. We shall always be tempted to throw out
the baby with the bath water. We shall suffer the illusion that change, any
plausible change, will necessarily represent progress. When so animated, we
may carelessly cast aside the hard won lessons of early experience and so
fall back into many of the great errors of the past.
"Hence, a prime purpose of these Twelve Concepts is to hold the experience
and lessons of the early days constantly before us. This should reduce the
chance of hasty and unnecessary change. And if alterations are made that
happen to work out badly, then it is hoped that these Twelve Concepts will
make a point of safe return."
Now, quickly, what are they?
Well, the first two deal with: ultimate responsibility and authority for
world services belongs to the AA group. That is to say, that's the AA
conscience.
The next one deals with the necessity for delegates' authority. And perhaps
you haven't thought of it, but when you re-read Tradition Two, you will see
that the group conscience represents a final and ultimate authority and that
the trusted servant is the delegated authority from the groups in which the
servant is trusted to do the kinds of things for the groups they can't do
for themselves. So, how that got that way, respecting world services:
ultimate authority, delegated authority is here spelled out.
Then there comes in the next essay this all questioned importance of
leadership, this all important question of what anyway is a trusted servant.
Is this gent or gal a messenger, a housemaid - or is he to be really
trusted? And if so, how is he going to know how much he can be trusted? And
what is going to be your understanding of it when you hand him the job? Now,
these problems are legion. The extent to which this trust is to be spelled
out and applied to each particular condition has to have some means of
interpretation, doesn't it? So I have suggested here that, throughout our
services, we create what might be called the principle of decision - and the
root of this principle is trust. The principle of decision, which says that
any executive, committee, board, the Conference itself, within the state or
customary scope of their several duties, should be able to say what
questions they will dispose of themselves - and which they will pass on to
the next higher authority for guidance, direction, consultation and whatnot.
This spells out and defines, and makes an automatic means of defining
throughout our structure at all times, what the trust is that any servant
could expect. You say this is dangerous? I don't think so. It simply means
that you are not, out of your ultimate authority as groups, to be constantly
giving a guy directions who you've already trusted to think for himself.
Now, if he thinks badly, you can sack him. But trust him first. That is the
big thing.
Now, then, there is another traditional principle, the source of another
essay here called the principle of participation. Our whole lives have been
wrecked, often from childhood, because we have not been participants. There
had been too much of the parental thing, too much of the wrong kind of the
parental thing. We always wanted to belong, we always wanted to participate;
and there is going to be a constant tendency, which we must always defend
against, and that is to place in our service structure any group, AA as a
whole, the Conference, the Board of Trustees, committees, executives - to
place any of these people in absolutely unqualified authority, one over the
other. This is an institutional, a military, set-up - and God knows we
drunks have rejected institutions and this kind of authority, for our
purpose, haven't we?
So, therefore, how, as a practical matter, are we going to express this
participation. Right here in this conference it's burned in; in Article XII
you'll see this statement in the Conference Charter: nobody is to be set in
utter authority over anybody else. How do we prevent this?
The Trustees here, and the headquarters people here, are in a great minority
over you people. You have the ultimate authority over us. And you say, well
these folks are nicely incorporated, and we ain't; and they have the dough
legally, so have we got it? Sure, you got it. You can go home and shut the
dough off, can't you? You've got the ultimate authority but - we've got some
delegated authority. Now when you get in this Conference, you find that the
Trustees, and the Directors and the staffs have votes.
And many of you say, why is it; we represent the groups; why the hell
shouldn't we tell these people? Why should they utter one yip while we're
doing it? Oh, we'll let 'em yip, but not vote. Well, you see, right there we
get from the institutional idea to the corporate idea. And in the corporate
business world, there is participation in these levels. Can you imagine how
much stock would you buy in General Motors if you knew the president and
half the board of directors couldn't get into a meeting because they were on
the payroll? Or could just come in and listen to the out-of-town directors?
You'd want these people's opinions registered. And they can't really belong
unless they vote. This we have found out by the hardest kind of experience.
So therefore, the essay here on participation deals with the principle that
any AA servant in any top echelon of service, regardless of whether they're
paid, unpaid, volunteer or what, shall be entitled to reasonable voting
privileges in accordance with their responsibility.
And you good politicos are going to say, but these people here hold a
balance of power. Well, we qualified that in one way. We'll take the balance
of power away from them when it comes to qualifications for their own jobs
or voting in approval of their own actions. But the bulk of the work of this
Conference has to do with plans and policy for the future. So supposing that
among you Delegates there is a split. And supposing these people come in and
vote, which, by the way, they seldom do as a bloc, and they swing it one way
or the other on matters of future policy and planning; well, after all, why
shouldn't they? Are they any less competent than the rest of us? Of course
not. Besides these technical considerations, there is this deep need in us
to belong, to participate. And you can only participate on the basis of
equality - and one token of this is voting equality. At first blush, you
won't like the idea. But you'll have a chance to think about it.
One more idea: There came to this country some hundred years ago a French
Baron whose family and himself had been wracked by the French revolution, de
Tocqueville. And he was a worshipful admirer of democracy. And in those days
democracy seemed to be mostly expressed in people's minds by votes of simple
majorities. And he was a worshipful admirer of the spirit of democracy as
expressed by the power of a majority to govern. But, said de Tocqueville, a
majority can be ignorant, it can be brutal, it can be tyrannous - and we
have seen it. Therefore, unless you most carefully protect a minority, large
or small, make sure that minority opinions are voiced, make sure that
minorities have unusual rights, you're democracy is never going to work and
its spirit will die. This was de Toqueville's prediction and, considering
today's times, is it strange that he is not widely read now?
That is why in this Conference we try to get a unanimous consent while we
can; this is why we say the Conference can mandate the Board of Trustees on
a two-thirds vote. But we have said more here. We have said that any
Delegate, any Trustee, any staff member, any service director, - any board,
committee or whatever -- that wherever there is a minority, it shall always
be the right of this minority to file a minority report so that their views
are held up clearly. And if in the opinion of any such minority, even a
minority of one, if the majority is about to hastily or angrily do something
which could be to the detriment of Alcoholics Anonymous, the serious
detriment, it is not only their right to file a minority appeal, it is their
duty.
So, like de Tocqueville, neither you nor I want either the tyranny or the
majority, nor the tyranny of the small minority. And steps have been taken
here to balance up these relations.
Now, some of the other things cover topics like this, I touched on this: The
Conference acknowledges the primary administrative responsibility of the
Trustees. We have talked about electing trustees and yet primarily they are
a body of administrators. In a sense, it's an executive body, isn't it? Look
at any form of government. (Understand we're not a form of government, but
you have to pay attention to these forms). The President of the United
States is the only elected executive; all the rest are appointive, aren't
they, subject to confirmation by the Senate, which is the system we got here
- and this goes into that.
And then there is this question taken up in another essay. How can these
legal rights of the Trustees, which haven't been changed one jot or tittle
by the appearance of this Conference, if they've got the legal right to hang
on to your money and do as they dammed please, what's going to stop them?
Well, the answer is: Nobody has a vested interest. They have to be
volunteers always. They are amenable to the spirit of this Conference and
its power and its prestige -- and if they are not, there is a provision here
by which they can be reorganized; there is a provision in here by which they
can be censored - and you can always go home and shut off the money spigot.
So, the traditional power of this Conference and the groups is actually
superior to the legal power of the Trustees. That is the balance. But the
trustees as a minority some day, should this Conference get very angry and
unreasonable, say: Boys, we're going to veto you for the time being, we
ain't gonna do this - even as the President of the United States has the
veto, so will these fellows. You go home and think this over. We won't go
along. And if you give them a vote of no confidence, they can appeal to the
groups. These are the balances, see; this is interpretive, this has all been
implicit in our structure but we're trying to spell it out.
Well, there are others - There's a whole section on leadership, service
leadership from top to bottom, what it's composed of. In AA we wash between
great extremes. On the one side, we've got the infallible leader who never
makes any mistakes - and let us do just as he says. On the other side we
have a concept of leadership which goes and says: What shall I do? What
shall I do? Tell me, what time do it - I'm just a humble servant, not a
trusted one, just a humble one. The hell with either. Leadership in practice
works in between - and we spell that out. And so on.
This will give you an idea of what's cooking in the Twelve Concepts for
World Service. The last one which I haven't done deals with the Conference -
Article XII of the Conference charter. And you who recall it know that this
is several things. First of all, it's the substance of the contract the
groups made with the Board of Trustees at the time of St. Louis. And this
contract decrees that this body shall never be a government.
It decrees that we shall be prudent financially. It decrees that we shall be
keepers of the AA Tradition - and so on - so that it is in part a spiritual
document and in part a contract. And, God willing, because it is both
spiritual and contract, let it be for all time of our existence a sanctified
contract.
My own days of active service, like the sands in our last hourglass, are
running out. And this is good. We know that all families have to have
parents and we know that the great unwisdom of all parenthood is to try to
remain the parents of infants in adolescence and keep people in this state
forever. We know that when the parents have done their bit, and said their
pieces, and have nursed the family along, that there comes the point that
the parents must say: Now, you go out and try your wings. You haven't grown
up and we haven't grown up, but you have come to the age of responsibility
where, with the tools we are leaving you, you must try to grow up, to grow
in God's image and likeness.
So my feeling is not that I'm withdrawing because I'm tired. My feeling is
that I would like to be another kind of parent, a fellow on the sidelines.
If there is some breach in these walls which we have erected, some unseen
flaw or defect, of course all of us oldsters are going to pitch in for the
repairs. But this business of functioning in the here and now, that is for
the new generation.
May God bless Alcoholics Anonymous forever. And I offer a prayer that the
destiny of this society will ever be safe in the hearts of its membership
and in the conscience of its trusted servants. You are the heirs. As I said
at the opening the future belongs to you.
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++++Message 1655. . . . . . . . . . . . Grace Cultice Obituary (1948)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/12/2004 2:15:00 PM
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CHICAGO SECRETARY DIES SUDDENLY
From Chicago
She knew all about us and loved us anyway.
Grace Cultice, 57, was a blessed paradox-a non-alcoholic who spoke the
language of the alkies, an "outside" believer in Alcoholics Anonymous who
backed her faith with good works.
When two alcoholics got together eight years ago to form the first A.A.
group in Chicago, Grace was on hand to help. She's been helping ever since.
She gave those eight years willingly, eagerly, unselfishly. Indeed, she
literally gave her life.
Grace died in her Chicago apartment January 8 of a heart attack. She had
endured a long illness, but was thought to be recovering. Against medical
advice she had persisted in many of her duties as secretary and office
manager of the Greater Chicago group. She'd tried to slow down, but it was
next to impossible to keep her under wraps.
For two days her flower-banked casket lay in a Chicago mortuary. Thousands
came to mourn. Then the body was taken to her native Xenia, Ohio, for burial
by relatives.
Miss Cultice was a familiar figure in Chicago advertising circles when she
became interested in A.A. through friendship with the local group founders.
Often she acted as hostess at early meetings of three, four or a half dozen
members. She grew up with the Chicago group. Along the route to its present
5,000-plus membership, the need became pressing for a full-time secretary.
Grace took the job, ignoring the financial sacrifice.
Because she knew how alkies talk and think and act, she shepherded hundreds
into the ways of recovery. She was a genial "greeter" for A.A.s visiting
Chicago. On her last Christmas, cards came from A.A.s the world over.
Alcoholics have an inherent distaste for mawkishness. But none feels shame
for his tears for Grace, nor for his devastating sense of personal
loss.-E.B.
February 1948 AA Grapevine
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++++Message 1656. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob "In Memoriam" (1952)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/15/2004 2:22:00 PM
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November 1952 AA Grapevine
IN MEMORIAM
And In Thanks
Two years ago, on November 16th, 1950, R. H. S., died in Akron, Ohio. It was
Thursday, close to noontime, one week before what would have been his 71st
Thanksgiving Day.
It was fifteen years and five months after his own last drink...and it was
fifteen years and five months in which he had personally ministered as
friend and teacher and physician to 5,000 alcoholics.
To each of them he was simply "Doctor Bob." And to history he will be
"Co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous." And to Bill he is "The Prince of
Twelfth Steppers"...and "The Rock Upon Which AA Is Founded"...and simply
"Smitty."
He met death serenely, for he had to the fullest given himself to life. He
left the rich gifts of simplicity and love and service.
We who have followed him in The Way Out give him thanks anew for the message
he so tirelessly carried. And we think this man who learned true humility
would most like the memorial that is still to come...those thousands now
sick and despairing who will yet find our way out of dilemma into
recovery…strengthened by the invisible hand of Doctor Bob...
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++++Message 1657. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob Announcement Of His Passing
(1950)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/15/2004 2:22:00 PM
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December 1950 AA Grapevine
Dr. Bob
The tragic news of Dr. Bob's death came after this issue of the Grapevine
had gone to press. No hastily written words can possibly describe the
feelings of the thousands of AAs who knew him personally. And only the
loving God who has been so merciful to us all can truly measure the
greatness of his contribution not only to AA but to all mankind. We shall
make here no mere listing of his devotions to AA. How in-adequate for a man
who is a co-founder of something that has meant so much to so many. But even
'Co-Founder' does not serve. For Dr. Bob was the rock on which AA is
founded. None who saw and heard him last summer at Cleveland will ever
forget his characteristic statement -- the last he made in public -- " --
love and service are the cornerstones of Alcoholics Anonymous!"
In loving tribute, the January issue of the Grapevine will be dedicated as a
Memorial to our beloved Dr. Bob.
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++++Message 1659. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob Quote
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/16/2004 5:23:00 PM
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I have always heard this quote as being attributed to Dr. Bob:
"Carry the message. And if you must, use words."
Can anyone tell me where this Dr. Bob quote can be found? Thanks!
I found this other quote on a website attributed to St. Francis:
"Preach always. When necessary use words". We recognize the importance of
paying
attention to the substance of our message, but that is not enough. The
manner in which
we make that message known is as important as the message itself.
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
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++++Message 1660. . . . . . . . . . . . Back to Basics - Compilation of
excerpts from Previous Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/17/2004 7:16:00 AM
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Friends,
The AA History Lovers list is getting so long that it is difficult if not
impossible to search the entire list. For example, when a question was asked
recently about Back to Basics I had forgotten that the subject was already
thoroughly covered on the list.
In an effort to clean up the list I am starting to combine posts on the same
subject. The post numbers will stay but the message will be deleted after
being combined in one message.
I am starting with Back to Basics. Some feel that this is not an appropriate
topic for the list, but I still think it is of interest to AA historians.
In order to avoid repetition the following are excerpts from the posts re
Back to Basics, usually not the entire message. I cannot verify the accuracy
of all the posts.
Nancy
On September 29, 2002, Katherine E wrote:
I was wondering if anyone had any information on the the development of the
movement Back to Basic and their connection to AA History. I was recently at
a conference where I met some Back to Basic advocates who where making some
questionable statements about how things were done in the early days. I was
wondering how valid this back to Basic movement is in regards to actual AA
program and it's history.
Ernest Kurtz responded:
From what I have seen and heard in well over two decades of study, the
so-called "Back to Basics" movement is an attempt to re-create the Oxford
Group as it existed in the mid-1930s. AA as we know it grew out of that,
partially by rejecting aspects of those teachings. Some, from
Henrietta Seiberling and James Houck on, have effectively tried to deny that
separation and to bring "A.A." back under those auspices.
The "Back to Basics" movement has many strengths and apparently helps many
people. But its relationship to Alcoholics Anonymous is similar to the
relationship of Judaism to Christianity.
Mary in Michigan wrote:
Here in Michigan we are using a book Call Back to Basic, by Wally P. This
Book has information about the development of the movement. In Michigan
Meetings are starting to use the back to basic back as a class for taking
the 12 steps. ... Here is a web site to check it
http://www.aabacktobasics.com/index.html
Jim McG wrote:
That we use the AA Big Book to teach the steps, makes the claim that we are
attempting to re-create the Oxford Group movement seem odd. We DO feature an
Oxford Group staple, a pamphlet called "How to Listen to God" in our
practicing the 11th step. This we use as a guide to practice "quiet time and
guidance." ,,, We also feature a simplfied "assets/liability" 4th step
inventory that is described on the page next to the resentments/fears/sex
thing in the Big Book.
Cliff B. in Texas wrote:
One of the things I have appreciated and enjoyed about this Group has been
the lack of controversy. But in the past few weeks, we have seen it begin
and this topic is one that really has no place in this Group.
Any student of the Big Book readily recognizes that there is a lot of stuff
that has been written in the "Back to Basics" manual that is not Alcoholics
Anonymous. With 63 years of time tested, experience proven success, no one
has approached the success that is realized when an alcoholic PRECISELY
follows the clear-cut directions that are outlined in the Basic Text for
Alcoholics Anonymous which are obviously divinely inspired. ... I have been
around long enough to see our Fellowship slip from: "Rarely have we seen a
person fail....." to seldom do we see a person recover. Let's get back to
the real Basics; the Basic Text for Alcoholics Anonymous which is titled,
"ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS."
______
When questions appeared again recently I combined some of the responses as
follows:
From: goldentextpro@aol.com [6]
NO! "Back to Basics" is not the original AA program, and it had nothing to
do with Akron. And I have to be emphatic about this.
First, read Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers, on the Frank Amos report of AA
in 1938, pp. 130-136. You will find a good description of the real first
program as employed by Dr. Bob Smith. There were no Steps. There was no
classroom. There was the Bible, a morning Quiet Time, religious devotionals,
prayer, no drunkalogs, church affiliation, and frequent hospital visits to
new prospects.
The "Back to Basics" approach, kicked up by Wally P., is an off-shoot of
what Clarence Snyder was doing in Cleveland post-1939. Clarence said that
his only two source books were the Big Book and the Good Book. Following the
Cleveland Plain Dealer's outstanding articles on AA, membership exploded in
Cleveland, and to keep up with it, and so that the program wouldn't get
garbled, Clarence decided to start group classroom-type education classes.
He would take the folks through the first nine steps. The last three, of
course, was the daily program. Prayer, Quiet Time, a daily inventory
utilizing the Four Absolutes (honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love) as
yardsticks, and helping others.
From: "Robert Stonebraker" [7]
A view of how Dr. Bob sponsored Earl Treat through Six-Step process, as it
was at that time (1937), can be found on page 292 of the Third Edition (263,
Fourth Edition) of the Big Book. ...
I have in possession a rather thick binder from an existing Akron Group
called: "Back To the 40's." The cover of which states: "Taking the 12 Steps
in 5 one hour classes." Briefly, the meeting is chaired by a reader and a
commentator as they "teach" the Twelve Step process in five classes by going
through the Big Book. The person who gave me this is very involved in Akron
AA history.
From: "Arthur" [8]
BtB advocates that so-called original' AA (as practiced in Akron) had a
remarkably high recovery rate no longer achieved today. They further claim
that 90-180 days of their meetings "takes us back to the 'original' program
that produced a 50-75% recovery rate." Somehow, someway, someone has
concluded that BtB is getting a 50-75% recovery rate and the rest of AA has
only a 5-10% recovery rate, depending on which study you read. According to
BtB, contemporary AA is supposed to be errant due to its lack of orthodoxy
relative to 'original' Oxford Group methodology and principles. Please don't
take my word on it. Visit their web site and draw your own conclusion based
on its content. ...
A possible source of BtB's assertion of an "early AA 75% recovery rate" may
derive from Dr Harry Tiebout's paper "Therapeutic Mechanism of Alcoholics
Anonymous." It was originally published in 1944 and later reprinted [in
1957] in "AA Comes of Age." On pg 310, it states "Alcoholics Anonymous
claims a recovery rate of 75 percent of those who really try their methods."
I'd suggest that the key words are "really try" not "75 percent." ... Later
in commenting about Bill W's spiritual experience (Bill is called Mr. "X")
Tiebout states "According to Alcoholics Anonymous experience the speed with
which the spiritual awakening takes place is no criterion of either depth or
permanence of cure. The religious leavening, however little at first, starts
the process; the program helps to bring it to a successful conclusion." The
1944 paper, I presume, would serve as a reputable description of AA's
program of Recovery in its "early days." Tiebout goes on to list a series of
numbers for the initial 7 years of AA: 5 recovered at the end of the 1st
year [1935];15 recovered at the end of the 2nd year [1936]; 40 recovered at
the end of the 3rd year [1937];100 recovered at the end of the 4th year
[1938]; 400 recovered at the end of the 5th year [1939]; 2000 recovered at
the end of the 6th year [1940]; 8000 recovered at the end of the 7th year
[1941]. Jack Alexander's article in Sat. Eve. Post. It should be fairly
obvious that the figures cited as "recovered" are membership estimates.
While certain locales may have made claims of this or that success rate,
there is no way anyone can verify those claims with reasonable confidence.
The data to do so just doesn't exist. What appears to get used most in these
scenarios are statements of articles of faith based on anecdotal assertion
and sincerity. From a membership of 5 in 1935 to an international membership
in excess of 2,100,000 today, perceived issues in success rates seem far
more premised on imagination than information.
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++++Message 1661. . . . . . . . . . . . Letter from Ruth Hock to Bill Wilson
dated November 10, 1955
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/17/2004 10:47:00 AM
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A photocopy of this letter was give to me by Rich B. in Minneapolis during
the 2000 international convention. Across the top in Bill's handwriting it
says "Ruth Hocks recollections."
I originally posted it in several parts hoping to keep it as close to the
original as possible. To clean up the list I am posting it here as one
document. I have made no effort to correct punctuation or grammatical
errors, so you language purists will just have to exercise tolerance.
Nancy
Nov. 10, 1955
Dear Bill:
As I wrote to you last week it is difficult for me to get a long period of
uninterrupted time together to put down my recollections of those old A.A.
days - but I have about two hours - so here goes.
Let me say first that I do not guarantee the accuracy of any dates I may use
until I have the opportunity to check one thing against the other which I am
willing to do if it ever proves necessary - neither do I insist that my
memory is absolutely accurate - it will be easier if I can just sort of
meander along for present purposes.
As I remember it you had been sober just a little over a year when I first
met you. I think I went to work for Honor Dealers in about January of 1936.
The job I applied for was as Secretary to sort of a distributorship for a
group of service stations - naturally I had no idea what a surprise fate had
in store for me and what a change it would make in my personal life, in my
relations to and my opinions of my fellow man.
I walked into the Honor Dealers office in Newark, N.J. on Williams Street
one Monday morning - was interviewed by Hank - and started to work
immediately that morning. My immediate impression of Hank was that he had a
vibrant personality - that he was capable of strong likes and dislikes -
that he seemed to be possessed of inexhaustible energy - and that he liked
to make
quick decisions.
You arrived shortly thereafter Bill bringing with you an aura of quiet warm
friendliness - of slow deliberate decisions - and at least I thought at the
time, not much interest really in the Service Station business.
By the end of that very first day I was a very confused female for, if I
remember correctly, that first afternoon you had a visitor in your office
and I think it was Paul Kellogg. Anyway, the connecting door was left wide
open and instead of business phrases what I heard was fragments of a
discussion about drunken misery, a miserable wife, and what I thought was a
very queer conclusion indeed - that being a drunk was a disease. I remember
distinctly
feeling that you were all rather hard hearted because at some points there
was roaring laughter about various drunken incidents. Fortunately I liked
you both immediately - I am not too easily frightened - and you were paying
$3.00 more per week than I had been getting - so I was willing to give it a
try.
You will remember with me, I know, that in those days and for several years
to come, we talked about "drunks" and not "alcoholics" and therefore I use
those terms here.
The activity of Honor Dealers, as I remember it, was never of paramount
importance it seemed to me after I began to know most of you original men,
that it was only a means to an end - that end being to help a bunch of
nameless drunks. Having come from a thrifty German family I know what I
thought if you two would spend as much energy and thought and enthusiasm on
Honor Dealers as you did on drunks you might get somewhere. That would be
hard to prove either way and actually I've never known whether the original
premise of Honor Dealers was sound.
Anyway I soon stopped caring whether Honor Dealers was successful or not and
became more and more interested in each new face that came along with the
alcoholic problem and caring very much whether they made the grade or not.
All of you made me feel as though I were a very worthwhile person in my own
right and very important to you which in turn made me want
to always give my best to all of you. To me that is part of the secret of
the success of A.A. - the generous giving of oneself to the needs of the
other.
Well - the activities of Honor Dealers slowly but surely declined and there
was more and more correspondence with drunks and more of them showing up in
the office. In those days it was part of the procedure, if the prospect was
willing to go along, to kneel and pray together - all of you who happened to
be there. To me, drunkenness and prayer were both very private activities
and I sure did consider all of you a very revolutionary lot - but such
likable and interesting revolutionaries!
Hank put a good bit of thought and effort into Honor Dealers but whether his
ideas had real merit or whether there was not enough prolonged effort or
whether it was just a poor time for that kind of an idea I was not capable
of judging then nor am I now. I only know that within about a year finances
were precarious enough to move us into a tiny office in the same building
and even then I was front man to explain to the superintendent why the rent
wasn't paid on time and the telephone bill, etc. Payday was an indefinite
affair indeed.
I am somewhat confused about the timing of the move into the small Newark
office because now that I think about it I remember that the book work was
done in the large office.
Anyway, early in my association with you, Bill, you began to dictate letters
to Doc Smith. You never liked to dictate to a shorthand note book - you
always dictated directly as I typed. In the amazing way these things often
happen, since word of what you fellows were doing in New York and by that
time Doc Smith in Akron was simply spread vocally from mouth to mouth,
inquiries began to float in from amazing distances and some of these you
asked me to answer in my own fashion. That is, to refer them to the closest
"educated drunk." "Educated" of course in the sense that they knew something
of this new possibility of an answer to alcoholism.
Somewhere during those first months I also first met Doc Smith who gave
everyone a feeling of great serenity - peace with himself and God - and an
abounding wish to share what he had found with others. Somewhere along in
there John Henry Fitzhugh Mayo also appeared (Offhand I have no idea of the
dates) with his warm sense of humor and the all abiding wish to give to
other
drunks what he too had found. This you all had in common to an exciting and
unbelievable degree.
During that first year at least I don't think I ever attended a meeting, but
through your dictation, Bill, through all I heard at the office and through
the letters I was answering myself in your behalf I began to absorb an
understanding of what it was all about and what you were trying to do and I
became aware that the possibilities of writing a book were being discussed.
Many of you thought it was an absolute necessity because even then the
original idea was often distorted in the hundreds of word of mouth
discussions. Its original basic simplicity was often completely confused
beyond comprehension and besides it was becoming more and more impossible to
fully expound the idea satisfactorily in letter after letter to various
inquirers. Also, especially to the advertising type of man, the spread of
the idea was going much too slowly and would become a sensation overnight if
only put out in book form!!
So far as I know there was never any doubt that you were the one to write
it, Bill, and I know that you spent endless hours discussing its general
form with everyone who would listen or offer an idea - especially with Doc
Smith, Fitz and Hank. As soon as you began to feel you had at least a
majority agreement you began to arrive at the office with those yellow
scratch pads sheets I came to know so well. All you generally had on those
yellow sheets were a few notes to guide you on a whole chapter! My
understanding was that those notes were the result of long thought on your
part after hours of discussion pro and con with everyone who might be
interested. That is the way I remember first seeing an outline of the twelve
steps.
As I look at it today the basic idea of each chapter of the book and the
twelve steps is still essentially today what you scribbled on the original
yellow sheets. Of course there were thousands of small changes and rewrites
- constant cutting or adding or editing but there are only two major changes
made that I remember, both fought out in the office when you and Hank and
Fitz and I were present.
The first had to do with how much God was going to be included in the book
itself and the 12 steps. Fitz was for going all the way with God, you were
in the middle, Hank was for very little and I - trying to reflect the
reaction of the non-alcoholic was for very little too. The result of this
was the phrase "God as you understand Him," which I don't think ever had
much of a negative reaction anywhere. We were unanimous that day and you got
a greenlight everywhere you showed that typewritten copy including Doc Smith
and the Akron contingent where a copy of everything was sent for O.K. or
criticism.
The only other major change I remember during the actual writing of the book
was that originally it was directly written to the prospective alcoholic,
that is -- "You were wrong" -- "You must" -- "You should" and after a big
hassle, this was changed to read -- "We were wrong" -- "We must" -- "We
should" -- etc." This was quite a job because by the time this major
revision was decided on most of the book had been finished in its first
draft at least and each chapter as well as the 12 steps had been slanted
toward
"you" instead of "We" to begin with.
At this time I had still attended very few meetings but I know that the
office confabs and final decisions were only made after the aforementioned
hours of discussion with all who cared to take part in them with you so that
the majority opinion of all who attended meetings at that time was reflected
in the final decisions.
During all this time, of course, there was plenty of discussion about a name
for the book and there were probably hundreds of suggestions. However, I
remember very few --"One Hundred Men" - "The Empty Glass" - "The Dry Way" -
"The Dry Life" - "Dry Frontiers" - "The Way Out" - This last was by far the
most popular. Alcoholics Anonymous had been suggested and was used a lot
among ourselves as a very amusing description of the group itself but I
don't believe it was seriously considered as a name for the book. More later
on this.
By the time the book was mimeographed mostly for distribution in an effort
to raise money to carry on and get the book published. There was constant
discussion about detail changes with seemingly little hope for unanimous
agreement so it was finally decided to offer the book to Tom Uzzell for
final editing. It had been agreed, for one thing, that the book, as written,
was too long but nobody could agree on where and how to cut it. At that
point it was still nameless because Fitz had reported that the selected name
of "The Way Out" was over patented. I remember that during an appointment
with Tom Uzzell, we discussed the various name possibilities and he
[handwritten insert: Tom Uzzell] immediately - very firmly and very
enthusiastically - stated that "Alcoholics Anonymous" was a dead wringer
both from the sales point of view because it was "catchy" and because it
really did describe the group to perfection. The more this name was studied
from this point of view the more everybody agreed and so it was decided.
Uzzell cut the book by at least a third as I remember it and in my opinion
did a wonderful job on sharpening up the context without losing anything at
all of what you were trying to say, Bill, and the way you said it. I really
cannot remember who originally thought up the name "Alcoholics Anonymous".
[Handwritten insert which appears to read "Joe Worden" and a reference to a
handwritten footnote which appears to read "Joe Worden ... an AA member who
just couldn't stay sober." It does not look like Bill's handwriting.]
The financing of the book is quite difficult for me to remember, that is,
what happened when. Originally, of course, the work was done on Honor Dealer
time. In other words what salaries were paid came from Honor Dealer
transactions, and the paper, the pencils, the office, the typewriter, the
phone, etc. belonged to Honor Dealers. Let me make it clear that the members
of Honor Dealers were never cheated in any way they were always promptly
served - it's only that what might have been a worthwhile idea for a group
of service stations just didn't pan out.
When the income from Honor Dealers finally dwindled away completely -
finances were a real problem. At this point there was universal agreement
(except in Cleveland) that the book was a necessity and that what you had
done on it up to that time was extremely satisfactory both in concept and
execution. So the only problem was how to get enough money to finish it and
get it published. You went to one of the large book publishers about an
advance - and as I remember it you were offered One Thousand Dollars with a
rather minute royalty on each book published. Hank, (I think) then came up
with the idea of selling stock to finance the writing of the book and to
publish it. Thus - Works Publishing Co. was born - and the book stock idea
set up and forms printed. There was great optimism about the ease with which
this stock could be sold by you and Hank and Wally von Arx who was active in
this phase of the situation. That dream was not to be fulfilled because for
the most part selling a share of Works Publishing Co. stock for $25.00 was
like pulling teeth. Enough stock was sold in the original enthusiastic
reaction of a few to keep us going on an extremely minimum basis for a while
and then sales came to a complete halt and there we were back where we
started.
The paradox of this is the fact that if enough stock had been sold and the
book carried through to a conclusion on this basis, the stockholders would
have had a fine return indeed for their original investment. However all
things happen for the best and this kind of private profit would probably
have been a perpetual thorn in the A.A. side.
You then decided to approach Mr. Rockefeller and were able to do so through
various contacts you had built up through the years. This resulted in the
Rockefeller dinner which in turn resulted in a minimum pledge which finally
resulted in the book being carried to a conclusion and finally published by
the Cornwall Press.
Unfortunately I am not very good at getting across the spirit of fun, the
real enjoyment of life, the cheerful acceptance of temporary defeat, the
will to keep trying, the eternal effort to keep everybody satisfied, which
made these years so very worth while and so soul satisfying. In this
paragraph I am describing particularly my own reactions, but I know that you
will agree and so would everyone else who had any share in it. Even the
altercations and disagreements of which there were many were carried on with
a basic will to reach a compromise at least - therefore a compromise was
always possible and always reached amicably.
Naturally, when the book was finally rolling off the press the feeling was
that our troubles were over which turned out to be far from the case. It was
agreed that the book needed to be advertised and a date was finagled for a
member of A.A. on "We The People". Morgan Ryan agreed to appear anonymously
and did a good job with his three minutes while we all listened
breathlessly on the radio. As I remember it his talk was slanted at Doctors
and to back him up we had mailed out thousands of postal cards to a selected
list of Doctors to reach them in time to get them to listen to the broadcast
and to tell them how to get a copy of the book. We had an assembly line all
ready to pack and mail the books when the orders came rolling in - and then
we waited. I don't think more than four cards were returned at all and the
only one that made an impression on me was the first one that came in - an
order for six books - C.O.D. There was great jubilation that morning -
naturally we though we were in. We simmered down to as close to gloom as I
ever remember we got in the next few days over the few replies and were
really practically squashed flat when the package of six books was returned
marked "no such address". I'm afraid none of us appreciated for a while the
humor of whoever that joker was.
By this time we were at the Vesey Street office and that address was a
compromise too. Since I lived in New Jersey I didn't want to work in New
York at all - on the other hand you had always wanted to have the office
near Grand Central Station - so we settled on Vesey St. For quite a while,
about a year at least, there were just the two of us handling
correspondence, packing books, and whatever there was to be done and all the
while the
financial struggle to keep the thing going at all continued. The Liberty
magazine article was published and for the first time we began to find a
stirred up interest in the form of [letters]. Each letter was answered
individually and although the book was mentioned we tried to get across the
fact that it was not necessary to purchase the book and in each case the
individual was referred to whatever group or individual A.A. closest to him
or her. Since at that time I imagine there were no more than 500 A.A.
members, if that, scattered from coast to coast and the great majority of
those in the middle west and East it was often difficult to get any closer
to the individual than several hundred miles. However, we did the best we
could and we soon fortunately began to be able to count several traveling
salesmen
among our A.A. members. Outstanding among these was "Greenberg" who often
made side trips of several hundred miles to try to contact people who had
written to our New York A.A. office for help.
When the Saturday Evening Post article hit the stands we really began to be
flooded with mail and meanwhile the book sales had been steadily increasing
from two or three a week until I think they hit an average of about 25 a
week and we began to be able to meet office expenses. We then had to hire an
assistant who turned out to be Lorraine [?] who was promptly christened
"Sweety Pie" by you Bill and I don't think was ever called
anything else by anyone connected with A.A. I would like to say that "Sweety
Pie" was always cheerful and loyal and understanding beyond her years and
was a real asset to those early days of the A.A. office at Vesey St.
To me some of the things that stand out most were letters from individuals
who were too far distant to contact any A.A. group or member but who kept
writing back to us and with the help of the book were able to reach sobriety
by themselves, and even to start their own groups.
To keep us humble and laughing were developments like the Southern group
started via mail through (was his last name Henry?) Anyway, he wrote us
flowing reports about his group and its amazing recoveries of members of his
group. One of our traveling members stopped in for a visit and his letter to
us was an eye opener indeed. It seems that this particular group was based
on the theory that all alcoholic beverages were very bad for
the alcoholic - except beer. This idea was carried out so thoroughly that
beer was served at their A.A. meetings with copious readings of the A.A.
book. Oh well - the beer itself soon cured that misconception.
One of the biggest things you ever did for the solid growth of A.A. in my
opinion Bill was to set up a policy of non-interference in the development
of individual groups. You set up a policy of suggestion not direction with
which I agreed all the way and which I always followed. An individual or a
group can resent and argue an order or direction but how much can you resent
a suggestion which carries the intimation that possibly they might come up
with a better answer if they work it out for themselves. In other words if a
group wrote us a description of a problem in their midst and asked for an
answer, we would usually describe what another group had done under similar
circumstances or suggest possibilities and put the problem squarely back in
their laps. In other words as each individual is responsible for his own
sobriety - so is each group.
We learned early too not to make predictions about who would or would not
stay sober. The most impossible looking cases so often made the grade to
confound us with the miracle while our most promising so often fell by the
wayside. Do you remember the two young hopefuls we practically made bets on?
I think they were Mac and Shepherd. They contacted us about the same time
and [we] were specially interested because they were younger than most at
that time. As I remember it Shepherd was a high betting favorite while "poor
Mac was hopeless". To our surpass Sheperd at that time had trouble almost
immediately while Mac seemed to make steady progress in sobriety. Of course
the whole situation blew up in our faces when one day Mr. Chipman promised
to visit us at Vesey Street so that you could show him what wonderful
progress A.A. was making in every way and to top off the performance you
invited Mac to appear to prove that even very young men could achieve
sobriety. The stage was all set and you met Mr. Chipman for lunch. Meanwhile
Mac appeared at the office completely polluted for the first time in about
six months. Unfortunately he was so far gone that he collapsed in a coma in
the big chair in your private office. I couldn't budge him so all I could
think of to do was shut the door and try to head you off. When you appeared
with Mr. Chipman though you were talking a blue streak complete with
gestures and I couldn't get a word in edgewise as you swept open the door to
your office to reveal Mac in all his drunken glory. After the proverbial
moment of stunned silence you broke into roars of laughter, and a minute
later, bless his heart, Mr. Chipman joined you. Then I relaxed too and all
three of us laughed until we literally wept. When Mac snapped out of this
particular binge some days later he enjoyed it too.
This ability to laugh at yourselves and to accept the puncturing of your own
self importance is one of the basic steps in A.A. I believe - of course it
makes every individual more likable and lovable whether alcoholic or not.
What little I have been able to absorb has made life much simpler for me I
know.
I'm going to quit right here Bill - if it isn't the kind of thing you
want - tear it up. If there is anything I can or should add or subtract, let
me know.
Always the best to you Bill -- Devotedly - Ruth
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++++Message 1662. . . . . . . . . . . . Books About Bill Wilson
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/18/2004 2:28:00 AM
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Friends,
Recent books about Bill Wilson have come to my attention.
The first is written for children at a reading level of 6 to 12 years.
However, I find it a fine summary of Bill's life which should be of interest
to persons of all ages.
Amazon.com: Books: Bill W.: A Different Kind of Hero: The Story of
Alcoholics Anonymous [9]
The second is a recent book by Susan Cheever called "My Name is Bill." I
have only scanned it, but it looks quite interesting.
Amazon.com: Books: My Name Is Bill : Bill Wilson--His Life and the Creation
of Alcoholics Anonymous
While searching Amazon.com for the Cheever book I came upon a book entitled
"Bill W., A Strange Salvation." I hasten to add that this book is not
written as history but as "a Biographical Novel Based on Key Moments in the
Life of Bill Wilson, the Alcoholics Anonymous Founder, and a Probing of His
Mysterious 22-Year Depression." I am finding it interesting, but frustrating
in that I do not know the historicity of some of the events he discussed
(such as Bill's trip to Canada to visit his father while still in his
teens).
Amazon.com: Books: Bill W., A Strange Salvation: A Biographical Novel [10]
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++++Message 1663. . . . . . . . . . . . Second Annual Stockholm
Speakers´Convention 2004.
From: fredrik hogberg . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/18/2004 8:02:00 AM
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SECOND ANNUAL STOCKHOLM SPEAKERS' CONVENTION
The Serenity Group of Stockholm, Sweden, is organizing its 2nd annual
Speakers' Convention. The convention will be held on the 28th and 29th of
May, 2004.The venue will be "Östra Real´s Auditorium" - a grand old school
in the heart of Stockholm. Our main speaker will be Johnnie H., from the
Pacific Group, Los Angeles. He is a highly sought-after speaker in Southern
California, and well known for his strong pitch. The topics of this
convention will be "The Promises" and "Service". We can promise you a very
interesting "Life story" together with a program brimming with good
fellowship!
The Serenity Group AA - Speakers' Committee of Stockholm would love to
welcome visitors from other countries as well. We promise to take GOOD care
of our guests and also let them know something - That Swedish hospitality
entails more than meatballs....
In conjunction with the convention we will also organize dinners both
evenings, for our speaker as well as all the international guests coming to
visit us. We can assure you all that there will be a lot of sober fun! Last
year was a real smash, with Clancy I., as our main speaker, followed by
dinner and dancing at a famous downtown restaurant and
nightclub.
I wish to welcome all of you to this springtime convention in Sweden; at a
time when Stockholm will be displaying her very prettiest face!
For information and registration, please feel free to contact us at:
talarkonvent2004@yahoo.com
In Love and Service,
Fredrik H.
Committee Chairperson of Stockholm AA - Speakers' Convention 2004
Exciting offer! You won't believe it! FREE INTERNET SUPER STORES! Earn Big
Income! How? By giving away SUPER STORES for FREE! Try it FREE!
http://hogberg.freestoreclub.com
Höstrusk och grĺ moln - köp en resa till solen pĺ Yahoo! Resor [11]
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++++Message 1664. . . . . . . . . . . . Belladonna - Compiled from old posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/19/2004 2:35:00 AM
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On Sep. 26, 2003, Norrie F. from Scotland asked for information about
Belladonna. The following are excerpts from the replies. The original posts
have been deleted.
Nancy
David G. replied:
Belladonna is the name of a sedative, antispasmodic drug that is extracted
from the Bella Donna plant. Used for relief of muscle spasms, especially in
the gastro-intestinal tract due to nausea and diarrhea. Developed in NY by
Physician Sam Lambert. Used in alcohol treatment to ease withdrawal.
Art S. replied:
The book Bill W., by Francis Hartigan (pg 50) has a very brief description:
“Bill’s treatment took place under the supervision of the hospital’s
medical director, Dr. William D. Silkworth, who would become a legendary
figure in AA circles. Silkworth had little more to offer of a medical nature
than the “belladonna cure”. This involved a 'purging and puking' aided
by, among other things, castor oil. Belladonna, a hallucinogen, was also
administered to ease the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal.”
Mark E. replied
I found the following using Google as my search engine for the term
Belladonna treatment when I was taking a few of my sponsees through the Big
Book. The website address is as follows:
 http://www.aabacktobasics.com/archives/archive6.html
"Upon Wilson's arrival at Towns Hospital, he was placed in a bed and the
Towns-Lambert Treatment was begun. Dr. Lambert described the belladonna
treatment as follows: Briefly stated, it consists in the hourly dosage of a
mixture of belladonna, hyoscyamus and xanthoxylum. The mixture is given
every hour, day and night, for about fifty hours. There is also given about
every twelve hours a vigorous catharsis of C.C. pills and blue mass. At the
end of the treatment, when it is evident that there are abundant bilious
stools, castor oil is given to clean out thoroughly the intestinal tract. If
you leave any of the ingredients out, the reaction of the cessation of
desire is not as clear cut as when the three are mixed together. The amount
necessary to give is judged by the physiologic action of the belladonna it
contains. When the face becomes flushed, the throat dry, and the pupils of
the eyes dilated, you must cut down your mixture or cease giving it
altogether until these symptoms pass. You must, however, push this mixture
until these symptoms appear, or you will not obtain a clear cut cessation of
the desire for the narcotic..." (Bill Pittman's book: AA The Way It Began
17, p. 2126; 209, p. 186)
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++++Message 1665. . . . . . . . . . . . How AA Got Started in Scotland -
Compilation of Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/19/2004 2:37:00 AM
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Friends,
The following are excerpts from three posts I previously made to AA History
Buffs, and transferred to AA History Lovers. The original three posts have
been deleted.
Nancy
The following flyer concerning the book "Sir Philip Dundas" by Jenny Wren
was received from an archivist in England named "Barbara":
Sir Philip Dundas (1899-1952) was the grandson of Sir Robert, 1st Baronet of
Arniston, and thus a member of a well-known family of Lowland Scots. He was
the eldest of a family of six boys and one girl, and inherited the baronetcy
on the death of his father in 1930. However, he never lived at the family
home of Arniston House.
He served for many years in the Black Watch, including a tour of duty in
Silesia after the First World War, where his regiment was stationed to keep
the peace until plebiscites were arranged to settle the new borders between
Germany and Poland. On retirement from the army, he farmed on the Mull of
Kintyre, near Campbeltown.
His greatest achievement is unconnected with either the army or farming, but
arises from a personal battle with alcoholism. Realising the need for
assistance with his affliction, he found help in a recently created
self-help organisation in America. He was so grateful for his own liberation
from alcoholism that he determined to introduce this new approach to his own
country, and thus became the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous in Scotland.
There are still some today who remember meeting him, and are
grateful for his influence and example. There are many more who are
profoundly thankful for his work, and he is held in high esteem by the
Scottish Alcoholics Anonymous.
Many of his more illustrious forebears have been the subject of biographical
and historical studies, but this is the first book about Sir Philip and his
family. As well as Sir Philip, it tells the story of each of his five
brothers, whose careers ranged from banking to the Fleet Air Arm. Overlooked
in most existing histories of the Dundas family, they are 'the forgotten
generation of Arniston.' In this personal biography, Sir Philip's daughter
puts him and his brothers on the record.
_______
Barbara sent me some additional information on how AA got started in
Scotland. She says:
"ONE DAY AT A TIME INTO THE 1950s -- the Loners make contact...
"Alcoholics Anonymous came to Scotland about the same time that it arrived
in England, though reports on the earliest meetings sometimes conflict. The
man who played the biggest part in getting meetings established was Philip
D, [Sir Philip Dundas] whom New York registered as a loner in Campbeltown in
1948.
"In February that year, New York wrote to the London members about him,
describing 'an alcoholic who stopped drinking some four years ago on
spiritual principles, but on his own and before he heard of AA.' Philip, a
titled Scottish gentleman farmer, had gone to a World Christian Association
conference in the USA, where a group of businessmen were trying to bring God
into industry by setting up breakfast clubs for prayer. Philip thought that
maybe doing good work like that would help him stay off drink. At the very
first session he met an old time Philadelphia AA, George R, 'who gave him AA
right off the spiritual main line.' wrote Bill W in AA Comes of Age. The
head of one of Scotland's most ancient clans sobered up on the spot. 'In
March, Philip visited London and contacted general secretary, Lottie.'
"A month later, she was referring enquiries to him, and Philip began what
was to be a series of 12-step visits to hospitals and prisons criss-crossing
Scotland. 'My difficulties are several,' he wrote to her that same month. 'I
am actively engaged in farming and what with lambing and seeding I have been
up to the eyes.
"'My next problem is that I live in the most out of the way spot imaginable
... a very small size fishing town and the fishermen are a comparatively
sober lot so not much scope locally. It is obvious to get AA going in
Scotland I shall have to collect one or two in either Edinburgh or Glasgow.
Possibly out of the letters you say you have which please send on, I may be
able to make a start.'
"Philip paid Forbes C. to go round Scotland telling interested parties about
AA. It wasn't easy. 'You know as well as I do that the Scottish alcoholics
are pretty tough cases,' wrote Lottie in September 1948.
"According to this letter, Forbes 'was asked by Marty M[ann] (the visiting
alcoholism expert from the USA who was also an AA member) and Philip to go
off ... to see if a real group could not be started. Forbes succeeded and
there is one group in Perth and another one will be in Edinburgh and
Glasgow.' The first Edinburgh meeting was held in Mackie's Restaurant,
Princes Street.
"Philip had made contact with Jack McK of Glasgow, who had been a patient at
Gilgal Hospital in Perth. And in the spring of 1949, other patients in the
same hospital became interested. In February that year a meeting was held in
the Waverley Hotel, Perth. Five people attended.
"Meanwhile in Glasgow, Philip and Jack McK had contacted Jimmy R, a patient
of Crichton Royal, Dumfries, and an alcoholic named Charlie B. In March
1949, there was a public meeting held in the St. Enoch's Hotel, Glasgow,
with 54 people present. Fourteen expressed some interest but only four
showed up
at the second meeting - Philip, Jimmy R, Jack McK and John R. Philip paid
the expenses for the first three or four sessions and they decided to hold
regular meetings every Tuesday evening.
"Attendance was not encouraging. But a visit from Gordon M, an American,
persuaded them to register as a group with the New York office. Thus in May
1949 both Edinburgh First and Glasgow Central became part of the official
record.
"By November 1949 a letter from Jimmy F reported that the Edinburgh group
was flourishing. There was 'a stable nucleus' by the end of the year and a
Dr. Clark in charge of a ward in Edinburgh Hospital was referring patients
to the Fellowship.
"The Glasgow members were also active in contacting doctors. Consultant
Psychiatrist A. Balfour Sclare recalled: 'To the best of my recollection
Alcoholics Anonymous first made its impact upon psychiatrists ... in the
Glasgow area when a member of this Fellowship gave an address on its modus
operandi at the Lansdowne Clinic in 1949.'
"Philip continued to do his best from his Scottish farm. One of the
prospects he interested was a John MD, an inmate of Greenock Prison. He sent
Forbes to talk to the governor and later wrote himself in August 1949: 'If
you feel it would be any use either I or one of the Glasgow members would be
only too willing to come to Greenock and have a few talks with him about the
movement
... I am perfectly willing to have a try with him provided he, himself, will
honestly make up his mind to chuck alcohol for good, otherwise it is just a
waste of time talking to him.'"
_______
More On Sir Philip Dundas and How AA Got Started in Scotland
I have finished reading the book "Sir Philip Dundas," by Jenny Wren. It was
Philip Dundas who started AA in Scotland. "Jenny Wren" is really Myfanwy
[yes, I spelled it correctly] Baldwin. At first her siblings called her
"Myffie" but then changed it to "Vannie" which she has been called by her
family ever since.
But Sir Philip, called her his "little Jenny Wren." (Jenny Wren is the name
of a character in a Charles Dickens novel, and also the name of a rose.)
I asked Mrs. Baldwin, with whom I have been in touch by e-mail, if she knew
whether he had called her Jenny Wren because of the character Dickens or
because of the rose. She believes he called her that because he thought the
wrinkled little baby looked like a little brown bird, a wren.
Mrs. Baldwin writes in the book: "My mother described my father as somewhat
tipsy but in a very good mood on his first visit to see me. He presented my
mother with a brooch and asked her if it went with the new baby. Then he
picked me up in his arms and walked up and down the room with me calling me
his little Jenny Wren. So apart from half his genetic make-up my first gift
from my father was my nom de plume for the purposes of his story."
Sir Philip was born in 1899, and inherited his father's title in 1930,
becoming the fourth Baronet of Arniston.
He had been educated in the finest schools, including the prestigious
Harrow, where his father had also been educated.
In July of 1918, Philip was given a commission in the Black Watch (42nd
Foot, Royal Highlanders). In 1920, when Europe was still dealing with the
aftermath of the war, Philip was sent to Silesia to serve with the 2nd
Battalion in the disputed zone on the borders of Germany and Poland.
The 1920s brought tragedy to the family.
In 1922, Philip's brother David, 19, who was serving in the Navy, was killed
when his boat -- a mine sweeper -- disappeared at sea. Only three of the
crew was found, but not David. Philip could not be with his family during
this tragic time, as he was serving in Silesia.
In 1928 Philip was serving in India when he brother Henry, who was in the
Malay states, contracted blackwater fever and died at age 27. None of the
family was able to get there for the funeral.
And then, in the winter of 1930, his father -- while sailing from
Southampton on his way to Capetown, South Africa -- died suddenly of a heart
attack, and was buried at sea.
So at age 31, following several family tragedies, Philip found himself head
of the family, with all the responsibilities of his title. His daughter says
that "Psychologically he may have felt somewhat battered at this time
following three close family deaths."
Just when Philip began drinking, she doesn't say, but by the time he assumed
his title he was showing signs of strain. "He began to drink quite heavily
and at times seemed unable to control the amount he drank. A photograph of
him ... in April 1932 shows that he had put on weight and his face looked
troubled."
By 1932, his drinking was often out of control, and his mother was growing
extremely concerned about him.
She turned to her friend and neighbor, Violet Hood, for advice. Violet's
daughter, Jean, was a very religious girl. She had joined the Oxford Group,
with whom she had traveled to America where she attended meetings. They
thought that perhaps the Oxford Group could help Philip. So Jean was called
to talk to him.
But much to her mother's dismay, Jean and Philip fell in love. (Violet had
taken quite a fancy to Philip's brother Tom and had been heard to tell his
mother how proud she would be to have a son like Tom. But Philip was quite
another story.) Jean's parents were concerned at the situation she might be
getting into, and they decided to consult the Oxford Group about the
problem.
Philip's mother, on the other hand was delighted, probably thinking that
Jean would be a good influence on her son. Jean, however, thought that the
Dundases probably felt she was not quite "out of the top drawer."
The Oxford group seemed unable to help. It seemed to Jean that they were
against the idea of her marrying Philip and wanted her to give him up. But
Jean would not, and they were married.
Their daughter says that Jean had not known Philip well during their
childhood as he was more than ten years her senior, but she never could
resist a "lame duck."
"Now she became determined that God could heal this young man, and put all
her energies into helping wherever she could."
Philip and Jean produced a son, Henry, in 1937, and a daughter, Althea, in
1939.
By the 1940s Philip's drinking was making Philip's behavior towards his wife
impossible and she left him and planned to divorce him. But Philip soon
persuaded her to return and try again, "and promised to do something about
the drinking problem."
His Jenny Wren was born after the reconciliation, in 1946. Another daughter,
Joanne, was born in 1949.
Philip had been trying for some time to find a solution to his drinking
problem and by 1947 "as a member of MRA, had with their help achieved a
measure of control." [I believe "MRA" may refer to "moral rearmament," the
new name for the Oxford Group.]
Mrs. Baldwin reports that "In 1948 he and Jean visited the United States
apparently at the invitation of the Oxford Group." During his visit to
America he attended a dinner at which he met "George R. who told him of an
organisation, formed some fifteen years earlier, which could help people
with his problem. George thus introduced my father to Alcoholics Anonymous,
and that first meeting was said to have changed his life. It was also said
that from that time forward he did not touch alcohol again."
Bill Wilson, described it like this: "He [Philip] came over to have a look
at the International Christian Leadership Movement, where he met with a
group of businessmen who were interested in bringing God into industry
through the medium of breakfast clubs for prayer and planning. Philip
thought that maybe he could introduce the breakfast club idea to Scotland,
and he hoped that such a good work would loosen his fatal attachment to the
bottle. At the
very first session he met an old-time Philadelphia A.A., George R., who gave
him A.A. right off the spiritual mainline. The head of one of Scotland's
most ancient clans sobered up on the spot. He took A.A. back to his native
heath, and soon alcoholic Scots were drying up all the way from Glasgow ship
chandlers to society folks in Edinburgh."
His daughter reports that he "returned to Britain fired up with all he had
learned in the States and, despite the initial suffering without an
alcoholic drop, had stuck to his resolved and began to feel well and happy
again."
His relationship with his wife improved and he was determined to use his
gifts and talents in helping other people who suffered from alcoholism. He
was now determined to bring AA to Scotland. "His years as an officer in the
army and his family background gave him the confidence of how to go about
this."
His first efforts were not too successful. He then "contacted the Governor
of Gilgal prison and other institutions where men and women with a drinking
problem might be found and asked if he might be allowed to come and talk to
the sufferers. Together with a man called Forbes, who was unemployed at the
time, he attempted to raise an interest in the past successes of this
organization. At first it was slow to take off, as often the people
approached were not interested, but eventually a group of four got together
and gradually interest began to grow."
Some of his letters from this time survive and his daughter says that they
reveal some of his feelings and thoughts about himself.
"As he worked through the agonies of withdrawing from alcohol he gradually
began to feel better both mentally and physically. Washing up pots and pans,
a job he had always loathed, now struck him as something he quite enjoyed
and he would scrub them as hard as he could to see how bright and shiny he
could make them. He began to get to know his own strengths and weaknesses
much better, and was aware that sometimes he was too soft and trusting with
people. He realised that it was easier to see the good in people than to
face up to their faults. He sometimes acknowledged he might not be the best
person to
deal with certain alcoholic cases as people found it easy to deceive him. He
cursed the fact that he had what he called 'a handle' to his name, because
he felt that people believed he might be a soft touch for money."
He was very eager to get AA established in Scotland as quickly as possible.
"He feared complacency as he felt the development might grind to a halt. He
also feared his fellow founders might feel he was being dictatorial and
trying to grab power."
But his daughter says that it was his desire to get as many branches as
possible formed with plenty of capable people to run them. "The Irish set-up
was a case where he felt there was too much dependence on the founder.
Rather ironically he suggested what a disaster this would be should the
founder suddenly die."
As time went by his spent a lot of his time traveling about trying to set up
new branches of AA in Scotland.
Mrs. Baldwin writes that "In April 1950, my father received a personal
letter from Bill Wilson, the founder of AA, stating that he proposed to
visit the British Isles in June and July. This letter also mentioned that
Bill hoped for a short period of rest and sightseeing while in Scotland. My
parents had him and his wife to stay at Fairnington Craigs, and then went
with them on their visit further north."
(There is a wonderful picture in the book of Bill with Sir Philip and an
unidentified man and woman at Dunkeld. Bill is looking very handsome in a
three piece suit as he towers over Sir Philip by at least a head.)
Sir Philip died in 1952. During his final illness his little Jenny Wren read
to him from a pile of Beatrix Potter books, as her mother had read to her
when she was ill. "Those words I couldn't read I made up, and he went along
with it like the good sport he was," she reports.
He was buried at Holy Trinity Church in Melrose. His wife chose words from
St. John's Gospel to go on his gravestone: "For as much as ye have done it
unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me."
"It was a reminder of his work in bringing Alcoholics Anonymous to
Scotland," writes his daughter.
His eldest child and only son, Henry, became the fifth Baronet upon the
death of Philip in 1952. He was only 14 when he inherited the title. Sadly,
Harry died unexpectedly at the age of twenty-six. He was buried at Melrose
beside his father. His mother's choice of biblical text for him was "You are
not alone because the father is with you."
Sir Philip's brother Jim then inherited the title.
His little Jenny Wren, who obviously adored her father, ends her book by
saying:
"During the last few years of his life, he gave so much of himself to
setting up further branches of AA in Scotland, and by his death there were
branches in Perth, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Ayr, Dumfries and Inverness.
Today I'm told there are over 900
groups in Scotland. How many people, I wonder, does that mean have been
touched by his courage and conviction? How many families have been enabled
to live normal and happy lives with the help of AA? A few weeks ago it was
the centenary of my father's
birth, and we are now about to start on a new and significant century. I
hope he would be proud of the little acorns that he sowed in Scotland. From
these, people have carried on his work and reached out to those who suffer
in this particular way.
"Most little girls, I'm told, want a dad to be proud of. It has been a
privilege through writing this book to share some of his joys and sorrows,
to discover how courageous he was, and to possess that pride in his memory."
Myfanwy Baldwin (nee Dundas),
Cleobury Mortimer, December 1999.
_______
Sources;
Sir Philip Dundas, by Jenny Wren, M & M Baldwin Press.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age.
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++++Message 1667. . . . . . . . . . . . AA in Russia - Letters from Marina K
and Irina K
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/20/2004 3:46:00 AM
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Friends,
In June of 2000 I posted to AA History Buffs (and later transferred to AA
History Lovers) some correspondence from an AA in Russia named Marina K.
which had been forwarded from Barbara in the UK. This resulted in my
receiving copies of some letters from Irina K. in Russia. This post combines
those letters. The originals have been deleted.
Nancy
Letters from Marina to Barbara in the UK:
Good day, Barbara!
I can't answer you letter in moment. It takes some more time for me to read
and write in English, when in Russian.
But it is one more reason for delay. I took part in very interesting thing
in our AA. We name it "avtoprobeg" - it means, that on 30th of April 7 cars
start from one Russian town (Tolyatty). They pass over 3000 kilometers -
Ural (this is a Russian region on the border of Europe and Asia). Every day
- new town, meetings this members of AA of this towns. During the way from
one town to another (it took nearle 4-5 hours) - groups in the cars. It was
wonderful. I was waiting this trip the whole year. I was vry afraid, that
something may happen and I could not take part in this journey. But High
Power gave me such happy opportunity.
It is very difficult for me to tell in English about this trip. It is
difficult yet in Russian - I haven't words. I met my friends (some members
of AA from this towns I had meet in Moscow during last years). I saw
problems of AA in deep Russian regions. I saw, how AA grow there. We visited
7 towns of Ural. And 2 and 3 years ago I was in 2 of this towns. Were was
the all-Russian Convention in this towns (in 1997 - Magnitogorsk, and in
1998
- Glazov). It was difficult decision for Russian AA - to organize such
all-Russian conventions not in Moscow, there we can gather more people, then
in such small towns. But we think: this Convention will help AA in this
regions to grow.
Today, then I visit this towns second time - I saw: it was write decision. I
saw results of our work 2 or 3 years ago.
So, I returned home very weary (we sleep nearly for 3-4 hours at night
during this journey), but very happy.
Now I'll try to write for your letter. [Barbara's newsletter.]
About history of Russian AA and archive documents. We are nearly 13 years
old - but we have problems this our history. The first problem - we don't
exactly know data of beginning. In particular - beginning of Moscow AA.
There was many debates about this 3 years ago - and for today we don't
decide, then Moscow AA began - in 1987 or in 1998. Different people have
different opinions. Today we say, that Russian AA is 13, because it is the
age of St. Peterburg group AA "Almaz" (December 1996). I don't know for
today the eldest group.
Many documents is keeping at homes of some members of AA. Only year ago we
began to take such archives to office. But we have problems - how to keep
them. But the main problem - I don't know a men (or woman) for today, who
want to work this archives. For today we only put this documents in boxes -
but I understand - it needs more serious work.
I know one man - he try to fix events in Russian AA. But he live not in
Moscow. Month ago I get from him document, it name "Chronicle of events of
Russian AA" (4 pages). And this is nearly all, that we have for today about
our history. No, we have some more documents - registration sheets of
Russian groups (since 1995), documents of Conferences from 9 to 12 (12 was
in
this year). We have no documents from Conferences 1st, 2nd, 3rd. We have
only decisions from Conferences from 4th to 8th.
But I think - such problems are not only in Russian AA. It is reality.
Perhaps, we began to think about our history not too late.
About Russian office of AA. It is in Moscow, not in the center - on the
fringe of Moscow. It consist of two small rooms. We have xerox, two
computers, and some more equipment. What we do there? Prepare AA books (3
main books) to printing. (But print them not in office). Prepare booklets
and make copies on Xerox. Unswerving service (telephone), e-mail contacts. 3
time during year we send to all Russian groups (nearly 210 for today)
letters this some information about "AA life" (the analog of BOX), materials
on Service.
Purpose: group consciousness must be informed.
I may tell many detail about work in office, but it is detail. It is every
day work to help people find AA, to help them understand not only one word
(recovery) but 3 important words (Unity - Service - Recovery). This is my
way too - I understand, that I need service to stay sober. For last 2 years,
before I had need to go to another town (this is family situation) - I
worked in office as volunteer - two or three evenings and all Saturday. But
today I
think - it was the happiest time for last 20 years of my life.
We have 2 workers in office, who get money for theirs work: secretary and
accountant. We can't pay them enough money - Russian AA doesn't have mush
money for today. But they do work - and this is not a work of volunteer.
The main problem for today in Russian AA - we have not state registration.
This gives many juridical and organization problems. And for today this
question is open. It is a great problem.
About your another questions. I have never been in England. I have never
been in any foreign country. Last year I was elected a delegate to European
Service Meeting (it was in October). All was good, I get documents, but+ In
August I was informed, that my mother have cancer. She has died. It is a
reason, that I go from Moscow to a small town (I have need to live with my
father for today). But I can't get to Service Meeting in October.
How I learn English? A specialized school in childhood. Then I forgot many.
But then I came to AA - I began to work this materials in English - made
translation, correct translations of another people. Then I began to work
this e-mail. And I have to answer for letters from another countries - this
help me to "remember" English. I don't think my English is very good, but I
think - it become more better since I came to AA.
About AA journals. During last year I got numbers of "Grapevine" - it was a
gift from members of AA in America. It was very useful for me - I find many
interesting articles, some of them we translated to Russian and one or two
was publish in Russian AA journal "Rodnic". I want to translate some more
articles from numbers of "Grapevine", which I have.
But - my main problem - I have a little time and I wish to do so many things
in AA. And this translation - not the first things for me. I have some
deals, that I think more important. And translations can be done by another
people. But I can say - it was very interesting to read "Grapevine", it help
me in my sobriety (and in my English too).
So, I must stop this letter - tomorrow I'll send it (I have Internet only on
my work - and I can send letters only 1 or 2 times a week).
Thank you for your story.
This love in AA
Marina
Dear Barbara.
Certainly, you may send my letter to Nancy and use it and next in your
Newsletter.
I understand, that my letters need a corrections (my English is not good
enough+) - you may do it.
I get a letter from Nancy with suggestion to join Internet group AA History
Buffs. As I understand from her letter - it is very interesting group for
me. I am very grateful for this suggestion. But I have some problems to join
this group -
Today I live in a small town on the North of Russia. And our telephone lines
are not good enough. So, I have my own name in Internet, but I have
technical problems to connect with my internet provider from my home
computer. And I connect from my place of
work (where I get money). It is not comfortable. I have a permission to use
telephone line from work, but+ Usually, I have only 10-15 minutes to send my
and get e-mail letters, convert them to Word file and put them on the
mini-diskette. And I read this letters at home in the evening.
So, in Russian-speaking e-mail group I ask my friends to send me letters in
special ZIP-archives - it take less time to get such e-mail. So, I afraid,
that in this group (AA History Buffs) I may get many letters, and I shall
not be able "to process" them.
The second problem - in summer I'll be on my work rarely (once a week or
once in 10 days) - so, you may understand, that I can't answer letters very
quick.
I have a hope - to do some manipulations with my computer during summer and
to get connection from my home. If it will be so - I'll join AA History
Buffs. But for today I must wait. But I am ready to contact with you and
with Nancy (if she want this), to have individual correspondence.
I'll try to translate to English the document "hronika" - it is a history of
Russian AA (it was written by one member of Russian AA). But I think it will
take time (perhaps month or more) - I have many duties (in AA and in my
usual life) today. If I will do this - I'll send it to you.
I'll be very grateful, if you can send me the most interesting materials. If
it will be 2-4 letters in a week - it is normal, but more then 10 - it is a
problem for me (and if this files will be not very "big' in kilobytes). But
if it is difficult to do this - I'll understand. I know, that it take time
to do individual selection. You may not do it for me. In any case - I'll be
very glad to get letters from you.
Please, send a copy of this letter to Nancy. I find e-mail address in her
letter, but as I understand - this is address of a group. And as I said -
today I may have only individual contacts.
Marina K.
(Marina gave permission for me to correct her English, but I wanted to keep
the flavor of her own words.)
_________
Letters from Irina to Margaret S.:
Hi Margaret. It's a small world! Marina mentioned about "autoprobeg"-motor
race through Urals. I would like to say I came to Yekaterinburg (central
city of Urals region) 2 May two years ago on this gathering after some cars
of this race arrived there! Maybe I saw Marina but I don't remember. Guys
did a great job. It was inspirational experience for local AAs!
I'm not so advanced in history of AA of Russia. The first group in
Yekaterinburg appeared just 8 years ago. There are some groups one among
them in prison. I had been there twice (in prison's group Svecha-Candle).
Also there are some groups in towns of Middle Urals (AA ,Al-Anon, NA). I'm
the only Loner by correspondence. We have't meetimg-by-mail for Loners,
Homers etc. in Russia. In my first year I asked myself, my friends in groups
of Yekaterinburg- What should I do with my sobriety in my small settlement
without group? I would like to mention that then my husband still drunk. I
attended speaker meeting for the first time in December 98 in Yekaterinburg.
Speaker was Tom from US. I was impressed. I remember I wrote down all that
he said in my notebook! It was turning point for me. After meeting one sheet
fell into my hands-it was information from Moscow AA Office about LIM. One
brother Felix (he died in last year) told how he tries to set up something
like LIM in Russia. I wrote to him immidiately. I thought just about
corresponding in Russia & not presumed about Inernational corresponding-I
knew nothing! He mentioned if I understand English I can write to GSO. I
thought I knew! Now I know it was just a beginning. He did a great job.
I wrote to GSO. After they published my letter in LIM bulletin I got a lot
of letters from different countries! I'm grateful to my Higher Power for
this gift! Still I have many pen pals but now prefere using e-mail because
postage on "snail-mail" still rising.
By the way you can read about typical state of AA of Russia in typical towns
in the AA Grapevine, Millenium Editon, January 2000, page 22 "A Hard
Spiritual Labor". I was so impressed that immidiately found in Russian AA
Directory & wrote a letter to Krasnodar to Valery M. You can picture his
shock! -He could't imagine that someone could read Grapevine somewhere in
such nook as my settlement! Now he is my close AA friend & the first person
with whom I corresponding in Russian! Misterious way!
I found pen pal in my own country via English-speaking Grapevine!
I live just near geografical border Europe/Asia about 15 km from the point.
Through my sister in Australia I got last AOSM newsletter. Russia among many
countries of this zone was included in AOSM. Our candidate was present on
last AOSM in Seoul in Oct. 2001. I got Final Report too.
As to literature-I have some pamphlets & books (AA) both in Russian &
English. Mainly in English. I'm really blessed I can translate & read. But I
take responsibility for not violating copyrights of AA. Yes, I have an
opportunity to translate, to print, to copy. But it 's tremendous
responsibility as AA member. I saw illegal BB made in Germany there a couple
of years ago (free of cause).
I get AA materials from Moscow AA Service regularly information about
events, gathering etc. Recently I got a couple of addresses of new loners in
Russia! Now I have a couple of pen pals in my country at last!
Thank you for listening!
Margaret, you can send my letter on the group if you wish.
If someone have questions I will be glad to answer.
Irina
Margaret then forwarded this letter:
When I read story about visit to Soviet Union [see next post] I recalled
those times during Communism. If Communism wouldn't fall it would be
impossible my sobriety & my participation in AAs! I remember well this time
- from 1970 to 1990. It was the country of militant atheism. The only "cure"
for alcoholics were labor camps. If police had stopped drunks on streets of
town they were dispatched into special sobering-up stations. "Alcoholic" is
still like stigma in community. I tried to prove I'm not alcoholic. My folks
had said "where is your will power?"
Still for example in a lobby of our mashine works names of those who drunk
"too much" posting up on special board-administration of plant think that
these poor workers must be ashamed! These boards were used in former Soviet
Union at every plant.
In province where I live (this is typical Russian out-of-the-way place)
community yet not open to "open" talk. I could make sure in it. It's legacy
of Communism that touched mind & spirit of people.
I believe that through new market economics & freedom, reforms, cooperation
something will change. People will be more free & open. Russian society is
not the same as 10 or 20 years ago - I can compare those years as I was born
in 1964 in Yekaterinburg (former Sverdlovsk). By the way as it turned out I
was born in this city twice-in 1964 & in 1998. It's not a coinscidence!
Irina
(As with Marina, I did not attempt to correct Irina's English.
My profound thanks to Barbara and Margaret for sending the list these
letters.)
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++++Message 1668. . . . . . . . . . . . AA in Russia -- Some posts from
those who have visited Russia
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/20/2004 4:04:00 AM
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These were compiled from earlier posts which have been deleted.
Mike B. wrote:
I was privileged to be on two of the trips sponsored by CASW to the
then-Soviet Union. My first was in April 1987 and then again the following
April - 1988. To my knowledge, trip #1 in April 1986 marked the first public
AA meeting in Moscow and that is considered by most as the beginning of AA
in Russia.
On both of my trips (CASW # 3 and # 6), our group met in Helsinki and the
Finnish AAs, then went into the Soviet Union. On the '87 trip, we went first
to Estonia, and held the first AA meeting in Tallin. We also met with the
Anti-Bacchus Society, a sobriety club in Tartu.
Most of our contacts in both St. Petersburg (then Leningrad) and Moscow were
initially through the Department of Health and the hospitals. In Leningrad,
it was the Bechterov Institute and in Moscow, Hospital # 13.
During these trips, I met several Russian alcoholics, some in the hospitals
and some in their homes. On the second trip, we held workshops on how to
take an inventory and how to make a twelve-step call; it was fascinating
stuff. I remember one woman named Marina being in our meetings, but this is
a very common name in Russia.
___________
Bobby D. writes:
I had a most blessed trip to Russia for 10 days before I went to
Minneapolis, it was an incredible experience. The highlight, of course, was
to sit in a meeting in Niznhy Novgorod and hear the beautiful language of
the heart spoken by 60 or 70 wonderful Russian people.
I have to tell you a funny thing. There were no meetings listed for that
city in the International Directory, so I took it upon myself to go looking
for some drunks to work with!
I contacted a pastor who contacted several others, but what I got was a
group of pastors, doctors, psychiatrists, etc.
They were all very eager to help alcoholics, and it was wonderful. By the
second night, there were 100 of them, and there were also some real
alcoholics in the bunch! I was thrilled. I spoke to them and told them my
story on the first night, and what the Big Book tells us about each of the
12 steps during the second night.
Then an amazing thing happened. Several of them had questions, and soon it
became apparent that they knew things about AA that the average person would
not know. So after the second night I asked them if they had attended AA
somewhere. They said, "Oh yes. We belong to one of the two groups here in
town!" I was thrilled, and they invited me to speak at their meeting.
I went and was met by 60 or 70 beautiful alcoholics!
They all understood why I cried, I think. I was moved to tears with
gratitude. Never in my life did I imagine that I would be sitting in an AA
meeting half way around the world. What a beautiful experience.
I must admit that I was amazed by all the people who had turned out to hear
me 4 nights in a row (including the AA meeting). Then one sweet Al-Anon lady
spilled the beans.
She had come to the meeting, she said, and was afraid they might not let her
in, since it was a closed meeting. When she arrived,
though, she found out that it was an open meeting that night. "I don't think
you could have kept me out," she said, "because I figured I'd never again
have the chance to meet Dr. Bob of AA fame..."
My mouth dropped open! These people had actually been telling everyone in
town that Dr. Bob was visiting them! Can you BELIEVE IT?????
I began to chuckle, and then finally told them that I hated to disappoint
them. I said, "This is a case of mistaken identity.... My name is Bobby
Davis. But I'm not a doctor, and certainly not Dr. Bob! He's been dead for
about 50 years..."
There was a hush in the room, and then a sudden mass-recognition of the
mistake they had made. There was much laughter, and afterwards, I was
hugged, kissed and fawned over like I have never been before in my entire
life!
They are wonderful people. And they ALL BELIEVE IN GOD! WOW.
Not bad from a country full of atheists!
Of course, who can be an atheist for very long in an AA meeting! LOL
Bobby
__________
Larry D. wrote:
I WAS PRIVILEGED TO SET UP A MEETING WITH THREE SPEAKERS FROM THE FIRST AA
GROUP FORMED IN MOSCOW. THEIR INTERPRETER WAS ALSO WITH THEM, AN AMERICAN,
WHO WAS NOT AN AA MEMBER, BUT GAVE HIS HEART AND SOUL TO THE PROGRAM OF AA
IN RUSSIA. HE WAS EDUCATED AT WHEATON COLLEGE AND BECAME A MINISTER WITH
MISSIONARY ZEAL. BILLY GRAHAM WAS EDUCATED AT THE SAME SCHOOL.
THE MINISTER, WHO ALSO HAD HIS HOME IN WHEATON, IL BUT SPENDS MOST OF HIS
TIME IN RUSSIA, WAS INTERPRETER FOR THE THREE SPEAKERS FROM RUSSIA. IT WAS
FELT BY EVERYONE THERE THAT NO INTERPRETER WAS NEEDED. THIS WAS THOUGHT BY
MOST OF THE ATTENDEES, ABOUT THREE HUNDRED.
THEY SPOKE FROM THEIR HEARTS. THEIR EMOTIONS WERE AS EVIDENT AS THE TEARS
CAME INTO THEIR EYES, SHAKING VOICES, AND THANKFULNESS TO AA. WE WERE MOST
STRUCK BY THEIR BY THEIR LOVING HIGHER POWER WHICH THEY DECIDED TO CALL GOD.
THEY KNEW THAT THEIR SURRENDER TO GOD WAS ONLY AS GOOD AS THEY PRAYED EACH
DAY.
AS I LEFT THE MEETING WITH MY NEW AA FRIENDS FROM RUSSIA, I WAS ALL BUT
OVERCOME BY THE EMOTIONAL IMPACT THEY LEFT WITH US. IT WAS A MIRACLE MEETING
THAT SATURDAY NIGHT.
LOVE YOU ALL,
LARRY D.
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++++Message 1669. . . . . . . . . . . . More on AA in Russia compiled from
earlier posts.
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/20/2004 5:12:00 AM
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I came upon this interesting article in The Alcoholism Report of July 11,
1975:
"Dr. John L. Norris, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Alcoholics
Anonymous, urged the development of cooperative efforts between the U.S. and
Russia in the area of alcoholism. He offered to go to the Soviet Union to
share the AA program with the Russian people.
"In comments made on his arrival in Denver for the 40th Anniversary
International Convention of AA in Denver July 4-6, Norris said: 'My hope is
that AA may soon find its way to every nation on earth -- including the
Soviet Union and the Iron Curtain countries. We are told that alcoholism is
a major health problem in these regions. AA could alleviate it. We are
apolitical -- so there should be no conflict on that score.
"'Further, a believe in God or membership in any formal religion are not
requirements for AA membership. Therefore, our program would work in Moscow
just as it works in Denver or London or Sydney or Paris. It is refreshing to
observe that some of the barriers between the U.S. and the USSR seem to be
softening. I urge the development of cooperative efforts in the area of
alcoholism.
"'We would be willing to travel to the Soviet Union to confer with the
leaders in that country who are concerned about the problems of addictions.
We would be pleased to share our program with the Russian people. Alcoholism
transcends all barriers. The alcoholic in Russia suffers the same pain
experienced by an alcoholic anywhere. He or she deserves the same relief
from pain.'"
________
AA Grapevine, July 1989
A VISIT TO THE SOVIET UNION
The message of Alcoholics Anonymous knows no language barrier, nor do custom
or cultural heritage have any meaning when it comes to our recovery process.
There were sixteen of us at the Moscow Beginners Group. We were there
celebrating their first anniversary as an AA group. The meeting opened in
Russian with the Preamble, then a reading of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve
Traditions. The chairperson said, "This is a Second Step meeting," and they
began to share.
One member spoke up. He was an enthusiastic Moscow businessman who was five
months sober and beginning to work the Steps. When he spoke, I heard my own
alcoholism, I heard my own history of destruction and pain.
"I have no history of God in my life," he said. "But I began to do what they
said to do here. And I have found a spiritual power within me. I think that
might be God."
This man is now working with three other alcoholics in the group who also
had no history of God in their lives, but who together have found a
spiritual power they can rely on.
Inasmuch as AA can be official in any way, this was an "official" visit from
the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous in the United States and
Canada to some very specific people in the Soviet Union. Over the previous
year or so, there had been a number of communications back and forth between
the Soviet and American governments concerning alcoholism; and AA, while not
affiliated with these efforts in any way, had cooperated in full.
In September 1987, the general manager of the General Service Office in New
York traveled by invitation to the Soviet Union with sixteen other
individuals related to the field of alcoholism, as part of an exchange
program between the two governments on the topic of alcoholism and drug
abuse. Then, in May of 1988, a return visit was made by a group of Soviets.
Through the course of these exchanges, it became clear that there were quite
a few people inside the Soviet Union who had a growing interest in
Alcoholics Anonymous. We began corresponding with some of these people -
Ministry of
Health people, Temperance Promotion Society (TPS) people, psychologists,
psychiatrists, narcologists, sobriety clubs - and in the course of this
ongoing dialogue, another visit was set up which was to be independent of
the previous trips.
The AA members picked for the trip were the two trustees-at-large - myself
from the United States and Webb J. from Canada - along with Sarah P., the
GSO staff member assigned to the trustees' International Committee. In
addition, since we'd be talking primarily with Soviet professionals and
doctors, it
seemed appropriate to have a doctor along with us. So Dr. John Hartley
Smith, a nonalcoholic trustee from Canada, was added to the team. Of course
it wouldn't have done much good to send us off without a voice, so we also
added a nonalcoholic fellow who is a simultaneous translator.
Our first stop was Helsinki, Finland. We went there first for two reasons:
first, we wanted to take care of jet lag and be fully adjusted to the time
change; and second, the Finns have been carrying the AA message into Russia
for some time and we wanted to coordinate our efforts so that each of us
might be as effective as possible.
Now, I've been around drunks most of my life, but I've never seen quality
drunkenness until I saw the Finns. They were big, they were like redwood
trees, they were stoned, and they were moving. Finnish AA members are
incredible, too. They give the same depth of love to AA that they gave to
the bottle - and then some. One of the ways in which the Finns practice
anonymity
is by taking on a nickname. And so, in Helsinki, we met "Columbus," the
fellow who first brought AA to Finland.
On November 13, we took the ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn
was one of the most beautiful cities I'd ever seen. There were buildings
there which had been built in the 1400s and were still in use. Estonia was
in the Soviet Republic, but it is a separate culture.
We'd carried with us a good-sized box of Russian-language AA literature, and
though I knew we'd be stopped, I had no idea how this literature would be
received. I've been through plenty of tough customs checks before - and
after one of them, I ended up in prison - and I was getting a little
nervous. I'd brought along a pocket knife to open up the box with, but I
couldn't find it anywhere and ended up having to open up the box with a
plastic pocket comb.
The customs lady took out a piece of literature, looked at it, and walked
off to show it to a fellow in a suit standing back in a corner. Our
interpreter leaned over and whispered to me, "It's an ideology check."
In a short while, the customs lady returned with a smile on her face. She
called over a uniformed guard. I thought, "There goes the box." As they
talked together, the interpreter leaned over. "They like it," he said.
With another burst of conversation and a nod of the head, she waved me, the
box, and the interpreter on through. On the other side of the check point,
the interpreter translated her last comments to the uniformed guard for me.
"Look," she had said, "they are here to help us in our struggle with
alcoholism." This seemed to set the tone for the entire trip, and we started
handing out literature wherever we went.
Each one of us on this trip had a sense of the immensity of our task, and
each one of us had a real desire not to promote anything but rather to share
our experience, strength, and hope with the professionals we came in contact
with so that they might better understand AA and perhaps allow AA to happen
in the Soviet Union. At one of our meetings with the Sobriety Society of
Estonia, the people involved in helping alcoholics there tended to dominate
and tell us of their program and to slant the conversation politically, but
eventually we got across to them that helping alcoholics was our only
interest.
During one of our conversations, a girl spoke up in English and said, "I
have read your book [the Big Book]. How am I going to work with these AA
principles if I don't believe in God?"
"Well," I said, "that's no big deal. I didn't believe in God either when I
came to AA. It's not a requirement, you know." With this, the girl visibly
relaxed and I heard a sigh of relief.
We also met with a doctor there, a former government official, and he kept
saying how the program would have to be changed to fit the Russian people, a
people with no historical cultural background of God. "It won't work here"
was something we heard a lot. I must admit that I did get a bit of a chuckle
out of this. Quite a few times I heard people say, "We don't have any
historical background of God," and then in the next breath would ask, "Would
you like to see the cathedral?"
At first, many of the people we talked to were reserved. But because we
talked so openly about alcoholism and about ourselves, they too began to
share openly. We discovered that whatever else they might be doing in terms
of treatment, they were already using some of the basic principles of
Alcoholics Anonymous: admission of powerlessness, an honest belief that some
sort of recovery is possible, and the importance of taking a personal
inventory. It was rigorous, but they were doing it. They had a
thirty-question inventory that had to be renewed every six months with a
doctor and a peer group. Treatment was a three-year process, and if you
slipped, you went to a labor camp for two years. The official position was
that after six or eight weeks of effective treatment, the patient was no
longer an alcoholic. There was a cure, they believed, and it took about six
to eight weeks. The only catch was that they had to keep renewing this cure
or they became alcoholics again. However, the drunks we talked to said, "We
know it's important to understand that we're alcoholics forevermore." And
they completely understood the need to pass this information on to the next
person. This, then, was the foundation of whatever was going on in the
Soviet Union, and it seemed like fertile ground for AA principles to
flourish in.
I was looking forward to the trip from Estonia up to Leningrad because we
were going to be traveling by train and I hoped it was going to be like the
Orient Express. But it turned out to be more like the milk train instead.
They put the four of us into one compartment with all our luggage, one bunk
apiece, and gave us a cup of black Russian tea. It was an experience that I
wouldn't have missed for the world, but I certainly wouldn't want to do it
again.
In Leningrad, we met with a doctor who had alcoholic patients who were
trying to use the AA method, but he didn't believe it would work because of
the emphasis on God. Eventually this man brought some of his patients to see
us and it is our hope that the sharing that went on will one day be of some
use to them. One of the exercises this doctor has his group doing for
therapy
purposes is to translate the Big Book. "It's not a very good translation,"
he said, but they don't seem to mind.
The group that this doctor worked with has been using AA for about three
years, and one of the group had three years sobriety, another had one year,
and another had seven months. These people were allowed to come and visit
with us in our hotel rooms, something unheard of just a few years back. On
our end, we were not restricted in any way in our travels. We were allowed
to
just wander wherever we wanted.
The people of Leningrad had a pride and a spirit like I'd never seen. At one
point during our stay in Leningrad, just prior to our scheduled meeting with
the Temperance Promotion Society, an American movie was shown on Soviet TV -
a movie about one woman's struggle with alcoholism and her eventual sobriety
in Alcoholics Anonymous. The movie created quite a response from its Soviet
viewers, and the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda printed a piece with some of
the hundreds of requests it received asking for more information on AA. We
had the article translated and were moved by the overriding tone of the
responses. Here, translated from the Russian, is just one of the many
responses:
"I have acquaintances but no friends. I have spent these last ten days at
home. I have not gone anywhere and will invariably get drunk. And once I go
on a binge, it lasts a long time.
"I don't work anywhere. I would love to go to heaven, but my sins won't let
me. I'm twenty-four. My employment record is like an index of available
jobs. Besides which, last summer I was released from incarceration.
"What should I do? I don't visit my neighborhood duty officer because I know
his crowning remark: 'If you don't have a job in ten days, I'll send you to
the Labor-Rehabilitation Camp.' Who wants to go there? So I hide. It was
better in jail. I don't know how AA can help me, but I am writing
nevertheless."
The newspaper article also carried the comments of the first deputy chairman
of the Temperance Promotion Society (TPS), which had recently come under
fire for what appeared to be a lack of effectiveness in supplying adequate
answers to the huge problem of alcoholism facing the Soviet Union. Of AA,
the first
deputy had this to say: "We will not forge an alliance with them. Their
method is interesting, but is only partially useful for us. And we will
reject it primarily because certain interested parties from across the ocean
are very clearly using it to promote the American way of life. The pretext
is a good one; there is nothing to be said against it. But still I will
block it."
With a note of uncertainty, then - and these conflicting messages in our
minds - we went off to our scheduled meeting with the TPS. Of course, we got
lost along the way, literally, and as things hlostave a way of going in AA,
it turned out to be one of the greatest days I've ever had.
Finally, after wandering around the city's back streets, we found our way.
Unlike our dire predictions based on the newspaper article, the TPS people
were very cordial, very kind, very open, very pro-AA. While we were there
talking, a television producer showed up with her camera crew asking for
permission to do some filming for a ten-minute documentary on Alcoholics
Anonymous for Soviet television. We started to explain our Traditions, of
course, and she cut us off; she understood them quite well, she assured us,
and promised to maintain our anonymity. So, as we began to talk with the TPS
people, the cameraman went to work. Rather than showing any faces, he
focussed in on our hands as we were talking.
At the end of the meeting, the producer commented that she didn't think ten
minutes was going to be nearly enough to give a sense of Alcoholics
Anonymous to the Soviet public. So what they intended to do, at their own
expense, was to travel to the United States in order to prepare a more in
depth documentary on AA. We made plans to send them copies of some of the
films and
video material that AA has already produced, such as "Young People and AA,"
"It Sure Beats Sitting in a Cell," and "AA - An Inside View," hoping that
this material would add to their understanding of AA principles and
practices.
Eventually, we headed up to Moscow, and on our first day there we met with
the Moscow Beginners Group. There will be debates forevermore about which
was the first AA group in Russia, but this group had as good a claim as the
next. It was started by an Episcopal minister who was living and working in
Moscow,
and it now had a number of regular attendees. It was the first Soviet AA
group registered with the General Service Office in New York.
Also in Moscow we had an appointment to meet with a doctor who had written a
book about alcoholism and recovery, and a good part of it was about AA and
its principles. The book, it seems, was a huge popular success and had
already sold out. They were going to have a public debate about this book,
and a big hall had been opened up at one of the cultural palaces where
everyone - police, antagonists, proponents, everybody - showed up to debate
the ideas in this book. We were invited to come. It turned into quite an
afternoon - one we never could have planned.
The author of the book and several other narcologists fielded most of the
questions about AA and were quite right in their understanding of anonymity
and the purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous. These people proved to be great
advocates of AA. And by the time the debate was over, a spokesman for TPS
announced in public that they would now actively support Alcoholics
Anonymous.
A woman stood up in the crowd and shouted out, "How do you think Alcoholics
Anonymous will work in the Soviet Union?" My compatriots looked at me.
All I could really tell her was that it would be presumptuous of me to
pretend to be an expert. I had been in her country only thirteen days. How
could I possibly base anything on that? But I did say that we have the
experience of 114 other cultures who have used AA quite effectively, and
that the only purpose of our visit to her country was to share our
experience with them if it could be of any help.
Finally, we were to have a meeting with the head of TPS, the man who had
made the statement in Komsomolskaya Pravda. This fellow was a very short man
with white hair - very charming, very cordial, and tough as nails. There was
no question about who he was. The first thing he did was give us a cup of
tea and say, "Now, here are the rules for this get together." He laid out
how the
meeting was to be conducted and said, "Since you have requested this
meeting, I have asked a number of people also to be here. They are
alcoholics with another way of doing things." This was all done very
graciously, however, and it was clear that he wasn't opposing us in any way.
So, off we went into another room, and sure enough there was this other
bunch of people there. These were alcoholics from a sobriety club formed in
1978, and the founder of the club was there. He was now twelve years sober.
The club was formed to give alcoholics something to do in their spare time.
They were responsible for forming their own activities - staging plays, etc.
Their charter stated that members couldn't drink until death, and they told
us that only two people in the last nine years had slipped. They wanted to
demonstrate the sober life. The trade union bosses had helped to organize
this club. It was all done through the workplace. If you were an alcoholic,
your name was on the wall at work. They knew who you were and lots of peer
pressure was brought to bear. Their idea was to break the cycle of
alcoholism. They wanted to have a whole generation of people who were living
good, healthy lives without drinking alcohol.
One of the interesting things to come out of this meeting was our awareness
of how little they really understood of the concept of anonymity. "How can
you get well when you don't even know each other?" was the basic question
the head of TPS asked us. He said that in these sobriety clubs, people
weren't anonymous to each other - they got together frequently and were much
like a
family.
Our last really official meeting was with the chief deputy and chief
narcologist of the Ministry of Health, the governmental agency that oversees
all alcoholism treatment in the Soviet Union. This guy was tough - not in
any antagonistic way, but he wanted "the facts, please." He wanted to know
organizational things: how AA was set up, and how his agency could use AA.
He voiced his biggest concern, however, by calling AA an "uncontrolled
movement."
After we'd been talking with this man for an hour or so, he asked us
pointblank, "What can we do to get this thing started here?" Our response
was very simple: "Give them space. Give them rooms to meet in and a little
bit of space to grow in." We told him we'd send him a lot of AA information,
especially the organizational stuff he was interested in.
I believe that the purpose of our visit was accomplished. More and more
professionals in the Soviet Union now know about and trust the process of
Alcoholics Anonymous, and we've seen indications that they're willing to
give it a try. We've also found that there are some necessities that the
General Service Office can provide to these people, the greatest of which
would be to provide portions of the pamphlet "The AA Group" in Russian so
that some of the how-to questions might begin to be resolved. They also need
the pamphlet on sponsorship, and of course the Big Book.
Like the businessman from the Moscow Beginners Group, I am a fellow who had
no history of God in his life. I am a common, garden-variety drunk with all
kinds of other problems, whose very best thinking got him into a
penitentiary; a man completely without moral standards, a man you could not
trust, a man for whom the ends always justified the means, a self centered
and domineering man. And yet, because of Alcoholics Anonymous and the grace
of God I was able to participate in this trip because I was sober. It could
happen to anybody reading this.
There are no Russian alcoholics, no Estonian or Siberian or American
alcoholics. There are only alcoholics. Of this I am now certain.
Don P., Aurora, Colorado
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++++Message 1670. . . . . . . . . . . . AA History FYI
From: Rob White . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/20/2004 10:29:00 AM
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Dear Friend,
You are getting this email because you have an interest in Recovery
Issues.
Nancy Olson (former staff to Senator Hughes and expert historian on AA
history) will be speaking at a conference on 4/15/04 in Baltimore.
Her two presentations will include:
Morning Plenary : Nancy Olson - The Politics of Alcoholism
(Book Signing to Follow)
Afternoon Workshop : Authors of the AA Big Book: Who were they and
what do we know about them
The conference information is below.
Hope to see you there!
Please pass it on.
Rob White
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----\
----
NCADD - Maryland Tuerk Conference
"Double Jeopardy: Addiction and Depression"
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, Maryland
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Keynote Speaker: Claudia Black, PhD
Cost: $80.00 (includes 6 CEus/CMEs & Lunch)
Average Attendance: 1,000
This year's conference, sponsored by the National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - Maryland Chapter, (Co-sponsored by UMMS
and Med Chi) will feature Claudia Black, PhD as the Keynote Speaker.
Dr. Black is a renowned lecturer, author and trainer internationally
recognized for her work with family systems and addictive disorders.
Since the mid 1970's, Dr. Black's work has encompassed the impact of
addiction on young and adult children. She has offered models of
intervention and treatment related to family violence, multi-addictions,
relapse, anger, depression and women's issues. She authors books,
interactive journals, and creates and produces educational videos for
use with both the addicted client and families affected by addiction.
Since 1998, she has been the primary Clinical Consultant of Addictive
Disorders for the Meadows Institute and Treatment Center in Wickenburg,
Arizona. Workshop Titles Include: Depression and Addiction; History of
Alcoholism; Relapse Issues; Adult Children of Alcoholics; Psychotropic
Medications; Advocacy; Women, Work and Recovery; Substance Abuse
Management; Gay and Lesbian Addiction Treatment; Anxiety and Addiction;
Treating Borderline Patients; and Chronic Mental Illness and Addiction.
Full-Day Cost
Early Registration: Postmarked by
March 5, 2004 $80.00 General
Registration: Postmarked March 6 - April
2, 2004 $90.00 Early
Student Registration: Postmarked by March 5,
2004 $40.00 General Student
Registration: Postmarked March 6 - April 2, 2004
$50.00
(Proof of full-time student status must accompany
registration.)
On-Site Registration:
After April 2nd, only walk-in registrations will be accepted at the
cost of $120.00.
Please note that lunch cannot be guaranteed for these registrations.
The registration fee includes the NCADD-MD Awards Luncheon, handouts,
and continuing education credits. Please note that parking is not
included.
For More Information or to Register:
Please contact NCADD - Maryland at 410-625-6482.
Additional information, including on-line registration, is available at
our website
www.NCADDMaryland.org
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++++Message 1671. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12 step prayers--a prayer for
each step
From: jsrmeat@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/21/2004 4:44:00 AM
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I have found prayers in the fifth chapter of Big Book.Pages 76 line 7,God
save me from being angry, thy will be done.-Page 68:3 We ask Him to remove
our fear and direct our attention to what He would have us be.-Page 69:2
Weasked God to mold our ideals and help us to live up to them.-Page 69:3 We
ask God what we should do about each specific matter.Page 70:2 We earnestly
pray for guidance in each questionable situation, for sanity,and for the
strength to do the right thing.
I have the belief when I am directly asking or petioning God I am praying
and have been directed to do so by our book.
Also in the fifth step-page 75:3 We thank God from the bottom of our heart
that we know him better.also the ninth step-page79:1 we askthat we be given
strength and direction to do the the right thing, no matter what the
personal consequences may be. THere probably are more but I have to sign out
for now.
Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do for the man who is still
sick.
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++++Message 1672. . . . . . . . . . . . Rollie Hemsley
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/22/2004 2:52:00 AM
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A question was asked:
In the late fifties I signed a Professional Baseball contract with the
Washington Senators. Was assigned to Ferndina Beach with the Charlotte
Hornets. The club manager was Rollie Hemsley. His career as a player was
with the Cleveland Indians as a catcher. He caught three of Bob Fellers no
hitters. Could this be the same player mentioned in "AA COMES OF AGE,"
bottom paragraph P-24?
The following are excerpts from the replies:
That is the same Rollie, referred to as "Rollicking Rollie" in Bob Feller's
autobiography. Before the anonymity tradition, sports pages gave much
attention to AA's role in sobering up Rolllie.
_________
I know that this has little to do with AA, but as a practicing baseball
history lover/buff, I felt I should correct the facts here. Rollie caught
only the first of Feller's 3 no-hitters. It was the most
famous one though, the one on Opening Day, 4/16/40.
Feller threw his other 2 no-hitters on 4/30/46 and 7/1/51. Hemsley was a
Phillie in '46, and was not an active major leaguer in '51.
His complete MLB Stats
http://www.baseball-reference.com/h/hemslro01.shtml
A brief AA related bio http://silkworth.net/aahistory_names/namesr.html
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++++Message 1673. . . . . . . . . . . . The Little Big Book
From: Chrisjon10@earthlink.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/22/2004 9:41:00 AM
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What is the history surrounding publication of the pocket-size version of
the Big Book? Thanks.
John P.
Richmond, VA
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++++Message 1674. . . . . . . . . . . . History & Archives Gathering 2004
From: jlobdell54 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/22/2004 6:10:00 PM
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Those HistoryLovers who are AA members (and other AAs also) may be
interested in the 2004 Multi-District Central Pennsylvania History &
Archives Gathering, now scheduled for June 5, 2004, near Harrisburg
PA. We are awaiting word from several of last year's speakers/
participants, and a couple of those who couldn't come last year,
when it was held April 5th (2003) at Central Pennsylvania College.
It will have a different venue this year, but it will still be
focussed on the Mid-Atlantic region, especially Eastern (and
Central) PA, with archives exhibits -- we hope -- at least from PA,
MD, and NJ. The feature old-timer last year, Trainor H. (sober 56
years), died three months after the Gathering, but we hope other old-
timers will be back, for our mixture of historians of AA,
archivists, history lovers, AAs in service, and oldtimers. My email
address is jaredlobdell@comcast.net, or jlobdell54@hotmail.com, or
jaredlobdell@aol.com. Will let you know more details as soon as I
have them. -- Jared Lobdell
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++++Message 1675. . . . . . . . . . . . Humphry Osmond Passing
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2004 10:37:00 AM
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The Toledo Blade recently carried a notice of the Febr. 6th passing of Dr.
Humphry Osmond, 86, the British-born psychiatrist who introduced the word
"psychedelic" to describe the effects of hallucinatory drugs.
You can read about Dr. Osmond and his colleague, Dr. Abram Hoffer, in
Chapter 23 of "Pass It On." Bill Wilson met them through Aldous Huxley, the
celebrated author of "Brave New World" and one of the pioneers of the New
Age movement. In the 1950s, Osmond and Hoffer experimented with LSD as a
possible treatment for schizophrenia. Bill saw this as a chemical means of
achieving what he had found in his 1934 spiritual experience and became
their advocate and ally in the experiments. He later withdrew from the LSD
experiments but continued to proclaim the benefits of massive doses of
Vitamin B-3.
I first learned about Bill's LSD involvement from Ernie Kurtz's "Not God." I
feel that any use of LSD by a recovering person is a dangerous flirtation
with disaster, but Bill apparently surivived without any trouble and
continued to say that LSD was not addictive. I was skeptical about the
supposed benefits of LSD, although I did read that it helped actor Cary
Grant recover his potency!
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1676. . . . . . . . . . . . Humphry Osmond dies
From: Mark Stephen Kornbluth . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/23/2004 2:45:00 PM
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February 22, 2004
Humphry Osmond, 86, Who Sought Medicinal Value in Psychedelic Drugs,
Dies
By DOUGLAS MARTIN
Humphry Osmond, the psychiatrist who coined the word "psychedelic" for
the drugs to which he introduced the writer and essayist Aldous Huxley,
died on Feb. 6 at his home in Appleton, Wis. He was 86.
The cause was cardiac arrhythmia, said his daughter Euphemia Blackburn
of Appleton, where Dr. Osmond moved to four years ago.
Dr. Osmond entered the history of the counterculture by supplying
hallucinogenic drugs to Huxley, who ascribed mystical significance to
them in his playfully thoughtful, widely read book "The Doors of
Perception," from which the rock group the Doors took its name.
But in his own view and in that of some other scientists, Dr. Osmond was
most important for inspiring researchers who saw drugs like L.S.D. and
mescaline as potential treatments for psychological ailments. By the
mid-1960's, medical journals had published more than 1,000 papers on the
subject, and Dr. Osmond's work using L.S.D. to treat alcoholics drew
particular interest.
"Osmond was a pioneer," Dr. Charles Grob, a professor of psychiatry at
the University of California School of Medicine, said in an interview.
"He published some fascinating data."
In one study, in the late 1950's, when Dr. Osmond gave L.S.D. to
alcoholics in Alcoholics Anonymous who had failed to quit drinking,
about half had not had a drink after a year.
"No one has ever duplicated the success rate of that study," said Dr.
John H. Halpern, associate director of substance abuse research at the
McLean Hospital Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Center in Belmont,
Mass., and an instructor at Harvard.
Dr. Halpern added that no one really tried. Other studies used different
methodology, and the combination of flagrant youthful abuse of
hallucinogens; the propagation of a flashy, otherworldly drug culture by
Timothy Leary; and reports of health dangers from hallucinogens (some of
which Dr. Halpern said were wrong or overstated) eventually doomed
almost all research into psychedelic drugs.
Research on hallucinogens as a treatment for mental ills has re-emerged
in recent years, in small projects at places like the University of
Arizona, the University of South Carolina, the University of California,
Los Angeles, and Harvard. Though such research was always legal,
regulatory, financial and other obstacles had largely ended it.
Huxley's reading about Dr. Osmond's research into similarities between
schizophrenia and mescaline intoxication led him to volunteer to try the
drug. Dr. Osmond agreed, but later wrote that he "did not relish the
possibility, however remote, of being the man who drove Aldous Huxley
mad."
So in 1953, a day Dr. Osmond described 12 years later as "delicious May
morning," he dropped a pinch of silvery white mescaline crystals in a
glass of water and handed it to Huxley, the author of "Brave New World,"
which described a totalitarian society in which people are controlled by
drugs.
"Within two and a half hours I could see that it was acting, and after
three I could see that all would go well," Dr. Osmond wrote. He said he
felt "much relieved."
Dr. Osmond first offered his new term, psychedelic, at a meeting of the
New York Academy of Sciences in 1957. He said the word meant "mind
manifesting" and called it "clear, euphonious and uncontaminated by
other associations."
Huxley had sent Dr. Osmond a rhyme with his own word choice: "To make
this trivial world sublime, take half a gram of phanerothyme." (Thymos
means soul in Greek.)
Rejecting that, Dr. Osmond replied: "To fathom Hell or soar angelic,
just take a pinch of psychedelic."
Lester Grinspoon and James B. Bakalar in their 1979 book "Psychedelic
Drugs Reconsidered" pointed out that by the rules for combining Greek
roots, the word should have been psychodelic. They also said that even
in the late 70's, psychedelic had mostly been replaced by
hallucinogenic, a vocabulary shift they said Dr. Osmond himself made.
In addition to his daughter Euphemia, Dr. Osmond is survived by his
wife, Jane; a second daughter, Helen Swanson of Surrey, England; a son,
Julian, of New Orleans; a sister, Dorothy Gale of Devon, England; and
five grandchildren.
Humphry Fortescue Osmond was born on July 1, 1917, in Surrey. He
intended to be a banker, but attended Guy's Hospital Medical School of
the University of London. In World War II, he was a surgeon-lieutenant
in the Navy, where he trained to become a ship's psychiatrist.
At St. George's Hospital in London, he and a colleague, John R.
Smythies, developed the hypothesis that schizophrenia was a form of
self-intoxication caused by the body's mistakenly producing its own
L.S.D.-like compounds.
When their theory was not embraced by the British mental health
establishment, the two doctors moved to Canada to continue their
research at Saskatchewan Hospital in Weyburn. There, they developed the
idea, not widely accepted, that no one should treat schizophrenics who
had not personally experienced schizophrenia.
"This it is possible to do quite easily by taking mescaline," they
wrote.
Huxley read about this work and volunteered to be studied. The research
also directly inspired other scientists, Dr. Halpern said.
"There was a certain point where almost every major psychiatrist wanted
to do hallucinogen research," Dr. Halpern said, adding that in the early
1960's, it was recommended that psychiatric residents take a dose to
understand psychosis better.
Perhaps the most famous psychedelic researcher was Dr. Oscar Janiger, a
Beverly Hills psychiatrist, who gave L.S.D. to Cary Grant, Jack
Nicholson and, again, Huxley.
Dr. Halpern said that today's understanding of serotonin, a
neurotransmitter important in causing and alleviating depression, grew
out of research into the effect of L.S.D. on the brain. L.S.D. and
serotonin are chemically similar.
Dr. Osmond's most important work involved alcoholism research, done with
Abram Hoffer, a colleague at Weyburn. Originally, they thought L.S.D.
would terrify alcoholics by causing symptoms akin to delirium tremens.
Instead, they found it opened them to radical personal transformation.
"One conception of psychedelic theory for alcoholics is that L.S.D. can
truly accomplish the transcendence that is repeatedly and unsuccessfully
sought in drunkenness," "Psychedelic Drugs Reconsidered" suggested in
1979.
Bill Wilson, a co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, met Dr. Osmond and
took L.S.D. himself, strongly agreeing that it could help many
alcoholics.
As psychedelic research became increasingly difficult, Dr. Osmond left
Canada to become director of the Bureau of Research in Neurology and
Psychiatry at the New Jersey Psychiatric Institute in Princeton, and
then a professor of psychology at the University of Alabama in
Birmingham. He mainly studied schizophrenia but was disappointed he
could not pursue his research into hallucinogens, Mrs. Blackburn, his
daughter, said.
"I'm sure he was very saddened by it," she said. "It could have helped
millions of people."
Copyright
2004 The New York Times Company |
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++++Message 1678. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Humphry Osmond Passing
From: Jim Burns . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/24/2004 1:05:00 PM
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Hello Group,
Under what circumstances did Bill Wilson withdraw from the LSD experiments?
Was it widely known in The Fellowship that Bill and Lois were participating
in these experiments?
I became curious based on Mel B.'s post that he had found out about Bill's
involvement through Ernest Kurtz's book.
Thank-you
Jim Burns
Orange County, California
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Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail SpamGuard [13] - Read only the mail you want.
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++++Message 1679. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Humphry Osmond Passing
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/25/2004 12:01:00 PM
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There are a few
other books that go in to the LSD experiments in more detail than _Not God_.
Mel, by the way, is the modest
and primary author of _Pass It On_
which covers the matter in some detail. Francis Hartigan's book _Bill W_ and
Nell Wings book _Glad to Have Been There_ offer information
as well. The info below is a composite extract:
British radio
commentator Gerald Heard introduced Bill W to Aldous Huxley and to the
British
psychiatrists Humphry Osmond and Abraham Hoffer (the founders of
orthomolecular
psychiatry). Humphrey and Osmond were working with schizophrenic and
alcoholic
patients at a Canadian hospital.
Bill W joined with Heard
and Huxley and first took LSD in California on Aug 29, 1956. It was
medically supervised
by psychiatrist Sidney Cohen of the Los Angeles VA hospital. The LSD
experiments
occurred well prior to the 'hippie era.'' At the time, LSD was
thought to have psychotherapeutic potential (research was also being funded
by
the National Institutes of Health and National Academy of Sciences).
The intent of
Osmond and Hoffer was to induce an experience akin to delirium tremens (DTs)
in
hopes that it might shock alcoholics from alcohol.
Among those invited
to experiment with LSD (and who accepted) were Nell Wing, Father Ed Dowling,
(possibly)
Sam Shoemaker and Lois Wilson. Marty M and Helen W (Bill's mistress) and
other AA members participated in NY (under medical supervision by a
psychiatrist from Roosevelt Hospital).
Bill had several
experiments with LSD up to 1959 (perhaps into the 1960's). _Pass It On_
reports that there were
repercussions within AA over these activities. Lois was a reluctant
participant
and claimed to have had no response to the chemical.
Hoffer and Osmond did
research that later influenced Bill, in Dec 1966, to enthusiastically
embrace a
campaign to promote vitamin B3 (niacin - nicotinic acid) therapy. It created
Traditions issues within the Fellowship and caused a bit of an uproar.
The General Service
Board report accepted by the 1967 Conference recommended that 'to insure
separation of AA from non-AA matters by establishing a procedure whereby all
inquiries pertaining to B-3 and niacin are referred directly to an office in
Pleasantville, NY in order that Bill's personal interest in these items
not involve the Fellowship.''
Please reference
the following for more details:
Pass It On - pgs 368-376, 388-391
Not God - pgs 136-138
Bill W by Francis Hartigan - pgs 9,
177-179
Glad To Have Been There
- pgs 81-82
11.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">Arthur S
-----
*From:* Jim Burns
[mailto:buddhabilly1964@yahoo.com]
*Sent:* Tuesday, February 24, 2004
12:06 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers]
Humphry Osmond Passing
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">Hello Group,
12.0pt;">Under what circumstances did Bill Wilson withdraw from the LSD
experiments? Was it widely known in The Fellowship that Bill and Lois were
participating in these experiments?
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">I became curious based on Mel B.'s post that he had found out about
Bill's involvement through Ernest Kurtz's book.
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">Thank-you
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">Jim Burns
12.0pt;">Orange County, California
12.0pt;">
-----
12.0pt;">Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo!
Mail SpamGuard [14] - Read only the mail you want.
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++++Message 1680. . . . . . . . . . . . Harper''s 12 & 12 (1953)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/26/2004 2:35:00 PM
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May 1953 AA Grapevine
(Editor's Note: As promised last month, we are pleased to bring you a
special advance notice from General Service Headquarters announcing
publication 'Bill's new book, "The Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions."
The Traditions appeared serially in The Grapevine in the past twelve
issues.)
After nearly eighteen months of writing, editing, and pre-publication
detail, 'The Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions" is about to be
released. In this new volume, regarded by those familiar with the project as
the most important AA publication since the "Big Book" first appeared in
1939, Bill draws upon his long experience, and upon that of other early
members, to set forth his profound yet spirited interpretation of the
fundamental principles of AA.
Step by Step, Tradition by Tradition - in nearly 200 deeply stirring
pages-Bill offers his unique insight into the full meaning of each of AA's
tested guideposts…the Twelve Steps through which individuals have achieved
sobriety and the Twelve Traditions through which our group structure has
been maintained and strengthened.
Advance interest has been so great that arrangements have been made to issue
the book in two editions - one for distribution by AA groups, and another
for bookstore distribution to the general public by Harper and Brothers. AA
retains full control and copyright ownership of both editions through Works
Publishing, Inc.
When the book is released for sale in late May or early June, the bookstore
price will be $2.75, and our agreement with Harper's is that no books will
be retailed for less than that price.
To AA groups only, the book will be sold for $2.25, enabling the groups to
realize fifty cents on each copy re-sold to individuals. (Although
two-thirds of General Service Conference delegates in a recent poll felt
that this book ought to be sold without profit to the groups, to help build
an adequate Foundation reserve, neither Bill nor those at Headquarters felt
this to be sufficient consent on a matter of such importance; hence the
above discount.)
Orders are now being accepted, by mail only, and all shipments will be made
as soon after May 10 as possible.
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++++Message 1681. . . . . . . . . . . . Bill D. - AA #3 (1954)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/27/2004 4:27:00 PM
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November 1954 AA Grapevine
HE KEPT THE FAITH
IN MEMORIAM
By Bill W.
BILL D., AA Number Three, died in Akron Friday night, September 17th, 1954.
That is, people say he died, but he really didn't. His spirit and works are
today alive in the hearts of uncounted AAs and who can doubt that Bill
already dwells in one of those many Mansions in the Great Beyond.
Nineteen years ago last summer, Dr. Bob and I saw him for the first time.
Bill lay on his hospital bed and looked at us in wonder.
Two days before this, Dr. Bob had said to me, "If you and I are going to
stay sober, we had better get busy." Straightway Bob called Akron's City
Hospital and asked for the nurse on the receiving ward. He explained that he
and a man from New York had a cure for alcoholism. Did she have an alcoholic
customer on whom it could be tried? Knowing Bob of old, she jokingly
replied, "Well, Doctor, I suppose you've already tried it yourself?"
Yes, she did have a customer - a dandy. He just arrived in D.T.s. Had
blacked the eyes of two nurses, and now they had him strapped down tight.
Would this one do? After prescribing medicines, Dr. Bob ordered, "Put him in
a private room. We'll be down as soon as he clears up."
We found we had a tough customer in Bill. According to the nurse, he had
been a well-known attorney in Akron and a City Councilman. But he had landed
in the Akron City Hospital four times in the last six months. Following each
release, he got drunk even before he could get home.
So here we were, talking to Bill, the first "man on the bed." We told him
about our drinking. We hammered it into him that alcoholism was an obsession
of the mind, coupled to an allergy of the body. The obsession, we explained,
condemned the alcoholic to drink against his will and the allergy, if he
went on drinking, could positively guarantee his insanity or death. How to
unhook that fatal compulsion, how to restore the alcoholic to sanity, was,
of course, the problem.
Hearing this bad news, Bill's swollen eyes opened wide. Then we took the
hopeful tack, we told what we had done: how we got honest with ourselves as
never before, how we had talked our problems out with each other in
confidence, how we tried to make amends for harm done others, how we had
then been miraculously released from the desire to drink as soon as we had
humbly asked God, as we understood him, for guidance and protection.
Bill didn't seem too impressed. Looking sadder than ever, he wearily
ventured, "Well, this is wonderful for you fellows, but can't be for me. My
case is so terrible that I'm scared to go out of this hospital at all. You
don't have to sell me religion, either. I was one time a deacon in the
church and I still believe in God. But I guess He doesn't believe much in
me."
Then Dr. Bob said, "Well. Bill, maybe you'll feel better tomorrow. Wouldn't
you like to see us again?"
"Sure I would," replied Bill, "Maybe it won't do any good. But I'd like to
see you both, anyhow. You certainly know what you are talking about."
Looking in next day, we found Bill with his wife, Henrietta. Eagerly he
pointed to us saying, "These are the fellows I told you about, they are the
ones who understand."
Bill then related how he had lain awake nearly all night. Down in the pit of
his depression, new hope had somehow been born. The thought flashed thorough
his mind, "If they can do it, I can do it." Over and over he said this to
himself. Finally, out of his hope, there burst conviction. Now he was sure.
Then came a great joy. At length peace stole over him and he slept.
Before our visit was over Bill suddenly turned to his wife and said, "Go
fetch my clothes, dear. We're going to get up and get out of here." Bill D.
walked out of that hospital a free man, never to drink again. AA's Number
One Group dates from that very day.
The force of the great example that Bill set in our pioneering time will
last as long as AA itself.
Bill kept the faith - what more could we say?
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++++Message 1682. . . . . . . . . . . . Review of "My Name is Bill"
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 2/28/2004 2:26:00 AM
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A friend sent me this review of Susan Cheever's book "My Name is Bill." The
review is written by Carolyn See. See was a stepdaughter of Wynn Laws, the
author of "Freedom From Bondage." See my short bio of Wynn at this post:
Yahoo! Groups : AAHistoryLovers Messages : Message 135 of 1680 [15]
Nancy
Teetotal Devotion
By Carolyn See,
who can be reached at www.carolynsee.com
Friday, February 27, 2004; Page C02
MY NAME IS BILL
Bill Wilson: His Life and the Creation of Alcoholics Anonymous
By Susan Cheever
Simon & Schuster. 306 pp. $24
When a wonderful writer with a unique voice undertakes to record the
official life of an institutional icon, something interesting is bound to
happen. Susan Cheever is exquisitely smart, amazingly curious and a master
of the telling image. She can paint a picture of six or eight young married
people dining on chicken baked in cream, and in that half a page recall --
and perfectly delineate -- a particular decade in American life. Her father
was John Cheever, that literary expert on Northeastern class distinctions,
and she has beautifully carried on his legacy.
The elder Cheever was also a hard drinker, until he quit, and his daughter
carried on that legacy, too. In her memoirs she often makes the distinction
between the rapscallion she was and the sober citizen she became, but again,
her work comes to far more than that. She is a perfect, natural storyteller,
and that narrative gift is enlivened by an extremely keen mind.
On the other hand, Bill Wilson, "Bill W.," co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous, is an iconic figure. His life has traditionally been described in
terms befitting a saint. His organization has been concerned with
"anonymity" -- which can turn, with a single shift of light, into secrecy.
The devotion of Bill's followers is legendary. This biography, then, is both
"life" and an act of devotion. (Even as I write these words I feel my
shoulders hunching, because there's probably no group of people more irate
on general principle than AA members, who are keen to any sense that their
group has been slighted in even the most glancing way.)
Full disclosure: I grew up with a stepmom, Wynn, who had been fully prepared
to marry Bill. He disengaged himself but put her "story" in the second
edition of "Alcoholics Anonymous," in which the accounts of recovering
alcoholics were included for the first time. She married my dad, her fifth
husband, as a sort of consolation prize. Wynn was a wonderful woman, but I
saw AA then from the point of view of a prissy, still-sober teenager,
watching members bicker about whether taking an aspirin for a headache
constituted a "slip," listening to stories of their friendships with a
Personal God -- "I told God to have you call me today," my stepmother would
say after I moved out of the house. (And what could I possibly say? Maybe
she had, and maybe He did.) But they didn't worry much about sex.
The first two parts, "A Rural Childhood" and "Drinking," seem to me to be
absolutely brilliant. Bill Wilson was born in a Vermont town, to a family
not quite yet up in the middle class. Cheever knows this material inside and
out; she, again, is a scholar of the exquisite, merciless permutations of
class. Bill suffered greatly.
Cheever perfectly captures the undereducated, inferior-feeling young World
War I recruit discovering pretty girls and iridescent cocktails; becoming,
in his mind at least, a sophisticated man of the world -- as long as he has
a drink in his hand. Then the drinking gets out of hand, and the Great
Depression hits (together with his own personal depression). Bill's wife
hangs on for dear life. It's such an American story. Cheever tells it
brilliantly.
Part 3, "Alcoholics Anonymous," is an entirely different story, told by
another sort of writer. It's a tale like "The Boston Tea Party," or "How
Jazz Came Up the River from New Orleans." It's good -- and good for us. AA
is not a religion, the author assures the reader repeatedly, even though
Bill and AA's other co-founder, "Dr. Bob" Smith, spent a lot of time on
their knees. Men sometimes got disillusioned with Bill and went their own
separate ways, the author tells us as well. But what really happened? What
were their complaints? Did it have something to do with sex?
Though he was married for more than 50 years, Bill W. was reputed to have
had many girlfriends. But "some people believe," Cheever writes, "that none
of it is true." She devotes less time to his womanizing than to his
chain-smoking, and mentions only two women at any length. (One safely a
lesbian; another one, coincidentally, named Wynn.) She then includes a
shamefaced page or two on sexual possibilities. But there's no "evidence."
Again, what an American story! What a Clintonian, "Death of a Salesman"
story.
So I want to say for the record (and you won't find it on "Grapevine," or
any other AA publication) that early AA, at least on the West Coast, was
full of raucous men and women bursting with the physical energy that drying
out brings. I speak now for Wynn (the Wynn I knew), who wrote "Freedom From
Bondage" in the Book, and who, though she had five husbands, considered the
high point of her life her amorous connection to Bill.
Wynn stood on our front steps one bright Christmas morning enthusiastically
kissing a different handsome AA swain as others crowded past them, pushing
inside to a party, where they would drink tomato juice and laugh like
banshees, delirious with joy. They had found God (as they understood Him),
and as long as they stayed away from booze and aspirin, they were okay; they
were in the clear. They weren't ashamed of sex; they gloried in it.
I know. Even the very brilliant and accomplished Susan Cheever couldn't take
on this material, which is in no way "conference-approved literature." The
second half of this very fine book is burdened by the "official story."
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
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++++Message 1685. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Grapevine Announcement
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/1/2004 11:30:00 AM
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Dear Grapevine Web Friend:
The entire AA Grapevine Digital Archive continues to be built on our website
and is
scheduled to launch June 2004, coinciding with the 60th anniversary of the
magazine. As the search function is being developed and the articles (over
12,000
of them) are being proofread, many little gems land on my desk.
From February, 1963:
"When rivalry threatens to cause an open fight between two Eskimo men, they
use
song instead of spears. They revile each other extemporaneously and the
wittiest is declared the winner and a fight is averted. Psychologist Dr.
Glenn
says we can change the direction of an action started in the mind. If, for
instance, you are all set to stage a fancy tantrum, you can sidetrack that
action by song. A married couple developed a tendency to indulge in spats.
They
were made to promise, at the first sign of rising temperature, to sing the
round
"Row Your Boat" picking up speed as they went along, until out of breath.
The
most violent rage can be sidetracked by a hearty song."
Maybe we AAs aren't as likely to break into song as we are apt to commence
recital of the Serenity Prayer. From July 1957, someone had these thoughts:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change . . .
"To be aware that the irritations and disappointments of each day are not a
perverse plot aimed at me by the world. To understand that this world is not
operated for my benefit; that my importance and its debt to me exist in
direct
ratio to my contributions and my adjustment to it."
Courage to change the things I can . . .
"To eliminate from my environment and its associations things I know to be
harmful, attitudes I know to be insupportable and, no matter how well I
thought
I argued them, reasons which had no logic."
And the wisdom to know the difference . . ..
"To understand, with neither prejudice, self-justification nor pity, why
changes
are necessary - and which changes will give my life meaning - without
alcohol."
J.K., Los Angeles, Calif.
Check out the latest cartoon for your one-liner contribution to Grapevine
history:
http://www.aagrapevine.org/Rule.html
Also, exciting news: In early March, the website will have a new look. Not
only
will you get the Rule #62 cartoon, but a joke from each issue, and if he is
available, our very own Victor E. So be sure to come back and visit.
That's all for now.
Best Regards,
The Grapevine Web Manager
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++++Message 1686. . . . . . . . . . . . Herbert Spencer Biography
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/1/2004 12:18:00 PM
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On Page 568 of the Fourth Edition Big Book it says the following: "There is
a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against
all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance -
that principle is contempt prior to investigation." - Herbert Spencer
Herbert Spencer Biography
British philosopher and sociologist, Herbert Spencer was a major figure in
the intellectual life of the Victorian era. He was one of the principal
proponents of evolutionary theory in the mid nineteenth century, and his
reputation at the time rivaled that of Charles Darwin. Spencer was initially
best known for developing and applying evolutionary theory to philosophy,
psychology and the study of society -- what he called his "synthetic
philosophy" (see his A System of Synthetic Philosophy, 1862-93). Today,
however, he is usually remembered in philosophical circles for his political
thought, primarily for his defense of natural rights and for criticisms of
utilitarian positivism, and his views have been invoked by 'libertarian'
thinkers such as Robert Nozick.
Table of Contents
Life
Method
Human Nature
Religion
Moral Philosophy
Political Philosophy
Assessment
Bibliography
Life
Spencer was born in Derby, England on 27 April 1820, the eldest of nine
children, but the only one to survive infancy. He was the product of an
undisciplined, largely informal education. His father, George, was a school
teacher, but an unconventional man, and Spencer's family were Methodist
'Dissenters,' with Quaker sympathies. From an early age, Herbert was
strongly influenced by the individualism and the anti-establishment and
anti-clerical views of his father, and the Benthamite radical views of his
uncle Thomas. Indeed, Spencer's early years showed a good deal of resistance
to authority and independence.
A person of eclectic interests, Spencer eventually trained as a civil
engineer for railways but, in his early 20s, turned to journalism and
political writing. He was initially an advocate of many of the causes of
philosophic radicalism and some of his ideas (e.g., the definition of 'good'
and 'bad' in terms of their pleasurable or painful consequences, and his
adoption of a version of the 'greatest happiness principle') show
similarities to utilitarianism.
From 1848 to 1853, Spencer worked as a writer and subeditor for The
Economist financial weekly and, as a result, came into contact with a number
of political controversialists such as George Henry Lewes, Thomas Carlyle,
Lewes' future lover George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans [1819-1880])--with whom
Spencer had himself had a lengthy (though purely intellectual)
association--and T.H. Huxley (1825-1895). Despite the diversity of opinions
to which he was exposed, Spencer's unquestioning confidence in his own views
was coupled with a stubbornness and a refusal to read authors with whom he
disagreed.
In his early writings, Spencer defended a number of radical causes--
particularly on land nationalization, the extent to which economics should
reflect a policy of laissez-faire, and the place and role of women in
society--though he came to abandon most of these causes later in his life.
In 1851 Spencer's first book, Social Statics, or the Conditions Essential to
Human Happiness appeared. ('Social statics'--the term was borrowed from
Auguste Comte--deals with the conditions of social order, and was
preliminary to a study of human progress and evolution--i.e., 'social
dynamics.') In this work, Spencer presents an account of the development of
human freedom and a defense of individual liberties, based on a
(Lamarckian-style) evolutionary theory.
Upon the death of his uncle Thomas, in 1853, Spencer received a small
inheritance which allowed him to devote himself to writing without depending
on regular employment.
In 1855, Spencer published his second book, The Principles of Psychology. As
in Social Statics, Spencer saw Bentham and Mill as major targets, though in
the present work he focussed on criticisms of the latter's associationism.
(Spencer later revised this work, and Mill came to respect some of Spencer's
arguments.) The Principles of Psychology was much less successful than
Social Statics, however, and about this time Spencer began to experience
serious (predominantly mental) health problems that affected him for the
rest of his life. This led him to seek privacy, and he increasingly avoided
appearing in public. Although he found that, because of his ill health, he
could write for only a few hours each day, he embarked upon a lengthy
project--the nine-volume A System of Synthetic Philosophy (1862- 93)--which
provided a systematic account of his views in biology, sociology, ethics and
politics. This 'synthetic philosophy' brought together a wide range of data
from the various natural and social sciences and organized it according to
the basic principles of his evolutionary theory.
Spencer's Synthetic Philosophy was initially available only through private
subscription, but he was also a contributor to the leading intellectual
magazines and newspapers of his day. His fame grew with his publications,
and he counted among his admirers both radical thinkers and prominent
scientists, including John Stuart Mill and the physicist, John Tyndall. In
the 1860s and 1870s, for example, the influence of Spencer's evolutionary
theory was on a par with that of Charles Darwin.
In 1883 Spencer was elected a corresponding member of philosophical section
of the French academy of moral and political sciences. His work was also
particularly influential in the United States, where his book, The Study of
Sociology, was at the center of a controversy (1879-80) at Yale University
between a professor, William Graham Sumner, and the University's president,
Noah Porter. Spencer's influence extended into the upper echelons of
American society and it has been claimed that, in 1896, "three justices of
the Supreme Court were avowed 'Spencerians'." His reputation was at its peak
in the 1870s and early 1880s, and he was nominated for the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1902. Spencer, however, declined most of the honors he was
given.
Spencer's health significantly deteriorated in the last two decades of his
life, and he died in relative seclusion, following a long illness, on
December 8, 1903.
Within his lifetime, some one million copies of his books had been sold, his
work had been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Russian,
and his ideas were popular in a number of other countries such as Poland
(e.g., through the work of the positivist, Wladyslaw Kozlowski).
Nevertheless, by the end of his life, his political views were no longer as
popular as they had once been, and the dominant currents in liberalism
allowed for a more interventionist state.
Method
Spencer's method is, broadly speaking, scientific and empirical, and it was
influenced significantly by the positivism of Auguste Comte. Because of the
empirical character of scientific knowledge and because of his conviction
that that which is known--biological life--is in a process of evolution,
Spencer held that knowledge is subject to change. Thus, Spencer writes, "In
science the important thing is to modify and change one's ideas as science
advances." As scientific knowledge was primarily empirical, however, that
which was not 'perceivable' and could not be empirically tested could not be
known. (This emphasis on the knowable as perceivable led critics to charge
that Spencer fails to distinguish perceiving and conceiving.) Nevertheless,
Spencer was not a skeptic.
Spencer's method was also synthetic. The purpose of each science or field of
investigation was to accumulate data and to derive from these phenomena the
basic principles or laws or 'forces' which gave rise to them. To the extent
that such principles conformed to the results of inquiries or experiments in
the other sciences, one could have explanations that were of a high degree
of certainty. Thus, Spencer was at pains to show how the evidence and
conclusions of each of the sciences is relevant to, and materially affected
by, the conclusions of the others.
Human Nature
In the first volume of A System of Synthetic Philosophy, entitled First
Principles (1862), Spencer argued that all phenomena could be explained in
terms of a lengthy process of evolution in things. This 'principle of
continuity' was that homogeneous organisms are unstable, that organisms
develop from simple to more complex and heterogeneous forms, and that such
evolution constituted a norm of progress. This account of evolution provided
a complete and 'predetermined' structure for the kind of variation noted by
Darwin--and Darwin's respect for Spencer was significant.
But while Spencer held that progress was a necessity, it was 'necessary'
only overall, and there is no teleological element in his account of this
process. In fact, it was Spencer, and not Darwin, who coined the phrase
"survival of the fittest," though Darwin came to employ the expression in
later editions of the Origin of Species. (That this view was both ambiguous
--for it was not clear whether one had in mind the 'fittest' individual or
species--and far from universal was something that both figures, however,
failed to address.)
Spencer's understanding of evolution included the Lamarckian theory of the
inheritance of acquired characteristics and emphasized the direct influence
of external agencies on the organism's development. He denied (as Darwin had
argued) that evolution was based on the characteristics and development of
the organism itself and on a simple principle of natural selection.
Spencer held that he had evidence for this evolutionary account from the
study of biology (see Principles of Biology, 2 vols. [1864-7]). He argued
that there is a gradual specialization in things--beginning with biological
organisms--towards self-sufficiency and individuation. Because human nature
can be said to improve and change, then, scientific--including moral and
political-- views that rested on the assumption of a stable human nature
(such as that presupposed by many utilitarians) had to be rejected. 'Human
nature' was simply "the aggregate of men's instincts and sentiments" which,
over time, would become adapted to social existence. Spencer still
recognized the importance of understanding individuals in terms of the
'whole' of which they were 'parts,' but these parts were mutually dependent,
not subordinate to the organism as a whole. They had an identity and value
on which the whole depended--unlike, Spencer thought, that portrayed by
Hobbes.
For Spencer, then, human life was not only on a continuum with, but was also
the culmination of, a lengthy process of evolution. Even though he allowed
that there was a parallel development of mind and body, without reducing the
former to the latter, he was opposed to dualism and his account of mind and
of the functioning of the central nervous system and the brain was
mechanistic.
Although what characterized the development of organisms was the 'tendency
to individuation' (Social Statics [1851], p. 436), this was coupled with a
natural inclination in beings to pursue whatever would preserve their lives.
When one examines human beings, this natural inclination was reflected in
the characteristic of rational self-interest. Indeed, this tendency to
pursue one's individual interests is such that, in primitive societies, at
least, Spencer believed that a prime motivating factor in human beings
coming together was the threat of violence and war.
Paradoxically, perhaps, Spencer held an 'organic' view of society. Starting
with the characteristics of individual entities, one could deduce, using
laws of nature, what would promote or provide life and human happiness. He
believed that social life was an extension of the life of a natural body,
and that social 'organisms' reflected the same (Lamarckian) evolutionary
principles or laws as biological entities did. The existence of such 'laws,'
then, provides a basis for moral science and for determining how individuals
ought to act and what would constitute human happiness.
Religion
As a result of his view that knowledge about phenomena required empirical
demonstration, Spencer held that we cannot know the nature of reality in
itself and that there was, therefore, something that was fundamentally
"unknowable." (This included the complete knowledge of the nature of space,
time, force, motion, and substance.)
Since, Spencer claimed, we cannot know anything non-empirical, we cannot
know whether there is a God or what its character might be. Though Spencer
was a severe critic of religion and religious doctrine and practice--these
being the appropriate objects of empirical investigation and assessment--his
general position on religion was agnostic. Theism, he argued, cannot be
adopted because there is no means to acquire knowledge of the divine, and
there would be no way of testing it. But while we cannot know whether
religious beliefs are true, neither can we know that (fundamental) religious
beliefs are false.
Moral Philosophy
Spencer saw human life on a continuum with, but also as the culmination of,
a lengthy process of evolution, and he held that human society reflects the
same evolutionary principles as biological organisms do in their
development. Society--and social institutions such as the economy--can, he
believed, function without external control, just as the digestive system or
a lower organism does (though, in arguing this, Spencer failed to see the
fundamental differences between 'higher' and 'lower' levels of social
organization). For Spencer, all natural and social development reflected
'the universality of law'. Beginning with the 'laws of life', the conditions
of social existence, and the recognition of life as a fundamental value,
moral science can deduce what kinds of laws promote life and produce
happiness. Spencer's ethics and political philosophy, then, depends on a
theory of 'natural law,' and it is because of this that, he maintained,
evolutionary theory could provide a basis for a comprehensive political and
even philosophical theory.
Given the variations in temperament and character among individuals, Spencer
recognized that there were differences in what happiness specifically
consists in (Social Statics [1851], p. 5). In general, however, 'happiness'
is the surplus of pleasure over pain, and 'the good' is what contributes to
the life and development of the organism, or--what is much the same--what
provides this surplus of pleasure over pain. Happiness, therefore, reflects
the complete adaptation of an individual organism to its environment--or, in
other words, 'happiness' is that which an individual human being naturally
seeks.
For human beings to flourish and develop, Spencer held that there must be as
few artificial restrictions as possible, and it is primarily freedom that
he, contra Bentham, saw as promoting human happiness. While progress was an
inevitable characteristic of evolution, it was something to be achieved only
through the free exercise of human faculties (see Social Statics).
Society, however, is (by definition, for Spencer) an aggregate of
individuals, and change in society could take place only once the individual
members of that society had changed and developed (The Study of Sociology,
pp. 366-367). Individuals are, therefore, 'primary,' individual development
was 'egoistic,' and associations with others largely instrumental and
contractual.
Still, Spencer thought that human beings exhibited a natural sympathy and
concern for one another; there is a common character and there are common
interests among human beings that they eventually come to recognize as
necessary not only for general, but for individual development. (This
reflects, to an extent, Spencer's organicism.) Nevertheless, Spencer held
that 'altruism' and compassion beyond the family unit were sentiments that
came to exist only recently in human beings.
Spencer maintained that there was a natural mechanism--an 'innate moral
sense'--in human beings by which they come to arrive at certain moral
intuitions and from which laws of conduct might be deduced (The Principles
of Ethics, I [1892], p. 26). Thus one might say that Spencer held a kind of
'moral sense theory' (Social Statics, pp. 23, 19). (Later in his life,
Spencer described these 'principles' of moral sense and of sympathy as the
'accumulated effects of instinctual or inherited experiences.') Such a
mechanism of moral feeling was, Spencer believed, a manifestation of his
general idea of the 'persistence of force.' As this persistence of force was
a principle of nature, and could not be created artificially, Spencer held
that no state or government could promote moral feeling any more than it
could promote the existence of physical force. But while Spencer insisted
that freedom was the power to do what one desired, he also held that what
one desired and willed was wholly determined by "an infinitude of previous
experiences" (The Principles of Psychology, pp. 500-502.) Spencer saw this
analysis of ethics as culminating in an 'Absolute Ethics,' the standard for
which was the production of pure pleasure--and he held that the application
of this standard would produce, so far as possible, the greatest amount of
pleasure over pain in the long run.
Spencer's views here were rejected by Mill and Hartley. Their principal
objection was that Spencer's account of natural 'desires' was inadequate
because it failed to provide any reason why one ought to have the feelings
or preferences one did.
There is, however, more to Spencer's ethics than this. As individuals become
increasingly aware of their individuality, they also become aware of the
individuality of others and, thereby, of the law of equal freedom. This
'first principle' is that 'Every man has freedom to do all that he wills,
provided he infringes not the equal freedom of any other man' (Social
Statics, p. 103). One's 'moral sense,' then, led to the recognition of the
existence of individual rights, and one can identify strains of a
rights-based ethic in Spencer's writings.
Spencer's views clearly reflect a fundamentally 'egoist' ethic, but he held
that rational egoists would, in the pursuit of their own self interest, not
conflict with one another. Still, to care for someone who has no direct
relation to oneself--such as supporting the un- and under employed--is,
therefore, not only not in one's self interest, but encourages laziness and
works against evolution. In this sense, at least, social inequity was
explained, if not justified, by evolutionary principles.
Political Philosophy
Despite his egoism and individualism, Spencer held that life in community
was important. Because the relation of parts to one another was one of
mutual dependency, and because of the priority of the individual 'part' to
the collective, society could not do or be anything other than the sum of
its units. This view is evident, not only in his first significant major
contribution to political philosophy, Social Statics, but in his later
essays--some of which appear in later editions of The Man versus the State.
As noted earlier, Spencer held an 'organic' view of society, Nevertheless,
as also noted above, he argued that the natural growth of an organism
required 'liberty'--which enabled him (philosophically) to justify
individualism and to defend the existence of individual human rights.
Because of his commitment to the 'law of equal freedom' and his view that
law and the state would of necessity interfere with it, he insisted on an
extensive policy of laissez faire. For Spencer, 'liberty' "is to be
measured, not by the nature of the government machinery he lives under [...]
but by the relative paucity of the restraints it imposes on him" (The Man
versus the State [1940], p. 19); the genuine liberal seeks to repeal those
laws that coerce and restrict individuals from doing as they see fit.
Spencer followed earlier liberalism, then, in maintaining that law is a
restriction of liberty and that the restriction of liberty, in itself, is
evil and justified only where it is necessary to the preservation of
liberty. The only function of government was to be the policing and
protection of individual rights. Spencer maintained that education,
religion, the economy, and care for the sick or indigent were not to be
undertaken by the state.
Law and public authority have as their general purpose, therefore, the
administration of justice (equated with freedom and the protection of
rights). These issues became the focus of Spencer's later work in political
philosophy and, particularly, in The Man versus the State. Here, Spencer
contrasts early, classical liberalism with the liberalism of the 19th
century, arguing that it was the latter, and not the former, that was a "new
Toryism"--the enemy of individual progress and liberty. It is here as well
that Spencer develops an argument for the claim that individuals have
rights, based on a 'law of life'. (Interestingly, Spencer acknowledges that
rights are not inherently moral, but become so only by one's recognition
that for them to be binding on others the rights of others must be binding
on oneself--this is, in other words, a consequence of the 'law of equal
freedom.') He concluded that everyone had basic rights to liberty 'in virtue
of their constitutions' as human beings (Social Statics, p. 77), and that
such rights were essential to social progress. (These rights included rights
to life, liberty, property, free speech, equal rights of women, universal
suffrage, and the right 'to ignore the state'--though Spencer reversed
himself on some of these rights in his later writings.) Thus, the
industrious--those of character, but with no commitment to existing
structures except those which promoted such industry (and, therefore, not
religion or patriotic institutions)--would thrive. Nevertheless, all
industrious individuals, Spencer believed, would end up being in fundamental
agreement.
Not surprisingly, then, Spencer maintained that the arguments of the early
utilitarians on the justification of law and authority and on the origin of
rights were fallacious. He also rejected utilitarianism and its model of
distributive justice because he held that it rested on an egalitarianism
that ignored desert and, more fundamentally, biological need and efficiency.
Spencer further maintained that the utilitarian account of the law and the
state was also inconsistent---that it tacitly assumed the existence of
claims or rights that have both moral and legal weight independently of the
positive law. And, finally, Spencer argues as well against parliamentary,
representative government, seeing it as exhibiting a virtual "divine
right"---i.e., claiming that "the majority in an assembly has power that has
no bounds." Spencer maintained that government action requires not only
individual consent, but that the model for political association should be
that of a "joint stock company", where the 'directors' can never act for a
certain good except on the explicit wishes of its 'shareholders'. When
parliaments attempt to do more than protect the rights of their citizens by,
for example, 'imposing' a conception of the good--be it only on a
minority--Spencer suggested that they are no different from tyrannies.
Assessment
Spencer has been frequently accused of inconsistency; one finds variations
in his conclusions concerning land nationalization and reform, the rights of
children and the extension of suffrage to women, and the role of government.
Moreover, in recent studies of Spencer's theory of social justice, there is
some debate whether justice is based primarily on desert or on entitlement,
whether the 'law of equal freedom' is a moral imperative or a descriptive
natural law, and whether the law of equal freedom is grounded on rights,
utility, or, ultimately, on 'moral sense'. Nevertheless, Spencer's work has
frequently been seen as a model for later 'libertarian' thinkers, such as
Robert Nozick, and he continues to be read--and is often invoked--by
'libertarians' on issues concerning the function of government and the
fundamental character of individual rights.
Bibliography
Primary Sources:
The Proper Sphere of Government. London: W. Brittain, 1843.
Social Statics. London: Chapman, 1851.
The Principles of Psychology. London: Longmans, 1855; 2nd edn., 2 vols.
London: Williams and Norgate, 1870-2; 3rd edn., 2 vols. (1890). [A System of
Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 4-5]
First Principles. London: Williams and Norgate, 1862; 6th edn., revised,
1904. [A system of Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 1]
Principles of Biology, 2 vols. London: Williams and Norgate, 1864, 1867; 2nd
edn., 1898-99).[A System of Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 2-3]
The Study of Sociology. New York: D. Appleton, 1874, [c1873]
The Principles of Sociology. 3 vols. London : Williams and Norgate,
1882-1898. [A System of Synthetic Philosophy, v. 6-8] CONTENTS: Vol. 1: pt.
1. The data of sociology. pt. 2. The inductions of sociology. pt. 3. The
domestic relations; Vol. 2: pt. 4. Ceremonial institutions. pt. 5. Political
institutions; v. 3: pt. 6. Ecclesiastical institutions. pt. 7. Professional
institutions. pt. 8. Industrial institutions.]
The Man versus the State: containing "The new Toryism," "The coming
slavery," "The sins of legislators," and "The great political superstition,"
London : Williams & Norgate, 1884; with additional essays and an
introduction by Albert Jay Nock. [adds "From freedom to bondage," and "Over-
legislation"] Intro. A.J. Nock. Caldwell, ID: Caxton, 1940.
Spencer, Herbert. The Factors of Organic Evolution. London: Williams and
Norgate, 1887.
Spencer, Herbert. The Principles of Ethics. 2 vols. London: Williams and
Northgate, 1892. [A system of synthetic philosophy ; v. 9-10]
An Autobiography. 2 v. London: Williams and Norgate, 1904.
Secondary Sources:
Andreski, S. Herbert Spencer: Structure, Function and Evolution. London,
1972.
Duncan, David. (ed.) The Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer. London:
Methuen, 1908.
Gray, T.S. The Political Philosophy of Herbert Spencer, Aldershot: Avebury,
1996.
Jones, G. Social Darwinism and English Thought: The Interaction between
Biological and Social Theory. Brighton, 1980.
Kennedy, James G. Herbert Spencer. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1978.
Miller, David. Social Justice. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. Ch. 6
Paxton, N.L. George Eliot and Herbert Spencer: Feminism, Evolutionism, and
the Reconstruction of Gender. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press,
1991.
Peel, J.D.Y. Herbert Spencer: The Evolution of a Sociologist. London, 1971.
Ritchie, David G. The Principles of State Interference: Four Essays on the
Political Philosophy of Mr Herbert Spencer, J.S. Mill and T.H. Green.
London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1891.
Taylor, M.W. Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and late Victorian
Liberalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.
Wiltshire, David. The Social and Political Thought of Herbert Spencer. New
York: Oxford, 1978.
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++++Message 1687. . . . . . . . . . . . Living Sober
From: Joanna Whitney . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/3/2004 9:30:00 AM
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Hi Group -- I am newly returning after a long stay away and glad to see you are all still here. I am really curious about the origins of the publication Living Sober and what conference approved it. Anybody?
Thanks, Joanna
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++++Message 1688. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Literature at Unity retreats
From: victoria callaway . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/3/2004 9:20:00 AM
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Can anyone clarify if some piece of AA literature was written at a
Nity Village retreat and what piece that is. this remark was made at
a meeting my sponsor was at and she wanted me to find out. Thanks
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++++Message 1689. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant March dates in AA History - Revised
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/3/2004 6:51:00 AM
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Thanks to the two eagle-eyed members who spotted
errors in the original list posted March 1. One
of these days I'll get it right the first time.
Nancy
[16]
March 1:
1939 - Readers Digest failed to write promised
article on AA.
1941 - Saturday Evening Post article by Jack
Alexander created national sensation. AA
membership quadrupled in one year from 2000 to
8000.
March 3:
1947 - Nell Wing, Bill's secretary and first
archivist of AA, began her career at Alcoholic
Foundation Office.
March 4:
1891 - Lois Wilson was born.
March 5:
1945 - Time Magazine reported Detroit radio
broadcasts of AA members.
March 9:
1941 - Wichita Beacon reported AA member from NY
who wanted to form a group in Wichita, Kansas.
March 11:
1947 - A Priest in St. Paul, Minnesota, founded
Calix International. Alcoholics in his parish
met after Saturday morning Mass to discuss the
readings for the upcoming Sunday and how their
faith melded with the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous.
March 12:
1940 - Ebby Thatcher, Bill Wilson's boyhood
friend and sponsor, was reported sober again.
March 14:
1941 - South Orange, NJ, AA held an anniversary
dinner at the Hotel Suburban with Bill Wilson as
the guest speaker.
March 15:
1941 - 1st AA group was formed in New Haven,
Connecticut.
March 16:
1940: Bill moved the Alcoholic Foundation office
to 30 Vesey St., NY. (30 Vesey St., NY, was
almost destroyed on September 11, 2001.)
March 18:
1951 - Cliff W. was elected 1st delegate from
Southern California.
March 21:
1881 - Anne Ripley, Dr. Bob's wife, was born.
1966 - Ebby Thatcher, Bill Wilson's sponsor,
died sober.
March 22:
1951 - Dr. William Duncan Silkworth died at
Towns Hospital.
1984 - Clarence Snyder, founder of Cleveland AA
and author of "Home Brewmeister," died at 81, 46
years sober.
March 23:
1936 - Bill & Lois Wilson visited Fitz Mayo,
"Our Southern Friend," in Maryland.
1941 - Sybil C.'s sobriety date. She was the
first woman to enter AA west of the Mississippi.
March 25:
1965 - Richmond Walker, author of "Twenty-Four
Hours a Day" book, died at age 72, almost 23
years sober.
March 29:
1943 - The Charleston Mail, WV, reported that
Bill Wilson had given a talk at St. John's
Parish House.
March 31:
1947 - 1st AA group was formed in London,
England.
Other events in March, for which I have no exact
date:
1942 - 1st Prison AA Group formed at San
Quentin.
1945 - March of Time film was produced and
supervised by E.M. Jellinek.
1946 - The Jefferson Barracks AA Group in
Missouri was formed. It is thought to be the
first ever in a military installation.
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++++Message 1690. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Living Sober
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/3/2004 2:16:00 PM
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Hi Joanna,
I don't know what conference approved of Living Sober but I do know that
it was written by Barry Leach, now deceased. Barry was very devoted to Lois
Wilson---somewhat like a surrogate son---and even accompanied her on trips
when she was very elderly. I took a picture of Barry and Lois greeting Jack
Bailey (the famous Queen for a Day man) when he spoke in Akron in 1978. I
wish I could find a portrait of Barry for use in my Power Point
presentations.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1691. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Living Sober
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/4/2004 12:12:00 AM
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Mel wrote
> I don't know what conference approved of Living Sober but I do know that
it was written by Barry Leach, now deceased.
This is from the unpublished history manuscript by Bob P.
"Living Sober," the other booklet, published in 1975, had a more tortuous
history. Around 1968, there were discussions by the Board of the need for a
pamphlet for sober old-timers, and the need to point out "traps" or "danger
signals." Members of the Literature Committee and others were asked to
submit their ideas. Out of this grew a specific proposal for a piece of
literature to be developed around the topic, "How We Stay Sober." It was in
outline form by October 1969, and was assigned to a professional writer on
the staff of a prestigious national magazine. After nearly two years of
work, he submitted a complete draft.. Which everyone agreed would not do at
all. They felt it needed such drastic revision that it should be started
again from scratch by a new author. Barry L., a seasoned, skillful freelance
writer/consultant for G.S.O. was given the task. With Bob H., general
manager of G.S.O., he negotiated a flat fee for the project. After four and
a half years of organizing material and writing . and probably some
procrastinating, as well, Barry came up with a simple, intensely practical,
charmingly written manual on how to enjoy a happy, productive life without
drinking. It was not spiritual and contained nothing about getting sober;
but it was chock-full of the kind of advice and suggestions a newcomer might
get from a super-sponsor. ("A.A.'s First Aid Kit" was Bayard's name for it.)
And it was written in a style unlike any other A.A. literature: breezy,
impertinent, colloquial and informal. "Living Sober" proved to be hugely
popular, and after it had sold nearly a million copies, Barry L. felt he
should have been compensated more generously and should receive some sort of
royalty. He sent a letter to all past Trustees and G.S.O. staff members with
whom he was acquainted, to advance his claim. The AAWS Board and the General
Service Board considered his case, but declined to take action. He then
threatened legal recourse, but perhaps realizing the weakness of his case,
never followed through.
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++++Message 1695. . . . . . . . . . . . Marty Mann and Bill Wilson, 1956, Compiled from Previous Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/8/2004 7:54:00 AM
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[17]
In 1956, Marty Mann had the pleasure of introducing Bill Wilson
at the annual meeting of the National Committee on Alcoholism.
This Committee was later to become the National Council on
Alcoholism (now the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence).
Bill's talk, while it included his usual "bedtime story," was
also a call to cooperation and understanding and support of all
those who are trying to help the still suffering alcoholic.
Nancy
National Committee on Alcoholism
Annual Meeting
Hotel Statler, New York City, N.Y.
March 30, 1956
Introduction by the National Director of the National Committee
on Alcoholism, Mrs. Marty Mann.
Mr. President, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I had
to have that formal beginning to find out if I had a voice. This
moment is of such import to me that I have been fearful for a
week that I would not be able to speak.
It's a moment I've been waiting for a long time. The National
Committee on Alcoholism was founded on a proof. Unless there had
been proof that alcoholics could recover there could have been
no National Committee on Alcoholism. That proof was available by
1944, the year of the founding of
the Committee because of what Alcoholics Anonymous had been
doing for nine years. And the work that Alcoholics Anonymous had
been doing for nine years is very largely due to a recovery of
an individual. Everything has to start somewhere.
We no longer look upon it as a divine plan, I think we should as
divine plans require instruments, instruments that we can see
and touch and hear, that can reach us. Such an instrument was
found in a man who had suffered deeply and terribly from
alcoholism and he was able to recover and he discovered that in
order to keep his recovery he had to share it, he had to pass it
on. I like to describe this as the discovery of a constructive
chain reaction.
Something was set in motion back in November 1934, that was to
become one of the great sources for good in our time. I was very
fortunate in coming in contact with this force when I most
desperately needed it. It was not easy for me to change the
pattern of my living from a negative one to a constructive one
and I had a little trouble from time to time in the beginning in
attempting my new life.
The most seriously difficulty I had was met by this same man who
sought me out and dug me out and whom I couldn't refuse to see
and when he spoke to me he said something that I'll never
forget. Something that is having is
culmination here today. He asked me if I wanted to stop
drinking. I said, "Yes." He put his arm around me and he said,
"I'm glad because we have a long way to go together."
Neither of us knew back in 1939 how far that road led or where
it was going to lead but we are still traveling that road
together and it's lead up all the way, up and on.
I believe that the contribution that was made by this
instrument, if you like, is a contribution past description,
past telling. I believe that it was largely through that
contribution which produced living proof that we have been able
to arrive at a meeting such as today where we have been able to
bring together representatives of all the professional
disciplines who are happily and gladly working in this field as
this wasn't always true fifteen years ago. But we were able to
get great names in medicine and psychiatry and social work and
psychology and in public health to be present at a meeting like
this, to take part in what we are doing, to join hands with that
little band of recovered alcoholics to help lick this problem.
Alcoholics Anonymous couldn't do it alone. We couldn't expect
any other victims of a particular affliction to carry the whole
burden of doing something about that particular disease and we
shouldn't expect it in this field. To lick a problem as complex,
as vast and as devastating as alcoholism requires the
cooperation of every one of us, of every area of our life. To
have that cooperation we had to have evidence that it could
produce them. That evidence exists in the growing ranks of
Alcoholics Anonymous and that truth exists because back in 1934,
one man got sober and allowed himself to be used as the great
instrument in spreading this word of hope. In my book he is one
of the greatest men of our times. I give you my friend, my
sponsor, the reason why I am here, Bill.
Address by Bill W.
Well, folks, our world is certainly a world of contrast, it was
only a few year ago that Westbrook Pegler wrote a piece in which
he described Dr. Bob and me as "the wet brain founders of
Alcoholics Anonymous." But very seriously and very happily, too,
I think that the A.A.'s present in and out of this Committee and
everywhere join in with Lois and me and are able to say that
this is one of the finest hours that has yet to come to us.
Some people say that destiny is a series of events held together
by a thin thread of change or circumstance. Other people say
that destiny is composed of a series of events strung on a cord
of cause and effect and still others say that the destiny of
good work is often the issue of the will of God and that he
forges the links and brings the events to pass. I've been asked
to come here to tell the story of A.A. and in that story,
everyone here I am sure can find justification for either of
those points of view.
But, I want to tell more than the story of A.A., this time. I
was beset, I must confess, by a certain reluctance and the
reluctance issues out of this fact, of course everybody is
fairly familiar with the fact that I once suffered from
alcoholism, but people are not so wise to the fact that I
suffer also from schizophrenia, split personality. I have a
personality say as a patriarch of A.A.,founding father, if you
like, and I also have a personality as an A.A. member and
between these personalities is a terrific gulf.
You see, a founding father of A.A. has to stand up to the A.A.
Tradition which says that you must not endorse anything or
anybody or even say good things about your friends on the
outside or even of Beemans chewing gum lest it be an
endorsement. So as the father of A.A. I am very strictly bound
to do nothing but tell the story of our society.
But as an A.A. member like all the rest, I am an anarchist who
revels in litter so I'm really going to say what I damn please.
So, if only you will receive me as Mr. Anonymous, one of the
poor old drunks still trying to get honest!
Now to our narrative and to the first links in the chain of
events that has led us to this magnificent hour. I was by no
means the first link in this chain and only one of very many. I
think the founder business ought to be well deflated and I'm
just going to take a minute or two to do it.
As a fact, the first link in the chain was probably forged about
twenty-five years ago in the office of a great psychiatrist,
Carl Jung. At that time he had as a patient a certain very
prominent American businessman. They worked together for a year.
My business friend Rowland was a very grim case of alcoholism
and yet under the doctor's guidance he thought he was going to
find release. He left the doctor in great confidence but
shortly, he was back drunk. Said he to Dr. Jung, "What now,
You*re my court of last resort."
The doctor looked at him and said, "I thought that you might be
one of those rare cases that could be touched with my art, but
you aren't. I have never seen," continued doctor Jung, "one
single case of alcoholism recover, so grave as yours under my
tutelage."
Well, to my friend Rowland this was tantamount to a sentence of
death. "But doctor," said he, "is there no other course, nothing
else."
"Yes," said Dr. Jung, "there is something. There is such a thing
as a transforming spiritual experience."
"Well," Rowland beamed, "after all I've been a vestryman in the
Episcopal Church, I'm a man of faith."
"Oh," Dr. Jung said, "that's fine so far as it goes but it has
to go a lot deeper. I'm speaking of transforming spiritual
experiences."
"Where would I find such a thing," asked Rowland.
Dr. Jung said, "I don't know, lighting strikes here or there, it
strikes any other place. We don't know why or how. You will just
have to expose yourself in the religion of your own choice or a
spiritual influence as best you can and just try and ask and
maybe it will be open to you."
So my friend Rowland joined up with the Oxford Groups, the
sometime Buchmanites of that day, first in London and then came
to New York and lo and behold the lighting did strike and he
found himself unaccountably released of his obsession to drink.
After a time he heard of a friend of mine, a chap we call Ebby,
who sojourned every summer in Vermont, an awful grim case, he
had driven his father's bright, shiny new Packard into the side
of someone's house. He had bashed into the kitchen, pushing
aside the stove and had said to the startled lady there, "How
about a cup of coffee." The neighbors thought that this was
enough and that he needed to be locked up.
He was taken before Judge Graves in Bennington, Vermont, a place
not too far from my home, by the way, and there our friend
Rowland heard of it and gathering a couple of Oxford Groupers
together, one of them an alcoholic the other just a two fisted
drinker, they took Ebby in tow and they inoculated him with very
simple ideas: that he, Ebby, could not do this job on his own
resources, that he had to have help; that he might try the idea
of getting honest with himself as he never had before; he might
try the idea of making a confession of his defects to someone;
he might try the idea of making restitution or harms done; he
might try the idea of giving of himself to others with no price
tag on it; agnostic he was, he might try the idea of praying to
whatever God there was.
That was the essence of what my friend Ebby abstracted from the
Oxford Groups of that day. True, we later rejected very much of
the other things they had to teach us. It is true that these
principles might have been found somewhere else but as it
happens they were found there.
Ebby for a time got the same phenomenon of release and then he
remembered me. He was brought to New York and lodged at Calvary
Mission and soon called me up while I lay home drinking in
Brooklyn.
I will never forget that day as suddenly he stood in the
areaway, I hadn't seen him for a long time. By this time I knew
something of the gravity of my plight. I couldn't put my finger
on it but he seemed strangely changed, besides he was sober. He
came in and began to talk. I offered him some grog. I remember I
had a big jug of gin and pineapple juice there, the pineapple
juice was there to convince Lois that I wasn't drinking straight
gin. No, he didn't care for a drink. No, he wasn't drinking.
"What's got into you," I asked.
"Well," he said, "I've got religion."
Well, that was rough on me. He's got religion! He had
substituted religious insanity for alcoholic insanity. Well, I
had to be polite so I asked, "What brand is it."
And, he said, "I wouldn't exactly call it a brand. I've come
across a group of people who have sold me on getting honest with
myself; who sold me on the idea that I am powerless over my
problems and have taught me to help others so I'm trying to
bring something to you, if you want it. That's it."
So, in his turn, he transmitted to me these simple ideas across
the kitchen table.
Meanwhile, another chain of events had been taking place. In
fact, the earliest link in that chain runs back to William James
who is sometimes called the father of modern psychology. Another
link in the chain was my own Doctor William Duncan Silkworth,
who I think will someday be counted as a medical saint.
I had the usual struggle with this problem and had met Dr.
Silkworth at Towns Hospital. He had explained in very simple
terms what my problem was: an obsession that condemned me to
drink against my will and increasing physical sensitivity which
guaranteed that I would go mad unless I could somehow find
release, perhaps through re-education. He taught me the nature
of the malady.
But here I was, again drinking. But here was my friend talking
to me over the kitchen table. Already, you see, the elements
which lie today in the foundation of A.A. were already present.
The God of science in the persons of Dr. Silkworth and Dr. Jung
had said "No" on the matters of psychiatry, psychology and
medicine. They can't do it alone. Your will power can't do it
alone. So, the rug had been pulled out from under Rowland
Hazzard; and Hazzard, an alcoholic, had pulled the rug out from
under Ebby; and now he was pulling it out from under me while
quoting Dr. Jung and substantiating what Dr. Silkworth had let
leak back to me through Lois.
So, the stage was really set and it had been some years in the
setting before it ever caught up with me. Of course, I had
balked at this idea of a power greater than myself, although the
rest of the program seemed sensible enough. I was desperate,
willing to try anything, but I still did gag on the God
business. But at length, I said to myself as has every A.A.
member since, "Who am I to say there is no God? Who am I to say
how I am going to get well?"
Like a cancer patient, I am now ready to do anything, to be
dependent upon any kind of a physician and if there is a great
physician, I had better seek him out.
So, pretty drunk, I went back to Towns Hospital, was put to bed
and three days later my friend appears again. One alcoholic
talking to another across that strange powerful bond that we can
effect with each other. In his one hand and in the hands of the
doctor was hopelessness and on the other side was hope. He went
through his little list of principles; getting honest, making
restitution, working with other people, praying to whatever God
there was, then he left. When he had gone, I sunk into a
terrific depression, the like of which I had never known and I
suppose for a moment the last vestiges of my prideful obstinacy
were crushed out at great depth and I cried out like a child,
"Now I'll do anything, anything to get well," and with no faith
and almost no hope I again cried out, "If there is a God, will
he show himself."
Immediately the place lit up in a great light. It seemed to me
that I was on a mountain top, there was a sudden realization
that I was free, utterly free of this thing and as the ecstasy
subsided I am again on the bed and now I'm surrounded by a sense
of presence and a mighty assurance and a feeling that no matter
how wrong things were, ultimately all would be well. I thought
to myself, so this is the God of the preachers.
From that day to this, I have scarcely been tempted to drink, so
instantaneous and terrific was the release from the obsession.
At about the time of my release from the hospital, somebody
handed me a copy of William James' book Varieties of Religious
Experience. Many of us disagree with James' pragmatic philosophy
but I think that nearly all will agree that this is a great text
in which he examines these mechanisms. And in that book of his,
great numbers, the great majority of these experiences took off
from a base of utter hopelessness. In some controlling area of
the individual's life he had struck a wall and couldn't get
under, around or over. That kind of hopelessness was the
forerunner of the transforming experience and as I began to read
those common denominators stuck out of the cases cited by James.
I began to wonder. Yes, I fitted into that pattern but why
hadn't more alcoholics fitted into it before now? In other
words, what we needed was more deflation at depth to lay hold of
this transforming experience.
Then comes Dr. Silkworth with the answer, those two little
words: the obsession and the allergy. Not such little words, big
words, the twin ogres of madness and death, of science
pronouncing its verdict of hopelessness so far as our own
resources were concerned. Yes, I had had that dose. That had
perhaps laid the ground. One alcoholic talking to another had
convinced me where no others had brought me any conviction.
I began to race around madly trying to help alcoholics and in
gratitude I briefly joined the Oxford Group but they were more
interested in saving the world than other alcoholics. That
didn't last too long and I began to tell people of this sudden
mystic experience and I fear that I was preaching a
great deal and not one single drunk sobered up for a period of
six months.
Again, comes the man of medicine, Dr. Silkworth and he said,
"Bill, you've got the cart before the horse. Why don't you stop
talking about this queer experience of yours and of all this
morality? Why don't you pour into these people how medically
sick they are and then, maybe coming from you or with the
identification you can get with these other fellows, then maybe
you'll soften them up so they'll buy this moral psychology."
About that time I had been urged to get back into business and
quit being a missionary and I hooked onto a business deal which
took me to Akron, Ohio.
The deal fell through and for the first time I felt tempted to
drink. I was in the hotel with about ten dollars in my pocket
and my new found friends had disappeared. I thought to myself,
gee, you'd better look for another alcoholic to work with.
Then I realized as never before how working with other
alcoholics had played such a great part in sustaining my
original experience.
Well, again friends came to the rescue. I went down to the lobby
and looked at the Church Directory and absentmindedly drew my
finger down the list of
names and there appeared a rather odd one, the Reverend Tunks. I
said, "Well, I'll call up Tunks" and he turned out to be a
wonderful Episcopal clergyman. I said that I was a drunk looking
for another drunk to work on and tried to explain why. The good
man showed some alarm as it wasn't everyday someone called up
with my request but the good man gave me a list of about ten
names, some of them Oxford Groupers. I called all of these
people up. Well, Sunday was coming and maybe they would see me
in Church, some were going out of town.
I exhausted that list, all but one. None had time nor cared very
much. Something not very strange under the circumstances so I
went down and took another look in the bar and something said to
me "You had better call her
up."
Her name was Henrietta Seiberling and I took her to be the wife
of a tire tycoon out there who I had once met and I thought that
this lady certainly isn't going to want to see me on a Saturday
afternoon. But I called and she said, "Come right out, I'm not
an alcoholic but I think I understand."
This led to the meeting with Dr. Bob, one of my many co-partners
in this enterprise, and as Dr. Silkworth had suggested I poured
into him how sick we were and that produced his immediate
recovery.
I went to live in the Smith's house and presently Bob said,
"Hadn't we better start working with alcoholics?"
I said, "Sure, I think we had."
We found an opportunity at City Hospital in Akron, who was being
brought in with D.T.'s on a stretcher. He'd been hospitalized
six times in four months and couldn't even get home without
getting stewed. That was to be A.A. number three, the first man
on the bed.
Dr. Bob and I went to see him and he said, "I'm too far gone and
besides, I'm a man of faith."
Nevertheless, we poured it into him, the medical hopelessness of
this thing so far as one's own resources are concerned. We
explained what had happened to us, we made clear to him his
future. And the next morning we came back and he was saying to
his wife, "Give me my clothes, were going to get up and get out
of here. These are the men, they are the ones who understand."
Right then and there was formed the first A.A. group in the
summer of 1935.
The synthesis in it's main outline was complete.
But Lord, we hadn't even started. The struggles of those next
few years. A wonderful thing to think about. Terribly slow was
our growth. We got way into 1939 before we had produced even a
hundred recoveries in Akron and in New York, a few in Cleveland,
Ohio.
Then, in that year, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran pieces about
us of such strength that the few A.A.'s in Cleveland were
flooded with hundreds of cases and that added one more needed
ingredient.
Up to this time it had been deadly slow. Could this thing
spread? Could we get into mass production?
Well, in a matter of months, twenty Clevelanders had sobered up
several hundred newcomers. But that required hospitalization and
we were not liked in the hospitals.
Now, I come to the subject of this Committee, it's relation with
A.A., and the linkage between us. Meanwhile, great events were
going on down here (New York), there had been in preparation a
book to be called Alcoholics Anonymous.
As a precaution we had made mimeograph copies to be passed
around and one of these copies was sent to a man who I consider
to be one of the greatest friends that this society can ever
have, Dr. Harry Tiebout, the onetime Chairman of this Committee.
Harry Tiebout was the man who got me before the medical
societies and that took great courage. Well, I'm getting ahead
of my story.
So Harry got one of the mimeographed copies of the A.A. book and
he hands it to a certain patient at the Blythewood Sanitarium in
Greenwich, Connecticut. The patient was a lady. She read the
book and it made her very mad so she threw it out the window and
got drunk. That was the first impact of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Harry got her sobered up and handed her the book again and a
phrase caught her eye, it was a trigger. "We cannot live with
resentments," the book said. This time she didn't throw it out
the window.
Presently she came to our little meeting and you must remember
that we were still less than a hundred strong in the early part
of 1939 at our little Brooklyn house at 182 Clinton Street. And
she came back from that meeting to Greenwich and made a remark
that today is a classic in A.A. She said to a fellow patient and
sufferer and friend in the sanitarium, "Grennie, we're not alone
anymore, this is it."
Well, that was the beginning for Marty. Much help by Harry and
Mrs. Willey, the proprietor of the place. Marty started the
first group on the grounds of the sanitarium. She began to
frantically work with alcoholics and became the dean of our
women alcoholics. So our society had made two terrific friends
in Dr. Harry and Marty.
Now, in the intervening years up to 1944, A.A. itself was in a
bad turmoil.
The Saturday Evening Post piece had been published which caused
6,000 frantic inquiries to hit our post office box here in New
York, from all over the country, indeed, all over the world. So
then the great question was posed. Could A.A. spread? Could it
function? Could it hang together with it's enormous neurotic
content that we have.
We just did not know. But again, it was do or die. In old Ben
Franklin's words, "We would either hang together or hang
separately."
Out of this group experience there began to evolve Traditions.
Traditions which had to do with A.A.'s unity and function and
relation with the world outside and our relations to such things
as money, property, prestige, all that sort of thing.
The Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous you folks, for the most
part, are familiar with. Those principles began to take shape,
began to gather for us and little by little, order began to come
out of this seething mass of drunks in their quest for sobriety.
By now, the membership of the movement had run up into the many
thousands and as Marty observed, there was now proof that it can
be done. But we were still a long way from today. A.A. still
needed friends. Friends of medicine, friends of religion,
friends of the press. We had a handful but we needed a lot of
friends.
The public needed to know what sort of malady this was and that
something could be done about it. This Committee, much like
Alcoholics Anonymous is notable not only for what it has done in
its own sphere but for what it has set in motion.
I remember very well when this Committee started. It brought me
in contact with our great friends at Yale, the courageous Dr.
Haggard, the incredible Dr.Jellinek or "Bunky" as we
affectionately know him, and Seldon [Bacon] and all those
dedicated people.
The question arose, could an A.A. member get into education or
research or what not? Then ensued a fresh and great controversy
in A.A. which was not surprising because you must remember that
in that period we were like the people on Rickenbacker's raft.
Who would dare to rock us ever so little and precipitate us back
into the alcohol sea.
So, frankly, we were afraid and as usual we had the radicals and
we had the conservatives and we had moderates on this question
of whether A.A. members could go into other enterprises in this
field.
The conservatives said, "No, let's keep it simple, let's mind
our own business." The radicals said, "Let's endorse anything
that looks like it will do any good, let the A.A. name be used
to raise money and to do whatever it can do for the whole
field," and the growing body of moderates took the position,
"Let any A.A. member who feels the call go into these related
fields, for if we are to do less it would be a very antisocial
outlook."
So that is where the Tradition finally sat and many were called
and many were chosen since that day to go into these related
fields which has now got to be so large in their promise that we
of Alcoholics Anonymous are getting down to our right size and
we are only now realizing that we are only a small part of a
great big picture.
We are realizing again, afresh, that without our friends, not
only could we not have existed in the first place but we could
not have grown. We are getting a fresh concept in A.A. of what
our relations with the world and all of these related
enterprises should be. In other words, we are growing up.
In fact last year at St. Louis we were bold enough to say we had
come of age and that within Alcoholics Anonymous the main
outlines of the basis for recovery, of the basis for unity and
of the basis for service or function were already evident.
At St. Louis I made talks upon each of those subjects which
largely concerned themselves about what A.A. had done about
these things but here we are in a much wider field and I think
that the sky is the limit. I think that I can say without any
reservation that what this Committee has done with the aid of
it's great friends who are now legion as anyone here can see. I
think that this Committee has been responsible for making more
friends for Alcoholics Anonymous and of doing a wider service in
educating the world on the gravity of this malady and what can
be done about it than any other single agency.
I'm awfully partial and maybe I'm a little biased because here
sits the dean of all our ladies, my close, dear and beloved
friend. So speaking out of turn as a founder, I want to convey
to her in the presence of all of you the best I can say of my
great love and affection is thanks.
At the close of things in St. Louis, I remember that I likened
A.A. to a cathedral style edifice whose corners now rested
across the earth. I remember saying that we can see on its great
floor the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and there
assembled maybe 150,000 sufferers and their
families. We have seen side walls go up, buttressed with the
A.A. Tradition and at St. Louis, when the elected Conference
took over from our Board of Trustees, the spire of service was
put into effect and its beacon light, the beacon light of A.A.
shone there beckoning to all the world.
I realized as I sat here today that that was not a big enough
concept, for on the floor of the cathedral of the spirit there
should always be written the formula from whatever source for
release from alcoholism, whether it be a drug, whether it be the
psychiatric art, whether it be the ministrations of this
Committee.
In other words, we who deal with this problem are all in the
same boat, all standing upon the same floor. So let's bring to
this floor the total resources that can be brought to bear upon
this problem and let us not think of unity just in terms of the
A.A.Tradition. Let us think of unity among all those who work in
the field as the kind of unity that befits brotherhood and
sisterhood and a kinship in the common suffering. Let us stand
together in the spirit of service. If we do these things, only
then can we declare ourselves really come of age. And only then,
and I think this is a time not far off, I think we can say that
the future, our future, the future of this Committee, of A.A.
and of the things that people of good will are trying to do in
this field will be completely assured.
Thank you.
_________
An excerpt from "On The Alcoholism Front," written by Bill
Wilson for The Grapevine, March 1958:
"Then along came Marty. As an early AA she knew public attitudes
had to be changed, that people had to know that alcoholism was a
disease and alcoholics could be helped. She developed a plan for
an organization to conduct a
vigorous program of public education and to organize citizens'
committees all over the country. She bought her plan to me. I
was enthusiastic but felt scientific backing was essential, so
the plan was sent to Bunky [Dr. E.M. Jellinek], and he came down
to meet with us. He said the plan was sound, the time was ripe,
and he agreed with me that Marty was the one to do the job.
"Originally financed by the tireless Dr. Haggard and his
friends, Marty started her big task. I cannot detail in this
space the great accomplishments of Marty and her associates in
the present-day National Council on Alcoholism. But I can speak
my conviction that no other single agency has done more to
educate the public, to open up hospitalization, and to set in
motion all manner of constructive projects than this one.
Growing pains there have been aplenty, but today the NCA results
speak for
themselves. ..."
[
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++++Message 1696. . . . . . . . . . . . More on Marty Mann - Compiled from
Previious Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/8/2004 10:25:00 AM
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From an article by Bill Wilson in
THE GRAPEVINE, October 1944
We are again citizens of the world.... As individuals, we have a
responsibility, maybe a double responsibility. It may be that we have a date
with destiny.
An example: Not long ago Dr. E. M. Jellinek, of Yale University, came to us.
He said, "Yale, as you know, is sponsoring a program of public education on
alcoholism, entirely noncontroversial in character.
So, when the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism [now the National
Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence] was formed, an AA member was made
its executive director: Marty M., one of our oldest and finest. As a member of
AA, she is just as much interested in us as before - AA is still her
avocation. But as an officer of the Yale-sponsored National Committee, she is
also interested in educating the general public on alcoholism. Her AA training
has wonderfully fitted her for this post in a different field.
Public education on alcoholism is to be her vocation.
Could an AA do such a job? At first, Marty herself wondered. She asked her AA
friends, "Will I be regarded as a professional?" Her friends replied:
"Had you come to us, Marty, proposing to be a therapist, to sell straight AA
to alcoholics at so much a customer, we should certainly have branded that as
professionalism. So would everybody else.
"But the National Committee for Education on Alcoholism is quite another
matter. You will be taking your natural abilities and AA experience into a
very different field. We don't see how that can affect your amateur status
with us. Suppose you were to become a social worker, a personnel officer,
the manager of a state farm for alcoholics, or even a minister of the gospel?
Who could possibly say those activities would make you a professional AA? No
one, of course."
They went on: "Yet we do hope that AA as a whole will never deviate from its
sole purpose of helping other alcoholics. As an organization, we should
express no opinions save on the recovery of problem drinkers. That very sound
national policy has kept us out of much useless trouble already, and will
surely forestall untold complications in the future.
"Though AA as a whole," they continued, "should have one objective, we believe
just as strongly that for the individual there should be no limitations
whatever, except his own conscience. He should have the complete right to
choose his own opinions and outside activities. If these are good, AAs
everywhere will approve. Just so, Marty, do we think it will be in your case.
While Yale is your actual sponsor, we feel sure that you are going to have the
warm personal support of thousands of AAs wherever you go. We shall all be
thinking how much better a break this new generation of potential alcoholic
kids will have because of your work, how much it might have meant to us had
our own mothers and fathers really understood alcoholism."
Personally, I feel that Marty's friends have advised her wisely; that they
have clearly distinguished between the limited scope of AA as a whole and the
broad horizon.
__________
Excerpt from Marty Mann's New Primer on Alcoholism, 1981 (First Owl Book
Edition), pp. 83-86.
The Test
There is a simple test which has been used hundreds of times for this purpose.
Even an extremely heavy drinker should have no trouble in passing it, whereas
an alcoholic, if able to complete it at all, could do so only under such heavy
pressure that his life would be more miserable than he thinks it would be if
he stopped drinking altogether. The chances are a hundred to one, how ever,
against a true alcoholic's being either willing or able to undertake the test.
The Test: Select any time at all for instituting it. Now is the best time. For
the next six months at least decide that you will stick to a certain number of
drinks a day, that number to be not less than one and not more than three. If
you are not a daily drinker, then the test should be the stated number of
drinks from one to three, on those days when you do drink. Some heavy drinkers
confine their drinking to weekends, but still worry about the amount they
consume then. Whatever number you choose must not be exceeded under any
circumstances whatever, and this includes weddings, births, funerals,
occasions of sudden death and disaster, unexpected or long-awaited
inheritance, promotion, or other happy events, reunions or meetings with old
friends or good customers, or just sheer boredom. There must also be no
special occasions on which you feel justified in adding to your quota of the
stated number of drinks, such as a severe emotional upset, or the appointment
to close the biggest deal of your career, or the audition you've been waiting
for all your life, or the meeting with someone who is crucial to your future
and of whom you are terrified. Absolutely no exceptions, or the test has been
failed.
This is not an easy test, but it has been passed handily by any number of
drinkers who wished to show themselves, or their families and friends, that
they were not compulsive drinkers. If by any chance they failed the test,
showing that they were alcoholics, they showed themselves, too, that they
were, whether they were then ready to admit it openly or not. At least it
prepared them for such an admission, and for the constructive action which
normally follows that admission.
It is important to add that observers of such tests should not use them to try
to force a flunkee to premature action. This may well backfire and produce a
stubborn determination on the part of the one who has been unable to pass the
test, to prove that it is not alcoholism that caused the failure. He can and
does do this in several ways: by stopping drinking altogether for a
self-specified time (when this is over he usually breaks out in even worse
form than before, and with an added resentment toward those who "drove" him to
it); by instituting a rigid control over his own drinking, which produces a
constant irritability that makes him impossible to be with, coupled with
periodic outbreaks of devastating nature; or by giving himself a very large
quota and insisting that he has remained within it, even when he has obviously
been too drunk to remember how many drinks he had. In extreme cases, he may
even give himself a quota of so many drinks, and take them straight from the
bottle, calling each bottle "the" drink. The backfiring from too great outside
pressure may also cause a complete collapse: knowing and admitting that he
cannot pass the test and is therefore an alcoholic, he will resist efforts to
force him to take action by saying in effect, "So I'm an alcoholic, so I can't
control my drinking, so I'll drink as I must," and go all out for perdition.
This last, despite the expressed concern of some people (who believe that
admitting alcoholism to be a disease, and alcoholic drinking to be
uncontrollable drinking, is simply to give alcoholics a good excuse to
continue), very rarely happens. Nevertheless the possibility must be taken
into account by those who are trying to help an alcoholic to recognize his
trouble and take constructive action on it. If he is left alone after failing
such a self-taken test, the failure will begin to work on him-it has planted a
seed of knowledge which may well grow into action.
The "occasional drunk" usually comes from the ranks of heavy drinkers,
sometimes social drinkers. Rarely is he an abstainer between his bouts, as is
generally the case with periodic alcoholics. Sometimes called "spree
drinkers," these are the ones who every now and then deliberately indulge in
short periods of drinking to drunkenness, usually at sporadic intervals. They
talk of the "good" it does them to have a "purge" once in a while, or to "let
down their hair" or to "kick over the traces" and have "all-out fun."
Unfortunately for them they sometimes get into trouble during these sprees,
and their drinking habits are thus brought to public attention. But they can
and do stop such indulgences if they find it is costing them too much, for
their sprees are their idea of fun, and not a necessity. "Occasional drunks"
are most often found among youthful drinkers, whose ideas of "fun," for one
reason or another, have come to center around drinking and the uninhibited
behavior which excessive drinking allows.
__________
The following was excerpted from a biography-in-progress of Marty Mann, by
Sally and David Brown. It has since been published by Hazelden:
Marty Mann is scarcely a household word today, yet she is arguably one of the
most influential people of the 20th century. Marty's life was like a blazing
fire, but was nearly extinguished by personal tragedy and degradation. She
rose to a triumphant recovery that powered a historic, unparalleled change in
our society. Through her vision and leadership, the attitude of America toward
alcoholism was changed from a moral issue to one of public health. This was a
tremendous shift, especially considering America's long temperance history
which culminated in the Prohibition Amendment of 1920.
Marty was able to accomplish these things despite numerous, very difficult
setbacks along the way, any one of which might have overcome a lesser person.
She would be the first to claim that her sobriety, found through Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA) in its very earliest days, was the most important factor in her
success. ...
Marty was born into a life of wealth and privilege in Chicago in the early
1900s. Her family sent her to the best private schools. She was blessed with
beauty, brains, a powerful will and drive, phenomenal energy and stunning
charisma. She traveled extensively. She debuted, then married into a wealthy
New Orleans family. Her future seemed ordained to continue on the same
patrician track except for one serious setback on the way. When Marty was 14,
she was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB). In those days, drugs for treatment
were not yet available. However, her family could afford to send her to an
expensive private sanitarium in California for a year, and then provide her
with a private-duty nurse at home for another year or two. She had one
recurrence of the disease several years later, and for the rest of her long
life she knew that she was always in remission from this ancient scourge.
Marty was no sooner past this hurdle when another disease began to assert
itself. When Marty was 17 she could drink as an adult. Moving at a fast pace
in an elite social group, she had a "hollow leg." A party girl from the onset,
she could outdrink anyone and be the only person left standing to get
everybody else home. Later, she was to learn that her unusual capacity was an
important early sign of alcoholism.
Suddenly her father lost all his wealth, and she had to go to work. Untrained
for any specific career, she was nevertheless favored with important moneyed
and social connections in this country and abroad. Her natural talents led her
into the world of public relations.
Marty's drinking was an occupational hazard in her line of work. Within 10
years she went from a bright, assured future to a hideous existence of
round-the-clock drinking. She lost one job after another. She became
destitute, living off the goodwill of friends, convinced that she was
hopelessly insane. Two suicide attempts nearly killed her, and desperate
drinking threatened to finish the job.
At this point, friends intervened. She was accepted as a charity patient at
Bellevue Hospital in New York City, then transferred to Blythewood, an
exclusive private psychiatric inpatient center in Connecticut as a charity
patient. There were a few patients who were alcoholics, like Marty, whose
behavior had become bizarre or unmanageable.
It is difficult these days to imagine a world where the term "alcoholism" was
virtually unknown and there was no treatment except "drying out." Alcoholics
Anonymous didn't exist. The medical profession was as much in the dark as the
alcoholics and their baffled families. The concept of alcoholism as a disease
-- and a major, treatable one at that -- was scarcely known.
Then in 1935, two alcoholics, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, happened to come
together to help each other stay sober. Alcoholics Anonymous, probably the
most famous grassroots, self-help health movement of all time, was launched on
its shaky way.
Within four years, Bill and Dr. Bob and a handful of other pioneers had
attracted two small groups of men who managed to achieve sobriety; one in
Akron, Ohio (Dr. Bob's home), and the other in New York City (Bill W's home).
They decided to write down their experiences in the belief and hope that they
could thereby broaden their outreach to other suffering alcoholics. The book
"Alcoholics Anonymous" was born, and at the heart of it was the famous "12
Steps," which have been adopted and adapted by literally hundreds of other
kinds of self-help groups. The year was 1939.
The year of 1939 was also a fateful year for Marty. She had been a patient at
Blythewood for months, still unable to remain completely sober. Her
enlightened psychiatrist, Dr. Harry Tiebout, gave her a manuscript of
"Alcoholics Anonymous" to read, convinced that it would help her in a way he
could not. This opened the door to her recovery.
Eventually she was persuaded by Dr. Tiebout to attend her first AA meeting,
held in the home of Bill Wilson and his wife, Lois. This was still during the
time that there were only two AA meetings in the whole country. Each little
group met just once a week. Many members literally drove over a hundred miles
each way to attend the fellowship. Contrast that scene with the thousands and
thousands of AA meetings available across America today, the majority a short
distance from home.
Furthermore, all of the AA members were men. A few women had drifted in and
out, but the stigma against women alcoholics was as strong as ever. Women
rarely had the courage to seek help, even if they acknowledged they might have
a problem.
Marty loved and appreciated AA from the beginning. She was immensely relieved
to learn she was not incurably insane, but instead had a disease which
manifested itself as "an allergy of the body coupled with an obsession of the
mind." Scientific research describes this condition as a biochemical
abnormality affecting the body and the brain in ways which increasingly limit
the predisposed person's ability to function or to stop, despite dire
consequences.
Marty had three relapses during her first 18 months in AA. Slips, or relapses,
while distressing and sometimes tragically fatal, are not uncommon with many
of those who come into AA. Later, Marty settled down, and the real healing
began as she started to apply the 12 Steps to her life.
Five years after she found AA, Marty had a dream. Her vision was to educate
the whole country about alcoholism. She was obsessed with eliminating the
historic stigma attached to chronic inebriation. She joined forces with the
Yale School of Alcohol Studies (now at Rutgers), where early significant
scientific research into alcoholism was underway. Eventually her nationwide
educational efforts led to the creation of a separate organization, the
National Council on Alcoholism (now the National Council on Alcoholism and
Drug Dependence or NCADD). NCADD has been this country's most important
educational, referral resource for alcoholics, their families and communities
all across the country.
Marty was the right person at the right place and time. She was extremely
fortunate to find a wealthy donor, Brinkley Smithers, who was committed to her
goals and generously supported her organization. Marty was intensely focused
on her mission. More than one person said she was like a train coming down the
track -- jump on or get out of the way. Her elegant appearance, captivating
charm, intellect and breathtaking charisma swept people off their feet.
By all accounts, she was one of the most spellbinding speakers this land has
ever seen. Even audiences initially skeptical of her message, that an
alcoholic is a sick person who can be helped, ended up enthusiastically
supporting her. For most of her 24 years as director of NCA, she maintained a
speaking schedule of over 200 talks annually. The purpose of Marty's talks was
to establish local volunteer groups in every major city. These affiliates of
NCA would carry out NCA's mission to provide education, information and
referral for their respective communities. Government financial support was
minimal to nonexistent. Most of the funding for the affiliates came from
local, private donations.
By now, one would think Marty had it all. Restored health, sobriety, the
realization of her dream. Then, once more, she was felled by a disease beyond
her control -- this time it was cancer. Several surgeries were required, and
eventually she recovered from the cancer. Doctors were amazed by her medical
history: recovery from three major diseases, recurrences of severe chronic
depression, plus the physical consequences of her early suicide attempts.
When she was 65, Marty retired with some reluctance from active management of
NCA. It was not easy for her to relinquish control of her creation and the
central focus of her passion for over two decades. As NCA's promoter without
peer, she continued a punishing speaking schedule on the organization's behalf
for many years, but gave up her personal involvement in day-to-day affairs.
In the early 1950s, Edward R. Murrow, distinguished journalist, selected Marty
as one of the 10 greatest living Americans. During her lifetime, Marty was
extremely well-known in the local, regional and national press. Her
appearances before state legislatures and Congress were unforgettable for
those present and produced results. She was made an honorary member of
prestigious professional groups here and abroad.
Marty's last talk was before AA's international convention in New Orleans in
1980. Two weeks later she suffered a stroke at home and died very shortly
thereafter. She was 75.
The organization and history of NCA after Marty has been mixed. There were
some rocky periods, which are to be expected following the retirement and
demise of a long-term, extremely dynamic and charismatic leader. The
affiliates across the country also experienced some ups and downs. However,
the organization persisted, stabilized and continues to be an effective public
voice on behalf of alcoholics.
Marty's legacy is sparingly reported in the histories of Alcoholics Anonymous,
probably because NCA was not an arm of AA. However, AA grew enormously in the
decades that Marty was active. Wherever she spoke, she generated extensive
publicity, and new AA members appeared in droves. Her appearances were
especially important in attracting women alcoholics. They figured that if a
person as impressive and inspiring as Marty could admit that she was an
alcoholic, they could too. Women like Betty Ford are direct inheritors of
Marty's example.
_____________
The following is from the 1980 Nov-Dec. Issue of ALCOHOLISM, "Pioneer,
Persuader, Inexhaustible Advocate, Marty Mann."
Included in the article is a tribute by Susan B. Anthony:
(Dr. Susan B. Anthony, author, lecturer, theologian, and counselor, is another
long-time friend and colleague of Marty's. The great niece and namesake of the
famous suffrage leader, she is currently lecturing on women and alcoholism,
and has authored seven books and many articles.)
Putting on paper my tributes to Marty helps alleviate the frustration I felt
when I could not get up north for her Memorial Services to share with old
friends of hers and mine.
What I did do when NCA called me to let me know of her death was to put my
emotion into prayer, for her and for us. Prayer was a gift that came some
years after sobering up in Marty's office on August 22, 1946.
I last spoke with Marty just a few weeks before her death, on July 3 when I
was visiting my sister. When I called her, she said in her rich, resonant
voice, "You just caught me. I am going out the door for the New Orleans AA
convention!"
She sounded buoyant and happy, her voice as young as the day I first met her
34 years ago. When I told her I had been one of the 500 nominated as public
members for the National Commission on Alcoholism and other Alcohol Related
Problems, she laughed "It's not 500, my dear, it's 700 or 800 nominees."
In July it seemed so natural that she was taking off for a talk. Just three
weeks before her death (even as my own great-aunt Susan B.) she was setting
forth for one last stint on the road. As her obituary in THE NEW YORK TIMES
said on July 24, Marty had averaged 200 lectures, all out of town, of course.
I was part of one of those flights, in 1977, en route to Des Moines, Iowa, to
keynote a conference commemorating the Council she and local friends had
started there. I had just spoken at another NCA conference celebrating her
birthday in Pennsylvania, flown home to Florida and was now flying to Des
Moines, getting off to be greeted by the program chairman when I saw Marty
ahead of me.
"Were you on that plane?" she asked. "I was in first class," she said
apologetically. "I sometimes splurge on that -- I get so tired."
She looked frail and I recalled the millions of miles she had journeyed for
alcoholism education, for alcoholics, miles that were marked by broken hips,
and illnesses. And that she felt she must apologize for the greater comfort of
first class, though she had passed three score years and ten!
When I couldn't get to her Memorial Service I wrote her family:
"My gratitude to Marty since sobering up in her office in 1946 surpasses even
my sympathy for you since we and the world know her work for alcoholics is
deathless."
I often wonder whether I would be alive and sober today if Marty had not
provided a quiet, private office uptown (at the old Academy of Medicine
Building, New York City) where a prima donna radio commentator, a woman at
that, could seek help for alcoholism. I was not ready at that point for the
old clubhouse downtown. Though Marty was not in the office that day of August
22, 1947, her aura dominated the pleasant serene office, and her volunteer AA
secretary carried the message to me, as Marty later did by her being as well
as by her sharing.
Marty provided not only a place in which I could sober up that day, but
equally important and seldom mentioned today when even wives of ex-presidents
come out of the closet as alcoholics, Marty provided a witness. She was the
first and a continual sign, a witness, that an upper middle class lady can
also become a low class drunk, and then climb back up from that bottom to new
heights.
I grew up thinking of my suffragist great aunt Susan B. as "The Mother of Us
All," the title Gertrude Stein gave to her opera about Aunt Susan. She was a
"mother" to us in the sense of her concern for our rights and our work. Marty,
I believe is "The mother of the woman alcoholic" not only the first to stay
sober in AA, but the first to carry the message to the outside, non-alcoholic
world, women and men, the message that alcoholism is a disease and that it is
treatable.
As Bill Wilson's (co-founder of AA) biographer, Robert Thomsen says: "Marty
was to become one of the pioneers in the field of alcoholism education, but at
this point she was primarily one of AA's spectacular recoveries." That was
when Marty, an "Attractive intelligent young woman with tremendous charm"
attended an early A meeting at Brooklyn. She instantly caught the message and
returned to Blythwood Sanitarium in Connecticut to spread the message among
other alcoholic patients of Dr. Harry Tiebout, one of the first medical
champions of AA.
Marty will go down in history as the founder and director in 1944 of the first
public health organization on alcoholism in history, the National Council on
Alcoholism. Her work finally lifted the nation's consciousness about
alcoholism so that the American Medical Association accepted that it is a
disease and that it is treatable. She went on to mold public opinion, laying
the ground work for the passage of the Hughes Act of 1970, the Comprehensive
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, treatment and Rehabilitation Act
under which the vast expansion of facilities for treatment has taken place,
providing networks of out-and inpatient clinics, detoxification and
rehabilitation programs.
A years before she died, Marty's 75th birthday was celebrated in advance by
our great friend and colleague, Felicia M. who put on a memorable party. It
was also her birthday, plus my 33rd anniversary sober. Among the three we
totaled 104 years of sobriety!
I spent much of my time with Marty that night trying to persuade her to
dictate her own autobiography now that she was less on the road. She dodged
and demurred. I realized that she had reached that stage I have observed
over the years of interviewing some leading men and women. Self as subject
bored her. She had become increasingly "unsettled" in her later years. She
didn't want to spend the time that was left writing about herself, so that
task remains for someone else to do, someone who knew her, or even some
younger woman.
Marty is a model for the young women of today, not only the model of an
"unselfed" sober woman. She is what I hoped to be when I was young, a
liberated woman. She became a crusader, reformer, educator, organizer,
agitator, lobbyist, a truly great speaker, a lucid writer, a great 12th
stepper. She addressed U.S. Congressional committees and joint sessions of
state legislatures. She received honorary degrees. She was liberated not only
from the disease of alcoholism but liberated from restrictions upon her as a
woman back in the 1940s when I was broadcasting on New York radio against
those restrictions. Marty transcended the double stigma of being a woman and
an alcoholic.
In so doing she incurred snubs, distastes and dislike, and controversy. Even
her best friends, her A.A. buddies, were critical of her. When I worked for
NCA back in Boston in 1949, doing the first radio program that ever broadcast
interviews with live alcoholics, I sensed that hostility of local AA's toward
Marty's program of educating the public on the disease of alcoholism. NCA was
only five years old then, my sobriety was only three years old. Even these
friends thought NCA was competitive with AA, that when Marty crusaded for
public education and prevention she somehow was detracting from AA. She didn't
need enemies among her own, but in those early days she had them. Happily she
outlived those misunderstandings.
When the history of alcoholism is written, this century will carry three names
ahead of the others, Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, co-founders of A.A. and
Marty Mann, pioneer woman AA member and pioneer alcoholism educator.
Marty lived to see her concern for women alcoholics begin to show results in
1976 when Jan du Plain launched NCA's office on women. In rapid succession
occurred the first national Congress of Task Forces on women and alcoholism,
then came a gathering of the alcohol establishment hosted by NCA and the U.S.
Senate subcommittee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, a reception in the Senate
Caucus room honoring my 30th anniversary sober. Growing out of this the next
month, September 1978, the first ever Congressional hearing on Women and
alcoholism was held.
At lunch a few weeks later, Marty rejoiced at all this headway and said, "Do
you realize, Susan, that a the age of sixty you have begun an entirely new
career?"
I asked what she meant. She said the lecture tour that was launched by massive
coverage of the Senate activities. It would in the next four years carry me
35,000 miles in 75 cities, 46 states and to Africa and Alaska speaking on
women and alcoholism.
Some of those talks were before the great main line women's organizations,
ranging from the National Federation of Business and Professional Women to
the Junior League. Marty herself had dreamed when first forming NCA that these
women's groups would grasp the importance of educating on the disease concept
of alcoholism, especially for girls and women. But in the 1940s they were
uninterested. Perhaps had they begun their efforts then, they might have
helped avert the epidemic of alcoholism among girls and women in the 1980s,
what I call the "age of anesthesia" that blankets us.
With their women's focus they might have seen as we do today that alcoholism
among women is different and distinct, and requires differences in prevention
and treatment. Women have problems that men do not have such as stigma,
discrimination, child care problems that bar women from residential treatment,
and Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
In November 1979, I added another career, private practice in alcoholism
counseling here in South Florida. Marty wrote me in her own hand her
encouragement and recommendation for my certification. It is a letter I shall
literally have framed. She wrote:
"Susan dear --
"Your activities exhaust me, just reading about them! and yet they too -- like
Jan's -- are a replica of my own pattern, so I understand and applaud you
--"Alcoholism needs people like us: 'dedicated idiots' Selden Bacon
once call Yev (Gardner) and me and we lifted it as our banner and proclaimed
it good, which wasn't what he had meant!
"Anyway - again you are in the pattern by turning to counseling, which is what
I do, plus a once weekly lecture at Silver Hill and Yev also, at Freeport
Hospital. So we've all come full circle, back to AA's one-on-one. It's good
and I love it. So will you."
I pray I will continue to be a "dedicated idiot" and as she said "a replica"
of her pattern, carrying the message as she did, until the day I die."
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++++Message 1697. . . . . . . . . . . . Texas Oldtimer, Clinton Ferrell, Dead
at 93
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/10/2004 6:55:00 AM
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A friend forwarded this to me. I don't know what paper it appeared in.
Nancy
Clinton Ferrell
KERMIT â€" Clinton Ferrell, a longtime resident of Kermit, Texas, passed away
Saturday, March 6, 2004, at the age of 93. He was born on August 3, 1910, in
Oklahoma. He married Sally Jones from Como, Texas, on June 17, 1938, in Pecos.
They moved to Kermit in 1938 and lived there continuously until Sally’s
death on Sept. 25, 1991. Clinton continued to live in Kermit and would
consider no other place as home.
Clinton is survived by his two sons, Freddie of Tucumcari, N.M., and Robert
“Buddy” of Austin, Texas.
Clinton touched the lives of many, many people throughout the years with his
kindness and generosity. He was well known for his fast cars, gun collections
and desire to live life to the fullest, but always with consideration for his
fellow man. One of Clinton’s greatest accomplishments was to recognize that
he was an alcoholic and to join AA on June 30, 1947, and to be a member for
the next 56 years. He would regularly attend the meeting of AA in Kermit three
times a week plus several other meeting each week in Monahans, Andrews,
Odessa, Midland and other places in the Permian Basin. Clinton had the
second-longest number of years of sobriety of anyone living in Texas, and he
was rightfully proud of that fact.
Clinton worked in the oil fields with his father in the 1930s, ’40s and
’50s. In the â€60s and â€70s, he worked in the car business, and in the
â€80s he served as constable of Winkler County until he retired (but didn’t
slow down). He had many friends in law enforcement and in particular the Texas
Rangers. To acknowledge all of the hundreds of friends of Clinton would take
the pages of an entire book, but special mention must go to Don and Debbie
Turner and their two kids, Derrick and Dessie Lou.
In lieu of recounting all the wonderful things Clinton did and the principles
for which he stood, it is hoped that everyone that knew him will take a moment
to reflect upon some experience they had with him and feel so very fortunate
to have known such a great man.
Funeral services will be held in Kermit at Cooper Funeral Chapel, Wednesday,
March 10, 2004, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to your
local AA group, for that is the way Clinton would have wanted it to be.
Services entrusted to Cooper Funeral Chapel.
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++++Message 1698. . . . . . . . . . . . Bert Taylor - Compiled From Old Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/11/2004 3:05:00 AM
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I am continuing to combine old posts, which are then deleted, in
order to make it easier for researchers to search the archives.
The following is excerpted from old posts by Charles K. and Rick
T.
Charles wrote that Bert Taylor was an early AA member who
borrowed $1,000.00 from a Mr. Cockran one of his customers and a
prohibitionist. "The loan was to help buy some time from the
printer until the Liberty Magazine article came out. Once that
article came out we sold some books were able to settle with the
printer and get the remaining Big Books out of hock, so to
speak. He also allowed meetings to be held in the loft in his
shop.
"Now whether the debt was not repaid on time or Bert just fell
on hard times is uncertain, but he did loose ownership of the
shop, but was able to keep his business and he died sober. He
also was one of the first Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation."
Rick responded to Charles' message:
"Much of this additional history was gleaned in on-site research
through minutes and correspondence at the GSO Archives....
"His $1,000 would have brought him 400 shares in Works
Publishing, and I'm sure he was able to cash in the shares, when
and if any of the loan was needed to be paid. There are scant
records on file of whose and how many shares were eventually
traded in to the
Alcoholic Foundation. The AF Trustees' ledgers remained pretty
thin for many years into the mid-1940s, and only a few shares
were probably ever recorded as 'bought back' by the Board of
Trustees. Bill wrote in 'AA Comes of Age'
about a few buy-backs, which turned out to be traded only at
face value."
Rick said he did not think Bert was a Trustee, but Charles
responded:
"I still believe Bert was a member of the Alcoholic Foundation,
only from what I have read.
"In the August 1947 Grapevine article 'Last Seven Years Have
Made AA self-supporting' Bill writes:
"'Two of the alcoholic members of our Foundation traveled out
among the AA groups to explain the need. They presented their
listeners with these ideas: that support of our Central Office
was a definite responsibility of the AA groups; that answering
written inquiries was a necessary assistance to our Twelfth Step
work; that we AAs ought to pay these office expenses ourselves
and rely no further upon outside charity or insufficient book
sales. The two trustees also suggested that the Alcoholic
Foundation be made a regular depository for group funds; that
the Foundation would earmark all group monies for Central Office
expenses only; that each month the Central Office would bill the
Foundation for the straight AA expenses of the place; that all
group contributions ought to be entirely voluntary; that every
AA group would receive equal service from the New York office,
whether it contributed or not. It was estimated that if each
group sent the Foundation a sum equal to $1 per member per year,
this might eventually carry our office, without other
assistance. Under this arrangement the office would ask the
groups twice yearly for funds and render, at the same time, a
statement of its expenses for the previous period.
'"Our two trustees, Horace C. and Bert T., did not come back
empty handed. Now clearly understanding the situation, most
groups began contributing to the Alcoholic Foundation for
Central Office expenses, and have continued to do so ever since.
In this practice the AA Tradition of self-support had a firm
beginning. Thus we handled the Saturday Evening Post article for
which thousands of AAs are today so grateful.' (Reprint of this
article can be found in 'Language of The Heart' see pages 64-65)
"Also from 'AA Comes Of Age'
"Page 186.........
"'At about this time our trusteeship began to be enlarged. Mr.
Robert Shaw, a lawyer and friend of Uncle Dick's, was elected to
the Board. Two New Yorkers, my friends Howard and Bert, were
also named. As time passed, these were joined by Tom B. and Dick
S. Dick had been one of the original Akronites and was now
living in New York. There was also Tom K., a hard-working and
conservative Jerseyman. Somewhat later more nonalcoholic,
notably Bernard Smith and Leonard Harrison, took up their long
season of service with us.'
"(FYI: This was around the time of the Rockefeller Dinner Feb.
1940, this also shows the alcoholic members of the Foundation
made up of more than just Bill & Dr. Bob. I have a copy of the
minutes of the Alcoholic Foundation in July 25, 1949. Dick S.,
Tom B, and Bernard Smith were already trustees of the Foundation
in 1949.)
"Page 192:
"'We also realized that these increased demands upon the office
could not be met out of book income. So for the first time we
asked the A.A. groups to help. Following the Post piece.
Trustees Howard and Bert went on the road, one to Philadelphia
and Washington, the other to Akron and Cleveland. They asked
that all A.A. groups contribute to a special fund in the
Foundation which would be earmarked 'for AA. office expenses
only.' The contributions would be entirely voluntary. As a
measuring stick, it was suggested that each group send in one
dollar per member per year.'
"Please let me repeat myself, I am not sure if this is the same
Bert T. that owned the Tailor Shop in New York, but sure sounds
like it to me. Rick, maybe on your next trip to the Archives in
New York you might look for the name Herbert F. Taylor. Again I
am not sure if this is the same person either, but his name and
signature appears on Works Publishing Company stock certificates
date September 26th 1940 (see 'AA Everywhere-Anywhere' the
souvenir book from the 1995 International Convention page 23)
and Bert is short for Herbert. I also have a photocopy of the
same stock certificate dated June 20th 1940 and his name is on
that one too, as president I might add . May have no connection
at all, but worth looking into.
"Well, I hope this sheds some light on the source for my
assumption that Bert the Tailor might have been a Trustee of the
Alcoholic Foundation. This has open a whole other question about
the early make up of the Alcoholic Foundation and I think I
might explore this to find out what I can."
The following is from Jim Burwell's memoirs:
"It was also in June of this year that we made our first contact
with the Rockerfeller Foundation. This was arranged by Bert
Taylor, one of the older members, who had known the family for
years in a business way. Dr. Richardson, who had long been
spiritual advisor for the Rockerfeller family, became very
interested and friendly, and Bill and Hank made frequent visits
to him, with Hank on one side asking for financial help and Bill
on the other insisting on moral support only."
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++++Message 1699. . . . . . . . . . . . International Conventions -- Part One
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/11/2004 1:09:00 PM
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A.A. International Convention, Cleveland, 1950:
The first A.A. International Convention was held in Cleveland July 28-30,
1950.
Prior to the first International Convention, the Cleveland fellowship of
Alcoholics Anonymous hosted a big meeting in June 1945 to celebrate A.A.’s
tenth anniversary. The speakers were Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Twenty-five hundred
people were in attendance, from 36 states and two Canadian provinces, and one
from Mexico. Obviously, Cleveland wanted to host the first International
Convention.
A.A. membership was approaching a hundred thousand and there were thirty-five
hundred groups worldwide. The decision to hold this first International
Convention was a fine example of how Bill Wilson was always able to stay on
top of trends that threatened to divide A.A. His enormous personal popularity
was the cement that bound A.A. together, but it was also something other
members of A.A. thought they would enjoy if they became A.A.'s head man.
By 1946 there were more than two thousand AA members in Cleveland, far more
than in New York. Chicago had more than twice as many members as New York, and
Detroit about as many as New York. Many people in these locations didn't see
why A.A. had to be run by Bill Wilson from New York.
Many state and regional A.A. conventions were being held, and Texas, among
others, was planning to hold its own international convention, independent of
New York and the Alcoholic Foundation.
Bill Wilson, with "Disraeli-like diplomacy," according to Francis Hartigan,
told the Texas AA members he thought it would be all right if they invited
whomever they wanted to their planned 1952 convention, but he suggested they
not call it an "international" convention because this could inspire other
states to do the same.
Bill then quickly began to organize an international convention of his own, to
be held before the planned Texas convention.
Three thousand people attended the first international convention in Cleveland
at the end of July 1950. This was the only International Convention attended
by Dr. Bob. His wife, Anne, had died the year before, and Bob was very ill
with cancer.
Bill chose Cleveland for several reasons:
(1) It would be possible for Dr. Bob to attend, since it was not far from
Akron.
(2) It had one of the largest and earliest concentrations of sober alcoholics.
(3) It was the home turf of Clarence Snyder (the "Home Brewmeister) who had
begun claiming that he was the founder of AA. He based this claim on the fact
that when the Cleveland members broke away from the Akron group because
priests were refusing to allow Catholics to attend Oxford Group meetings, the
Cleveland group was the first group that used the name Alcoholics Anonymous.
(4) Convention planning required a lot of cooperation between Cleveland,
Akron, and New York, which would help to ameliorate friction between the three
groups.
To demonstrate the significance of the greater whole to which each group was
joined, Bill opened the convention wearing a lei over his right shoulder. He
explained that it was a gift to all A.A.s from a group whose members would
never attend any A.A. gathering but their own, the A.A. group at the leper
colony in Hawaii.
Dr. Bob, whose cancer was painfully advanced, spoke only briefly. The
experience exhausted him. He left the convention early and was driven home to
Akron. He died within six months, November 16, 1950.
But during his brief talk he told the assembled members: "My good friends in
A.A. and of A.A., I feel I would be very remiss if I didn't take this
opportunity to welcome you here to Cleveland, not only to this meeting but
those that have already transpired. I hope very much that the presence of so
many people and the words that you have heard will prove an inspiration to you
-- not only to you, but may you be able to impart that inspiration to the boys
and girls back home who were not fortunate enough to be able to come. In other
words, we hope that your visit here has been both enjoyable and profitable.
"I get a big thrill out of looking over a vast sea of faces like this with a
feeling that possibly some small thing I did a number of years ago played an
infinitely small part in making this meeting possible. I also get quite a
thrill when I think that we all had the same problem. We all did the same
things. We all get the same results in proportion to our zeal and enthusiasm
and stick-to-itiveness.
"If you will pardon the injection of a personal note at this time, let me say
that I have been in bed five of the last seven months, and my strength hasn't
returned as I would like, so my remarks of necessity will be very brief.
"There are two or three things that flashed into my mind on which it would be
fitting to lay a little emphasis. One is the simplicity of our program. Let's
not louse it all up with Freudian complexes and things that are interesting to
the scientific mind but have very little to do with our actual A.A. work. Our
Twelve Steps, when immersed down to the last, resolve themselves into the
words 'love' and 'service.' We understand what love is, and we understand what
service is. So let's bear those two things in mind.
"Let us also remember to guard that erring member the tongue, and if we must
use it, let's use it with kindness and consideration and tolerance.
"And one more thing: None of us would be here today if somebody hadn't taken
time to explain things to us, to give us a little pat on the back, to take us
to a meeting or two, to do numerous little kind and thoughtful acts in our
behalf. So let us never get such a degree of smug complacency that we're not
willing to extend, or attempt to extend, to our less fortunate brothers that
help which has been so beneficial to us. Thank you very much."
Bill used his time on the platform to urge that AA unity be emphasized above
all else. It was here that he asked AA to approve the AA traditions, and to
agree to put into place the AA system of representation known as the AA
Conference. The longer form of the traditions had been shortened at the
suggestion and with the help of Earl Treat ("He Sold Himself Short) who
started AA in Chicago.
Among those who were opposing the conference idea was Henrietta Seiberling,
the Oxford Group non-alcoholic woman who had introduced Bill and Dr. Bob.
Despite Dr. Bob's support for the conference idea, the best that Bill could
obtain during the Cleveland convention was approval to try the conference idea
on an experimental basis.
Nonetheless, the Cleveland Convention was a memorable event. It not only
approved the Traditions, but it set precedent for International Conventions to
come. Since then, they have been held every five years.
Tex Brown was present at this convention, and described it to me at the 2000
International Convention in Minneapolis. I asked him to write it for posting.
This is part of what he wrote:
"In 1950 I attended the First International A. A. Convention in Cleveland.
This was a wonderful thing and a wonderful time. Everyone was excited about
everything. Especially getting to see and hear Bill and Dr. Bob. I think that
this was where we knew that A.A. was really working and that we were here to
stay.
"One special memory that I have was seeing an Amish family (my first) all
dressed up in their Sunday Meeting clothes, in a horsedrawn buggy on the
highway just outside of Cleveland. The next day on the floor of the big
meeting at the Convention, there they were. The driver of the buggy (Miles ?),
big hat and all, was running up and down the aisles shaking hands. He seemed
to know everybody. He was one of our early members.
"On Sunday morning the 'Spiritual Meeting' was held. I went much excited by
the prospect that I was going to rub elbows with the real heavy hitters in the
'God' department. I do not remember the name of the main speaker, but his
topic dealt with the idea that the alcoholic was to be the instrument that God
would use to regenerate and save the world. He expounded the idea that
alcoholics were God's Chosen People and he was starting to talk about 'The
Third Covenant,' (there are two previous covenants with the Jewish people
described in the Old Testament and the Christians, described in the New
Testament), when he was interrupted by shouted objections from the back of the
room. The objector, who turned out to be a small Catholic priest, would not be
hushed up.
"There was chaos and embarrassment as the meeting was quickly adjourned. I was
upset and in full sympathy with the poor speaker. I did not realize it at the
time, but I had seen Father Pfau (Fr. Ralph Pfau of Indianapolis) in action
and Father Pfau was right. I had heard the group conscience and I rejected
it."
But this is how Bill Wilson described the 1950 International Convention in a
talk he gave later:
"On A.A.'s 15th Anniversary everybody knew that we had grown up. There
couldn't be any doubt about it. Members, families and friends -- seven
thousand of them -- spent three inspiring, almost awesome days with our good
hosts at Cleveland.
"The theme song of our Conference was gratitude; its keynote was the sure
realization that we are now welded as one, the world over. As never before, we
dedicated ourselves to the single purpose of carrying good news of A.A. to
those millions who still don't know.
"As we affirmed the Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous, we asked that we might
remain in perfect unity under the Grace of God for so long as He may need us.
"Just what did we do? Well, we had meetings, lots of them. The medical
meeting, for instance. Our first and greatest friend Dr. Silkworth couldn't
get there. But his associate at Knickerbocker Hospital, New York, Dr. Meyer
Texon, most ably filled the gap, telling how best the general hospital could
relate itself to us. He clinched his points by a careful description how,
during the past four years at Knickerbocker, 5000 drunks had been sponsored,
processed and turned loose in A.A.; and this to the great satisfaction of
everybody concerned, including the hospital, whose Board was delighted with
the results and specially liked the fact that its modest charges were
invariably paid, money on the line. Who had ever heard of 5000 drunks who
really paid their bills? Then Dr. Texon brought us up to the minute on the
malady of alcoholism as they see it at Knickerbocker; he said it was a
definite personality disorder hooked to a physical craving. That certainly
made sense to most of us. Dr. Texon threw a heavy scare into prospective
'slippees.' It was that little matter of one's liver. This patient organ, he
said, would surely develop hob nails or maybe galloping cirrhosis, if more
guzzling went on. He had a brand new one too, about salt water, claiming that
every alcoholic on the loose had a big salt deficiency. Fill the victim with
salt water, he said, and you'd quiet him right down. Of course we thought,
'Why not put all drunks on salt water instead of gin? Then the world alcohol
problem might be solved overnight.' But that was our idea, not Dr. Texon's. To
him, many thanks.
"About the industrial meeting: Jake H., U.S. Steel, and Dave M., Dupont, both
A.A.s, led it. Mr. Louis Selser, Editor of the Cleveland Press, rounded out
the session and brought down the house. Jake, as an officer of Steel, told
what the company really thought about A.A. - and it was all good. Jake noted
A.A.'s huge collective earning power - somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 billion
of dollars annually. Instead of being a nerve-wracking drag on society's
collective pocket book, we were now, for the most part, top grade employables
who could contribute a yearly average of $4,000 apiece to our country's well
being. Dave M., personnel man at Dupont who has a special eye to the company's
alcohol problem, related what the 'New Look' on serious drinking had meant to
Dupont and its workers of all grades. According to Dave, his company believes
mightily in A.A.
"By all odds the most stirring testimony at the industrial seminar was given
by Editor Louis Selser. Mr. Selser spoke to us from the viewpoint of an
employer, citizen and veteran newspaper man. It was about the most moving
expression of utter confidence in Alcoholics Anonymous we had ever heard. It
was almost too good; its implications brought us a little dismay. How could we
fallible A.A.'s ever measure up to Mr. Selser's high hope for our future? We
began to wonder if the A.A. reputation wasn't getting far better than its
actual character.
"Next came that wonderful session on prisons. Our great friend, Warden Duffy
told the startling story of our original group at San Quentin. His account of
A.A.'s 5-year history there had a moving prelude. We heard a recording, soon
for radio release, that thrillingly dramatized an actual incident of A.A. life
within the walls. An alcoholic prisoner reacts bitterly to his confinement and
develops amazing ingenuity in finding and drinking alcohol. Soon he becomes
too ingenious. In the prison paint shop he discovers a promising fluid which
he shares with his fellow alcoholics. It was deadly poison. Harrowing hours
followed, during which several of them died. The whole prison was tense as the
fatalities continued to mount. Nothing but quick blood transfusions could save
those still living. The San Quentin A.A. Group volunteered instantly and spent
the rest of that long night giving of themselves as they had never given
before. A.A. hadn't been any too popular, but now prison morale hit an all
time high and stayed there. Many of the survivors joined up. The first Prison
Group had made its mark; A.A. had come to San Quentin to stay.
"Warden Duffy then spoke. Apparently we folks on the outside know nothing of
prison sales resistance. The skepticism of San Quentin prisoners and keepers
alike had been tremendous. They thought A.A. must be a racket. Or maybe a
crackpot religion. Then, objected the prison board, why tempt providence by
freely mixing prisoners with outsiders, alcoholic women especially. Bedlam
would be unloosed. But our friend the Warden, somehow deeply convinced,
insisted on A.A. To this day, he said, not a single prison rule has ever been
broken at an A.A. meeting though hundreds of gatherings have been attended by
hundreds of prisoners with almost no watching at all. Hardly needed is that
solitary, sympathetic guard who sits in the back row.
"The Warden added that most prison authorities throughout the United States
and Canada today share his views of Alcoholics Anonymous. Hitherto 8O% of
paroled alcoholic prisoners had to be scooped up and taken back to jail. Many
institutions now report that this percentage has dropped to one-half, even
one-third of what it used to be.
Warden Duffy had traveled 2000 miles to be with us at Cleveland. We soon saw
why. He came because he is a great human being. Once again, we A.A.'s sat and
wondered how far our reputation had got ahead of our character.
"Naturally we men folk couldn't go to the meeting of the alcoholic ladies. But
we have no doubt they devised ways to combat the crushing stigma that still
rests on those poor gals who hit the bottle. Perhaps, too, our ladies had
debated how to keep the big bad wolf at a respectful distance. But no, the
A.A. sister transcribing this piece crisply assures me nothing of the sort was
discussed. A wonderfully constructive meeting, she says it was. And about 500
girls attended. Just think of it, A.A. was four years old before we could
sober up even one. Life for the alcoholic woman is no sinecure.
"Nor were other special sufferers overlooked, such as paid Intergroup
secretaries, plain everyday secretaries, our newspaper editors and the wives
and husbands of alcoholics, sometimes known as our 'forgotten people.' I'm
sure the secretaries concluded that though sometimes unappreciated, they still
love every moment of their work.
"What the editors decided, I haven't learned. Judging from their telling
efforts over the years, it is altogether possible they came up with many an
ingenious idea.
"Everybody agreed that the wives (and husbands) meeting was an eye opener.
Some recalled how Anne S. in the Akron early days, had been boon companion and
advisor to distraught wives. She clearly saw alcoholism as a family problem.
"Meanwhile we A.A.'s went all out on the work of sobering up incoming alkies
by the thousands. Our good wives seemed entirely lost in that prodigious
shuffle. Lots of the newer localities held closed meetings only, it looked
like A.A. was going exclusive. But of late this trend has whipped about. More
and more our partners have been taking the Twelve Steps into their own lives.
As proof of this, witness the 12th step work they are doing with the wives and
husbands of newcomers, and note well those wives' meetings now springing up
everywhere.
"At their Cleveland gathering they invited us alcoholics to listen. Many an
A.A. skeptic left that session convinced that our 'forgotten ones' really had
something. As one alkie put it - 'The deep understanding and spirituality I
felt in that wives' meeting was something out of the world.'
"Far from it, the Cleveland Conference wasn't all meetings. Take that banquet,
for example. Or should I say banquets? The original blueprint called for
enough diners to fill the Rainbow Room of Hotel Carter. But the diners did
much better. Gay banqueters quickly overflowed the Ballroom. Finally the
Carter Coffee Shop and Petit Cafe had to be cleared for the surging
celebrants. Two orchestras were drafted and our fine entertainers found they
had to play their acts twice, both upstairs and down.
"Though nobody turned up tight, you should have heard those A.A.'s sing.
Slap-happy, they were. And why not? Yet a serious undertone crept in as we
toasted the absent ones. We were first reminded of the absent by that A.A.
from the Marshall Islands who, though all alone out there, still claimed his
group had three members, to wit: 'God, the book Alcoholics Anonymous and me.'
The first leg of his 7,000 mile journey to Cleveland had finished at Hawaii
whence with great care and refrigeration he had brought in a cluster of floral
tributes, those leis for which the Islands are famous. One of these was sent
by the A.A. lepers at Molokai - those isolated A.A.'s who will always be of
us, yet never with us. We swallowed hard, too, when we thought of Dr. Bob,
alone at home, gravely ill.
"Another toast of the evening was to that A.A. who, more than anything, wanted
to be at Cleveland when we came of age. Unhappily he never got to the
Tradition meeting, he had been carried off by a heart attack. His widow came
in his place and she cheerfully sat out that great event with us. How well her
quiet courage will be remembered. But at length gaiety took over; we danced
till midnight. We knew the absent ones would want it that way.
"Several thousand of us crowded into the Cleveland Music Hall for the
Tradition meeting, which was thought by most A.A.'s to be the high point of
our Conference. Six old time stalwarts, coming from places as far flung as
Boston and San Diego, beautifully reviewed the years of A.A. experience which
had led to the writing of our Traditions. Then I was asked to sum up, which I
did, saying: 'That, touching all matters affecting A.A. unity, our common
welfare should come first; that A.A. has no human authority - only God as He
may speak in our Group Conscience; that our leaders are but trusted servants,
they do not govern; that any alcoholic may become an A.A. member if he says so
-- we exclude no one; that every A.A. Group may manage its own affairs as it
likes, provided surrounding groups are not harmed thereby; that we A.A.'s have
but a single aim -- the carrying of our message to the alcoholic who still
suffers; that in consequence we cannot finance, endorse or otherwise lend the
name 'Alcoholics Anonymous' to any other enterprise, however worthy; that
A.A., as such, ought to remain poor, lest problems of property, management and
money divert us from our sole aim; that we ought to be self-supporting, gladly
paying our small expenses ourselves; that A.A. should forever remain
non-professional, ordinary 12th step work never to be paid for; that, as a
Fellowship, we should never be organized but may nevertheless create
responsible Service Boards or Committees to insure us better propagation and
sponsorship and that these agencies may engage full time workers for special
tasks; that our public relations ought to proceed upon the principle of
attraction rather than promotion, it being better to let our friends recommend
us; that personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and pictures ought to
be strictly maintained as our best protection against the temptations of power
or personal ambition; and finally, that anonymity before the general public is
the spiritual key to all our traditions, ever reminding us we are always to
place principles before personalities, that we are actually to practice a
genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us;
that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over
us all.
"So summing up, I then inquired if those present had any objections to the
Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous as they stood. Hearing none, I
offered our Traditions for adoption. Impressively unanimous, the crowd stood
up. So ended that fine hour in which we of Alcoholics Anonymous took our
destiny by the hand.
"On Sunday morning we listened to a panel of four A.A.'s who portrayed the
spiritual side of Alcoholics Anonymous -- as they understood it. What with
churchgoers and late-rising banqueters, the Conference Committee had never
guessed this would be a heavy duty session. But churchgoers had already
returned from their devotions and hardly a soul stayed abed. Hotel Cleveland's
ballroom was filled an hour before hand. People who have fear that A.A. is
losing interest in things of the spirit should have been there.
"A hush fell upon the crowd as we paused for a moment of silence. Then came
the speakers, earnest and carefully prepared, all of them. I cannot recall an
A.A. gathering where the attention was more complete, or the devotion deeper.
"Yet some thought that those truly excellent speakers had, in their
enthusiasm, unintentionally created a bit of a problem. It was felt the
meeting had gone over far in the direction of religious comparison, philosophy
and interpretation, when by firm long standing tradition we A.A.'s had always
left such questions strictly to the chosen faith of each individual.
"One member [Fr. Ralph Pfau] rose with a word of caution. As I heard him, I
thought, 'What a fortunate occurrence. How well we shall always remember that
A.A. is never to be thought of as a religion. How firmly we shall insist that
A.A. membership cannot depend upon any particular belief whatever; that our
twelve steps contain no article of religious faith except faith in God -- as
each of us understands Him. How carefully we shall henceforth avoid any
situation which could possibly lead us to debate matters of personal religious
belief. It was, we felt, a great Sunday morning.
"That afternoon we filed into the Cleveland Auditorium. The big event was the
appearance of Dr. Bob. Earlier we thought he'd never make it, his illness had
continued so severe. Seeing him once again was an experience we seven thousand
shall always treasure. He spoke in a strong, sure voice for ten minutes, and
he left us a great heritage, a heritage by which we A.A.'s can surely grow. It
was the legacy of one who had been sober since June 10, 1935, who saw our
first Group to success, and one who, in the fifteen years since, had given
both medical help and vital A.A. to 4,000 of our afflicted ones at good St.
Thomas Hospital in Akron, the birthplace of Alcoholics Anonymous. Simplicity,
devotion, steadfastness and loyalty; these, we remembered, were the hallmarks
of that character which Dr. Bob had well implanted in so many of us. I, too,
could gratefully recall that in all the years of our association there had
never been an angry word between us. Such were our thoughts as we looked at
Dr. Bob.
"Then for an hour I tried to sum up. Yet how could one add much to what we had
all seen, heard and felt in those three wonderful days? With relief and
certainty we had seen that A.A. could never become exhibitionistic or big
business; that its early humility and simplicity is very much with us, that we
are still mindful our beloved Fellowship is really God's success - not ours.
As evidence I shared a vision of A.A. as Lois and I saw it unfold on a distant
beach head in far Norway. The vision began with one A.A. who listened to a
voice in his conscience, and then said all he had.
"George, a Norwegian-American, came to us at Greenwich, Connecticut, five
years ago. His parents back home hadn't heard from him in twenty years. He
began to send letters telling them of his new freedom. Back came very
disquieting news. The family reported his only brother in desperate condition,
about to lose all through alcohol. What could be done? The A.A. from Greenwich
had a long talk with his wife. Together they took a decision to sell their
little restaurant, all they had. They would go to Norway to help the brother.
A few weeks later an airliner landed them at Oslo. They hastened from field to
town and thence 25 mile down the fjord where the ailing brother lived. He was
in a bad state all right. Unfortunately, though, everybody saw it but him.
He'd have no A.A., no American nonsense. He an alcoholic? Why certainly not!
Of course the man from Greenwich had heard such objections before. But now
this familiar argument was hard to take. Maybe he had sold all he had for no
profit to anybody. George persisted every bit he dared, but finally surmised
it was no use. Determined to start an A.A. Group in Norway, anyhow, he began a
round of Oslo's clergy and physicians. Nothing happened, not one of them
offered him a single prospect. Greatly cast down, he and his wife thought it
high time they got back to Connecticut.
"But Providence took a hand. The rebellious Norwegian obligingly tore off on
one of his fantastic periodics. In the final anguish of his hangover he cried
out to the man from Greenwich, 'Tell me again of the Alcoholics Anonymous,
what, oh my brother, shall I do?' With perfect simplicity George retold the
A.A. story. When he had done, he wrote out, in his all but forgotten
Norwegian, a longhand translation of a little pamphlet published by the White
Plains, N.Y. Group. It contained, of course, our Twelve Steps of recovery. The
family from Connecticut then flew away home. The Norwegian brother, himself a
typesetter, commenced to place tiny ads in the Oslo newspapers. He explained
he was a recovered alcoholic who wished to help others. At last a prospect
appeared. When the newcomer was told the story and shown the White Plains
pamphlet, he, too, sobered instantly. The founders to be then placed more ads.
"Three years after, Lois and I alighted upon that same airfield. We then
learned that Norway has hundreds of A.A.'s. And good ones. The men of Oslo had
already carried the life -- giving news to other Norwegian cities and these
beacons burned brightly. It had all been just as simple, but just as
mysterious as that.
"In the final moments of our historic Conference it seemed fitting to read
from the last chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. These were the words we took
home with us: 'Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your
faults to Him and your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give
freely of what you find, and join us. We shall be with you, in the Fellowship
of The Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the road of
happy destiny. May God bless you and keep you -- until then.'"
Sources:
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age
Pass It On
Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers
Bill W., by Francis Hartigan
Getting Better, Inside Alcoholics Anonymous, by Nan Robertson
Communications from Tex Brown.
An undated talk by Bill Wilson.
Sarah P â€" GAO staff
__________
A.A. International Convention, St. Louis, 1955.
The second International Convention was held in St. Louis in 1955, and perhaps
the most important one ever held. It was the convention at which Bill
announced that A.A. had now "come of age." The five-year trial period for the
General Service Conference plan was over, and this time Bill received no
opposition to his plan.
There were five thousand members with their families and friends in the
audience. For three days they met to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of
the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. St. Louis was another centrally located
city, and for Bill personally had the advantage that it was the hometown of
Fr. Ed Dowling, his spiritual sponsor.
In addition to Fr. Dowling, many other persons important to AA history were
there: Rev. Sam Shoemaker; Dr. W.W. Bauer of the American Medical Association;
Bernard Smith, then chairman of the General Service Board; penologist Austin
MacCormick (between his two terms as trustee); Henry Mielcarek, corporate
personnel expert, Dr. Jack Norris; and Dr. Harry Tiebout. Many of them
addressed the convention and their talks are included in "Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age."
Dr. Leonard Strong, Bill's brother-in-law, couldn't make it to St. Louis,
which disappointed Bill. Bernard Smith chaired the convention. Nell Wing
wrote:
"When Bill was trying to push through the idea of the conference, Bern Smith
was the only trustee -- or, anybody -- supporting him, and it was he who
finally brought a majority of the other trustees around to accept the
conference on a trial basis. He also helped Bill put together the proposed
General Service Conference structure; Bill called him 'the architect of the
conference.' Stocky in build, quick of wit and mind, perceptive, he also
relished a few drinks. He sometimes referred to himself as a 'so-called
nonalcoholic.' He was devoted to Bill and to A.A. until his untimely death a
month after substituting for Bill at the 35th Anniversary Convention in
Miami."
Ebby Thatcher, whom Bill always called his sponsor, was there as Bill's
special guest, brought up from Texas, where he had moved the year before.
Another special guest in St. Louis was Bill's mother, Dr. Emily Strobell. She
had divorced his father and left Bill with her parents when he was eleven
years old, and, according to Nell, "Bill seemed desperate to seek his mother's
approval all his life. ... He particularly wanted to have her with him at this
special convention to hear him speak and see how the members and friends
reacted to his contributions. Bill said it was 'the icing on the cake' for
him."
Nell added: "At the convention, I didn't see how Dr. Emily could have helped
but be impressed with her son, but she didn't show too much reaction one way
or the other."
Lois, of course, was also there contributing her ideas, enthusiasm and energy,
primarily concentrating on her Al-Anon Family Groups. On the Sunday afternoon
of the closing "coming of age" part of the program, she was the first speaker
in Kiel Auditorium after the vote to turn over leadership to the Fellowship
had been taken.
The second edition of the Big Book was published just in time for the St.
Louis convention, and was designed to show the broader range of the
membership. The original text of the first 11 chapters was essentially
unchanged, but Bill had worked hard to get new stories, often going to a group
with the express purpose of taping the stories of various oldtimers. In
addition to Bill's story and that of Dr. Bob, six others were carried over
from the first edition; 30 new stories were included; and the present division
of the story section into three parts was instituted.
Bill gave three major talks. On the first night Bill talked of what he called
the first of the three legacies: "How We Learned to Recover." His second talk
dealt with the second legacy "How We Learned to Stay Together." His third talk
was on the third legacy: "How We Learned to Serve."
Four o'clock Sunday afternoon was reserved for the final meeting of the 1955
General Service Conference. This was the occasion on which Bill formally
turned over the stewardship of A.A. to the General Service Conference, giving
up his own official leadership and acknowledging that AA was responsible for
its own affairs. He would later say: "Clearly my job henceforth was to let go
and let God. Alcoholics Anonymous was at last safe -- even from me."
Robert Thomsen wrote: "No one in Kiel Auditorium on the last afternoon of the
'55 convention would ever forget the sense of expectancy when Bill again stood
before them and they waited for him to speak. He seemed to have grown, to be
somehow a little larger than life, a man who just naturally created memories.
If Bill W. had engaged a Madison Avenue, PR firm, one old-timer recalled, and
if this firm had worked around the clock on his account, they could never have
done for him what he without even trying did for himself that afternoon. There
had always been a powerful affinity between Bill and the imagination of
alcoholics, and now this could be felt in the farthest corners of Kiel
Auditorium. Even at a distance one got the impression of a tall, thin,
completely relaxed man, yet with a tremendous inner energy; a personality that
carried over big spaces -- that indeed seemed to expand when confronted with
bigness. A warm light played over his face as he squared his shoulders and
then leaned slightly forward across the lectern like some old backwoods
statesman who'd stopped by for a chat. He was imposing, yet friendly, radiant
but homespun."
Bill wrote his history of this convention because he wanted to make sure that
nobody misunderstood what had happened at St. Louis. "Pass It On," p. 359
says: "In many ways, 'Alcoholic Anonymous Comes of Age' is a masterpiece.
Deceptively simple in its guise as a log of the three-day proceedings, it is
actually an entire history of the Fellowship and its place in society, with
whole sections given over to the vision of A.A. as held by those in society at
large -- men of industry, doctors, minister, and trustees -- who lived in
close relationship to the Fellowship. Published in 1957, it is Bill's
penultimate book."
While Bill had stepped down at St. Louis, Dennis Manders, longtime controller
at the General Service Office said "Bill would spend the next 15 years
stepping down." Everybody -- including Bill -- was having difficulty letting
go.
Bill continued to write, multitudinous letters, plus "AA's Twelve Concepts of
Service" and the "AA General Service Manual," which together form a kind of
constitution and a governmental structure of A.A.
The AA Concepts don't have the elegance of AA's Twelve Steps or its Twelve
Traditions, nor are they well known to many AA members. The Twelve Concepts
represent a unique and fascinating set of principles that describe the right
of AA's leaders to speak and act for the fellowship while establishing written
guaranties for individual freedom and minority rights. The Concepts were
conceived to protect the fellowship from becoming a top-down rather than a
bottom-up organization.
In June of 1958 Bill wrote to Sam Shoemaker: "St. Louis was a major step
toward my own withdrawal [but] I understand that the father symbol will always
be hitched to me. Therefore, the problem is not how to get rid of parenthood,
it is how to discharge mature parenthood properly. A dictatorship always
refuses to do this, and so do the hierarchical churches. They sincerely feel
that their several families can never be enough educated (or spiritualized) to
properly rid their own destinies. Therefore, people who have to live within
the structure of dictatorships and hierarchies must lose, to a greater or
lesser degree, the opportunity of really growing up. I think A.A. can avoid
this temptation to concentrate its power, and I truly believe that it is going
to be intelligent enough and spiritualized enough to rely on our group
conscience. I feel a complete withdrawal on my part should be tried. Were any
major structural flaws to develop later that I might help to repair, of course
I would return. Otherwise, I think I should resolutely stay away. There are
few, if any, historical precedents to go by; one can only see what happens.
"This is going to leave me in a state of considerable isolation. Experience
already tells me that if I'm within range of A.A. requests or demands, there
are almost impossible to refuse. Could I achieve enough personal freedom, my
main interest would almost surely become these:
"(1) To bring into the field of the general neurosis which today afflicts
nearly everybody, such experience as A.A. has had. This could be of value to
many groups working in this field.
"(2) Throughout A.A., we find a large amount of psychic phenomena, nearly all
of it spontaneous. Alcoholic after alcoholic tells me of such experiences and
ask if these denote lunacy -- or do they have real meaning? These psychic
experiences have run nearly the full gamut of everything we see in the books.
In addition to my original mystic experience, I've had a lot of such
phenomenalism myself."
The letter goes on to discuss this second item in great detail. The complete
letter can be found on pages 373-376 of "Pass It On."
Bill and Dr. Jack Norris had some correspondence on the subject of Bill's
responsibility as a living founder. Dr. Jack wrote: "You cannot escape being
'Bill W.' -- nor would you, really, even though at times you will rebel. The
best bets are made with all possible information in hand and considered. I am
reminded of a poem written by the mother of a small child, in which she says,
'I am tied down' and goes on to list the ways she is captive, ending with the
phrase 'Thank God I am tied down.' To few men has it ever been given to be the
'father image' in so constructive a way to so many; fewer have kept their
stability and humility, and for this you are greatly honored. But you are
human, and you still carry the scars of alcoholism and need, as I do, to live
A.A. The greatest danger that I sense to the Fellowship is that you might lose
A.A. as it applies to you."
Sources:
Pass It On
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age
Grateful To Have Been There, by Nell Wing
Bill W., by Francis Hartigan
__________
A.A. International Convention, Long Beach, 1960.
The third A.A. International Convention was held in Long Beach, California, in
1960.
There were twice as many people at Long Beach as at St. Louis, but the
convention seemed to be fraught with problems from the beginning. Hank G., who
was then manager of the General Service Office, was handling the preparation
for this convention, but while visiting Las Vegas with his wife on his way to
California he was stricken with appendicitis and ended up in a hospital.
Then Herb M., the chairman of the trustees' General Services Committee, who
was probably the next best person for the job, took over, but he was suddenly
stricken with a heart attack in upstate New York.
So at the very last moment another trustee, Allen B., stepped in to handle the
planning. Nell Wing, Bill's secretary, said that Allen was "a good
administrator, extremely capable and well-liked." He was assisted by an Al S.
Bill, accompanied by Allen, someone named Dennis Manders (whom I haven't
identified), and a staff secretary named Hazel R., went out to California
several days early to help prepare.
Lois and Nell Wing followed on the flight on which Bill had originally been
scheduled. When they landed, they were met by members of the hospitality
committee. After greeting Lois the committee members continued to wait around
until Lois asked if they were ready to leave. They replied, "We're waiting for
Bill's Chinese secretary." Lois laughed and said, "This is Nell Wing right
here," pointing to the obviously Caucasian Nell.
Nell said that "Bill planned to make a major talk on Saturday night. He wanted
it to be the definitive story of the how and why of the Twelve Traditions. But
because of the many distractions resulting from Hank's illness, Bill hadn't
had the time to prepare for this important talk. Nell spent the whole day
Saturday with him going over and over the outline and notes for the speech. "I
typed and retyped them as he changed and added," she wrote. "Finally, we left
for the open-air stadium on the ocean where the huge crowd had gathered."
A record cold spell hit Long Beach, which is extremely rare for July in that
part of the world. Nobody had brought any warm clothes, so in contrast to St.
Louis where Nell says they "almost melted," they almost froze.
Bill was very long winded that night. (It's always easier to give a shorter
talk if you have adequate time to prepare.) He went on and on for more than
two hours. Nell said it was the longest talk he ever made. To make matters
worse, the public address system did not work well and Lois and the trustees,
who were seated on the stage behind the podium, couldn't hear a word for the
entire two hours.
Bill later was often teased about his "Deepfreeze Talk" -- as he himself
described it. Amazingly, according to Nell, almost everyone stayed until the
end, shivering and shaking.
On Sunday, in the same stadium, the people who attended the conference were
treated to a spectacular show featuring a popular orchestra and some of
Hollywood's brightest stars including Buster Keaton, Jane Mansfield, Dennis
Day, and Peggy Lee -- all of whom donated their talent without charge.
Bill B., an entertainer who was the Master of Ceremonies, kidded Bill lovingly
about the length of the talk. Nell said that Bill laughed, too, and took it
all in good humor.
I'm sure everyone fortunate enough to be able to attend this convention came
away greatly edified. Nonetheless, there were problems. At least one oldtimer
felt hurt that he wasn't given recognition. Jim Burwell, an early New York
member (then living in California), whose story "The Vicious Cycle" appears in
the Big Book, apparently had written Bill asking for some role at the
convention. I assume this from a letter Bill wrote Jim on July 1, 1958. It
said in part: "I note that what you say about the upcoming 1960 Conference and
will suggest your name to the committee. They tell me there is still some
question whether Long Beach will be big enough to accommodate the crowd.
Judging, however, by the action of the Conference, I think we shall make the
best of what is there. It is certainly the largest center of population and
this would guarantee the gate at once."
Jim must have written again asking for recognition of "oldtimers" because Bill
wrote him on May 24, 1960: "I wish we had thought of an oldtimers meeting
earlier. I'm taking this up with the office, but I imagine the schedule is
pretty tight, as matters now stand. I don't know how we would go about getting
such a crowd together - where and how we would find them and so forth. But
I'll inquire."
Jim must have complained bitterly again to Bill about the convention because
Bill wrote a very tactful letter to him on August 8, 1960, just a short time
after the convention ended. In it he said in part:
"Very sincerely I feel not a little badly that the convention gave you and
perhaps other very old timers, an unhappy experience because of the lack of
recognition. When you wrote me, not too long before the Convention, about the
possibility of an old timers meeting, I did check this up. The schedule was
then in pretty air-tight shape, so far as the official sessions went. Perhaps
I should have followed this thing through more fully, trying to get some sort
of informal meeting together.
"As you know, Hank got awfully sick just prior to the Convention. This threw
added burdens on me. I must confess to neglect and forgetfulness -- at least
to some extent. As a matter of fact, the Convention ran a little bit behind
several thousands, we don't know just how much yet. There was always a
question of how many people we could bring long distances pre-paid, and on
what ground we could fetch them. In this connection, I did [not] give you and
Rosa much thought because you [live] near by. But I did think a good deal
about Henrietta Seiberling and Bob Oviatt in Akron, both of whom preceded you,
I think, A.A.-wise.
"Admittedly, I did not think of Clarence. Probably this is because he has
always disapproved of conventions and all of the doings of the New York
headquarters -- off and on he has had us under bitter attack for years. I
didn't mean to let that affect me, but subconsciously maybe it did. In any
case, you will surely remember that I tried to give all possible credit in
'A.A. Comes of Age' to you, Bert, Dorothy, Clarence, and a great many others.
"Considering the time at my disposal, I did not see how you people could have
been introduced in either of my talks. In the first one I could only show the
bare beginnings of A.A. In the second one - which was altogether too long - I
had to dwell on the development of the Traditions. I really don't see where
you folks would have fitted in - at least to the satisfaction of the audience
- in that respect. Naturally I had to bring in Ebby because, despite his lack
of sobriety since, he was at the very beginning. Sister Ignatia was certainly
due for a bow after all these years. After all, she and Smith ministered to
5,000 drunks - a number far greater than you and I ever thought of touching
ourselves.
"In this connection I also felt not a little sorry that Henrietta wasn't
invited. There was not only the question of cost. Though she has been
extremely friendly during the last two or three years, it must be remembered
that she has never cared for the convention idea and indeed, was against the
whole New York headquarters operation for many years. For several reasons she
wasn't invited.
"Maybe that was a mistake. I know that, for one, I was damn sorry she wasn't
there. However, I wasn't the entire boss of this whole undertaking, by any
means.
"I don't know whether you and Dorothy got to say anything at those Alkathon
meetings. Some of them were very outstanding indeed, and apparently rated much
higher in many A.A. minds than any of my efforts. If you were not invited,
this [is] surprising indeed, considering how prominent you, especially, have
been out on the Coast, well known to everybody. If this was an omission, it
certainly gives me cause for wonder, as doubtless it does you. However, those
arrangements were all made by the Coast people.
"Nevertheless I suppose if I had been thoughtful enough about it - which I
wasn't - I might have taken particular pains.
"I guess the upshot of it is that life never gives quite the deal we would
like. On one hand, you say that you suffer from lack of recognition, and I say
with certain equal fervor that I greatly suffer from far too much."
One can feel some pain for Bill in his efforts to keep so very many alcoholics
-- most of us with oversized egos -- happy and working together.
Sources:
Grateful To Have Been There, by Nell Wing
Bill W. correspondence.
__________
A.A. International Convention, Toronto, 1965.
The fourth International Convention was held in Toronto, Canada, in July 1965.
Bill and Lois were, of course, prominent on the program, and at that time many
of the old-timers were still active and at the convention.
Nell Wing, Bill's secretary, particularly remembered Clarence Snyder, who
started A.A. in Cleveland. She said that Bill spent "a couple of hours" in
Clarence's hotel suite reminiscing about the early days.
This surprised Nell, who pointed out: "He started a group in Cleveland in May
1939, the first group, as far as we know, to use the A.A. initials. (Bill had
been using the full name since 1938 in letters and a pamphlet.) On this
slender basis, Clarence forever claimed to have founded A.A."
"As long as Bill was alive," Nell notes, "Clarence was antagonistic and
hostile toward him. He was a leader of a small group of dissidents, who were
anti-Conference and anti-G.S.O., and who bad-mouthed Bill for many years. And
here was Bill in Toronto, chatting and chuckling with his bĂŞte noire and
enjoying it all. I believe that was the last time they met together." Nell
adds that a "feisty priest who had threatened to disrupt the 'Coming of Age'
ceremony in St. Louis, was at this convention also, but now he was loving and
kind to Bill and Lois and everyone else. He had just returned from an audience
with the Pope in Rome, bearing a citation for Bill. It hangs now on the wall
at Stepping Stones." [Was this Ralph Pfau?]
The film "Bill's Own Story," which Nell had watched being made at Stepping
Stones, was shown for the first time in Toronto. It was well received and has
been reproduced in several languages since then.
One person who made Toronto such a significant convention: Al S.. Al, an
advertising and film man in New York, had joined the fellowship in March 1944.
"Within a month," Nell Wing reports, "he was 'into action,' as the Big Book
says. Among his many contributions to A.A., he helped re-form the Manhattan
group, and also helped organize another club for A.A.s on Forty-first Street.
He helped structure the New York Intergroup, for which he served as secretary
and director. While there, he and another member, George B., were instrumental
in persuading Knickerbocker Hospital to set aside a ward just for alcoholics
under the sponsorship of A.A. -- the first such general hospital in New York
to do so."
Nell notes that by late 1948, Al had become editor of the Grapevine. During
the time he worked on the Grapevine, he also served as a director of A.A.
Publishing, Inc. (an earlier name of AA World Services, Inc. From 1958 to
1961, he was a director of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc., and a trustee on the
General Service Board.
He attended, until his death, every International Convention and contributed
to the success of them all. He was a valued friend of Bill's, according to
Nell, and Bill solicited Al's views and comments on all his books and other
writings. Nell adds: "Lois put it succinctly: 'Bill and Al were buddies.'"
It was also Al S. who composed the "I am Responsible" pledge for the
convention in Toronto.
Nell writes:
"I will never forget -- nor will anyone who was there -- the moving ceremony
of rededication on Saturday evening in the Maple Leaf Gardens auditorium. The
crowd of more than 10,000 rose and joined the conference delegates, trustees,
and A.A. representatives from 21 countries up on the stage in repeating the
declaration. They clasped hands and loudly pronounced in one tremendous,
strong voice: 'I am responsible when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I
want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.'
"There was a special spirit about the Toronto Convention. Many people say it
was the best ever."
Source:
Grateful To Have Been There, by Nell Wing
__________
A.A. International Convention, Miami, 1970.
The fifth AA International Convention was held in Miami in 1970. It was the
first one that I attended.
Nell Wing, Bill's secretary, wrote: "More than 13,000 members and their
families came from all over the world to see the cofounder and hear him speak,
as he had at all previous conventions, and to participate in the wide-ranging
program."
Arriving at the Fountainbleu Hotel, where the convention was held, I was
thrilled to meet members from many countries. Nell said there were many from
Latin America.
I also was delighted -- typical A.A. member that I am -- to see that free
coffee was being offered in the lobby. But when I looked for some later it was
all gone. Nell explained that the host committee in Miami, chaired by Wes P.,
"one of the more colorful members," had raised about $10,000 from local groups
to provide complimentary coffee. But $10,000 worth of coffee doesn't last
long, especially at hotel prices, with that many A.A. members hanging around.
It may have been Wes P. who drove me around Miami one day. When I noticed
people on the street pointing at the car and smiling, he explained that the
license plate on the front of the car read "Alcoholism is a Treatable
Disease." He gave me one of these license plates to take back to Washington as
a gift for Senator Harold Hughes, an AA member.
On another occasion, a taxi driver taking me to the Fountainbleu, asked if I
were there for the AA convention. I told him I was. He admitted his worry
about his own drinking, and I wound up spending considerable time doing 12th
step work.
Other memories of the convention include the wonderful entertainment. An A.A.
member who was a professional comedian did an act in which he pretended to be
drunk. He pretended he was doing live commercial breaks during a movie being
shown on TV. During each pretended commercial break he would take a drink of
the alcoholic product, talking about it's fine bouquet, excellent flavor, etc.
Each time he did the live commercial, of course, he was a little more drunk.
He said at the end "I can't tell you how many thousands of dollars it cost me
to learn that routine."
A Florida A.A. member told me a few years ago that she thinks it was Foster
Brooks, "who always did a drunken skit, even though he was a very sober member
of AA at the time." He often appeared on the Dean Martin show, and was also
appeared with Rowan and Martin. He, like Bill Wilson, died as a result of his
addiction to cigarettes.
I also remember the "Alkathons," AA meetings going on constantly 24 hours a
day. I had been invited by GSO to speak at one of them. (Senator Hughes had
been invited to speak at one of the big meetings, but declined because of the
legislative schedule at the time. Well, that was his excuse anyway. I think he
really declined because he knew he had been invited because of the celebrity
he was then receiving as the leading "dark horse" for the Presidential
Democratic nomination. He hated being invited to speak at A.A. functions
because he was a "big name."
At the opening session, we were disappointed not to see Bill. As Nell wrote:
"His life long cigarette habit had caught up with him in the form of
emphysema, even though he had given up smoking the year before."
He had suffered a fall in the spring of 1969, from which according to Nell, he
had never fully recovered. (However, when he came to Washington to testify
before Senator Hughes' Subcommittee in July of 1969, he seemed in good health.
I don't remember whether he was smoking, but if he had already given it up
because of his emphysema, it must have grieved him to see Senator Hughes --
who also died of emphysema -- chain smoking the entire time.) But a year
later, at the time of this convention, Bill's health had deteriorated greatly.
That April he was unable to complete his opening talk at the annual General
Service Conference.
Despite his ill health, he had flown to Miami with Lois and Nell a few days
before the convention. But it became clear that he was not going to be able to
keep his scheduled appearances. Once or twice a day he was taken back and
forth to the Miami Health Clinic. Nell reported that: "Lois, Bob H., general
manager of A.A.'s General Service Office, and Dr. Jack were spread pretty thin
trying to cope, trying to keep the huge convention going and easing anxiety
caused by Bill's failure to appear. I was caring for Bill in their suite
upstairs at the hotel. It was during that week that he began hallucinating,
imagining he had made a long-distance call. It was terribly distressing for
Lois."
She remembers Lois's courage and determination to carry on with the Al-Anon
programs. Nell thinks that Al-Anon more than ever "came of age" at this
convention, with its own program of events and big crowds in its own
headquarters hotel, the Eden Roc, next to the Fountainbleu.
When the press conference was held the Wednesday afternoon before the
convention began, Marty Mann and Dr. Jack Norris substituted for Bill. Bernard
Smith, a past chairman of the GSO Board, substituted for Bill at the opening
session. Nell said that Bernie Smith was a "little disgruntled" to be called
down from New York on short notice, and asked her to help him adapt a talk
from a previous conference. They finished the talk by one or two o'clock,
after which he got in some golf. On Sunday, he apologized to Nell for his
irritability the day before.
Poor Nell was so exhausted that she slept in Sunday morning and missed the
program. But I was there, with the thousands of others. And I was not
disappointed. Late in the morning, a wheelchair appeared from the back of the
stage, and there was Bill. He was hooked up with tubes to an oxygen tank, and
had insisted on wearing one of the orange-colored blazers that identified the
Miami host committee.
When we realized it was Bill, we rose as one and exploded with applause and
cheers. Bill was wheeled to the front of the stage and pulled himself up to
his full height at the rostrum. He spoke for only a few minutes, but his voice
was strong and clear. He seemed almost like the old Bill so many of us
remembered.
He talked of how happy he was about the large attendance, especially the
members from other countries, and about how much it meant to him to see A.A.'s
enormous growth and to have been a part of it. And then he ended by saying:
"As I look out this morning on this vast crowd, I know in my heart that
Alcoholics Anonymous will surely last a thousand years -- if it is God's
will!"
When he lowered himself into his wheelchair we all jumped to our feet in
thunderous applause. Nell says "Many times since I've thought about the
coincidence, the similarity of the final exit of the two cofounders twenty
years apart."
Later that day, Bill returned to the hospital. He and Lois remained in Miami
until August, when they returned home to Stepping Stones. Bill's health
steadily declined. He required oxygen constantly and his hallucinations were
much worse. Soon he needed nurses around the clock. Bill was returned to a
Miami hospital for treatment, and died in Miami less than six months after
this convention.
One of my many regrets is that I did not save a copy of the last message he
wrote Senator Hughes. It was a post card which he and another AA member at the
hospital both signed. They wrote: "We only hope we live long enough to see you
become President."
Sources:
"Grateful to Have Been There," by Nell Wing
Unpublished diary of Nancy Olson.
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++++Message 1700. . . . . . . . . . . . A.A. International Conventions -- Part
Two
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/11/2004 3:19:00 PM
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A.A. International Convention, Denver, 1975.
The sixth AA International Convention was held in Denver in 1975. It was the
first at which neither Dr. Bob nor Bill was present. But to remind everyone
that they were still there in spirit, the platform of Currigan Hall was
decorated with portraits of them, with a 30-foot replica of the Big Book
between them.
Lois, of course, was there, and as active as ever. Al S., Bill's good friend
of whom I wrote in my post on the 1965 convention in Toronto, led the huge
"spiritual meeting" and Lois gave a very moving talk.
Nell Wing, Bill's secretary, said that her predominant impression of the
Denver convention was "crowds, crowds, crowds." GSO had planned for 12,000 and
about 20,000 showed up. The workshops and panel meeting rooms were "hopelessly
jammed," and at the big meetings the crowds overflowed Currigan Hall into a
sports arena across the street where the talks were carried on a
closed-circuit TV screen. Nell remembers that the fire department was a bit
alarmed at the overcrowding of the halls.
Nell attended this time, not as Bill's assistant, but as the A.A. archivist,
working with George G., chairman of the Trustees' Archives Committee. As of
1992, when Nell's book was published, George was still serving as a consultant
to the Trustees' Archives Committee. Nell was grateful for his "contributions
to the organizing and supervision in the earliest days of the archives," and
for his friendship. Nell and George spent most of their time in Denver seeking
out the early members and interviewing them on tape. Nell said it was a
heart-warming experience, and she kept up with these old-timers by mail.
Anticipating the great demand for coffee, an "entrepreneur" rigged the world's
largest coffee maker with servers on both sides of the balcony at the
convention hall. Nell reports that "It had a capacity of 50,000 cups a day.
The coffee was brewed in huge tanks or vats and piped to a bank of dozens of
spigots where we helped ourselves after paying a quarter a cup. It worked fine
and was the talk of the convention, but the coffee itself -- well, I've tasted
better!"
The opening session on Friday night began with a flag ceremony. As the name of
each country was called over the public address system, spotlights shown on
the flag, and, with music from the country (perhaps its national anthem) being
played, its flag was carried down the aisle and onto the stage. A.A.s from 29
countries paraded their flags. When they arrived on the stage, each flag
bearer stepped up to the microphone and repeated the conference theme, "Let It
Begin With Me," in his or her native language.
Alkathon meetings ran each day. One such meeting, the "drum and dance meeting"
was presented by Indian A.A. groups. Ernest Kurtz reports that between each
talk, "the huge drum spoke in tribute to the Higher Power that the leader
chose to call the Great Spirit, and A.A.s in the regalia of many tribes went
on to the Arena floor to dance -- but not alone. They reached out their hands,
and soon white A.A.s and black A.A.s were on the floor with them."
Source:
Grateful To Have Been There, by Nell Wing.
Not God, by Ernest Kurtz
__________
A.A. International Convention, New Orleans, 1980.
The seventh AA International Convention was held in New Orleans, LA, in 1980.
The big meetings were held in the immense, air-conditioned Superdome. Nell
Wing, Bill's secretary and now A.A. archivist, said that the Superdome was
comfortably chilled and acoustically perfect.
A mock Mardi Gras parade was held on Thursday night, and "famed Bourbon Street
turned into ice-cream and coffee street," according to Nell, with mobs of
A.A.s taking over. There were signs in the windows of the jazz establishments
welcoming A.A.s.
On Friday night, at the opening session, there was a 30 foot-high world map
outlined on a blue background behind the stage. The theme of this conference
was "Joy of Living," and during the flag ceremony, as each flag bearer spoke
these words in his or her native tongue, the country represented was lit up on
the map.
An archives workshop -- the first at an international convention -- was held
and a large, enthusiastic crowd attended. The films "Bill's Own Story" and
"Bill Discusses the Traditions" were shown continuously throughout the
convention. Also shown continuously was a recently completed film strip of the
archives called "Markings on a Journey." This was the idea of Mike R., a
pioneer member from Oklahoma who was also chairman of the Trustees' Archives
Committee.
He noted the fact that some 2,000 members visited the archives in New York
every year to gain an awareness of how it all began. "But Mike felt that since
it was impossible to bring all the fellowship in to see the archives, we
should in some way take the archives to the fellowship," Nell wrote. "Markings
on a Journey" was their attempt to accomplish that.
There were also meetings of archivists after the workshop to discuss the value
of circulating a newsletter among the archivists.
Presentations were made by non-A.A. members, including judges, physicians,
psychiatrists, clergymen, educators, prison officials, media specialists,
government officials, a labor leader, an industrialist and alcoholism agency
officials.
Special workshops were scheduled for gay members and for young people as well
as for doctors, lawyers, and women.
This convention also was the first to have a marathon meeting running
continuously, day and night, from Thursday midnight to Sunday morning.
According to Nell, "A man who had sobered up just two days before in the
marathon meeting was introduced before the crowd of 23,000."
On Sunday morning Lois gave a brief talk and was presented with the first Big
Book in Italian, by Roberto C., who had done the translation. He told how A.A.
was growing in Italy.
Then a surprise guest came to the microphone and introduced himself as Bob S.,
a member of Al-Anon. He explained that he was probably the only person there
who had been present when Bill W. met Dr. Bob first met. He was the only son
of Dr. Bob Smith. Bob Smith, "Smitty," shared some of his early memories of
Bill's living in their Akron home that summer in 1935.
The 1980 convention was the first to feature women, and Marty Mann, of course,
was the keynote speaker. She, like Dr. Bob and Bill before her, was very ill
when she gave this last major talk to A.A. Like Bill in 1970, she arrived in a
wheelchair. But when she was introduced she rose from the wheelchair and
walked slowly to the podium as a prolonged ovation shook the rafters. She
stood tall and the old gleam came back in her eye.
When the ovation finally ended, Marty looked out over the thousands of women
(and many men, as well) and said: "Talk about tears -- I can't tell you what
it feels like to be a great-great-great-great grandmother to so many women.
Because that's what you are, all of you. You're my children, and I'm so, so
proud of you."
The hall erupted with a roar and gave her a long ovation.
Marty Mann was not only the first woman to achieve long-term sobriety in A.A.
(see her story: "Women Suffer Too" in the Big Book), she was the person most
responsible for removing the stigma from the disease of alcoholism by
educating the public.
She told a U.S. Senate subcommittee in 1969: "I had discovered the strength of
the stigma that lay on alcoholism. I had discovered the conspiracy of silence
that existed about it. I had discovered that families were inclined to protect
their alcoholic and that they were totally unaware of the fact that this
protection was actually preventing their alcoholic from getting help."
Marty had gained the support and backing of two eminent scientists at Yale
University, Dr. Howard W. Haggard and Dr. E. M. Jellinek, who had been working
on this problem for some years. And they gave her the support and
encouragement - as did Bill Wilson - to start an organization originally
called the "National Committee for Education on Alcoholism," which later
became the National Council on Alcoholism (now NCADD).
Marty Mann died just two weeks after she returned from New Orleans, July 22,
1980, having survived three of the most-often stigmatized health problems of
the 20th century: alcoholism, tuberculosis, and cancer. She died suddenly from
a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Sources:
Slaying the Dragon, the History of Addiction Treatment and Recovery in
America, by William White.
Grateful to Have Been There, by Nell Wing.
__________
A.A. International Convention, Montreal, 1985.
The eighth AA International Convention was held in Montreal in 1985. The was
the second to be held outside the United States, both in Canada. It drew more
than 44,000, representing fifty-four countries, and began again, with a flag
ceremony.
Nell Wing wrote that "Because the emphasis of the whole event was Alcoholics
Anonymous history, but mostly, I think, because I was accompanying Lois, I was
on the platform in the middle of the vast Olympic Stadium Friday night for the
opening ceremonies."
"Lois Wilson, a tiny, stooped figure now at age 94, was assisted by her
secretary, Francis H., to the microphone, where she delivered a short but
touching speech in a strong voice with her sense of humor evident," according
to Nell.
Ruth Hock, Bill's first secretary who typed the original manuscript of the Big
Book in 1938, was there and was presented with the five-millionth copy of the
Big Book.
Nell wrote that Ruth "was much more than a gifted secretary, she was a major
factor in the stability and functioning of that early office. In fact, she was
a balancing factor in the debate between Jim B[urwell] the former atheist, and
Fritz M[ayo], who was strongly religious, that resulted in the use of the
phrase 'God as we understood Him' in the Steps -- certainly one of the most
significant decisions ever made in A.A."
Nell adds "What would later be called the 'Serenity Prayer' was brought to her
attention in June 1941. She sent it to an A.A. member (who was a printer) in
Washington, D.C., and he printed it on small cards for distribution from
G.S.O. to interested members." Ruth died in the spring of 1986.
Dave B. ("Gratitude in Action" in the 4th edition of the Big Book), the
founder of A.A. in Montreal, was to have been honored at the convention, but
he died only a few weeks before and was represented by nonalcoholic past
trustee Dr. Travis Dancey, who had first tried to bring the A.A. message to
Dave.
Dr. Jack Norris, Dr. Milton Maxwell, and Dr. Bob's son and daughter and Bob's
wife Betty were at this convention. And among the attendees was 89-year-old
Ken S., a "long-timer" from Kansas, and Sybil C., the first woman member in
Los Angeles.
Workshops were held on archives, and there were "old-timers' meetings and
pioneers' meetings. The closing talk Sunday morning was by Joe McQ., the first
black member in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1962. Joe McQ has joined with
Charlie P. to participate in Big Book seminars in the USA, Canada, and
overseas. "His was a stirring and moving story," says Nell.
Several hundreds of A.A. members and their families could not find rooms.
Every hotel room within eighty miles of Montreal was booked, and some were
housed as far away as Burlington, Vermont. Many who found themselves without a
room left early or slept on the floors of rooms of friends. One reporter noted
that few chose to sleep in parks or other public places, which seemed to
surprise the reporter.
On Friday night historic figures were introduced, including Lois Wilson and
Ruth Hock Crecelius, who was presented with the five-millionth copy of the
book Alcoholics Anonymous. As secretary to Bill Wilson and Hank Parkhurst
("The Unbeliever" in the 1st edition), Ruth had typed the original
manuscript."
Many laughed that the House of Seagram paid tribute to Alcoholics Anonymous by
lowering the three flags adorning its Montreal headquarters to half-staff for
the duration of the convention.
Ernest Kurtz wrote: "Overall, the centrality of A.A.'s own story suffused the
whole convention and became permanently enshrined in the 'Family Album and
Souvenir,' Fifty Years With Gratitude, which in its reproduction of over a
hundred newspaper clippings and old photographs recalled their history to
A.A.s and A.A.s to their history."
Sources:
"Not God," by Ernest Kurtz
"Grateful to Have Been There," by Nell Wing.
Shortly after I originally posted this I received this message from Ruth
Hock's daughter:
"Just read the posting - what a wonderful memory of that convention!! It was
my first, and I went with my mother, Ruth Hock Crecelius. She could hardly
believe how large our fellowship had grown, and had just begun to "accept"
what her role in it's survival meant to us all. I had about 9 years in the
fellowship then.
Thought I'd add a couple of cute things about that convention that you all
probably didn't know:
I asked her that night what went through her mind as she accepted the book and
watched those thousands of people give her a standing ovation, Her reply was:
"I looked up and asked 'What do you think of this Willie?'"
Also, the 5 millionth copy of the Big Book was NOT given to her that night.
Everyone was up on the stage and suddenly someone remembered that the book had
not been returned from the binders (special leather cover). A representative
"snuck" (almost literally) from the stage to find a book.
Someone in the crowd (of course) had a Big Book with them, which was promptly
borrowed for the presentation!! Mom thought it was quite funny and typical of
the resources we alcoholics have! That book was signed by Mom and
returned to its owner. She got the leather bound volume soon after returning
to Ohio. It is currently in my home - a wonderful memory of her legacy to me
and all alcoholics!
Sybil C. was the speaker that night - I have wonderful memories of her family
and Bob Smith's during the meeting - each of us crying as his/her family
member was introduced and gave a talk. As Bob Corwin so profoundly put it in
a letter to me later: "we proudly sat in humility row basking in reflected
glory"! What a wonderful time in my recovering life in AA.
Thanks for all you do in helping keep our history alive!
Laurie L.
__________
A.A. International Convention, Seattle, 1990.
The ninth AA International Convention was held in Seattle, in 1990. This
convention drew 48,000 people from 75 countries. Dr. Bob's son and daughter,
Bob Smith and Sue Windows, and Bob's wife Betty were all in attendance.
It began, as had become the custom, with the Friday night flag ceremony. Nell
Wing, Bill's secretary and later AA archivist, wrote that: "The hall really
let go when the Soviet, Bulgarian, and Romanian flags were carried to the
front of the platform."
Nell told an interest anecdote about herself: "It was also a homecoming of
sorts for me. I had spent 1944-46 in Seattle (the 13th naval district) as a
member of SPARS, the Women's Coast Guard Reserve, In the basement of the
Olympic Hotel (now affiliated with the Four Seasons chain) there was a large
bar and dining room which we called the "snake pit" and where many of us,
along with the Coast Guard and Navy guys, did a bit of off-duty drinking. One
night I got involved in an all-night drinking spree and next morning, up
before my executive officer, was 'awarded' a captain's mast and sentenced to a
brief confinement in my quarters (the 'brig' was full). I was allowed out once
a day, accompanied by a shore patrol.
"Now, 44 years later, here I was in Seattle again and the recipient of the 10
millionth copy of the Big Book. No words can adequately express my deep
gratitude to this beloved Fellowship and my cherished friends therein."
So now we have some insight into why Nell Wing, who was not an alcoholic,
could be so comfortable with and dedicated to the many members of AA.
Source;
"Grateful to Have Been There" by Nell Wing.
__________
A.A. International Convention, San Diego, 1995.
The 10th A.A. International Convention was held in San Diego in 1995. I could
find little written about it, but got this, if my memory serves me, from Tex
Brown whom I met at the International Convention in Minneapolis in 2000.
The Oldtimers Meeting At San Diego
The crowd was chanting, "Ruth... Ruth... Ruth..." This chant will probably
become the way the International Convention in San Diego will be remembered.
Forty-three years sober, Ruth O 'N., from New York City was the first of
fifteen speakers chosen at random (to place principles before personalities)
from the one hundred and twenty-two Oldtimers with forty years or more
sobriety (a total of 5318 years) who were present at the Saturday night
Oldtimers Meeting at Jack Murphy Stadium.
Ruth was delightful, and had completely won the hearts of the crowd of 42,000
by the time her allotted five minutes were up. They wanted her to finish even
if it took all night. [She kept on talking for a very long time.]
It became the background chant between each of the fourteen remaining speakers
(and in one case, during). The chant "Ruth, Ruth...." caught on and it was
being heard Sunday morning and later in the week at meetings in San Diego as a
celebration of A. A. itself.
The loving acceptance of the oldtimers by a much younger crowd, while lauding
their individual sobriety, was at a deeper level a celebration of the force
and power of the A.A. program that had kept them sober for as much as
fifty-five years. The Steps, written in December 1938 when there were less
than one hundred men (and no women, yet) who were sober, proved to be exactly
what was needed by all of us to get sober, and most importantly to stay sober.
In the next fifty-seven years many people have attempted to make changes in
them. There were proposals to add things to and proposals to take things out
of the Steps, but none of them worked. The oldtimers assembled in front of the
podium were the living proof that the 12 Steps to the A.A. way of life was
exactly what they (and we) needed.
How does this way of life work in the long run? I would like to tell you one
oldtimer's story. Shep became a member of the Glenbard Group about 1950. The
old Glenbard Group covered all of what is now District 40 and part of District
61. Starting out as an atheist, Shep was sober from the very start and
gradually became a pillar of the group. After about 20 years of good sobriety,
Shep fell victim to a severe form of Alzheimer's disease. He became helpless
and was
placed in a nursing home. It was the custom of this facility to have a
gathering of the patients in the common room every Saturday evening. The
residents were then rewarded for their good behavior with a glass of wine. It
was the high point of the week.
Shep would not drink the wine. He didn't know where he was or what he was
doing there. He didn't even know his own name. He did not know why, but he did
know that he did not drink. Everything else was gone, but Shep still knew how
to stay sober. Can you imagine a deeper and more fundamental change in the
personality than this?
Many thought the Oldtimer's Meeting the high point of the Convention, a
demonstration that all of us can successfully live our entire lives as sober,
happy and fulfilled members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
P.S.
SAN DIEGO SHORTAGE!
Past experience with A. A.'s amazing ability to consume vast quantities of
coffee was duly noted by the planners of this International Convention. They
did not run out of coffee, but the San Diego ATM's ran out of money!
(From the Fall, 1995 issue of N. I. A. Concepts, Area 20 Service Letter)
__________
A.A. International Convention, Minneapolis, 2000.
The theme of the International Convention of Alcoholics
Anonymous was Pass It On into the 21st Century.
According to Valerie, the Convention coordinator at GSO, 48,000
people attended the convention held in Minneapolis, Minnesota
between June 29-July 2, 2000.
The Minneapolis Convention Center housed registration,
hospitality, Archives displays, and meeting rooms. Big Meetings
of all those who attended where held in the Hubert H. Humphrey
Metrodome under 10 acres of Teflon-coated fiberglass held up
only by air like a giant balloon. These meetings included the
kick-off ceremony on Friday night, the Old Timers Meeting on
Saturday night, and the closing (Spiritual Meeting) on Sunday.
Minneapolis has air conditioned SKYWAYS, a unique 5 mile system
of elevated walkways going from building to building that
connects most of the downtown area and downtown convention
hotels. But most convention members Walked the Walk to the
Metrodome each day. A special Big Book Blue Line was painted
onto the sidewalks of Minneapolis from the Convention Center to
Metrodome stadium. Like most things in A.A., none of us had to
walk-the-walk alone. Volunteers from the Host Committee were
strung along the entire route to guide us along and cheer us on.
After the Big Meetings in the Metrodome, we were able to
Dance-the-Dance in the Dome on Friday and Saturday nights.
I flew to Minneapolis on Thursday, June 29. My plane left from
the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport in Pennsylvania. When I went
to catch my connecting flight in Pittsburgh, the long line of
people waiting to board looked, somehow, like A.A. members. Why
did I think so? Because they all looked happy and cheerful and
excited, not a bit bored or irritable like many travelers.
When I walked up to the end of the line I said "This looks like
a bunch of drunks." The howls of laughter which greeted my
remark made me feel that I was immediately in the right place. I
got smiles, and hand shakes, and yes even hugs. I was
immediately at home with a group of people I had never laid eyes
on before. And that is the way it was for the next four days. I
met no strangers, only good friends I had not previously met.
After checking into the Radisson Hotel in downtown Minneapolis,
I went immediately to the Convention Center to register,
traveling there on one of the shuffle buses which had been
arranged to take us back and forth during the convention.
Getting into the convention center to register took a bit of
time. One could not get through the door without shaking hands
with the official greeters. Their enthusiasm never died. They
were shaking hands after the closing meeting as if it was the
first day of the convention.
Friday morning meetings were held on: Young, Sober and
Responsible; Pioneers in A.A.; Peace and Serenity; Progress
Through Pain; AA and Treatment Facilities; Let's be Friendly
with Our Friends; Is AA Reaching Minorities?; Tolerance and
Trust; Let It Begin With Me; First things First; Courage to
Change; Letting Go of Old Ideas; Fear
as a Stepping Stone; AA Meeting in Japanese; Ego Deflation in
Depth; The Joy of Living; A.A. and the Clergy;
AA/All-Anon/Alateen Meetings; Doctors in AA; Carrying the
Message into Correctional Facilities; General Service: AA
Politics?; Faith in Action; Pacific U.S. Regional - Meet Your AA
Neighbors; Feliz, Alegre y Sobrio; AA Around the World Call Up -
I; Partners in A.A.; At the Turning Point; Le Language du Coeur;
Sobriety is Progressive Too; Victory in Defeat; One Day at a
Time; A New Freedom; How It Works; Easy Does It - But Do It;
Freedom Through acceptance; Emotional Sobriety; Let Go and Let
God; AA Meeting in Japanese; Gratitudine in Azione; Freunde in
Aller Welt; There is a Solution; Sober Awhile - Now What;
Carrying the Message Through Public Information; AA Grapevine:
Our Meeting in Print; Southeast U.S. regional - Meet Your AA
Neighbors; Working With Others; Time to Start Living; una Neuva
Libertad; Reaching the Alcoholic with Special Needs.
Because of my interest in AA history I chose "Pioneers in AA."
Bob P. chaired the meeting. He was at one time the head of GSO.
His story is the last one in the Big Book: "AA Taught Him to
Handle Sobriety."
Bob told us he had an extremely serious operation 18 months ago.
He was not expected to live. The doctors told his wife that his
survival was a miracle and that it was because of his great
attitude. The doctors asked his wife where he got that great
attitude. We know the answer to that.
He told us that at the 1985 convention in Montreal, he was
supposed to present Ruth Hock (Bill's first secretary who typed
the Big Book) with the five-millionth copy of the book. He
discovered he did not have it with him. So they looked all over
for a Big Book to borrow. They finally found one and he
presented it to her with the assurance she would get the real
one later. Bob said Ruth loved that. She said "Oh that's soooo
alcoholic."
The speakers were: Ruth O. of New Jersey, Jules P. of
California, and Bob S. of Texas, a member of Al-Anon.
Bob S. spoke first. He said he was the only person still alive
who was present when Doctor Bob and Bill Wilson first met. It
was Dr. Bob's son, Smitty. He was 17 at the time. He went with
his parents to Henrietta Sieberling's house for his father's
first meeting with Bill. In the car his father said "I'm giving
this bird 15 minutes." His mother did not say to Bill, "will you
come to dinner next Tuesday?" She
said "why don't you come live with us?" Bill said without
hesitation "OK!" Smitty said that there were never two people as
different as Bill and his father. If it had been up to Dr. Bob
AA would never have got beyond Akron. If it were up to Bill they
would have sold franchises.
But they had two important things in common. They were both open
minded about spirituality, and they both had a desire to be of
service to others.
Smitty talked about how his parents brought alcoholics to live
in their home. Dr. Bob would take them up to the bedroom and
then give them some medicine. It was paraldehyde. "When my
teenage sister and I opened the front door and smelled
paraldehyde we would say 'Oh, oh, we've lost our beds again.'"
He told about the first man they tried to sober up. His name was
Eddie Riley and he moved in, I think he said with his wife and
kids. One day he chased Anne Smith around with a knife. Dr. Bob
considered Eddie his first failure. But at Dr. Bob's funeral a
man walked up to Smitty and said "Do you remember me?" It was
Eddie. He was living in Youngstown, Ohio, and was sober one
year.
Smitty said his father had a wonderful sense of humor. When
Smitty took the woman he married to meet his parents for the
first time, Dr. Bob looked her up and
down and said of this tall, slender woman, "She's built for
speed and light housekeeping." Smitty said his wife was sober 19
years when she died. One day Dr. Bob told his son "Flies carry
germs. So young man, keep yours buttoned."
Smitty said the Oxford Group members communicated with each
other all the time. His mother was always on the phone with one
or another of them. And that, of course, was true of the
alcoholics in the Oxford Group as well. But things were not
always sunshine and joy. There were people in A.A. in the early
days with big egos. "Can you imagine?" he asked. "There were
actually alcoholics with big egos in the early days?"
Smitty ended his talk with a big plug for the traditions. "I say
thank God for those traditions." He got a standing ovation.
I don't remember much of what Jules P said, but he was very
enjoyable.
The last speaker was Ruth O. When Bob P. introduced her he said
that in planning the convention in 1995 he had a bright idea.
"Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time." They would let
every alcoholic with 40 years put their names and sobriety dates
in a big bucket, and the first 15 called could get up and talk
for five minutes.
When Ruth O. got up to talk she talked on, and on, and on. She
joked that they had told her that this time they were going to
have a trap door to use if she talked too long. But she was a
fascinating speaker, sober 52 years.
She lived in the Bronx when she came into A.A. and was the only
woman in her group for a long time. The men were apparently not
too kind to her. They were rather gruff. One of them asked her
one day how long it had been since she had a drink. She said
proudly: "50 days tomorrow." The man sitting behind her hit her
on the shoulder and said gruffly, "It's 49!" She must have told
that story often because the day before she celebrated her 50th
anniversary the phone kept ringing. When she answered a gruff
voice would say "It's 49! It's 49!"
But Bill Wilson was kinder. The first time she met Bill he
kissed her on the cheek. "I haven't washed that cheek since,"
she said. And somehow I believed her.
Our choices for the early afternoon meetings were: Lesbians/Gays
in AA; Women in AA; Humility: A Power Greater; Turning It Over;
La Consicence de Groupe,
Informee; Living Sober; AA and Native Peoples; Sponsorship:
Leading by Example; Young & successful - Who Needs Meetings?;
Tools for Sobriety; Twelfth Step: Love in Action; Estructuras de
Servicio General; AA Meeting in Japanese; Solo per Oggi; AA
Traditions and AA Events; Die Zwöf Schritte; Unity Through
Humility; Willingness: The Essence of Growth; AA's History of
Love; A Daily Reprieve; East Central U.S. Regional - Meet Your
AA Neighbors;
In All our Affairs; Twelve Concepts: The Structural Framework;
and Twelfth-Stepping the Old Fashioned Way.
I had no problem choosing. My old friend, Mel S, was speaking at
the Twelfh-Stepping the Old Fashioned Way meeting. I hadn't seen
Mel in years. Mel had his last drink on May 23, 1965, in a bar
at an officer's club in Virginia. He had entered the Army Air
Corps in 1939 as a private. He wanted to be a pilot. He retired
27 years later as a full Colonel. He told of the many escapades
involving crashing air planes when he was drunk. But he always
somehow managed to get out of trouble.
But finally, in 1965, he was ordered to fly his plane to
Washington to deliver some top secret papers to the Pentagon. He
drank and was in a blackout. He got a call saying that the
papers had not arrived at the Pentagon. Where were they? Mel
couldn't remember. He had no idea what had happened. He was
desperate. This meant the end of his career. He would be court
marshaled, he might serve time in prison. In desperation he
called the chaplain and told him his predicament. The chaplain
told him to stay where he was, he was sending someone to get
him.
Two men showed up, one of them an Army Warrant Officer. They
took Mel in tow.
The warrant officer took him to stay in his home. It was a
small, modest home and they didn't have a guest room, but they
had an unfinished basement and they put a cot in the basement
for Mel. He lay there detoxing, and in terror of what the future
would bring, Then he heard a noise on the stairs, and his host
came down carrying a big roll under his arm. He spread the roll
on the floor next to Mel's cot and said "I'm going to sleep here
tonight. I know how you feel." Mel had trouble telling the
story, he was so filled with emotion.
Mel was madly trying to think of excuses to make up to get out
of this very serious trouble. But the two A.A. members told him
that he had to do two things: don't drink, and tell the truth.
So Mel told his superiors the truth. He had been drunk and he
had no idea what had happened to the top secret papers. An
investigation was begun, and Mel tried -- on the advice of his
A.A. sponsors -- to leave the matter in God's hands.
Then one day he got a call. It seems someone at the Pentagon had
found the papers. They had been locked away in a safe the whole
time. So Mel's superiors told him that since he had, indeed,
delivered the papers to the Pentagon as he had been ordered to
do, all charges against him would be dropped.
In all the years I had known Mel I had not heard his story
before. I was deeply moved.
Our choices for the late afternoon meetings were "Young People
in AA; Gratitude in Your Attitude; AA Loners and
Internationalists; AA and Court Programs; Carrying the Message
Into Treatment Facilities; El Anonimato al Nivel Público;
Archives: A Collective Vision; Intergrupos y Oficinas Centrales;
Freedom to Choose; History of the Big Book; Spiritual Journey;
Resentment - the Number One Offender; AA and Cyberspace;
Carrying the Message to Older Alcoholics; Notre Methode; AA
Meeting in Korean; AA Meeting for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing;
AA in Western
Europe/Scandinavia; AA in Central/South America; Viviendo
Sobrio; AA in Asia/Oceania Zone; Western Canada Regional - Meet
Your AA Neighbors; This Matter of Honesty; Prayer Under
Pressure; and A Daily Inventory.
Again I had no problem choosing; a friend from the Washington,
D.C. area whom I hadn't seen in 20 years, Hal Marley, was
speaking at the meeting on gratitude. I am very glad I had that
last opportunity to see Hal. He died not long after.
The highlight of the opening meeting that night was the flag
ceremony. The first flag to appear was carried by a Native
American in full traditional dress and carrying a large pole
covered with feathers. Then, as the name of each nation was
called, an A.A. member from that country entered carrying the
country's flag. They were called in alphabetical order, ending
with Zambia, followed by the flags of the host countries: Canada
and the United States. Over 75 countries were represented.
As each country name was called the members from those countries
rose and cheered loudly. But many of us cheered along with them.
Especially when the Russian flag appeared.
The flags were lined up in front of the stage and remained there
throughout the convention.
Saturday turned out to be a day for miracles. Miracles were
happening all over Minneapolis from the beginning, but I first
began being acutely aware of them on Saturday.
The trip was costing me much more than I could afford, so I
wanted to save money where I could. I had hoped to save some
money by having my coffee in my room each morning. But the
coffee pot didn't work. I told them at the desk Friday and they
said they would put a new one in. They did bring up a new one.
But it, too, wouldn't work. So I bought a $1.50 cup of coffee in
the lobby, as I had the day before.
The man selling the coffee was reading a book by Dr. Abraham
Twersky, so I said "Oh, are you in the program?" He said he was
not but he was staying sober by another method. I then started
telling him that I knew Rabbi Twersky, the alcoholism treatment
specialist.
A man was also buying a cup of coffee. He was not wearing a
badge and at first I didn't even know he was there for the
convention. He had just come down for coffee -- perhaps his
coffee maker wasn't working either -- and had not bothered with
his badge or anything else. But he was carrying a large file of
papers.
He, too, was an A.A. member. We sat down to drink our coffee
together in the lobby and I started telling him about A.A.
History Buffs. He said "I feel there is something I should say
to you." Then he opened his file of papers and pulled out all
sorts of wonderful historical documents. He gave me a copy of
Ruth Hock's letter to Bill Wilson, recalling the early days of
A.A.
Our choices of meetings Saturday morning included the same wide
variety of meetings, but I wanted to go to the one called
"Archives: A Collective Vision," because I knew that Charles K.
would be speaking there and I wanted to meet him and, Doug B.,
both on-line friends.
Afterward, I went off to try to hear Clancy I. of California.
Clancy's meeting was too crowded and I couldn't get in, so I
went back to the Convention Center and wandered into the first
meeting that I came upon. The meeting was already in progress. I
soon discovered that it was a Gay and Lesbian meeting, and a
woman from San Francisco was speaking. Her name was "Peacock."
Another of those little "coincidences." I had recently
befriended a lesbian woman alcoholic in Pennsylvania. When I
heard "Peacock" I immediately knew I must buy her tape for my
friend.
She gave a magnificent talk. I was not taking notes but I
remember a few things she said. She said that Clancy I. was her
sponsor. She called him to ask his permission to speak at a
Gay/Lesbian meeting and he responded "Now, you know how I feel
about special interest groups."
"But I really want to do this, Clancy," she replied.
There was a very long pause and then he said: "I have good news
and bad. The good news is that you may speak at the convention.
The bad news is that I will be speaking at the same time."
She responded "That's OK, honey, we won't attract the same
crowd." Her audience roared with laughter.
After hearing Peacock I wanted to catch the 3:30 meeting "Pass
It On - Into the 21st Century." Searcy W. of Texas was speaking
at this meeting. He was Ebby's sponsor. Bill had sent Ebby to
Searcy in Texas and Ebby stayed sober there for some time.
But first I needed some food. After I had some food I decided to
go back to my hotel to rest. I totally forgot that I wanted to
hear Searcy. Another of those little coincidences?
Back in my room I found I couldn't nap, I was too restless. So I
decided to try to reach another of the history buffs who was
staying in the same hotel, Tex Brown of Illinois. I phoned him
and asked if he would join me in the lobby. The inspiration to
call Tex lead to the most exciting part of the convention for
me. Tex was then 83 years old and sober 53 years. He had written
me before the convention saying "I just happened to stumble into
the history forum. I read the post saying that you will be
staying at the Radisson Plaza. So will my wife, Barb, and I. ...
I thought that I might like historians better than archivists. I
guess I need to see what the big boys are like."
Tex got sober Feb. 6, 1947, in Skokie, IL. He was then the
editor of the Area 20 (Northern Illinois Area) service letter,
"NIA Concepts." His delightful wife, Barb, has been sober 21
years. I found Tex a charming, humble, serene, humorous fellow.
He told me some wonderful stories about the early days in the
Chicago area.
Then he scooped me up and took me along with them to sit in the
oldtimers section for the oldtimers meeting at the Metrodome
Saturday night. He seemed to know everybody and made sure that
he introduced me to them all. Among those I met was Mel B. who
has written so much wonderful AA history, and Dr. Jack Norris's
widow.
And what an inspiration all the oldtimers were. Those with more
than 40 years sobriety had been asked to put their names and
sobriety date in a Fishing Hat located at the Convention Center
before 1 p.m. on Saturday.
All the meetings in the Metrodome were simultaneously translated
into Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish and
Swedish. Special arrangements were also made for the hearing
impaired. And the HP made sure that the oldtimers meeting would
be truly international. Among the names pulled from the hat were
Mosku from Finland, sober 46 years; Collin from Australia, sober
54 years; and Manual M. from France, sober 40 years.
A little extra time was allowed for the oldtimers from Finland
and France because they were accompanied by interpreters who
repeated in English what they had said. Collin from Australia
complained that they hadn't supplied him with an interpreter,
and there were moments when I wished they had. His Australian
accent was sometimes hard to understand. (Collin visited the
U.S. in 2004 and phoned me from New York. He planned to come to
Virginia, where I am now living, to meet me. But alas I was not
available the only day that he could come to Virginia. It was
not until his phone call that I realized he was the man who had
spoken at the convention.)
Shortly before they started drawing names out of the hat, I was
puzzled to see a procession of about 30 members of the
hospitality committee, wearing their distinctive white caps,
march down the center isle. They then stood in front of the line
of flags below the stage. They drew 15 names out of the hat, and
as each name was called, two of these host committee people
would get on each side of the oldtimer and help him or her onto
the stage. All of this could be seen very clearly on the large
screens around the Metrodome and it was such fun watching them
being escorted up. One of them was wearing a white tuxedo.
Another, whose escorts were two young women, started swinging
them around and dancing with them on the way up.
To make sure that they didn't have another Ruth among these
oldtimers, a man sat on the stage with a large rectangular sign
that said APPLAUSE. When three minutes were up, if they hadn't
stopped speaking, he would walk up behind them with the sign and
the entire convention would break into applause.
The first called to speak was Otto W., 40 years and two months
sober. Otto told how he was visited by two A.A. members while he
was locked up in a mental ward. "They had something I wanted and
I was willing to go to any lengths to get it: MATCHES!" All of
the oldtimers showed this kind of humor.
Marie M., sober 44 years, four months, said a woman had called
her and said she was an alcoholic from A.A. and asked if she
could visit her. "Well, I did not want any alcoholics coming to
MY house." So she said she would go to the A.A.'s house instead.
She rang the door bell and when the A.A. contact opened the door
she announced: "I have two black eyes (as if she couldn't see)."
One of the most inspirational, to my mind (and not because her
name was Nancy and she was from Pennsylvania) was Nancy F.
Nancy, sober 55 years, said there isn't anything you can't do if
you want to after you get sober. "I went to college at 70 ...
and graduated at 80 ... cum laude!"
David Mc. M, sober 43 years, who followed Nancy, said he was 21
when he got sober and was told he was too young to be an
alcoholic. He said he hasn't grown up yet, "but when I do I want
to be just like her," pointing to Nancy.
The last speaker was a tall, handsome black woman, Louise R.,
sober 40 years, who said that they told her if she kept coming
around she would get what they had. So she kept going to
meetings and waiting for them to give her whatever it was they
had.
Finally she asked "When are you going to give me what you have?"
They asked her how long she had been coming to meetings, and if
she had a drink during that period. She had not. "So you have
what we have."
"Here I was walking around with it," she said, "and I didn't
know I had it." She said they also kept talking at meetings
about how anybody who didn't have one should buy the Big Book.
It cost $3.50. Well, she didn't WANT to buy no BIG Book. She
didn't want to READ no BIG book. Finally they announced at a
meeting that anyone who didn't have a Big Book could have one
and pay for it when they could. "They think I can't AFFORD the
Big Book." So after the meeting she walked up to the man and
said she wanted the Big Book. She slapped down a five dollar
bill and said "Keep the change."
All of the oldtimers were very inspiring. They wasn't a dull one
in the lot. Murray M., our history buff from Dublin wrote: "The
old-timers meeting was very special. You could not but be moved
by their expressions of love and gratitude. The humour was
unequaled and I think the entire 15 would have stayed there
sharing for hours if time allowed. The member in the white
tuxedo might have summed it all up when the occasion got to
him."
Sunday morning my coffee pot worked just fine. Guess there was
no special reason God wanted me down in the lobby for my coffee.
I scooped up my new friend, Rich (who had given me Ruth Hock's
letter to Bill) and his roommate and took them with me to the
handicapped second on the Metrodome floor. This was near where I
had been sitting with Tex the night before. I wanted to take
Rich to that section because I wanted to see Tex again and
introduce Rich to him. But we didn't find Tex. He told me in an
e-mail that he and his wife had been late arriving. He had
looked for me, too, because he wanted to give me some
newsletters from his area.
At this closing meeting the 20 millionth copy of the Big Book
was presented to the fellowship of Al-Anon. There are 30,000
Al-Anon groups world wide.
There were three very inspirational speakers. One of them was
Nancy K, the lead singer for a group called "Sweet Water" in the
'60s. Sweet Water was the first group to take the stage at
Woodstock. "But they cut us out of the movie," she sighed. We
roared with laughter. "You know, only A.A.s laugh when I tell
them that. Everyone else says Ahhhhh, poor thing." Nancy got
sober in 1976 in Los Angeles. "I wore a bikini to my first
meeting," she said. But someone told her she would look better
if she were wearing a towel. If I remember correctly, she had a
bad accident, her vocal cords were damaged, and she lost her
ability to sing. She later became an English teacher. But
eventually her voice returned and she was reunited with some of
the Sweet Water group. There are three still alive, "fatter and
with less hair." They entertained outdoors at the 1995
convention, but they forgot to advertise, so there wasn't the
kind of crowd they'd hoped for. I think it was Nancy who said AA
is like taking wedding vows. "For better or worse, in sickness
or in health, till death do us part, I am a part of AA."
John K. got sober on St. Patrick's Day. (How's that for a
miracle. An Irishman getting sober on St. Patrick's Day?) He
told us of attending a funeral of a boy who had died and the
preacher said "the only way we can change the world is to change
ourselves, and now is the time, because for the boy in the box
it is too late." John's daughter smashed up his new car. She hit
a Mercedes. John's sponsor drove him to the scene of the
accident and all he could think of was himself. Why did she have
to smash MY car? How will I get to work, etc. His daughter was
still in the car, and his sponsor said, "Aren't you going to
check on her?" He went over to the car and his daughter said
"Oh, daddy, give me a hug." "I had to be prompted by my sponsor
to hug my daughter," he said. John asked us to remember that
each alcoholic is a multifaceted, wonderful person. And the only
one that doesn't seem to recognize it is himself.
______
One of the highlights for me Sunday morning was the sobriety
countdown. They said this was our 65th anniversary, and asked
any one who had been sober more
than 65 years to stand. "Has anyone been sober longer than
Bill?" No one stood. "Has anyone been sober 65 years? Please
stand -- it you still can." Sixty-four years? Sixty-three? When
they called "Fifty-five years?" One or more stood. "Keep coming
back," everyone shouted.
The persons with the longest sobriety at the convention had 55.
When they got down to 24 hours, two or more stood.
I'm not one who cries easily, but there were many times during
the convention when I fought back tears. But as we
concluded, and the children of Minneapolis came up and sang for
us We Are Family I began to cry. And then when we stood and
joined hands to say the Serenity Prayer, I broke down
completely.
___________
Postscript:
We were coming back from the Sunday meeting and Rich and his
roommate asked me to join them for lunch. We walked around
looking for a restaurant but they were all mobbed, with hundreds
of people lined up outside to get in, so we went back to our
hotel to have lunch.
While we were strolling around we ran into a man who had a bunch
of pheasant feathers sticking out of a sack. Rich started
chatting with him, and this man gave us each a feather. I did
not want a feather, took it to be polite, and planned to throw
it away as soon as I got back to my room. I stuck into the
opening in my handbag.
Then we had lunch at our hotel and Rich stuck his feather in the
vase of flowers on the table. At one point the waiter came over
and started to take the feather away. I said "Don't take that.
it belongs to my friend."
Shortly after lunch, Rich and his roommate left for the airport
to return home. But I was not leaving until Monday morning. I
was tired and decided to spend the rest of the day in my room
reading. But I began feeling strangely restless, so I decided to
go down to the lobby and find a comfortable chair in which to
sit and read.
So I was sitting in the lobby and I got chatting with a woman
who is in Al-Anon. She and her husband, an A.A. member, were
both at the convention.
She asked me where I got the feather, which was still sticking
out of my handbag. I had "forgotten" to throw it away. I told
her that some man we met on the street had given them to us.
Then she showed me her feather. I said "Oh, you must have met
the same man we did." "No, I did not," she answered, with tears
in her eyes.
Then she told me the following story. Her son, who was also in
A.A., died suddenly about six months earlier. The day I met her
would have been his A.A. anniversary. When she and her husband
came to the convention they felt they were bringing him with
them. And she saw many signs that his spirit indeed was with
them.
After sobering up he had become a nurse. He worked as a
"traveling nurse" and worked at one point in New Mexico with
Native Americans. At the convention the first night they were
sitting in the handicapped section and a group of kids came by
with signs saying they were from New Mexico and smiled and waved
at her and her husband. She thought it was a sign from her son.
Then the flag ceremony began and the Indian appeared with his
big staff covered with feathers. She thought of how her son had
loved Native Americans, worked with them, and had at one time
called his Dad to say "They don't have an AA group here. How do
I start one for them?"
Her son (whom she described as a very spiritual, gentle, and
artistic young man) loved feathers, collected them, and made
things from them.
"Then today," she said, "we went up to the third floor for lunch
and in the vase of flowers on the table was this feather. We
knew it was another sign from our son."
Well, I never did throw away my feather. On my computer desk, as
I write, stands a small vase of flowers. A pheasant feather
shoots up from the center.
I am reminded daily of the little anonymous way God works
miracles in our lives.
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++++Message 1701. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Bert Taylor - Compiled From Old
Posts
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/11/2004 8:19:00 PM
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Hi Everybody,
As I understand it, Bert closed his tailor shop and later worked for Saks
Fifth Avenue, which suggests that he must have been a first class tailor.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: NMOlson@aol.com
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, March 11, 2004 8:05 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Bert Taylor - Compiled From Old Posts
I am continuing to combine old posts, which are then deleted, in
order to make it easier for researchers to search the archives.
The following is excerpted from old posts by Charles K. and Rick
T.
Charles wrote that Bert Taylor was an early AA member who
borrowed $1,000.00 from a Mr. Cockran one of his customers and a
prohibitionist. "The loan was to help buy some time from the
printer until the Liberty Magazine article came out. Once that
article came out we sold some books were able to settle with the
printer and get the remaining Big Books out of hock, so to
speak. He also allowed meetings to be held in the loft in his
shop.
"Now whether the debt was not repaid on time or Bert just fell
on hard times is uncertain, but he did loose ownership of the
shop, but was able to keep his business and he died sober. He
also was one of the first Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation."
Rick responded to Charles' message:
"Much of this additional history was gleaned in on-site research
through minutes and correspondence at the GSO Archives....
"His $1,000 would have brought him 400 shares in Works
Publishing, and I'm sure he was able to cash in the shares, when
and if any of the loan was needed to be paid. There are scant
records on file of whose and how many shares were eventually
traded in to the
Alcoholic Foundation. The AF Trustees' ledgers remained pretty
thin for many years into the mid-1940s, and only a few shares
were probably ever recorded as 'bought back' by the Board of
Trustees. Bill wrote in 'AA Comes of Age'
about a few buy-backs, which turned out to be traded only at
face value."
Rick said he did not think Bert was a Trustee, but Charles
responded:
"I still believe Bert was a member of the Alcoholic Foundation,
only from what I have read.
"In the August 1947 Grapevine article 'Last Seven Years Have
Made AA self-supporting' Bill writes:
"'Two of the alcoholic members of our Foundation traveled out
among the AA groups to explain the need. They presented their
listeners with these ideas: that support of our Central Office
was a definite responsibility of the AA groups; that answering
written inquiries was a necessary assistance to our Twelfth Step
work; that we AAs ought to pay these office expenses ourselves
and rely no further upon outside charity or insufficient book
sales. The two trustees also suggested that the Alcoholic
Foundation be made a regular depository for group funds; that
the Foundation would earmark all group monies for Central Office
expenses only; that each month the Central Office would bill the
Foundation for the straight AA expenses of the place; that all
group contributions ought to be entirely voluntary; that every
AA group would receive equal service from the New York office,
whether it contributed or not. It was estimated that if each
group sent the Foundation a sum equal to $1 per member per year,
this might eventually carry our office, without other
assistance. Under this arrangement the office would ask the
groups twice yearly for funds and render, at the same time, a
statement of its expenses for the previous period.
'"Our two trustees, Horace C. and Bert T., did not come back
empty handed. Now clearly understanding the situation, most
groups began contributing to the Alcoholic Foundation for
Central Office expenses, and have continued to do so ever since.
In this practice the AA Tradition of self-support had a firm
beginning. Thus we handled the Saturday Evening Post article for
which thousands of AAs are today so grateful.' (Reprint of this
article can be found in 'Language of The Heart' see pages 64-65)
"Also from 'AA Comes Of Age'
"Page 186.........
"'At about this time our trusteeship began to be enlarged. Mr.
Robert Shaw, a lawyer and friend of Uncle Dick's, was elected to
the Board. Two New Yorkers, my friends Howard and Bert, were
also named. As time passed, these were joined by Tom B. and Dick
S. Dick had been one of the original Akronites and was now
living in New York. There was also Tom K., a hard-working and
conservative Jerseyman. Somewhat later more nonalcoholic,
notably Bernard Smith and Leonard Harrison, took up their long
season of service with us.'
"(FYI: This was around the time of the Rockefeller Dinner Feb.
1940, this also shows the alcoholic members of the Foundation
made up of more than just Bill & Dr. Bob. I have a copy of the
minutes of the Alcoholic Foundation in July 25, 1949. Dick S.,
Tom B, and Bernard Smith were already trustees of the Foundation
in 1949.)
"Page 192:
"'We also realized that these increased demands upon the office
could not be met out of book income. So for the first time we
asked the A.A. groups to help. Following the Post piece.
Trustees Howard and Bert went on the road, one to Philadelphia
and Washington, the other to Akron and Cleveland. They asked
that all A.A. groups contribute to a special fund in the
Foundation which would be earmarked 'for AA. office expenses
only.' The contributions would be entirely voluntary. As a
measuring stick, it was suggested that each group send in one
dollar per member per year.'
"Please let me repeat myself, I am not sure if this is the same
Bert T. that owned the Tailor Shop in New York, but sure sounds
like it to me. Rick, maybe on your next trip to the Archives in
New York you might look for the name Herbert F. Taylor. Again I
am not sure if this is the same person either, but his name and
signature appears on Works Publishing Company stock certificates
date September 26th 1940 (see 'AA Everywhere-Anywhere' the
souvenir book from the 1995 International Convention page 23)
and Bert is short for Herbert. I also have a photocopy of the
same stock certificate dated June 20th 1940 and his name is on
that one too, as president I might add . May have no connection
at all, but worth looking into.
"Well, I hope this sheds some light on the source for my
assumption that Bert the Tailor might have been a Trustee of the
Alcoholic Foundation. This has open a whole other question about
the early make up of the Alcoholic Foundation and I think I
might explore this to find out what I can."
The following is from Jim Burwell's memoirs:
"It was also in June of this year that we made our first contact
with the Rockerfeller Foundation. This was arranged by Bert
Taylor, one of the older members, who had known the family for
years in a business way. Dr. Richardson, who had long been
spiritual advisor for the Rockerfeller family, became very
interested and friendly, and Bill and Hank made frequent visits
to him, with Hank on one side asking for financial help and Bill
on the other insisting on moral support only."
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This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
8:33:05 AM ET - 3/11/2004
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++++Message 1702. . . . . . . . . . . . Living Sober
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/12/2004 7:47:00 PM
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Hi
Joanna and a warm welcome back
As
Mel B noted, the booklet Living Sober was written by NY member Barry Leach. I
could not find a Conference advisory action (in publication M-39) that
explicitly approved it. However, the 1974 Conference passed an advisory action
that stated: "the partial draft of the new booklet 'Staying Sober' be
reviewed by the committee and returned with comments and suggestions to GSO by
June 1, 1974."
AA
Comes of Age (pg xi) states: "1975
- Publication of booklet Living Sober, detailing some practical methods AA
members have used for not drinking."
The
1974 advisory action infers that the booklet's title originally was planned as
'Staying
Sober'' instead of 'Living Sober'' (its opening narrative
"About that title" seems to address this). The first printing
occurred in 1975 and based on the mention in AA Comes of Age, 1975 also
appears
to be its Conference approval year.
The
booklet's author, Barry L, is historically prominent in two other areas. He
was
among the earliest homosexual members of the AA Fellowship. Barry also was the
individual who (in 1945) called Bill W from the 41st St clubhouse
concerning a black man who was described as an ex-convict with bleach-blond
hair, wearing women's clothing and makeup (re 'Pass It On'' pgs
317-318). The black man also admitted to being a "dope fiend." He is
reported (in Pass It On) to have disappeared shortly after yet anecdotal
accounts (at least here in Texas) often erroneously say that he went on to
become one of the best 12th Steppers in NY.
The
booklet 'Living Sober'' is reputed to be the second highest selling
publication in AA today.
10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma;color:black;">Cheers
Arthur
-----
*From:* Joanna Whitney
[mailto:joannagw@earthlink.net]
*Sent:* Wednesday, March 03, 2004
8:31 AM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Living
Sober
Hi Group --
I am newly
returning after a long stay away and glad to see you are all still here. I am
"Courier New";color:black;">really curious about the origins of the
publication Living Sober and
what conference approved
"Courier New";color:black;"> it.
Anybody?
"Courier New";color:black;">
Thanks,
"Courier New";color:black;">
Joanna
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++++Message 1704. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Historic Sites Near N.Y.C.
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/12/2004 10:02:00 AM
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General Service Offices of AA (World Service, originally called the Alcoholic
Foundation):
1) 17 Williams Street in Newark, NJ, 'Honor Dealers'' Office; Hank Parkhurst &
Bill Wilson set up the first 'Headquarters'' office. Most of the Big Book is
written here & Ruth Hock (secretary) is the first non-alcoholic employee.
2) 30 Vesey Street, N.Y.C., the second office, Bill splits with Hank.
(1938-1940)
3) 415 Lexington; office moves to Grand Central area after Bill gets Bedford
Hills home. (1940-1944)
4) 141 East 4th Street. More space. (1950-1960)
5) 315 east 45th Street; larger quarters in Grand Central Area. (1960-1970)
6) 468 Park Avenue South, finally occupying 5 floors in two buildings
(including 470 Park Avenue South). (1970-1992)
7) 475 Riverside Drive; all of 11th Floor & half of the 10th Floor.
(1992-present)
Town's Hospital, 293 Central Park West. Bill had many trips to this hospital &
ultimately has a spiritual experience here. Dr. William D. Silkworth (author
of most of the Big Book's 'Doctor's Opinion''), Medical Superintendent,
treated 40,000 alcoholics here.
Calvery Church/House, 21st Street & Park Avenue South. Where Bill attended
Oxford Group meetings & got sober along with Ebby T., Rowland H., Cebra G.,
Hank P. and all the gang. Sam Shoemaker, source of 'the Steps & all the
spiritual principles via the Oxford Group'' was the pastor here.
38 Livingston Street, Brooklyn. Bill's home during the high-flying years
working on Wall Street. They were so rich that they combined two apartments
here.
182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn. Bill's home when he got sober. A gift of Lois's
father. Lost the house during the Depression (sober).
30 Rockefeller Plaza. Where Bill met 'Uncle Dick'' Richardson, conduit to John
D. Rockefeller. Bill sat in Rockefeller's chair on the 66th Floor office of
John D.
Roosevelt Hotel, Madison Avenue & 44th Street. Site of over 35 General Service
Conferences.
Park Omni, Seventh Avenue & 56th Street. Site of General Service Conferences.
New York Hilton, 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Site of the Bill W. Dinner, put
on every year by the New York Intergroup since 1945.
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++++Message 1705. . . . . . . . . . . . Burwell Correspondence and Memoirs
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/13/2004 2:30:00 AM
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In an effort to reduce the large number of posts which must be searched to
find information, I am combining many that we previously posted singly. This
is a compilation of the letters to and from Jim Burwell, plus his memoirs. The
Philadelphia letters and the memoirs were originally posted by Bill L.
(Barefoot Bill), and the other letters were mailed to me a few years ago by
Cliff B. in Texas. My thanks to them both.
Nancy
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
March 1, 1940
Dear Jimmy:
I hear Fitz came to join you at the first meeting of A.A. in Philadelphia -
how was the meeting?
It seems impossible to dig up any bona fide requests for assistance in the
territory around Philadelphia. Here is one though that might (undoubtedly
will) cause some inconvenience, but sounds like it might turn out to be
something.
Mrs. Arthur W. Corning, Apt. G-41, Blind Brook Lodge, N.Y. wrote to us
concerning her brother - Joseph Hoopes - who is now in the state hospital at
Delaware. She sent him the book and wanted to know if any of our members could
contact him while he was there. Can you do anything on this? Will you let me
know either way? Thanks.
Sincerely,
/s/ Bill
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
March 4, 1940
Dear Jim:
Will you let me know with all speed at post office box #658, Church Street
Annex, New York City, just what time, and just where, and how to get to your
Philadelphia meeting Thursday P.M.
It seems a great movement towards Philadelphia is welling up here amongst the
brethren. At least one automobile load will put in an appearance, and perhaps
two.
It never rains - it pours! Twenty five dollars, coin of the realm has just
come into my hands and I am endorsing it over to you as per enclosed.
Once more Jim, a lot of thanks for the automobile. We appreciate what you did
so much.
Now a final burst of generosity comes from Ruth Hock who is sending you one
returned book and one new one, partly in consideration for the big business
done at Wanamakers, partly for the use of the Philadelphia brethren, but
mostly, I suspect, because she likes you so well.
Yours,
/s/ Bill
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
December 9, 1940
Dear Jimmy,
Sorry you couldn't get up. I was away and so missed Bill Wells.
Jack Alexander expects to be in Philadelphia all day next Sunday. He would
like to see Drs. Hammer and Saul and also the man in charge of alcoholics at
the Philadelphia General Hospital. Will let you know just when he will arrive
and may come down myself, proceeding with him, Sunday night to Akron where he
will also take in the Cleveland group, going from there to Chicago and finally
writing his article at St. Louis, which is his home town. This schedule is
still tentative so will keep you posted.
Wes Northridge tells me there is another opening in your out-fit and he
expects to interview your Mr. Carns (?) about it within a day or two. If you
feel you can, I wish you would write this gentleman and put in a good word for
Wesley with your boss. Some months ago I would not have done this for I have
learned to be careful about pushing people too hard for jobs under some
conditions.
But in this case I feel very different. There has been a really miraculous
transformation in Wes. It is one of the most remarkable things I have ever
seen and I am positive that it is going to stick. Lois and I rode with him
over to the Rockland meeting the other night when we had a good chance to talk
for a long time. All of the cockiness and disagreeable egotism is a thing of
the past. Moreover, he had laid hold of the spiritual angle in a big way. So I
am willing to bet on him without any reservation whatever. As you know he has
held some swell jobs and is usually competent to make the kind of industrial
survey you are selling.
Please find enclosed a copy of my report to the Trustees. Ruth is away in
Cleveland and I can't give you Kathleen Parkhurst's address.
Give all the boys my best together with greetings from the whole New York
group who appreciated the telegram from the Philadelphia group. Though we
haven't framed the telegram, it hangs on the bulletin board big as life.
Be seeing you soon.
As ever,
/s/ Bill
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
January 11, 1941
Deal Jim:
First of all please thank Art McMasters and all of the Philadelphia group for
their telegram of Christmas greeting to Lois and me. An avalanche of cards,
letters, etc. came in from all over the country and it gives us both a great
thrill to realize how many true friends we have.
Your detailed description of operations at the Research Council was most
gratifying. I have followed up the Foster Kennedy situation to the point where
Blaisdell, although he won't read the paper himself, states he will request
Dr. Smith to prepare and read one at the New York Academy of Medicine. And as
you know, Dr. Foster Kennedy will speak on the paper and the entire
proceedings will be published in the Academy Quarterly. This will, of course,
validate our work all over the world and will, in one grand short cut, make it
possible to sell any doctor the program
immediately.
Some of the follow-ups you suggested I can make myself when Lois and I come
down to Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia, which will be some time within
the next two weeks. The rest of them I think ought to wait on publication of
the Post article which is so powerful (we have just seen the manuscript) that
it alone ought to push almost any doctor over because of its clear description
and such convincing statistical data. Sommers, the Post editor, wrote us a
nice letter saying that he believes the article will
prove a great one both for the Post and for us; and after reading the article
there can be no doubt of that.
As a model A.A. group I know all you Philadelphians will be set for the new
grist of prospects when they appear.
With best to Mary, yourself, and all our friends,
As ever,
/s/ Bill
__________
January 23, 1941
Dear Jimmy:
Just sort of a note to send along a copy of the second effort at a bulletin.
It doesn't contain very much and I'm full of ideas for it and such, but you
can realize how difficult it is to get very much of anything on one page. And
it is just out of the question to put out a lengthy bulletin right now. So
this will have to do for the present. I've sent a few along to Art McMaster.
Bill won't be down for another week or two though he definitely has the trip
in mind. Finley Shepard is working on the Foundation money angle right now and
Bill wants to be handy. Besides which Lois has the grippe and won't be set to
go anywhere for another week. She is feeling much better now and is on the
upgrade but needs rest and quiet.
As you have perhaps already heard, the article will have the first three pages
of that issue of the Post. We don't know yet whether the cover will carry an
announcement of it or not, but it may. There has been some confusion about
pictures, but they now have an assortment and what they will use only the Lord
knows. They have club pictures,
hospital pictures, office pictures, large group pictures and what have you.
The big group picture taken in Cleveland was a floparoo. After they went to
all the trouble to get four or five hundred people together, and hired a
commercial photographer, he let them down for the picture, for some
unknown reason, just didn't come out. They had to get another group together,
about a hundred and take that.
Did the Post get in touch with any of you down there for some splash picture
of some kind. They wanted something hair raising like a man being carried into
a hospital on a stretcher or something. Will you let me know if they did? I
hope not!
No other news - my best to Mary - be seeing you -
/s/ Ruth [Hock]
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
December 11, 1947
Dear Jimmy:
Well, it's been a long time. But you know me. More than usually delinquent, I
realize I never answered your request for a financial lift. Nor have I thanked
you for that history of A.A. The first came when I was feeling pretty low
myself and had already committed the dough the Foundation set aside for us to
improvements on the house. So, actually I wasn't in a position to help. Later
on George Hood, I believe, brought me the history.
That history I did read with tremendous interest, as have several others who
have since been to the house. I think several of the oldtimers ought to wright
[sic] up their impressions just as you have done. If we had a dozen such
accounts, I think it would be possible to piece together, after referring to
the office files, an extremely accurate account of just what happened and who
did what. Personally I don't care a rap who did what. But I suppose there will
be a lot of debate about it later on. So the material should be assembled from
different points of view and the best possible record made. I don't think it
would be possible for me ever to write a detailed history of A.A. I could only
tell the story in a very general way. But if this thing keeps growing and
making a stir, I suppose some historian will want to know the real facts by
and by. If we don't assemble them now, the record never will be anywhere near
straight. And lots of interesting detail and incidents will be forever lost.
So your effort in this direction
is tremendously appreciated, Jim. Don't let my negligence of correspondence
make you think it isn't.
Lois and I expect to get out on the road a great deal after the first of the
year. It looks like we might hit the Coast beginning at Vancouver and, say
about the middle of March. Thereafter we should work southward, arriving two
or three weeks later at San Diego. This however, is tentative -- only a guess.
The idea of the trip would be to help explain and consolidate the Traditional
material I have been publishing in the Grapevine. The planks of our recovery
platform seem pretty solid. The sidewalls of the structure are now going up.
They are the Traditions.
And too, we shall have to do something further about the New York
Headquarters. A self-perpetuating Board of Trustees, unkown [sic] to most A.A.
members, could never stand up over the long future. So we shall have to have
some kind of annual conference in which out-of-towners delegated for the
purpose would sit down and talk things over with the Trustees, the office, and
the Grapevine, and make a joint annual report to the Groups. But how in the
hell to choose this conference without politics and uproar has always been a
puzzle.
After a lot of thought, I am beginning to think we have an answer -- at least
a partial one. The conference can't be too big, it cant be too small. It can't
ever be a political or governing body. Just a bunch of sane AA's who will sit
down and see whether things are going all right in New York and make a report
on it. I think that's all we shall ever need. But how shall we make the
assembly of the conference simple, fair, and not political? That's the burning
question.
What do you think about this? Why not divide the country, including Canada,
into four equal quarants. [sic] Suppose we take latitudes and longitude line
already on the map. Say 40 [appears that it said 10 and was corrected by ink
to 40] degrees latitude and 95 degrees longitude. The north and south line
would pass just west of Chicago, the east and west line just above San
Francisco and Washington. Then why not build the conference up a little at a
time. The first year a panel of twelve, the next, twelve more, and the third
year another batch of twelve. At the end of three years the total of
out-oftowners [sic] would be thirty-six. Which, plus the Headquarters people,
would make a conference of about fifty. To get the first panel of twelve, we
would go to the three largest groups in each area. These twelve would be
delegated for a three-year term, and each would have an alternate. The second
year we would do exactly the same thing. We would then have six
people from each quadrant. But this would still leave a serious inequality. As
matters stand to-day [sic] the northeast quadrant would contain fifty per-cent
[sic] of all the A.A. members. So I suggest that the third panel of
twelve be selected on the size of the town only. No matter in which quadrant
the cities happen to be. This would weight matters up a little in favor of the
northeast quadrant, where so many AA's are to-day. [sic] If things change
later the composition of the conference would shift accordingly. We might even
include foreign centers in this list of twelve, or we might create, later
years, a special foreign panel.
Having thus designated the conference cities mechanically, why shouldn't we
suggest to them that they do the same in picking out a delegate. Otherwise we
shall have thirty-six political brawls every year at the designated point. Why
couldn't central committees, or in case it is where there is no strong central
committee, why couldn't the groups themselves each nominate their choices. And
it ought to avoid politics or hand picking from here. Even though some hand
picking might be done at the present time, it surely
couldn't be done later on when the present old-timers are gone. I'm convinced
the whole process will have to be pretty much mechanical. What do you think
about all this?
Please write me and tell me about all the news, especially about yourself and
that good wife of yours. Lois and I hope you both prosper and we shall look
forward so much to seeing you when we come.
As ever,
/s/ Bill
__________
3943 Louisiana Street
San Diego 4,
Calif.
January, 16th 1948
Dear Lois and Bill
It was swell hearing rom [sic] you at last, especially to hear you all are
coming out our way this spring. I think you will be very agreeably surprised
at the real progress of AA on the Coast. They seem to go to many more meetings
than the Eastern groups and all the groups seem to be shaping up beautifully,
especially in the last year or so. One of the things I do especially like out
here in [sic] that they read the Fifth Chapter of the Book before the
meetings. This seems to have more meaning to the new fellows than the reading
of the Steps alone.
The business deal I wrote you about did not materialize so no harm was done. I
left the Government (War Assets) in August and played around with a couple of
things. Now I hope I have a sales job that might work out for the long
pull but will not mention it until you come out.
January 8th was my tenth year in AA but 10th year of sobriety will not be
completed until June 15th, so hope you will be here for it.
Bill, your plans for an annual national conference with rotating
representation from the country at large is the best news I have heard from NY
since the Grapevine was started. In my opinion it will be the big step in
making AA solid for the future - it will help AA groups to understand each
other better and it will do more to sell, consolidate and perpetuate the AA
traditions than anything else possible. It will also save many new groups much
of trial and error that has been necessary in the past, and I think you will
be very agreeably surprised to see how well they will all get along
together in conference.
Your idea of dividing the country into quadrants sounds fine. However, I would
suggest, first, that you have a preliminary meeting of about twelve or
fourteen AA's from the heavy membership area. You can then present your
conference ideas to them and they can polish them up - then they will go back
to their own groups and present the ideas as their own. This, I believe, would
make for better acceptance of the plans nationally and will make all feel part
of the planning. My thought would be to have each of the following areas send
a representative to New York for a round table discussion of a national
conference and rotating board:
New York - Atlanata [sic] - Seattle
Boston - St. Louis -San Francisco
Philadelphia - Denver - Los Angeles
Washington, DC - Dallas - Cleveland
Chicago - Detroit
Would suggest that each area pick their representative from among their five
oldest and most active AA's and that their sobriety shoud [sic] at least be
five years wherever possible. The area should finance the trip and the men
chosen should be in a position to take time off and be willing to circulate
among their local groups on their return and put the idea over to them. Of
course all this could be suggested and sold to the groups gradually through
the Grapevine and special letters to the groups at large. I would do
everything to make the groups feel that this was their party and that all the
constructive ideas would be considered.
It has always been my idea that the drunk will support anything in which he is
given an active part.
So much for that. Rosa and I do love it out here. Everyone has been grand to
us and we feel a real part of the community and the local AA. Rosa has been
very active and helpful in the Women's Group and I am really trying hard to
stay out of the middle of things. I am a great believer in the oldtimers
getting on the sidelines and letting the two and three year boys and girls do
the dirty work. Us oldsters got to know to [sic] much!
I'm so glad George Hood was able to give you the "History" and that you hope
to assemble similar material in order that a factual story may be written up -
you are so right that with the passage of time so much is apt to be lost or
forgotten.
We have had a great deal of fun with your mother - we were all together for
Thanksgiving and Christmas both this year and last. She is one grand fellow
and is now a real AA - that's what she says.
Well, all here are looking forward to your visit and are so glad to hear all
the good reports on how well you and Lois are.
Best to you both,
/s/ Jim
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y
August 23, 1949
Dear Jimmy and Rosa,
Thanks so much for all the up-to-the-minute news. Just got a letter from
mother saying she nearly took the plane East.
Better luck next time, though I doubt she will come down in winter weather.
Lois and I devoutly hope she will make it just for once before it is too late.
I note with a lot of interest that you saw Dick Stanley. What you say is not
surprising for we oldtimers, nearly all of us, are getting frightfully stale.
I know that's very true of me. I have lived and worked far too long in the
trouble department of AA. Anybody who does enough of that will finally go sour
or crack up entirely. It is so everywhere. The oldtimer situation is getting
to be a real problem. In a sense it means we all have to start over again and
get back to first principles. I am glad to see at the group and intergroup
levels that our service affairs are in the hands of two or five year old
people. Moreover these folks were not so badly burned as we oldsters. As a
class they are not so screwy.
As you have probably gathered form Dick, neither he nor Dr. Bob are for a
conference. They seem sincerely persuaded that it would cause more trouble
than cure. Naturally this pits [sic] me in a hard spot. It is most difficult
to oppose Smithy under any circumstances and especially now on account of his
health. Therefore I suppose I expect I shall just have to wait until
experience makes it painfully clear to everybody that the groups must
participate or the Foundation, the Office, and the Grapevine will go under. We
always learn the hard way anyway. Even if a conference proved a flop, and I
could know that before hand, I would still be for trying out the idea.
Basically these central assets belong to the AA movement. Nobody has the right
to withhold from the group their opportunity to participate in the management
of their own affairs. However, time will tell the story.
Meanwhile I'm withdrawing as much as possible from any special activity hoping
to be able to put some of the last ten years experience on paper. Whether I
shall find the energy and the enthusiasm to see the job through, I frankly
don't know, but at least I can try.
Mother always writes so enthusiastically about your helpfulness, I know it
means so much to her, so please know of my great thanks.
/s/ Bill
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
December 15, 1950
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
3611 Park Blvd.
San Diego, california [sic]
Dear Jim and Rosa:
Thanks for your letter of November 10th. Plenty certainly happened since you
penned that one. It is hard to get used to the idea that Dr. Bob is gone. But
his job was well finished. No more could have been ask [sic] of him. Yet it
will take a log time to get used to his absence.
Much obliged for all you say about A.A. on the coast. I suppose that by now
you have seen the Conference Plan. I would very much like your view of it,
though I guess you did not see the preliminary draft. There wasn't too much
time for consultation because final approval came only at the October Trustees
meeting. We have to hold the first session in April or put it off a whole
year. The Foundation Annual Reports would be too cold if held at any other
date.
With much interest I note what you saw about Hal Silverton. I fully agree,
too, that Hal's part in the early days on the Coast has been persistently
overlooked. The first time I ever went to L.A., he seemed noticeably not
included in the festivities. Maybe I am wrong about that, but such was the
appearance. Personally, I have always liked him a lot. These considerations
would all make me look favorably on him for the post you suggest.
But, are there not other considerations too? Around Los Angels, there is the
largest aggregation in all A.A. Today, not one in a hundred of them know Hal.
I don't believe he has been active in that area for years. These facts, would
of course, suggest some old-timer in L.A. who has continued to be active and
who is still favorably well-known. Besides, I understand Hal's health is very
dubious; that he is often on the sick list. These are the facts which give me
pause when I consider your suggestion.
At best, the Trusteeship on the Coast is a ticklish business.
So many oldtimers are in each other's hair or are so little known that we may
have to ask a Group Representativies [sic] assembly to pick one out for us.
This hand-picked business gets more full of dynamite each year A.A. grows
older.
So think it all over again and let me have your reaction.
Meanwhile, Lois joins in Christmas best to you both.
Devotedly,
/s/ Bill
WGW/hgb
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
August, 31, 1951
Dear Jim and Rosa,
Thanks greatly for your good letter, containing fine news of you, also the sad
news concerning Earl Ryan, to whom I have just written.
As you say, the Conference did come off very well. The results upon offices
finances has already been excellent. We have taken in enoufg [sic] money
during the past seven months to finance the Office for six months. Meanwhile,
the Grapevine deficit has dropped from one thousand a month to the break-even
point. The books in Works Publishing are also doing much better. So we won't
use up any more reserve for 1951, and if things continue this way, we may add
ten thousand dollars to it at the end of the year.
Respecting a name for the Family Groups. Lois and Ann Bingham, a neighbor,
have opened a Post Office Box for these groups. Right now, they are
corresponding with many of them, the question of the name still being up in
the air. To date, their correspondence suggests that the name may turnout to
be Alanon Family Group or the Alanon Group. Only a few seem to like the word
"Associate". This is because, I suppose, there is still a good deal of
hostility toward them in some quarters. So they do not wish to use any word
which would indicate an alliance with A.A.
As you may have heard, Alcoholic Anonymous is receiving the so-called Lasker
Award for meritorious service in the public health, to be awarded at the San
Francisco Opera House October 30th. I shall probably come to San Diego to see
Mother prior to that time.
Meanwhile, best luck-and congratulations.
As always,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Jim and Rosa Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N.Y.
November 24, 1953
Dear Folks,
You two have certainly received tough assignments lately. And this is to tell
you how often Lois and I regret your illness, think of you, and pray for you.
We do hope this letter finds you on the up and up both physically and in
spirit. We need hardly question the latter for knowing you
as we do, you are bound to have a lot of what it takes.
Please do write and tell us just how things are with you and don't forget to
let us know if we can do anything. Also, if you are up to it, what about A.A.
and the news out there.
Back here, there isn't a lot to report. Group contributions for the office are
coming in pretty well and will, we think, meet the year's budget all right.
Slowly and surely, the general idea seems to be sinking in with the groups. In
many spots, the realization that A.A. has to function as
a whole, as well as in parts, is taking hold nicely. The new book has gone
mighty well, also - about 30,000 copies will be sold this year, about 10% of
these by Harpers. However, the sales of the big book has slowed down some 30%.
Whether this means the new book will cut into the old one permanently, we
can't say. It may be that the new line of pamphlets will slow the sales of the
both books down eventually. Only time will tell that. It won't matter
too much anyway, so long as people get the message.
Speaking about the new book, I suddenly realized I do not think I sent you
folks one. I really meant to do this and so you will soon find one in the
mail, with all my affection and thanks.
So, good friends, hold fast. May God bless you. Write soon.
Devotedly,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia, Street
San Diego, California
__________
January 27th 1957
Dear Bill,
Many thanks for the copy of the A.A. story - and the grand recognition you
gave me. It's much more than I deserve except that I did prove to the original
crowd that a "nonconformist" had to change to get well. So maybe
that was good.
Bill, this history is the very finest thing you have done, and especially for
those who come to A.A. future. It is important that they know how and why we
came to be what we are, and why we should continue on our present lines. Too,
the way you brought all contributors in is splendid - it must have been hard,
painstaking job. I don't see how any of the originals can kick-back or
complain. I was particularly pleased at the way you handled poor old Hank -
even Caroline Parkhurst was happy about it!
I have absolutely no suggested changes. It does seem to me that I saw a copy
of a letter from you and Hank to Sam Shoemaker, resigning from the Oxford
group and dated Sept. 1937. In the book you say 1936 - am I wrong? Is there
any way to bring in Jackie Williams' Bellevue episode as an early tragedy? The
only other addition I might suggest is the Dr. Fishbein deal - where he got
five of the first books and then wrote that deathless review for the A.M.A.
journal. Am attaching a copy of the review in case yours is not available. And
that's absolutely all I can think of. I can certainly see why this book has
taken a long time to put together - it's a grand job, Bil. [sic]
You know that you have my deepest thanks for all you and Lois has done for me
- it's great to feel that by trying to live A.A. I have contributed a little
to the world and a little to help the future drunk coming to A.A. and your
tolerance in those early days made it possible.
Rosa is going to conclude this with a suggestion for the Tradition section of
the book.
Hi, you dear people; Is there any place for a brief mention of non-A.A.books,
pamphlets, records, etc. offered to members, secretaries, and those listed in
the directory, especially the kind directed or of interest to A.A.'s only with
discounts for group purchases, etc? There are many complaints and questions
about such material. For instance, the local Community 7 Family Welfare sell
and recommend "I Was a Very Sick Man" etc; then the new people ask us for them
and create the problem of trying to play them down without sounding
prejudiced. An offical [sic] pronouncement on this would be very useful.
And THANKS very specially for the word "compulsory" in re "There are no dues
..etc." This one word will make a tremendous difference in the collection
approach at group level! It's terrific!
We both send you our very best love and appreciation.
/s/ Jim
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, Calif.
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
March 20, 1957
Dear folks,
Forgive this rather long delay. I have been awful busy with both the book and
the television project. A contract for the latter will probably be signed
soon. NBC has purchased the story treatment. So I suppose that we shall begin
to try to dialogue it presently.
Meanwhile I have received about a hundred favorable replies on "A.A. Comes of
Age." Like your own, they are extremely favorable. I'm really delighted that
you folks like the book and can see so few changes.
I'm especially glad to have that early review in the A.M.A.
Journal. I have ransacked our files, but couldn't find it. We will try to put
this in the Appendix of the book, provided that Dr. Bauer of the A.M.A. will
be all right. And I'm sure he will; he is a grand chap.
I have heard from Dorothy and, as you say, she likes the book very much, also.
It was good to know that Caroline approved the way Hank was treated.
You are dead right about 1937 being the date we parted from the Oxford Groups.
Somebody else picked this up, too.
I'm also putting in a little bit about Jackie Williams, how, in
spite of the fact he didn't make it, he did us a lot of good. Also, the
discription [sic] of his funeral and the great faith that was felt by
everybody there. It was a very affecting incident which ought to be recorded.
Meanwhile, I've got to fly. A million thanks to you both.
Ever,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, california [sic]
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
April 3, 1958
Dear Folks,
Thanks for your last, so full of good news.
Be sure, Jim, to take it very easy for that first year after your coronary.
Lois did this and she's now good for anything - she can walk two or three
miles without fatigue, up hill and down. Like yourself, she's had no
recurrence. But the big trick is to let the job thoroughly heal and get a
fresh circulation established during the first year. It's the folks who go
tearing round that get in trouble. I guess I've said this three times already,
but it can't be emphasized too much.
Thanks again for all you have put into A.A. The race has been well run and I
hope that things will ease for you both on all fronts. It was good to hear of
the prospect of clearing up the debt on the house.
The TV business has come to life again. NBC backed away because they had a big
management row over there. Fred Coe, the noted producer, was interested while
with NBC. He has now moved to CBS. He has recently eviced
[sic] an interest. This he would have done before, but he supposed that NBC
owned the story outline. As a matter of fact, we kept the property ourselves
and only offered the use of it. We let Coe know this recently, and he says he
wants it for fall production. But seeing is believing!
Everybody sends all the best.
Ever yours,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego 3, California
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
July 1, 1958
My dear Jim,
Thanks for your last letter, telling me all the good news of
yourself and reminding me of your approaching anniversary* I do wish I could
share it with you, but the press of affairs here is so great that I don't
believe there is a chance.
But please know how deeply appreciative I am for all that you did in the early
days and ever since, to make A.A. what it now is ... it is a record in our
annals that will never be forgotten.
I note that what you say about the upcoming 1960 Conference and will suggest
your name to the committee. They tell me there is still some question whether
Long Beach will be big enough to accommodate the crowd.
Judging, however, by the action of the Conference, I think we shall make the
best of what is there. It is certainly the largest center of population and
this would guarantee the gate at once. Probably you have heard by now that
Lois's sister Kitty died. She contracted lung cancer a couple of years ago,
had an operation, but it finally caught up with her. She made a great job of
the whole business -- it was vastly inspiring. I hope I can do half as well
when the clock strikes.
Meanwhile, please have all the best and the same to your good lady. Wish I
could make this longer, but am piled high.
Devotedly,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego 3, California
*Jim - Bill just gave this record recently, to transcribe, so your anniversary
has been past these many days! Sorry to be so late.
Nell Wing.
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
May 24, 1960
Dear Folks
Memories of your visit here are still green and most enjoyable to think on.
My hopper is pretty full just now. Founders Day is coming up, I'm trying to
finish those Twelve Concepts, and Long Beach is just in the offing. I haven't
begun to get ready for that, at least so far as what I am to say is concerned.
However, I have very little luck in preparing that kind of thing in advance.
I wish we had thought of an old timers meeting earlier. I'm taking this up
with the office, but I imagine the schedule is pretty tight, as matters now
stand. I don't [know] how we would go about getting such a crowd together -
where and how we would find them and so forth. But I'll inquire.
Meanwhile, all the best,
Ever devotedly,
/s/ Bill
MGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
August 8, 1960
Dear Rosa and Jim,
Very sincerely I feel not a little badly that the Convention gave you, and
perhaps other very old timers, an unhappy experience because of the lack of
recognition.
When you wrote me, not too long before the Convention, about the possibility
of an old timers meeting, I did check this up. The schedule was then in pretty
air-tight shape, so far as the official sessions went. Perhaps I should have
followed this thing through more fully, trying to get some sort of informal
meeting together. As you know, Hank got awfully sick just prior to the
Convention. This threw added burdens on me. I must confess to neglect and
forgetfulness - at least to some extent.
As a matter of fact the Convention ran a little bit behind several thousands,
we don't know just how much yet. There was always a question of how many
people we could bring long distances pre-paid, and on what ground we could
fetch them. In this connection, I did [not] give you and Rosa much thought
because you near by. But I did think a good deal about Henrietta Seiberling
and Bob Oviatt in Akron, both of whom preceded you, I think A.A.-wise.
Admittedly, I did not think of Clarence. Probably this is because he has
always disapproved of conventions and all of the doings of the New York
headquarters - off and on he has had us under bitter attack for years. I
didn't mean to let that effect [sic] me, but subconsciously maybe it did.
In any case, you will surely remember that I tried to give all
possible credit in "A.A. Comes of Age" to you, Bert, Dorothy, Clarence, and a
great many others.
Considering the time at my disposal, I did not see how you people could have
been introduced in either of my talks. In the first one I could only show the
bare beginnings of A.A. In the second one - which was altogether too long - I
had to dwell on the development of the Traditions. I really don't see where
you folks would have fitted in - at least to the
satisfaction of the audience in that respect. Naturally I had to bring in Ebby
because despite his lack of soberiety [sic] he was at the very beginning.
Sister Ignatia was certainly due for a bow after all these years. After all,
she and Smith ministered to 5,000 drunks - a number far greater than you and I
ever thought of touching ourselves.
In this connection I also felt not a little sorry that Henrietta
wasn't invited. There was not only the question of cost. Though she has been
extremely friendly during the last two or three years, it must be remembered
that she has never cared for the convention idea and indeed, was against the
whole New York headquarters operation for many years. For several reasons she
wasn't invited. Maybe that was a mistake. I know that, for one, I was damn
sorry she wasn't there. However, I wasn't the entire boss of this whole
undertaking, by any means.
I don't know whether you and Dorothy got to say anything at those Alkathon
meetings. Some of them were very outstanding indeed, and apparently rated much
higher in many A.A. minds than any of my efforts. If you were not
invited this [is] surprising indeed, considering how prominent you,
especially, have been out on the Coast, well known to everybody. If this was
an omission, it certainly gives me cause for wonder, as doubtless it does you.
However, those arrangements were all made by the Coast people.
Nevertheless I suppose if I had been thoughtful enough about it - which I
wasn't - I might have taken pains.
I guess the upshot of it is that life never gives quite the deal we would
like. On one hand, you say that you suffer from lack of recognition, and I can
say with certainly equal fervor that I greatly suffer from far too much.
Ever devotedly yours,
/s/ Bill
WGW:nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
August 2, 1961
Dear Folks,
Thanks so much for that last news of you both. It's good to read on and
between the lines that you both are well and happy.
We can say the same. Haven't had better health in years.
Am progressively detaching myself from active management of A.A. affairs, just
as I probably should have done before this. The November Grapevine will carry
a piece to the effect that I can no longer get around speaking, nor
participate in active management of the office. Of course I
shall be glad to help put on blow-out patches, if anything serious turns up.
But I do hope to keep up some writing. This seems to be about the only channel
left. My present series in the Grapevine is a trial run to see if I can do a
larger book on "Practicing These Principles in all our Affairs".
About those Twelve Step Houses. Well, honestly, I don't know. Like the clubs,
some appear to be good and others bad. Are most of the Twelve Step Houses on
the Coast those famous "boarding houses"?
Lois and I are just now taking off for a month - the most of it probably to be
spent at the old home town in Vermont, that is if we can hide out up there!
Meanwhile, all goes well at General Headquarters. The
contributions and book sales are fine. And the reserve fund continues to grow
slowly. So we could stand quite a lot of hard times, if necessary.
Do you like the Grapevine any better nowadays? We have been trying hard to
improve it and have depended on improvement for increased sales, which are now
up about 2,000 from the low point of a year or so ago.
Meanwhile, Lois joins me in all affection, and I'll ask her to send you an
Al-Anon book.
Always devotedly,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
November 14, 1961
Dear Jim,
First, all the best to you both. And thanks for your remembrance of mother -
she die [sic] May 15th last. When, during the last few months she realized she
could not get out of bed alone, she began to quit eating. This was quite
deliberate, and it finally did her in. That was the way she wanted it, and she
made a swell job of passing away - in fact, was mighty cheerful about it.
You may have noticed my article in the Grapevine, which indicates that I have
taken another several steps toward the sidelines. For many years I meant
business on this, and at last the time is now here.
I think there are a few situations in which I can still help. Our
trusteeship needs several more out of town members, and perhaps a better
method of selection. Eventually I expect we shall have to shift the ratio and
install an A.A. Chairman of the Board. If we fail to do this, we shall be
denying our present-day capabilities. And whether this is a good idea or not,
we shall never know unless we try.
As to the Twelve Step Houses - well, there you've got me. I haven't actually
seen one of these operations in a very long time. I think the impression at
the office is that some seem good, some seem fair, and others practically no
good. About the best that can be done is to restrain them from soliciting
money at the top public level or busting anonymity for publicity and the like.
From this end we try to hold the line at this top level. Beyond that there
isn't a thing that we can really do except to leave these situations to the
areas concerned. It's like the trouble we used to have with the clubhouses in
the old days. Some were damn good, some were damn bad. But these things do
have a way [of] working around, after enough experience. What the outcome of
the Twelfth Step Houses will finally be, I'm
less qualified to predict than anybody I know. I'm getting like Rip Van
Winkle, just waking up in the Adirondacks!
Meanwhile, the old desk gets piled pretty high, in spite of my supposed
retirement. I could make a full-time job of answering mail; another full-time
job looking after all my old friends in trouble; a full-time job of traveling
and speaking; a full-time job of messing around the office.
But I don't think these are the most effective things that I could do from
herein. I shall continue to do a little of all of them, but the assignment has
gotten so big that it couldn't be handled anyway. So I'm beginning to get out
from under a great many of these things which may often be desirable to do,
but which are becoming impossible.
Once again the old desk is piled up - so I have to fly. I know you'll
understand.
In affection,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
__________
W.G.W.
Box 459 Grand Central Annex
New York 17, N. Y.
August 29, 1962
Dear Folks,
Your letter reached us while on vacation in East Dorset, Vermont, the old home
town. Sometimes I wish I could resettle up here.
Thanks for all the news and views. As you imply, we are not so young as we
used to be. I'm beginning to feel this also, as is Lois. However, we are still
doing okay, thank God.
About the late lamented April Conference. There, I think we made some A.A.
history, but I question just the right kind. I do think that my
recommendations for strengthening the General Service Board would have bucked
up our situation a good deal against a future time of real trouble. Routinely,
things would go along nicely with present setup. But if the heat really came
on in a big way, I would rather see a stronger situation to handle it, so I'm
sure we ought to experiment in this direction -- something that the Conference
and trustees seemed very adverse to doing.
It wasn't [so] much that I was surprised or disappointed by the Conference
decision -- the thing I deplored was the haste and even recklessness in which
it was taken. At the very least I think I might have been aloud [sic] to get
my recommendations printed as an Appendix to the Third Legacy Manual, along
with the Concepts. But evidently the Conference and the Trustees thought the
material to be of so little merit that it should not be put on permanent
record in this fashion. In a way, this attitude amounted to censorship,
something I can't exactly relish. I hope future
Conferences will allow me the courtesy of being printed permanently. After
all, the recommendations might prove to be some use later on.
But one good thing did come of it. Future responsibility was so completely and
eagerly taken away from me that my trip to the sidelines has been greatly
facilitated. It's now strictly up to the Trustees and to the Conference and on
their own say-so. In a sense, this is a great relief, because, as you know, I
have been backing away for along [sic] time. So the job is now complete.
All the best now, and God bless you both. In this Lois joins,
Affectionately,
/s/ Bill
WGW/nw
Mr. and Mrs. James Burwell
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
__________
May 15, 1965
4193 Georgia Street
San Diego, California
Dear Bill,
Just received a letter from Hazel Rice, saying G.S.O. could not invite me to
Toronto, for it would break a precedent. First, I did not ask anyone in G.S.O.
for an invitation. I did mention to Hazel down in Washington, D.C., that I was
retired and could not afford the trip and that I was going to talk it over
with you at Bedford Hills, which I did, explaining
my circumstances.
But, since this has now come up in G.S.O., I do feel quite
hurt and slighted and unappreciated. I do feel a special exception can be made
as with Ebby at two conventions. This is really a hard letter to write. Am
listing a few unusual contributions I have made over these 27 years as
follows:
Am oldest active AA member at group level.
Did contribute materially in all three of our A.A. books, with phrases "God as
you understand Him" and "Only requirement for membership is a desire to stop
drinking," plus my own story.
In 1939-40 period did sell more books to stores, doctors, etc. than anyone.
Did help in 1940, finance (200.00 stock) to keep Vesey Street going.
Carried the message to and help organize original groups in Philadelphia,
Baltimore, Wilmington, and Harrisburg; plus half a dozen neighborhood and
hospital groups in Philadelphia and San Diego. The Philly group was the first
to contribute to New York.
Initiated the plan for Judge Bok to get us inside The Saturday Evening Post,
And Bill, I am the only one of the original members that has never bucked
publicly on any of your projects. Especially in 1948-49, I stumped the state
for your conference. I do hope this does not sound braggadocious,
[sic] but these are facts as I see them.
In all these years, this is the very first favor I have ever asked you or the
N.Y. office. Am now 68 and feel positive I will not make the next convention.
Also, this is the first convention I have ever been asked to speak or
participate, so do hope you will find ways and means to get me there.
After all, A.A. has only given me life and peace of mind. Maybe I should not
expect more, but have only done it this once in 27 years.
Our love to both you and Lois as ever appreciated,
/s/ Jim
__________
This is the "history" that Bill refers to in his December 11, 1947, letter to
Jim. It was supplied by Bill L, whose editorial comments are included:
(Jim Burwell was among the first members of A.A. to get sober in
New York. His sobriety date is 6/16/38 and his story can be
found in the Big Book called "The Vicious Cycle". Please keep in
mind when reading this that his recollection of some of the
specific facts around the first meeting of Bill Wilson and Dr.
Bob Smith are inconsistent with more reliable versions of the
same story.)
MEMOIRS OF JIMMY THE EVOLUTION OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
By Jim Burwell
The spark of Alcoholics Anonymous was ignited about the middle
of November 1934 in a kitchen on a second floor at 182 Clinton
Street, Brooklyn. This was Bill Wilson's home. The occasion was
the visit of a schoolboy friend of his from Vermont, Ebby
Thacher. Bill was in the middle of a binge, which had started on
Armistice Day. His friend Ebby had heard of Bill's trouble with
alcohol. Ebby was sober and Bill said later that this was the
first time he had seen him in that condition for many years, for
he always thought that Ebby was a hopeless drunk. He greeted
Bill on this visit with the words, "I've got religion."
Bill says at the time he thought poor Ebby had probably gotten
sober only to become balmy on religion. While still drinking, he
listened to Ebby's story about being converted some six months
previously by the New York Oxford Group. He told Bill about the
main idea of this group being one person helping another, and
their other formulas. Bill said he listened to all this talk
while he was in the process of keeping the jitters down by
continuously drinking and probably smiling cynically to himself.
When Ebby left a few hours later he practically dismissed the
incident, but he later found that this was not the case. Within
five days he found himself wheeled into his refuge, Towne's
Hospital on Central Park West in New York, for the third time
that year. On his arrival at the hospital with his wife Lois, he
was greeted and put to bed immediately by his old friend, Dr.
Silkworth, the Director.
Bill said that after he had been in bed a short while he heard
the doctor talking to Lois by the door, saying that if her
husband came out of this episode and did drink again, he did not
honestly believe he would live six months. [This was during an
earlier hospitalization.] Bill states that when he heard these
words he was immediately carried back to his talk with his
friend and could not dismiss the idea that although Ebby might
be batty with religion, he was sober and he was happy. He kept
turning this over in his mind, in a mild delirium, and came to a
vague conclusion that maybe Ebby did have something in a man's
helping others in order to get away from his own obsessions and
problems.
A few hours later when the doctor came in, he felt a tremendous
elation and said, "Doc, I've got it." At the same time he felt
that he was on a high mountain and that a very swift wind was
blowing through him, and despite the several weeks of drinking,
he found he was completely relaxed and quiet. He asked Dr.
Silkworth, "Am I going crazy with
this sudden elation I have?" The doctor's answer was,
"seriously, I don't know Bill, but I think you had better hold
on to whatever you have."
While he was in the hospital Ebby and the other Oxford Group
people visited Bill and told him of their activities,
particularly in the Calvary Mission. On Bill's release, while
still shaky, he visited Dr. Shoemaker at Calvary Mission and
made a decision to become very active in the Mission's work and
to try and bring other alcoholics from Towne's to the Group.
This resolution he put into effect, visiting the Mission and
Towne's almost daily for four or five months, and bringing some
of the drunks to his home for rehabilitation. During this time
he was also trying to make another comeback in his Wall Street
activities, for Bill, like many others, had built up tremendous
paper profits in the roaring twenties, only to go broke in the
'29 crash. However, he did make a temporary comeback in the
depression years of '32 and '33 as a syndicate man, only to have
John Barleycorn wipe him out more completely than ever in his
worst drinking year of 1934. Through hard work and a little good
luck, by May 1st, 1935, he managed to become a leader of a
minority group of a small corporation, and obtained quite a few
proxies from others. This group sent him out to Akron, Ohio,
hoping to get control of the corporation. Bill said later that
if this had happened, he would probably have been financially
independent for life, but when he attended the stockholders
meeting he found himself snowed under by the other faction. So
around the middle of May, there he was in the Portage Hotel in
Akron [Mayflower Hotel; Portage was the name of the country club
at which Henrietta Sieberling put Bill up for a few days, after
which he moved into Dr. Bob's home.] without even return fare
home and completely at the end of his rope.
Bill's story goes that he found himself pacing the lobby,
backwards and forwards, trying to decide whether to forget it
all in the hotel bar, when he noticed the Directory of Churches
at the other end of the room. The thought struck him that if he
could talk to another alcoholic he might regain his composure,
for that had been effective back in New York. Although he had
worked consistently with drunks for over six months he had not
been able to save anyone, with the possible exception of
himself. He telephoned several of the churches listed, and was
finally directed to one of the Oxford Group's leaders in town,
Henrietta Seiberling.
Bill tells of calling Henrietta and being so shaky that he could
hardly get the coin in the slot. The first thing he asked her
was, "Where can I find another alcoholic to talk to?"
Henrietta's answer was, "You stay right where you are until I
get there, for I think I can take you to the very man you are
looking for." This she did, and the man she took Bill to see was
Dr. Bob Smith, who later became the co-founder of Alcoholics
Anonymous. When Henrietta and Bill got to Dr. Bob's they found
his wife, Annie, alone. She was in a mental uproar herself
because her husband had been on the loose for several days.
After Bill and Henrietta had waited and chatted on the Oxford
Group policies, in popped the good doctor himself, quite potted
and with a potted lily in his arms for his wife's Mothers Day
gift. When Bob had been bedded Annie insisted that Bill stay and
try to straighten her husband out. Bill did this and his stay
lengthened into months. During the next few days Bill and Bob
talked for hours and decided to pool their resources to help
other drunks. When Bob had been dry only a few weeks, a new
hurdle arose, for Bob found it was imperative for him to go to a
medical convention in Atlantic City. Bob did make the
convention, but suddenly found himself drunk on the train going
back to Akron. However, this turned out to be his last spree,
for he dates his last drink June 15, 1935. [Note that Jim's
memory of the date differs from official version of June 10.]
This apparent calamity was probably one of the greatest
blessings in disguise for us later members, for it did cement
Bob in this new fellowship they were launching. Bill stayed on
with the Smiths until the 1st of October and during that time
Bob and he managed to secure two more converts to the fold. Bill
then returned to New York where he continued his previous
activities, with daily visits to Towne's and Calvary Mission.
During the latter part of October, Bill got his first real New
York convert, Hank Parkhurst. Hank later became one of the
genuine inspirations of Alcoholics Anonymous, for he was a
red-haired, high-pressure human dynamo. Before his last trip to
Towne's, where Bill found him, Hank had been sales manager for
Standard Oil
of New Jersey. From the time of their meeting and during the
latter part of 1935 it was Hank and Bill who did all the ground
work, but even then they had but indifferent success until their
next real convert, Paul Rudell came in about April 1936.
The next man to be pulled out of the mire, through Towne's, was
dear old Fitz Mayo who joined the others about November 1936.
From this time on the duet became a trio, Bill, Hank and Fitz
and they were the spearheads in drunk-saving for the Oxford
Group in the New York area.
However, they discovered in September 1937, that despite all the
wet-nursing, praying and rehabilitation work done at Bill's
house on Clinton Street, of approximately thirty-five or forty
drunks, they were the only three men to come clear in almost two
years. During this period many things happened, some quite
tragic, with even an alcoholic suicide in Bill's home.
In September 1937 the three concluded that perhaps their
technique would be better if they would do their work with
drunks outside of an affiliation with a religious organization.
Having arrived at this decision, the trio formally resigned from
the Oxford Group and concentrated all their efforts on working
with alcoholics in Towne's Hospital, using Bill's home as a
de-fogging station. About this time the first completely
alcoholic meetings were held in Bill's home on Tuesday evenings
and average attendance ran about fifteen, including the drunks'
families. Even though the trio had separated from the Oxford
Group, they still retained a lot of their principles and
utilized them in the discussions at these weekly meetings, but
at the same time more emphasis was placed on the disease of
alcoholism as a psychological sickness. At the same time they
stressed spiritual regeneration and the understanding of one
alcoholic for another.
A few months after the break with the Oxford Group, January
1938, I was brought into the New York fellowship from Washington
by Fitz Mayo, whom I had known since boyhood. I was enticed to
New York by the existence of this new group and a small job that
Hank Parkhurst gave me in a little business he and Bill had gone
into on the side. [Honor Dealers] When I arrived in New York I
found myself thrust into this new group of three or four
actively dry alcoholics, who at that time had no group name, or
real creed or formula.
Within the next two or three months, things really started
popping. Hank, with his promotional ideas, started to push Bill
into writing a formula, the trio finally decided a book should
be written on our activities and this was in June 1938. Bill was
naturally given the job of writing the book for he was the only
one who had made any real conclusive study of our problem. From
what I can remember, Bill's only special preparation for this
was confined to the reading of four very well known books, the
influence of which can clearly be seen in the AA Book. Bill
probably got most of his ideas from one of these books, namely
James' "Varieties of Religious Experience." I have always felt
this was because Bill himself had undergone such a violent
spiritual experience. He also gained a fine basic insight of
spirituality through Emmet Fox's "Sermon on the Mount," and a
good portion of the psychological approach of AA from Dick
Peabody's "Common Sense of Drinking."
It is my opinion that a great deal of Bill's traditions came
from the fourth book. Lewis Browne's "This Believing World."
From this book, I believe Bill attained a remarkable perception
of possible future pitfalls for groups of our kind for it
clearly shows that the major failures of religions and cults in
the past have been due to one of three things: Too much
organization, too much politics, and too much money or power.
Bill started his actual writing of our book in the later part of
June 1938 in Hank Parkhurst's office in Newark, with Hank's
secretary, Ruth Hock, taking dictation. About a month later Bill
had completed two chapters. Each had been brought up at the
Clinton Street Tuesday night meetings. Bill would read what had
been written to the group as a whole and then pull apart and
suggestions added by all those present. When these two chapters
were rewritten, we were all very elated because we felt we were
well on our way to saving all drunks everywhere.
With these two chapters in hand, and without any introduction of
any kind, Bill went to see the editors of Harper's Publishing
Company. Harpers immediately caught fire and offered Bill, on
the strength of this one visit, a $1,500 advance payment to
finish the book, plus regular author's royalties. Bill said
later that he almost succumbed to this offer because that was
big money in those days and we were all broke. When Bill
returned and reported this offer, Hank said, "If it's worth that
much for just two chapters from an unknown author, it's worth
easily a million to us," and the trio immediately determined
that Bill would finish writing the book and our Group would do
the publishing.
In August, promotion minded Hank formed our first corporation
for handling this book, to be named "100 Men Corporation" and he
provided that two-thirds of the corporation would belong to him
and Bill, the other third to be sold on shares at $25 par to
friends and members. He announced that this third should easily
bring us in $10,000, which was to see us through publication.
Our idea at this time was that the book alone would save the
drunks in the majority of cases, by self-education. Then it was
decided that there would be some that the book alone would not
do the job for, so another corporation was founded at the same
time called, "The Alcoholic Foundation." The Foundation's
function would be the disbursement of funds and the
establishment of alcoholic "farms" all over the country. The
money for this, of course, we would get after the sale of the
first million books. Then we were faced with the problem of who
was to go on this new foundation. At this time, August 1938, we
had only four men dry over a year in New York. These were Bill,
Hank, Fitz and Paul Rudell, so to these four Dr. Bob Smith of
Akron was added.
During this time of promotion, corporations and other such
activities, Bill continued his writing of the book, averaging
about a chapter a week. These were made up in triplicates, one
copy going to Akron, one to the Clinton Street meetings and the
third reserved as an office copy. These chapters, as completed,
would be ranked and mauled over in the two group meetings,
changes were noted in the margins and returned weekly to the
Newark office. About the middle of October 1938 the manuscript
of the book was finished and the personal stories that appear in
the AA book, in its present form, were contributed by individual
members from Akron and New York. As previously mentioned, the
name of the book at this time was "100 Men" and the new
corporation had finally raised, through forty-nine members in
New York and Akron, about $3,000.
We then submitted the book to Dr. Yussel, well-known critic of
New York University, this was about the 1st of November and he
was paid $300 to edit the book. Practically nothing was done to
the personal stories of the individual members and there was
less than 20% deletion from the original manuscript. When Yussel
returned the book we found our "100 Men Corporation" broke, the
$3,000 gone. The only concrete assets we had besides the
manuscript were some blank copper plates to be used in printing.
We also found our name "100 Men" inadequate for we had forgotten
the ladies and we already had one girl, Florence Rankin, on the
ball. In one or our discussion meetings at Clinton Street other
names were brought up for consideration.
Most prominent of these were "This Way Out," "Exit," "The End of
the Road" and several others. Finally we hit on our present
name. Nobody is too sure exactly where it came from but it is my
opinion that it was suggested by one of our newer members, Joe
Worden, who had at one time been considered quite a magazine
promotion genius, and who had been given credit for starting the
New Yorker magazine. Hank and Bill finally decided on the name
"Alcoholics Anonymous" in the latter part of November 1938.
About this time we almost had a disaster in our still wobbly
group but it later turned out to be a Godsend. Bill and Hank had
distributed quite a few copies of the original manuscript to
doctors, psychiatrists and ministers to get a last minute
reaction. One of these went to Dr. Howard, Chief psychiatrist
for the State of New Jersey. He became greatly interested and
enthusiastic, but was highly critical of several things in the
book, for after reading it he told us there was entirely too
much "Oxfordism" and that
it was too demanding. This is where the disaster nearly overtook
us, for it nearly threw Bill into a terrific mental uproar to
have his "baby" pulled apart by an outside "screwball"
psychiatrist, who in our opinion knew nothing about alcoholism.
After days of wrangling between Bill, Hank, Fitz and myself,
Bill was finally convinced that all positive and "must"
statements should be eliminated and in their place to use the
word "suggest" and the expression "we found we had to."
Another thing changed in this last rewriting was qualifying the
word "God" with the phrase "as we understand Him." (This was one
of my few contributions to the book.) In the final finishing the
fellowship angle was enlarged and emphasized. After many
arguments and uproars, the manuscript was finally finished,
complete, in December 1938. We now had one real problem - no
money.
It was about this time that the "100 Men Corporation" was closed
out and a new one started named "Works Publishing Company." This
name derived from a common expression, used in the group, "It
works!!" Those that had stock or
interest in the old corporation maintained the same priority in
the new one. (Editor's Note: Three years later the original
stock subscribers returned all their shares and interest in
"Works Publishing Company" to "The Alcoholic Foundation." Today
no individual has any financial interest in either the Alcoholic
Foundation or in Alcoholics Anonymous.)
Then a new wrinkle was devised by our master-minds, we would
make a couple of hundred multilith copies of the finished
manuscript and these we would use as a promotion for more stock
selling and at the same time to get possible
endorsement of well-known people, particularly, in the fields of
religion and medicine. These copies were distributed to the
Works Publishing Company shareholders and possible prospective
stockholders. With these multilith copies we sent out a
prospectus for our corporation and a note saying that the copy
could be purchased for $3.50 and a copy of the book, if when
printed, would be sent gratis to each purchaser. From this
venture, we did not get one new stockholder. However, the copies
did get into all sections of the country.
One created quite an amusing incident for it got into the hands
of a patient in a psychopathic hospital in California. This man
immediately caught fire and religion all in one fell swoop. He
wrote and told us about the wonderful release he had from
alcohol through our new Alcoholics Anonymous multilith. Of
course all of us in New York became highly excited and wires
bounced back and forth between us and our new convert regarding
this miracle that happened 3,000 miles away. This man wrote the
last personal history in the book while he was still in
California called the "Lone Endeavor". Our New York Groups were
so impressed by his recovery that we passed the hat and sent for
him to come East as an example. This he did, but when the boys
met him at the bus station the delusion faded, for he arrived
stone drunk and as far as I know, never came out of it.
The major result of the multilith was our first important
endorsement outside of our group and friends. It came from Dr.
Harry Emerson Fosdick, pastor of the Riverside Baptist Church in
New York and a nationally-known speaker and writer.
So here we were again, broke, only more so!
Bill came to our rescue, as usual, by floating a $2,500 loan
from Dr. Towne, who already had a good slice in the original
corporation. With the blank copper plates and Dr. Towne's loan,
Hank prevailed on the Cornwall Press, in February 1939, to make
8,000 copies for our first edition. The book was purposely made
to look bulky for two reasons -- to give it an air of
intellectual authority and to make it look like a lot for the
money. The dust jacket, with its familiar red, black, yellow and
white, was designed by one of our artist members, Ray Campbell,
whose story in the book is called "An Artists Concept". Although
Cornwall did print these 5,000 books in April 1939, they still
felt that we were quite short in our down payment and insisted
that the books be kept in a bonded warehouse and withdrawn only
on the payment of $2.00 per copy. Our method of distributing the
books was to get possibly ten copies out at a time, and the
members would individually buttonhole libraries, doctors and
others for sales. Funds received from these purchasers were in
turn used to buy additional copies, which in their turn were
sold in the same way. About the only bookstores we could
interest at the start was Brentano's in New York, who did gamble
on a half a dozen copies. Five of the very first books were
presented to Dr. Fishbein, editor of the American Medical
Journal to whom Dr. Towne had lauded AA. Dr. Fishbein had
promised to give us a real buildup in the Journal but when his
review appeared, it merely said that AA was nothing new and had
no real significance to the medical profession. So another
balloon busted.
In June, Bill and Hank decided to try another promotion stunt -
this was to put a 2" x 3" advertisement in the New York Times
Book Review. This cost us $250 and I have often wondered where
the money came from. We thought we had the real answer to
publicity this time, and we all sat back and started guessing
and betting among ourselves on the number of requests we would
get for our million-dollar book. The estimates ranged from 2,000
to 20,000 copies, but we were due for another disappointment, as
only two copies of the book were sold in spite of our seven-day
free trial offer.
It was about this time that we got our first really active girl
member, Marty Mann, who took the AA program while under
restraint at Blythwood Sanitarium. Marty's efforts on behalf of
women alcoholics in the early days were of inestimable value and
today she is one of the most indefatigable workers on behalf of
AA in the country.
It was also in June of this year that we made our first contact
with the Rockerfeller Foundation. This was arranged by Bert
Taylor, one of the older members, who had known the family for
years in a business way. Dr. Richardson, who had long been
spiritual advisor for the Rockerfeller family, became very
interested and friendly, and Bill and Hank made frequent visits
to him, with Hank on one side asking for financial help and Bill
on the other insisting on moral support only.
Our first national publicity was arranged through one of our new
members, Morgan Ryan in August 1939. This was a spot on the "We
The People" radio program, which was then very popular. Again we
were disappointed, for this publicity brought us only a dozen
inquiries and one book sale. This was despite the fact that we
sent out 10,000 post cards to doctors and ministers in the New
York area announcing the broadcast. It was also in August that a
real calamity befell Bill, for he and Lois were evicted from
their home on Clinton Street. This had once been Lois' girlhood
home and was AA's first home. Little did Bill and Lois know that
for the next two years they would be homeless, dependent on the
hospitality of other AA's.
About this time, too, another AA Group was launched in
Cleveland, Ohio. The founder was Clarence Snyder who had
received his AA Indoctrination with Dr. Bob in Akron. Clarence
and his wife, Dorothy, obtained our first newspaper publicity,
which was in the Cleveland Plain Dealer in September 1939. As a
result of this publicity the Cleveland Group, within thirty
days, became temporarily the largest group in the country.
Our first medical endorsement also came in September from Dr.
Richard Smith, Superintendent of Rockland State Hospital in New
York. His praise was the result of our work with alcoholics in
the hospital there over a period of
approximately six months. The first national magazine to give us
a break was Liberty, in October 1939, with a two-page article
labeled "Alcoholics and God". This article brought in about a
thousand inquiries and sold possibly one hundred books. My guess
would be that as a summary for the year 1939, we had three
active groups with a total membership of less than 200 and a
gross book sale for eight months of less than 500. By the end of
1939 also, AA was beginning to get some real recognition. At the
end of December that year John D. Rockerfeller, Jr. issued
invitations to some 200 of his closest associates and friends to
a dinner to be held February 8th 1940 at the Union League Club
in New York. The invitations stated that the purpose of the
dinner was to have these people meet a group of people on whom
Rockerfeller had become interested, no name announced. The
dinner and the publicity were arranged by Rockerfeller's
personal publicity man, Ivy Lee. Sixty actually attended this
dinner, some of the more prominent being Dr. Fosdick, Owen
Young, Wendell Wilkie, Sorenson of the Ford interests and Dr.
Foster Kennedy, President of the Psychiatric Association. Before
this dinner we felt it would solve all our problems, especially
the financial ones, for Ivy Lee himself estimated the personal
wealth of those present to be well over two billion dollars.
Fate was against us again despite glowing talks by Dr. Fosdick,
Kennedy, Nelson Rockerfeller and Bill, the total contributions
to Alcoholics Anonymous were less than $1,500, $1,000 of which
came from the Rockerfeller Foundation. (All of these
contributions were later returned in full.)
Still we learned later that we had gained a great deal more than
money from this dinner, for thereafter the Rockerfellers allowed
their name to be publicly used in connection with AA. It has
always been my contention that this was the real turning point
in the history of AA.
During the next six months practically the whole country was
spotted with AA groups. Between February and June 1940 Fitz and
myself started groups in Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore.
About the same time Earl Treat migrated from the Akron Group to
start one in Chicago, and Arch Trowbridge also went from Akron
to Detroit. It was also during these months that Larry Jewell
left Cleveland and organized a group in Houston, Texas. Kay
Miller, a non-alcoholic but the wife of one of the early Akron
members moved into Los Angeles and started their group. In the
Fall of 1940 a Jewish member named Meyerson, a traveling
salesman, started AA groups in Atlanta, Georgia and
Jacksonville, Florida.
The next outstanding event in Alcoholics Anonymous growth was
the publication of the Saturday Evening Post article. This was
mostly arranged through the efforts of two well-known
Philadelphia physicians, Dr. C. Dudly Saul and Dr. A. Wiese
Hammer. They had gained the interest of Judge Curtis Bok, one of
the owners of the Saturday Evening Post and in the early days of
Philadelphia AA, Judge Bok had been a constant visitor to the
group. It was in a large part due to his interest that Jack
Alexander was assigned to do a feature article on Alcoholics
Anonymous in August 1940. We were later told that the editors
also thought Alexander would be a good man to possibly "expose"
this new "screwball" organization. However, Alexander did
promise that he would not write his article until he had visited
groups and seen AA in action. He traveled from New York and
Philadelphia as far West as St, Louis and attended AA meetings.
His experience with these groups made him so enthusiastic over
the AA setup that the article he wrote was responsible for the
largest sale of a single issue of the Post in its history. The
Alcoholic Foundation office in New York reports that over 10,000
inquiries were received from this one article. Even today people
coming into AA groups in various parts of the country tell us
that their first knowledge of Alcoholics Anonymous was the
Saturday Evening Post article by Jack Alexander.
It is my guess that in March 1941 there were less than 1,000
active AA members in the Country and the following year we added
at least seven or eight thousand members.
(Editors Note: From this point on there is little the writer can
add to add to the all over picture of AA's progress for this can
be seen more clearly through the eyes of the New York office and
the original group.)
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++++Message 1707. . . . . . . . . . . . SOBRIETY TIME
From: ralpw2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/14/2004 5:53:00 AM
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RECENTLY ONE OUR MEMBERS IN AUSTRALIA DIED AFTER 52 YEARS OF
SOBRIETY. LAST YEAR HIS WIFE DIED AFTER 53 YEARS OF SOBRIETY. DOES
ANYONE KNOW OF ANY MARRIED COUPLE WHO HAD MORE THAN 105 YEARS OF
SOBRIETY BETWEEN THEM.
RALPH W.
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++++Message 1710. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Rowland Hazard
From: Roger Dowdy . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/13/2004 7:05:00 PM
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Several questions/myths regarding Rowland Hazard recently came up at our
District meeting. I'm hoping the more knowledgable folks in AAHistoryLovers
can help to clarify/dubunk them...
1. Did Rowland initially want to work with Freud and then Adler before going
to Jung?
2. Is it true Rowland got drunk on the return voyage after working with Dr.
Jung and he simply turned right around, making it a round trip? or was he
sober in the States for a short period of time prior to returning?
3. Also, what was the name of the ship?
Many thanks in advance,
Roger
_________________________________________________________________
Fast. Reliable. Get MSN 9 Dial-up - 3 months for the price of 1!
(Limited-time Offer) http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/
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++++Message 1712. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: Rowland Hazard
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/15/2004 9:00:00 AM
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Hi Roger and Group,
Re Rowland Hazard, I may be the culprit responsible for suggesting that
Rowland wanted to see Freud before consulting Jung. In "New Wine," page 14,
I mentioned that a Howard T. in Detroit used to say that. It's mere
speculation, but it is reasonable to believe that Freud would have been
first choice with most Americans at that time. But 1931 was a bad year for
Freud as he suffered terribly from cancer and would have had trouble seeing
patients.
Rowland's son told me they traveled to Europe on the Isle de France, but
this is not for certain either.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Dowdy"
To:
Sent: Saturday, March 13, 2004 7:05 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Rowland Hazard
> Several questions/myths regarding Rowland Hazard recently came up at our
> District meeting. I'm hoping the more knowledgable folks in
AAHistoryLovers
> can help to clarify/dubunk them...
>
> 1. Did Rowland initially want to work with Freud and then Adler before
going
> to Jung?
>
> 2. Is it true Rowland got drunk on the return voyage after working with
Dr.
> Jung and he simply turned right around, making it a round trip? or was he
> sober in the States for a short period of time prior to returning?
>
> 3. Also, what was the name of the ship?
>
> Many thanks in advance,
> Roger
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Fast. Reliable. Get MSN 9 Dial-up - 3 months for the price of 1!
> (Limited-time Offer)
http://click.atdmt.com/AVE/go/onm00200361ave/direct/01/
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________
> This message was scanned by GatewayDefender
> 7:23:37 AM ET - 3/15/2004
>
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++++Message 1713. . . . . . . . . . . . The AA Grapevine Digital Archive
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/15/2004 12:41:00 PM
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In June 2004, coinciding with the sixtieth anniversary of the magazine, the
new AA Grapevine Digital Archive will be up and running, and you'll be able to
go online and access every Grapevine article and letter ever published (all
12,000 of them), including the 150 articles Bill W. wrote for the magazine.
FREE UNLIMITED ACCESS for ALL for the entire month of June 2004.
With the AA Grapevine Digital Archive's search engine, you'll be able to
locate not just an individual article but a group of articles related by
topic. Just type in a key word, such as 'meditation'' or 'anonymity,'' and
you'll have a wealth of articles on the subject at your fingertips. You'll be
able to find articles by departments, such as Around AA or Ham On Wry, as well
as by author, geographic location, or issue. If you just want to browse,
you'll be able to scroll through topics to see what the Fellowship and its
friends have had to say about spirituality, twelfth-stepping, or the Concepts.
The subscription process will begin July 1, 2004. Starting then, you will be
able to subscribe to the AA Grapevine Digital Archive in the following ways:
1) Thirty-day access - $2.00
2) One-year access for Grapevine subscribers - $10.00 (until October 31, 2004
only, a special introductory rate is available for current and new Grapevine
subscribers - $5.00 for one-year access).
3) One-year access for non-Grapevine subscribers - $15.00
You must go online to subscribe, and you'll be able to link directly to the
Digital Archive from the Home Page:
www.aagrapevine.org
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++++Message 1714. . . . . . . . . . . . In Memory of Bobbie (1953)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/15/2004 12:44:00 PM
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April 1953 AA Grapevine
IN MEMORY OF BOBBIE
By Bill
MARGARET B., affectionately known throughout AA as "Bobbie," passed away in
her sleep on February 17th of an unforeseen heart ailment.
She had headed our General Service Office at New York in all the years of AA's
adolescence - that exciting but fearsome period when no one could tell for
sure whether our fledgling society would survive or not.
Across her desk came thousands of pleas for help from individuals and hundreds
from growing but anxious groups who wanted to be advised of the latest AA
experience in meeting the problems that assailed them. It was out of this
experience that AA's tradition was formed. And upon our tradition her devoted
labor set a mark which will endure so long as God will have our society last.
Her pioneering work has proved an inspiring precedent for every Intergroup and
Foundation secretary, and her departure creates in the heart of each of her
friends a void which can only be filled by the memory of what she left us and
the assurance that her destiny is happy and secure.
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++++Message 1715. . . . . . . . . . . . Recovery, Unity, Service - Worldwide
(1978)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/17/2004 2:12:00 PM
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The theme of the Fifth World Service Meeting (1978) was 'Recovery, Unity,
Service - Worldwide.'' The keynote address on this theme by David P., delegate
from Columbia, was so brilliant it was not only acclaimed by his immediate
audience in Helsinki, Finland, it became a kind of minor classic as it was
reproduced and distributed widely in the Fellowship. It is reproduced in full
here:
'The event we now open is indeed wonderful. We have gathered because, in spite
of all our differences, we have something in common that binds us together
with strong ties. We have known the process of a painful sickness. We have
achieved, by the grace of God, a recovery which now allows us to live and to
love again. We are involved in the spirit of unity that gives us strength. We
are impelled by a desire to give service. We are the inheritors of the
Legacies of A.A.
'The astronomers speak about certain bodies in outer space which, having lost
their generating function, shrink slowly and inexorably, concentrating
themselves in such a way that they shrink to infinitesimal size, but acquire
an impressive gravity. They are the so-called 'black holes,'' of very small
volume, with terrific weight. Their density becomes so concentrated that a
gravitational vortex is formed around them, a ghostly and catastrophic hole
that devours everything that passes by; light and radio and energy waves are
absorbed and drawn by that irresistible whirlpool.
'The same thing happened in our alcoholic life. Emotional overload led to a
shrinking of our mentality. A gloomy emptiness surrounded us. A tremendous
storage of negative energy took place, aided by our own guilt and suffering.
The greater our emotional load, the smaller our spiritual dimension. The
greater the density of our selfishness, the shorter the scope of our horizons.
Black holes in the space of our lives were sinking and paralyzing our
willpower, our capacities, our dreams, our ambitions, goals, and outlooks.
'Unlike those surreal bodies, we did have a way out of our condition. The
lifesaving message of A.A. came to us. And the tiny universe that confined us
started to expand again. We began to untie our imagination, our mind, and our
good will. We were ready to live and let live. Spiritual life was reborn. We
found harmony with brothers, God, and ourselves. And we called that Recovery.
'What, then is Recovery for me?
'It is not perfection, but the search for it. It is not lethargy, but a state
of awareness. It is realizing that there is a place for us in the world.
It is acknowledging that we, alone, cannot do anything, but with the help of
God we can accomplish everything.
It is being sure that we walk along the path, even though we make our path as
we walk.
It is living today as we would like to have lived yesterday, and as we wish to
live tomorrow.
It is knowing that our journey has a meaning, a reason for being.
It is a constant spiritual awakening. And, above all, recovery is a working
faith.
'We alcoholics have already suffered at the hands of a powerful enemy. We do
not wish to fight against anybody, not even against alcohol. We have endured
our illness physically, mentally, and morally. When we awoke to reality, we
stood amidst the ruins of a shattered life, a destroyed morality, and a
smashed dignity.
'Through the grace of God, however, we have survived by joining a society of
equals. We need each other in a harmonious environment in order to survive. We
needed Unity.
'What is Unity for me?
'It is not a monody, but a symphony of individual voices.
It is not a compact law, but a mixture of different opinions.
It is knowing that our alcoholic brother or sister has the same right to life,
happiness, and peace as we have.
It is feeling that the word 'we'' stands before the word 'I.''
It is admitting that we are all equal before God.
It is acceptance that different paths can lead us toward our final destiny.
It is a stripping of our pride, so we won't feel greater or lesser than our
fellows.
It is not doing to our neighbor what we wouldn't like done to us.
And, above all, unity is a working humility - humility to accept the ultimate
authority that expresses itself in our group conscience; humility to welcome
anybody who wishes A.A. membership; humility to understand that our service
tasks do not grant us power, command, or authority; humility to keep anonymity
that reminds us to place principles before personalities.
'In our drinking days, when the world was only a large 'nobody's land'' we had
selfishness as compass and our own fulfillment as schedule. Money,
intelligence, imagination, and initiative were used only as tools for
constructing a universe fitted to our size. When our castle made out of cards
fell down on our own heads, someone else came to rescue us, understood us, and
delivered the message that saved us. So much was put at our disposal -
literature to read, experience freely and gladly given, and a meeting place
where a cup of coffee was waiting for us.
'At first we received and used these services, taking them for granted. But
gradually we began to feel that a treasure, which we had no right to hide
away, was being placed in our hands. We had to give to someone else the light
of hope that had illuminated our darkness. It was unfair to let the fruits we
had harvested rot in the barns of our laziness. And so we turned to Service.
'What is Service for me?
'It is not altruism, but a need for survival. It is not charity, but an
expression of gratitude.
It is the responsibility of lending a hand to our brother or sister who is
drowning. It is recognizing that, by giving ourselves to others, we will find
our own souls.
It is learning that they who give the most, receive the most.
It is extending to other alcoholics the sobriety that was bestowed on us.
It is working so that others get a permanent place in the new world we have
discovered. It is remembering the words of Bill W.: 'We must carry A.A.'s
message; otherwise we ourselves may fall into decay and those who have not yet
been given the truth may die.''
And, above all, service is a working love.
'It is love that works - unselfish, patient, tolerant, anonymous love, love
that doesn't have a price tag on it. Love that has no envy and that endures
everything.
'In the name of John my fellow delegate, and all the A.A.`s of Colombia, I
would like to thank you for your kind invitation to address you. May God help
all the participants in this meeting, so that we may be able to find new and
better approaches to bringing to all alcoholics in the world our Legacies of
Recovery with Unity through Service.
'Finally, we should like to congratulate our Finnish brethren for having
undertaken, in such a brilliant, responsible, and effective way, the
organization of this meeting.
'Thank you very much."
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++++Message 1716. . . . . . . . . . . . Shep Cornell - Compiled
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/17/2004 4:52:00 AM
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The following is compiled from previous messages which have been deleted.
Nancy
Hello Group,
I had someone ask me a good question that I could answer or could not find any
additional information.
So I thought I would ask the HISTORYLOVERS
"What ever happened to Shep Cornwell?"
Thanks for your help
Charles from California
__________
Hello Charles and Group:
Charles, I think you have Shep Cornell in mind--no "w" in the name.
I talked with Shep by phone in 1980. He was then retired and living in
Earlysville, VA, right next to Charlottesville. It must not be very large,
because I don't find it in my Rand McNally Road Atlas.
Shep knew Bill, Lois, and Ebby from the 1920s days in Manchester. He was a
successful investor and even owned a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. I
don't know what circumstances led him into the Oxford Group, but he was a
member in 1934 and conspired with Cebra Graves to call on Ebby, who was having
lots of trouble right there in Manchester. Rowland Hazard joined them, and
became the key person in sponsoring Ebby.
Shep had an apartment in Manhattan and Ebby, after being taken there
(presumably by Rowland), soon moved to Calvary Mission, which was way over on
the East Side from Calvary Church. Shep was involved with Bill's early
attempts to fit in with the Oxford Group and apparently didn't think Bill was
very sincere at the time. He was well-heeled enough to take all of them to
dinner at a time when Bill and Ebby were both flat broke.
Shep was not an alcoholic, although he was abstaining at that time--much in
keeping with Oxford Group practice. (My belief is that most of the Groupers
didn't understand the crucial difference between normal drinkers and
alcoholics.) He told me that he drank moderately on occasions and had no
problem.
I have the impression that Shep didn't stay with the Oxford Group as the years
rolled on. He served in the Army during World War II, reaching the rank of
lieutenant colonel. After the war, he eventually joined a large manufacturing
firm in Milwaukee and became general manager. (I can't remember the name of
the company, but it was a large producer of automobile frames and farm silos.)
He was comfortably retired when I talked with him, and spent his days golfing
and, I assume, looking after his investments. Lois remembered him as a fine
golfer, and it's even possible that Bill played a few rounds with him in 1929,
when Bill was still flying high on Wall Street.
I heard some years ago that Shep had passed on, but I don't know the year.
It's possible that his name is in the Social Security Death Index. I believe
his full name was Shepard or Sheppard. Perhaps other History Lovers can do due
diligence and track this down.~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
__________
[18]
Check Francis Cornell 1899-1985 in SSDI -- I think he's the one.
(I believe it was Francis Shepard Cornell.) -- Jared Lobdell
__________
The info below was culled from the sources noted.
SOURCE REFERENCES:
AABB Alcoholics Anonymous, the Big Book, AAWS
AACOA AA Comes of Age, AAWS
AGAA The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous, by Dick B (soft cover)
BW-RT Bill W by Robert Thompson (soft cover)
BW-FH Bill W by Francis Hartigan (hard cover)
BW-40 Bill W My First 40 Years, autobiography (hard cover)
EBBY Ebby the Man Who Sponsored Bill W by Mel B (soft cover)
GB Getting Better Inside Alcoholics Anonymous by Nan Robertson (soft cover)
LR Lois Remembers, by Lois Wilson
MSBW My Search for Bill W, by Mel B. (soft cover)
NG Not God, by Ernest Kurtz (expanded edition, soft cover)
NW New Wine, by Mel B (soft cover)
PIO Pass It On, AAWS
1934
July, Ebby Thacher was approached in Manchester, VT by his friends Cebra
Graves (an attorney) and F Sheppard (Shep) Cornell (a NY stockbroker). Both
were Oxford Group members who had done considerable drinking with Ebby and
were abstaining from drinking. They informed Ebby of the OG in VT but Ebby was
not quite ready yet to stop drinking. (EBBY 51-55, PIO 113)
August, Cebra G and Shep C vacationed at Rowland Hazard’s house in
Bennington, VT. Cebra learned that Ebby T was about to be committed to
Brattleboro Asylum. Cebra, Shep and Rowland decided to make Ebby “a
project.” (NG 309)
November (late), Ebby T (who was staying at the Calvary Mission in NYC)
visited Bill W at 182 Clinton St and shared his recovery experience "one
alcoholic talking to another.” (AACOA vii, 58-59) A few days later, Ebby
returned with Shep C. They spoke to Bill about the Oxford Group. Bill did not
think too highly of Shep. Lois recalled that Ebby visited several times, once
even staying for dinner. (AACOA vii, NG 17-18, 31`, BW-FH 57-58, NW 22-23, PIO
111-116, BW-RT 187-192)
December 18, Bill W left Towns Hospital and began working with drunks. He and
Lois attended Oxford Group meetings with Ebby T and Shep C at Calvary House.
The Rev Sam Shoemaker was the rector at the Calvary Church (the OG’s US
headquarters). The church was on 4th Ave (now Park Ave) and 21st St. Calvary
House (where OG meetings were usually held) was at 61 Gramercy Park. Calvary
Mission was located at 346 E 23rd St. (AABB 14-16, AACOA vii, LR 197, BW-40
155-160, NG 24-25, PIO 127, GB 32-33, AGAA 144)
Arthur S.
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++++Message 1717. . . . . . . . . . . . Harry Tiebout Obituary (1966)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/21/2004 5:30:00 PM
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July 1966 AA Grapevine
In Memory of
HARRY
BY the time this issue of the Grapevine reaches its readers, the whole world
of AA will have heard of the passing of our well-beloved friend, Dr. Harry M.
Tiebout, the first psychiatrist ever to hold up the hands of our Fellowship
for all to see. His gifts of courageous example, deep perception of our needs,
and constant labor in our behalf have been - and always will be - values quite
beyond our reckoning.
It began like this: The year was early 1939, and the book, Alcoholics
Anonymous, was about to hit the press. To help with the final edit of that
volume we had made prepublication copies in multilith form. One of them fell
into Harry's hands. Though much of the content was then alien to his own
views, he read our up-coming book with deep interest. Far more significantly,
he at once resolved to show the new volume to a couple of his patients, since
known to us as "Marty" and "Grenny." These were the toughest kind of
customers, and seemingly hopeless.
At first, the book made little impression on this pair. Indeed, its heavy
larding with the word "God," so angered Marty that she threw it out her
window, flounced off the grounds of the swank sanitarium where she was, and
proceeded to tie on a big bender.
Grenny didn't carry a rebellion quite so far; he played it cool. When Marty
finally turned up, shaking badly, and asked Dr. Harry what next to do, he
simply grinned and said, "You'd better read that book again!" Back in her
quarters, Marty finally brought herself to leaf through its pages once more. A
single phrase caught her eye and it read, "We cannot live with resentment."
The moment she admitted this to herself, she was filled with a "transforming
spiritual experience."
Forthwith she attended a meeting. It was at Clinton Street, Brooklyn, where
Lois and I lived. Returning to "Blythewood" she found Grenny intensely
curious. Her first words to him were these: "Grenny, we are not alone any
more!"
This was the beginning of recovery for both - recoveries that have lasted
until this day. Watching their unfoldment, Harry was electrified. Only a week
before they had both presented stone walls of obstinate resistance to his
every approach. Now they talked, and freely. To Harry these were the facts -
and brand new facts. Scientist and man of courage that he was, Harry did not
for a moment look the other way. Setting aside his own convictions about
alcoholism and its neurotic manifestations, he soon became convinced that AA
had something, perhaps something big.
All the years afterwards, and often at very considerable risk to his
professional standing, Harry continued to endorse AA. Considering Harry's
professional standing, this required courage of the highest order.
Let me share some concrete examples. In one of his early medical papers - that
noted one on 'surrender'' (Reprinted from the "Quarterly Journal of Studies on
Alcohol," Dec., 1954, pp. 610-621, available from the National Council on
Alcoholism) - he had declared this ego-reducing practice to be not only basic
to AA, but also absolutely fundamental to his own practice of psychiatry. This
took humility as well as fortitude. It will always be a bright example for us
all.
Nevertheless this much was but a bare beginning. In 1944, helped by Dr. Kirby
Collier of Rochester and Dwight Anderson of New York, Harry had persuaded the
American Medical Society of the State of New York to let me, a layman, read a
paper about AA, at their annual gathering. Five years later this same trio,
again spear-headed by Harry, persuaded the American Psychiatric Association to
invite the reading of another paper by me - this time in their 1949 Annual
Meeting at Montreal. By then, AA had about 100,000 members, and many
psychiatrists had already seen at close range our impact on their patients.
For us of AA who were present at that gathering it was a breathtaking hour. My
presentation would be "the spiritual experience," as we AAs understood it.
Surely we could never get away with this! To our astonishment the paper was
extremely well received - judging, at least, from the sustained applause.
Immediately afterwards, I was approached by a most distinguished old
gentleman. He introduced himself as an early president of the American
Psychiatric Association. Beaming he said, "Mr. W., it is very possible that I
am the only one of my colleagues here today who really believes in 'spiritual
experience' as you do. Once upon a time, I myself had an awakening much akin
to your own, an experience that I shared in common with two close friends,
Bucke and Whitman."
Naturally I inquired, "But why did your colleagues seem to like the paper?"
His reply went like this: "You see, we psychiatrists deeply know what very
difficult people you alcoholics really are. It was not the claims of your
paper that stirred my friends, it was the fact that AA can sober up alcoholics
wholesale."
Seen in this light, I was the more deeply moved by the generous and
magnificent tribute that had been paid to us of AA. My paper was soon
published in the American Psychiatric Journal and our New York headquarters
was authorized by the Association to make all the reprints we wished for
distribution (Excerpts from this talk are contained in Alcoholism The Illness,
by Bill W., a pamphlet available from AA World Services). By then the trek of
AA overseas had well begun. Heaven only knows what this invaluable reprint
accomplished when it was presented to psychiatrists in distant places by the
fledgling AA groups. It vastly hastened the worldwide acceptance of AA.
I could go on and on about Harry, telling you of his activities in the general
field of alcoholism, of his signal service on our AA Board of Trustees. I
could tell stories of my own delightful friendship with him, especially
remembering his great good humor and infectious laugh. But the space allotted
me is too limited.
So in conclusion, I would have Harry speak for himself. Our AA Grapevine of
November, 1963, carried a piece by him that, between its lines, unconsciously
reveals to us a wonderful self portrait of our friend. Again, we feel his fine
perception, again we see him at work for AA. No epitaph could be better than
this.
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++++Message 1718. . . . . . . . . . . . An Historical Announcement
From: ricktompkins@sbcglobal.net> . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/21/2004 10:27:00
PM
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Hello group,
This is your invitation to examine the Second Issue of An Alcoholics Anonymous
History In Northern Illinois Area 20, copyright 1996, 2003 by NIA, Ltd.
Posted online at http://www.aa-nia.org this expanded monograph represents an
additional six years of research and discovery. Where the First Issue spanned
104 pages of text, this rewritten work, its Second Issue, goes to 152 pages.
My Assembly will soon vote on a limited printing for distribution to District
Archives and East Central Region Area Archives, to share its 'hard' copies in
their lending libraries. This work is an effective result of the AA committee
system, with full trust and procedural approval from the Area 20 Assembly.
Meanwhile, online, enjoy it in the same spirit of discovery that was given to
me as its author!
Yours in serenity and in fellowship,
Rick T.,
Area 20 past Historian
Algonquin, Illinois
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++++Message 1719. . . . . . . . . . . . Sparky H.
From: Victor A. Farinelli . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/22/2004 9:26:00 AM
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Hello Group,
I am looking for some information on Sparky H. from
the Chicago Il area. He passed away in the mid-80's.
Thanks,
Victor F.
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance Tax Center - File online. File on time.
http://taxes.yahoo.com/filing.html
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++++Message 1720. . . . . . . . . . . . June 5, multi-district history &
archives gathering
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2004 3:02:00 AM
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JUNE 5, 2004 MULTI-DISTRICT HISTORY & ARCHIVES GATHERING:
District 36 of Area 59 (Eastern PA) will host a free one-day History &
Archives Gathering Saturday, June 5, 2004 at the Friendship Fire Co. at 171 N.
Mt Joy Street, Elizabethtown, PA. Full directions will be available to those
planning to come. Contact Jared Lobdell at jaredlobdell@comcast.net or
jaredlobdell@aol.com or by phone at 717-367-4985 (not after 9:30 p.m. Eastern
time).
Registration 8-9 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, and the Gathering will open at 9
a.m. and run till about 5 p.m. The nearest motels are the Red Rose Motel on
Route 230 (Market St.) on the edge of Elizabethtown and the Holiday Inn
Express just off Route 283 on the edge of Elizabethtown. Please let us know if
you're coming. The Gathering will be looking at forming archives for history
and using archives for history, and there will be a concentration on three
times in AA history esp. in Eastern PA, in and around 1954 (we have invited
for local oldtimers with at least 50 years sobriety), in and around 1937
(looking particularly at some of the Eastern PA founders, including Fitz M.),
and in and around 1971 -- so 67, 50, and 33 years ago. The oldtimers are
scheduled for the morning, the archives/history panels in the early afternoon,
ending with history presentations and a roundtable.
As with last year's Gathering we hope there will be archives exhibits at least
from MD, Eastern PA, North Jersey, the Clarence S. Archive, and local
archives. Lunch will be served. More to follow, but be in touch if you're
intending to come. -- Jared lobdell
Please send all replies to jaredlobdell@comcast.net
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++++Message 1721. . . . . . . . . . . . Jerseyites Buy Big Sociable Clubhouse (1944)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/23/2004 11:14:00 AM
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November 1944 AA Grapevine
JERSEYITES BUY BIG SOCIABLE CLUBHOUSE
To the A.A.s of North Jersey goes the honor of being the original contributors
to one phase of A.A. history, geographically speaking. They are the first of
the "Along the Metropolitan Circuit" groups to buy a clubhouse of their own.
Members of a dozen North Jersey groups, forming a company called Alanon
Association (Joe B. is their counsel), participated in the deal that ended, in
October, in the purchase of the three-story brick building at 8th Ave. and
North 7th St., Newark, N.J., known as the Roseville Athletic Association.
The purchase price of $22,000 includes furniture and equipment, which in turn
includes such things as billiard tables and bowling alleys. The transaction
involved a first mortgage of $15,000.00 with a non-alcoholic A.A. supporter,
the remainder (a large portion of which has already been subscribed) to be
pledged by individual A.A.'s. Certificates of indebtedness are to be issued to
all contributors, bearing interest, and redeemable in five to ten years. The
plan is, however, to clear off all indebtedness as quickly as possible,
including the mortgage. (Up to the time of purchase the building had sustained
itself financially with revenues from bowling, pool, billiards, and tobacco.)
The dues system will be voluntary weekly contributions - the amounts kept a
strictly confidential matter - with $1.00 as tops.
Participation of the A.A. men and women in Alanon, Inc., is entirely as
individuals. There were no group commitments, and care was taken to avoid
involving Alcoholics Anonymous in any way. The Board of Trustees of the
Corporation are: Chairman, Tom M.; Secretary, Jim G.; Treasurer, Herman G.;
Recording Secretary (handling dues), Hal R.; Stuart S., Dr. Arthur S., Pete
O'T., Oscar O., Helen D., Bea W., Ed M., and Leo D.
The Newark Group, who have been holding their meetings at the Roseville A.A.
for three years will continue to do so. Maintained for 58 years as a
conservative gentlemen's club, there has never been a bar in the club.
However, food facilities, which also do not exist at present, will be
installed pronto.
The big building is located one block from the Roseville Avenue station of the
Lackawanna R.R., about 20 minutes from New York. It is expected that the
clubhouse will develop into a clinical center for new people, and a social
haven for all A.A. men and women, irrespective of their group membership.
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++++Message 1722. . . . . . . . . . . . AA 2004 Founders'' Day Celebrations
(N.Y., VT., OH.)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2004 12:11:00 PM
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Saturday, June 5, 2004
Stepping Stones (where Bill & Lois Wilson lived from 1941 until they died)
62 Oak Road, Bedford Hills (Katonah), NY
914-232-7368
House & Wit's End is open for viewing at 12NOON, AA (someone who knew Bill
Wilson)/Alanon/Alateen speakers meeting begins at 2PM.
Coffee, soda, & dessert served only.
Sunday, June 6, 2004
The Wilson House (where Bill Wilson was born & lived as a child, & where Bill
& Lois are buried)
Village St., East Dorset, VT.
802-362-5524
Gravesite ceremony at 1PM, speaker meeting (someone who knew Bill Wilson) at
2PM.
BBQ 3PM
Friday - Sunday, June 11-13, 2004
Akron, OH. (where Dr. Bob's house is, where Dr. Bob & Anne Smith are buried,
where AA meeting #1 is, where St. Thomas Hospital is, where Henrietta
Sieberling's gatehouse is, where the Mayflower Hotel is, etc.)
http://www.akronaa.org/FoundersDay/foundersdayindex.html
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++++Message 1723. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Susan B. Anthony II
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26/2004 3:34:00 AM
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Since starting the AA History Buffs/Lovers four years ago, I have intended to
write a piece on my good friend and spiritual mentor Dr. Susan B. Anthony II.
Susan sobered up in Marty Mann's office on August 22, 1946.
Today I discovered this biography on the website of the University of
Rochester, River Campus Libraries, where Susan's papers are archived.
Nancy
__________
Dr. Susan B. Anthony (also referred to as Susan B. Anthony II), the
great-niece and namesake of the women's rights leader Susan B. Anthony
(1820-1906), was born in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1916. Her father Luther Burt
Anthony was the son of the suffragist's younger brother Jacob Merritt Anthony.
Anthony attended the University of Rochester, graduating in 1938. In 1938-39
she worked as a research assistant in the office of the National Youth
Administration in Washington, DC. While an undergraduate she was involved in
the peace movement, but learning of the plight of anti-fascists forces in the
Spanish Civil War, she lobbied in 1938 to lift the arms embargo against the
Spanish Republic. During this same period she was involved in the civil rights
movement, becoming a sponsor of the National Negro congress. In 1941 she
received a master of arts degree in Political science from American
University.
Anthony was a city desk editor for the Washington Star from 1939 to 1944. She
also published articles on women's issues and migrants in The New York Times
Magazine, The Christian Science Monitor, and other periodicals. Her first
book, Out of the Kitchen-Into the War was published in 1943.
In 1940 Anthony married political activist Henry Hill Collins, Jr.,
(1904-1961). During the war, she worked with Ann Shyne at Bryn Mawr College to
compile a comprehensive study of "Women During the War and After." A summary
of the results were published by the U.S. Women's Bureau and provided Anthony
with material for several articles and lectures. In 1946 she hosted five times
a week a radio program, "This Woman's World," over New York station WMCA.
After nine months it was canceled for being "too controversial to be
commercially feasible." The program was picked up by the New York Post station
WLIB, but canceled six weeks later. In 1948, she and Henry Collins were
divorced.
In 1945 she co-founded with Helen Snow the Congress of American Women. Anthony
represented the Congress and its affiliate, the Women's International
Democratic Federation, at the United Nations Status of Women Commission in
1948.
In 1949 or 1950, Anthony married Clifford Thomas McAvoy (1904-1957). McAvoy
had been the deputy commissioner of Welfare in New York City from 1938 to
1941. In 1941 he was appointed legislative and political action director of
the Greater New York Congress of Industrial Organizations Council, and in 1944
became the legislative representative in Washington for the United Electrical,
Radio and Machine Workers of America. At the time of their marriage he was the
New England Director of the Progressive Party Labor Committee, an organization
he had founded to support the Presidential bid of Progressive Party candidate,
Henry A. Wallace.
Now living in Boston, Anthony broadcast a radio program on which she discussed
the problems of alcoholism and interviewed alcoholics. Because of her
husband's associates, she was mentioned as a "fellow traveler" in a Life
magazine article. In 1951 she divorced Clifford McAvoy and moved to Key West,
Florida where she became a newspaper reporter for the Citizen.
In 1954 she married Aubrey John Lewis, a British citizen living in Jamaica.
Lewis was a Religious Science practitioner and owner of an allspice
plantation. In Jamaica Anthony became a reporter for The Gleaner, writing
several articles on celebrities who visited the island.
Beginning in the early 1950s, Anthony's espousal of liberal causes brought her
to the attention of the U. S. Justice Department, who requested her to come to
Washington, D.C. to testify before a Congressional committee investigating
communism. When, for health reasons, she refused to return to the United
States, she became subject to extradition. After being served a subpoena in
December, 1954, she took out British citizenship. Her lawyers advised her that
this action would give her dual citizenship, and not jeopardize her American
citizenship. This proved not to be the case.
In 1960 Anthony divorced John Lewis and left Jamaica. She arrived in the
United States on a visitor's visa, her passport having been confiscated by the
U. S. Consul in Kingston. In 1967 Congressman John Bardemas introduced a bill
to restore her citizenship. It was voted down by the House Immigration
Subcommittee, who ordered her immediate deportation. She won a stay of
deportation, and the case was reheard before the U.S. Board of Immigration
Appeals in 1969. The Board reversed all former Immigration and Naturalization
Service and Justice Department actions against her and restored her
citizenship.
In 1960 Anthony underwent a religious conversion and was baptized in the Roman
Catholic Church in 1961. She entered St. Mary's College, Notre Dame, and in
1965 received a Ph.D. in theology. She was one of the first fifteen Catholic
laywomen to receive this degree. She taught theology at Marymount College in
Boca Raton, Florida from 1965 to 1969.
A recovered alcoholic, Anthony dedicated much of her professional and personal
life to helping others overcome alcoholism. She wrote articles and traveled
extensively giving presentations on the issue. In 1973 she was a substance
abuse coordinator at South County Mental Health Center in Florida. In 1975 she
founded Wayside House, a rehabilitation center for chemically dependent women,
in Delray Beach, Florida. The United States Senate Committee on Alcoholism and
Drugs honored Anthony for her work with alcoholics at a reception in 1976.
Having found strength in contemplation and prayer, Anthony often wrote and
lectured on these subjects. For nine months in 1976 she was a novice at a
Cenacle convent drawn by their emphasis on prayer and teaching.
In 1978 Anthony appeared on the television game show, "$124,000 Question" as a
women's rights expert. In five appearances she won $16,000. The publicity
helped launch her national lecture tour. Her topics included women,
alcoholism, feminism, and prayer. In 1977 she attended the National Women's
Conference in Houston, Texas, where she endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment.
When the Susan B. Anthony dollar was issued in 1979, Anthony participated in
many of the celebrations, culminating in a reception at the White House hosted
by Rosalyn Carter.
During the 1980s, Anthony traveled throughout the country giving lectures on
substance abuse, feminist issues, and prayer. In 1983 she participated in the
Seneca Falls Women's Peace Encampment marching in the protest against nuclear
weapons stored in the Seneca Falls army depot.
In 1971, Anthony published her autobiography The Ghost in My Life (New York:
Chosen Books). It was reprinted by Bantam Books in 1973. Her other books
include Survival Kit (New York: New American Library, 1972), and Sidewalk
Contemplatives (New York: Crossroad, 1987).
Dr. Anthony died in 1991.
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++++Message 1724. . . . . . . . . . . . The Man Behind the A.A. Revolution
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26/2004 11:03:00 AM
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The Man Behind the A.A. Revolution
Susan Cheever talks about her new biography of Bill Wilson, the man she says
was made to found Alcoholics Anonymous
Interview by Paul O'Donnell
There have been several books and memoirs written about the founding of
Alcoholics Anonymous by Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Smith in the 1940s. But as
Susan Cheever found when she was asked to write a profile of Wilson, there has
not been an authoritative biography, until now. Cheever, the daughter of
novelist John Cheever and the author of two memoirs of her own drinking life,
has written a very personal portrait of Wilson, portraying him as a restless
thinker who created A.A. the way an inventor might stumble on a revolutionary
technology. We talked to her recently about her book and her subject.
Bill Wilson was a complicated person with an amazing story. How did you go
about getting a handle on him?
There were a number of books about Bill Wilson, and by him, but a lot of the
basic biographical tasks had not been done. I used everything that had been
written, and I went to the archives at Stepping Stones [Wilson's home, now a
museum], where I had the amazing luck of getting there before it had been
indexed, so I could watch the process of archiving. There are a ton of
letters. Bill and [his wife] Lois were great letter writers, and much of the
early part of the book, when he's still drinking, are from their letters.
Whenever you're inside someone's mind in the book, whether it's Emily Wilson's
in the opening scene or Bill Wilson's in the Mayfair hotel, it's from their
letters.
I also went to [Wilson's birthplace] in Vermont. The more I hung out in East
Dorset, the more I saw how important Yankee free-thinking and pure democracy
and stubbornness is to the program of A.A. Dr. Robert Smith [A.A. co-founder]
was also from Vermont.
What was it about that Yankee mindset that led to AA?
Well, a lot of threads start in Vermont that end up in the 12 steps and the 12
traditions of A.A. One is the idea that each person has an equal voice. That's
enshrined in the bylaws. A.A. actually belongs to and is run by it's own
member. That whole idea of pure democracy comes right out of the Vermont town
meeting.
Another thing is that alot of New England was dry when Bill Wilson was growing
up. They taught temperance in the schools. Bill Wilson actually had an
education in how to stay sober and how not to stay sober. And of course there
is the rampant spiritualism of the turn of the century in Vermont and New
Hampshire and upstate New York. People were reaching out for a different kind
of God, throwing over the Calvinistic, British Puritan God. Not just of
humanism, but transcendentalism, which is also enshrined in the 12 steps.
Where do you find that in A.A.?
Well, "God as we understand him." That's Thoreau. That's Emerson. It seems to
me that he took all these different strands--the religious, pure democracy,
temperance, the transcendentalist-humanist strand, which was buttressed when
he married a Swedenborgian--and wove them all into this astonishing program
which has changed the way we think about addiction. When I look at his life, I
think, 'Wow, this was a machine designed for this job.' He came out of this
weird stew of educational and spiritual tenets that ended up being the best
treatment for alcoholism.
The temperance movement plays a crucial role. As a child, he refuses to take
the temperance pledge and rejects religion altogether. How does he get from
there to seeing a higher power as a central part of a sober life as an adult?
Well, I think that's the story. For him, God took the form of a specific
entity. He flirted and maybe even slept with Catholicism in his later years.
But he had learned that God was an extremely personal concept, and that you
can never say to anyone, this is the kind of God you must have. Part of his
genius was understanding that there are things no one person can prescribe for
another if the person wants to help the other.
This is where he really shifted the way we think. He understood that being
drunk wasn't a lack of willpower or discipline. He understood that the way to
treat addiction is to court a change of heart with the utmost gentleness. That
is a really revolutionary idea. That understanding came from his own desperate
attempt to get sober, through trial and error--mostly error. He became, as his
friend Aldous Huxley called him, "The Greatest Social Architect of the 20th
century."
His insight was that drinking was not a moral problem?
Absolutely. He took the idea that alcoholics were bad people and changed it to
the idea that alcoholics are sick people. It changed the way we view
addiction. It changed the way we see human nature. He changed the way we see
each other as much as Freud did, I think. Bill led us to see that what we
think of as a failure of willpower is not that at all. It's a disease.
He wasn't saying that you're not responsible for the things that you do when
you're drinking. He was just saying that the way to stop drinking requires a
change of heart.
How did he change his own heart?
As you watch his story unfold, you see all the pieces of his program fall into
place. He would get one piece from talking to another drunk who had gotten
sober. Then when he was in a group of people who didn't want to drink, he saw
that the power of the group was a piece of it. Then he was able to think in
terms of surrendering his power rather than in terms of getting more. It was
as if he was always traveling further from or closer to a drink. Slowly he
began to understand the things that brought him closer and the things that
took him further away.
It's often called a religious program, and specifically Christian. It even
makes forgiveness one of its paragons.
The program of A.A., as written by Bill Wilson and Dr. Smith, only has one
purpose: to get you sober. That's it. To make you a better person, forget it.
That was one of the things he came to understand in those years of trial and
error. It has to be about only one thing.
So within the context of that primary purpose, forgiveness is a way to ready
the heart for the change. Bill himself had a different view of forgiveness.
One thing that's so moving about him is how he treated people who abandoned
him with incredible courtesy and generosity. His parents abandoned him,
financially, emotionally and physically, and they did it with incredible
self-righteousness. Yet he was constantly writing them letters, sending them
checks when he had no money, and inviting them to come and live with him.
That's forgiveness. So as a person, and I guess we can say as a Christian, he
was extremely forgiving, but in the steps of A.A., forgiveness is not meant to
improve your soul, it's meant to get you sober.
But it is in a sense a faith-based program, and one the courts often order
people into.
Well, they do that because it works. It's sort of the best thing we have by
far. In some parts of the country, it's more Christian, because each A.A.
meeting governs itself. So there are some A.A. meetings that are emphatically
anti-Christian and there are some that are emphatically Christian.
But you don't object to it being called religious.
Well, that's another question. I object to that because they object to that.
But I don't represent AA. I'm not an expert. And I would have trouble defining
religion.
Some criticize AA for proclaiming it's the only way to get sober.
But it doesn't. It's like the Christianity charge. It's just not there.
In addition to his work with alcohol, Wilson left his mark on Wall Street. He
essentially invented market research, didn't he?
That's true. While he was drinking.
Did his knack for business continue after he quit drinking?
His business skills were applied to try to make A.A. a going concern. He quit
drinking in 1934, but it really wasn't until 1944 that it was clear that A.A.
was a go. He spent ten years pouring all those skills, the endurance, the
salesmanship, into making A.A. go forward.
And even after he turned it over to its membership, he kept on searching for
some kind of help for alcoholics, looking for a magic bullet. A lot of his
friendship with Aldous Huxley was about what we now call psychopharmacology.
He took LSD, which at the time was not a street drug, but he thought maybe it
could help alcoholics. He thought vitamin B could help. So he continued to do
a lot of searching and experimenting.
Which brings us back to how he viewed alcoholism. He said it was a disease,
and he even looked for pharmacological solutions. But the only remedy he found
was a spiritual one. How many diseases can you say that about?
The relationship with the body and the mind is complicated and mysterious. You
say most diseases aren't spiritual, but many people believe they are. The
question of where does disease leave the body and enter the spirit, or enter
the mind or the brain--that's a question I am not able to answer.
We're living in a 12-Step world now. Yet part of this story is how Wilson's
program was once regarded with suspicion.
When AA was starting, it was thought of in many weird ways. There were years
and years when it looked as if Bill Wilson was going to be the only successful
recovering alcoholic. There's that famous scene where he complains to his
wife, "You know, I've had 40 people get sober and they're all drinking again.
This doesn't work." And she said, "Well it worked for one person--you." There
were years were AA was lucky to be regarded as anything by anyone. I don't
think Bill Wilson could have possibly have envisioned what's happened with
those 12 steps of his. There hundreds of 12-Step programs saving millions of
lives and millions of families in ways that I don't think he envisioned.
Paul O'Donnell is Beliefnet's Culture editor.
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++++Message 1725. . . . . . . . . . . . Sister Ignatia Obituary (1966)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/27/2004 8:09:00 PM
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August 1966 AA Grapevine
For
Sister
Ignatia:
our everlasting gratitude
SISTER MARY IGNATIA, one of the finest friends that we of AA shall ever know,
went to her reward Friday morning, April first, nineteen hundred sixty-six.
Next day, the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine opened their Mother House to
visitors. More than one thousand of them signed the guest book in the first
two hours. These were the first of many who during the two days following came
to pay their respects to Sister.
On Monday at high noon the Cathedral at Cleveland could barely seat its
congregation. Friends in the city and from afar attended the service. The
Sisters of Charity themselves were seen to be seated in a body, radiant in
their faith. Together with families and friends, we of AA had come there in
expression of our gratitude for the life and works of our well-loved Sister.
It was not really a time for mourning, it was instead a time to thank God for
His great goodness to us all.
In its affirmation of the faith, the Mass was of singular beauty; the more so
to many, since it was spoken in English. The eulogy, written and read by a
close friend of Sister's, was a graphic and stirring portrayal of her
character, and of her deeds. There was a most special emphasis upon the merits
of AA, and upon the part co-founder Dr. Bob had played in Sister's great
adventure among us. We were assured as seldom before that those who dwell in
the fellowship of the Spirit need never be concerned with barriers, or with
boundaries.
For those thousands of men, women and children whose lives had been directly
touched and illumined by Sister, it would perhaps not be needful to write this
account of her. Of Sister, and of the Grace she brought to all these, they
already know better than anyone else. But to the many others who have never
felt her presence and her love, it is hoped this narrative may be something
for their special inspiration.
Born in 1889 of devout and liberty-loving parents, Sister entered into this
world at Shanvilly, County Mayo, of the Emerald Isle. The famed poet Yeats,
born nearby, once remarked that the strange beauty of County Mayo had been
specially designed to raise up poets, artists, heroes and saints. We can
little doubt that even when Ignatia was aged six, and her parents had
emigrated from Ireland to Cleveland, she was already beginning to manifest
many a sterling virtue.
Soon the child began to reveal unusual musical talents, both of piano and
voice. A few years later she was seen giving lessons at the home of her
parents. During 1914, she became possessed of a great desire to become a
religious. In this year she joined the Community that many of us AAs know so
well - the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine. There she continued her
musical education and her teaching.
But even then, as ever since, Sister was frail, exceeding frail. By 1933 the
rigors of her music teaching had become too great. She had a really serious
physical breakdown. Her doctor put to her this choice: "You will have to take
it easy. You can either be a dead music teacher or a live Sister. Which is it
going to be?"
With great good cheer, so her Community says, Mary Ignatia accepted a much
quieter and less distinguished assignment. She became the registrar at St.
Thomas Hospital in Akron, Ohio - an institution administered by her Order. At
the time it was wondered if she could manage even this much. That she would
live to the age of seventy-seven was not believable; that she was destined to
minister to 15,000 alcoholics and their families in the years to come was
known only to God.
For a considerable time Sister serenely carried on at the admissions desk in
St. Thomas. It was not then certain she had ever heard of AA. Though Group One
at Akron, and Group Two in New York had been in slow and fitful growth since
1935, neither had come to public notice.
AA's sudden growth
However in 1939 the scene changed abruptly. In the spring of that year the AA
book was first printed, and Liberty magazine came up with an article about our
society in the early fall. This was quickly followed by a whole series of
remarkable pieces which were carried by The Cleveland Plain Dealer on its
editorial page. The newspaper and the mere two dozen AAs then in town were
swamped by frantic pleas for help. Despite this rather chaotic situation, the
Cleveland membership burgeoned into several hundreds in a few months.
Nevertheless the implications of this AA population explosion were in some
ways disturbing, especially the lack of proper hospital facilities. Though the
Cleveland hospitals had rallied gallantly to this one emergency, their
interest naturally waned when bills often went unpaid, and when ex-drunks
trooped through the corridors to do what they called "Twelfth Step" work on
sometimes noisy victims just arrived. Even the City Hospital at Akron, where
Dr. Bob had attended numerous cases, was showing signs of weariness.
In New York we had temporarily got off to a better start. There we had dear
old Dr. Silkworth and, after awhile, his wonderful AA nurse "Teddy." This pair
were to "process" some 12,000 New York area drunks in the years ahead, and so
they became, as it were, the "opposite numbers" to the partnership of
co-founder Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia at Akron.
Much concerned that, hospital-wise, his area might be caught quite unprepared
to cope with a great new flood of publicity about AA, Dr. Bob in 1940 decided
to visit St. Thomas and explain the great need for a hospital connection that
could prove permanently effective. Since St. Thomas was a church institution,
he thought the people there might vision a fine opportunity for service where
the others had not. And how right he was!
Sister Ignatia learns of AA
But Bob knew no one in authority at the hospital. So he simply betook himself
to "Admissions" and told the diminutive nun in charge the story of AA,
including that of his own recovery. As this tale unfolded, the little sister
glowed. Her compassion was deeply touched and perhaps her amazing intuition
had already begun to say, "This is it." Of course Sister would try to help,
but what could one small nun do? After all, there were certain attitudes and
regulations. Alcoholism had not been reckoned as an illness; it was just a
dire form of gluttony!
Dr. Bob then told Sister about an alcoholic who then was in a most serious
condition. A bed would simply have to be found for him. Said Mary Ignatia,
"I'm sure your friend must be very sick. You know, Doctor, this sounds to me
like a terrible case of indigestion." Trying to keep a straight face, Dr. Bob
replied, "How right you are - his indigestion is most terrible." Twinkling,
Sister immediately said, "Why don't you bring him in right away?"
The two benign conspirators were soon faced with yet another dilemma. The
victim proved to be distressingly intoxicated. It would soon be clear to all
and sundry that his "indigestion" was quite incidental. Obviously a ward
wouldn't do. There would have to be a private room. But all the single ones
were filled. What on earth could they do? Sister pursed her lips, and then
broke into a broad smile. Forthwith he declared, "I'11 have a bed moved into
our flower room. In there he can't disturb anyone." This was hurriedly done,
and the "indigestion" sufferer was already on his way to sobriety and health.
Of course the conspirators were conscience-stricken by their subterfuge of the
flower room. And anyhow, the "indigestion" pretense simply couldn't last.
Somebody in authority would have to be told, and that somebody was the
hospital's Superior. With great trepidation Sister and Dr. Bob waited upon
this good lady, and explained themselves. To their immense delight she went
along, and a little later, she boldly unfolded the new project before the St.
Thomas trustees. To their everlasting credit they went along too - so much so
that it was not a great while before Dr. Bob himself was invited to become a
staff physician at St. Thomas, a bright example indeed of the ecumenical
spirit.
Presently a whole ward was devoted to the rehabilitation of alcoholics, and
Sister Ignatia was of course placed in immediate charge. Dr. Bob sponsored the
new cases into the hospital and medically treated each, never sending a bill
to any. The hospital fees were very moderate and Sister often insisted on
taking in patients on a "pay later" basis, sometimes to the mild consternation
of the trustees.
Together Ignatia and Dr. Bob indoctrinated all who cared to listen to the AA
approach as portrayed by the book Alcoholics Anonymous, lately come off the
press. The ward was open to visiting AAs from surrounding groups who, morning
to night, told their stories of drinking and of recovery. There were never any
barriers of race or creed; neither was AA nor Church teaching pressed upon
any.
With infinite tenderness
Since nearly all her strenuous hours were spent there, Sister became a central
figure on the ward. She would alternately listen and talk, with infinite
tenderness and understanding. The alcoholic's family and friends received the
very same treatment. It was this most compassionate caring that was a chief
ingredient of her unique Grace; it magnetically drew everyone to her, even the
most rough and obstinate. Yet she would not always stand still for arrant
nonsense. When the occasion required, she could really put her foot down. Then
to ease the hurt, she would turn on her delightful humor. Once, when a
recalcitrant drunk boasted he'd never again be seen at the hospital, Sister
shot back, "Well, let's hope not. But just in case you do show up, please
remember that we already have your size of pajamas. They will be ready and
waiting for you!"
As the fame of St. Thomas grew, alcoholics flocked in from distant places.
After their hospitalization they often remained for a time in Akron to get
more first-hand AA from Dr. Bob, and from Akron's Group Number One. On their
return home, Sister would carry on an ever mounting correspondence with them.
We AAs are often heard to say that our Fellowship is founded upon resources
that we have drawn from medicine, from religion and from our own experience of
drinking and of recovery. Never before nor since those Akron early days have
we witnessed a more perfect synthesis of all these healing forces. Dr. Bob
exemplified both medicine and AA; Ignatia and the Sisters of St. Augustine
also practiced applied medicine, and their practice was supremely well
animated by the wonderful spirit of their Community. A more perfect blending
of Grace and talent cannot be imagined.
It should never be necessary to dwell, one by one, upon the virtues of these
magnificent friends of AA's early time - Sister Ignatia and co-founder Dr.
Bob. We need only recollect that "by their fruits we shall always know them."
Passing of Dr. Bob
Standing before the Cleveland International Convention of 1950, Dr. Bob looked
upon us of AA for the last time. His good wife Anne had passed on before, and
his own rendezvous with the new life to come was not many months away.
Ten years had slipped by since the day when he and Sister had bedded down that
first sufferer in the St. Thomas flower room. In this marvelous decade Sister
and Dr. Bob had medically treated, and had spiritually infused, five thousand
alcoholics. The greater part of these had found their freedom under God.
In thankful recollection of this great work, we of AA presented to the Sisters
of Charity -of St. Augustine and to the Staff of the St. Thomas Hospital a
bronze plaque, ever since to be seen in the ward where Sister and Dr. Bob had
wrought their wonders. The plaque reads as follows:
IN GRATITUDE
THE FRIENDS OF DR. BOB AND ANNE S.
AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATE THIS MEMORIAL
TO THE SISTERS AND STAFF OF
ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL
AT AKRON. BIRTHPLACE OF ALCOHOLICS
ANONYMOUS. ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL BECAME
THE FIRST RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION EVER
TO OPEN ITS DOORS TO OUR SOCIETY.
MAY THE LOVING DEVOTION OF THOSE WHO
LABORED HERE IN OUR PIONEERING TIME
BE A BRIGHT AND WONDROUS EXAMPLE
OF GOD'S GRACE EVERLASTINGLY SET
BEFORE US ALL.
Visitors at St. Thomas today often wonder why this inscription says not a word
about Sister Ignatia. Well, the fact was, she wouldn't allow her name to be
used. She had flatly refused; it was one of those times when she had put her
foot down! This was of course a glowing example of her innate and absolutely
genuine humility. Sister truly believed that she deserved no particular
notice; that such Grace as she might have could only be credited to God and to
the community of her sisters.
This was indeed the ultimate spirit of anonymity. We who had then seen this
quality in her were deeply affected, especially Dr. Bob and myself. Hers came
to be the influence that persuaded us both never to accept public honors of
any sort. Sister's example taught that a mere observance of the form of AA
anonymity should never become the slightest excuse for ignoring its spiritual
substance.
Following Dr. Bob's death, there was great concern lest Sister might not be
allowed to continue her work. As in other orders of the church, service
assignments among the Sisters of Charity were rather frequently rotated. This
was the ancient custom. However, nothing happened for a time. Assisted by
surrounding AA groups, Sister continued to carry on at St. Thomas. Then
suddenly in 1952, she was transferred to St. Vincent Charity Hospital at
Cleveland, where, to the delight of us all, she was placed in charge of its
alcoholic ward. At Akron a fine successor was named to succeed her; the work
there would continue.
The ward at "Charity" occupied part of a dilapidated wing, and it was in great
need of repair and rejuvenation. To those who knew and loved Sister, this
opportunity proved a most stimulating challenge. The Charity trustees also
agreed that something should be done. Substantial contributions flowed in. In
their spare hours, AA carpenters, plumbers and electricians set about redoing
the old wing - no charge for their services. The beautiful result of these
labors of love is now known as Rosary Hall.
Again the miracles of recovery from alcoholism commenced to multiply. During
the following fourteen years, an astonishing 10,000 alcoholics passed through
the portals of "Rosary Hall" there to fall under the spell of Mary Ignatia,
and of AA. More than two-thirds of all these recovered from their dire malady,
and again became citizens of the world. From dawn to dark Sister offered her
unique Grace to that endless procession of stricken sufferers. Moreover, she
still found time to minister widely to their families and this very fruitful
part of her work became a prime inspiration to the Al-Anon Family Groups of
the whole region.
Notwithstanding her wonderful workers within the hospital, and help from AAs
without, this must have been a most exacting and exhausting vocation for the
increasingly frail Sister. That she was providentially enabled to be with us
for so many years is something for our great wonder. To hundreds of friends it
became worth a day's journey to witness her supreme and constant
demonstration.
Toward the close of her long stewardship there were brushes with death.
Sometimes I came to Cleveland and was allowed to sit by her bedside. Then I
saw her at her best. Her perfect faith, and her complete acceptance of
whatever God might will was somehow implicit in all she said, be our
conversation gay, or serious. Fear and uncertainty seemed entire strangers to
her. On my leave-taking, there was always that smiling radiance; always her
prayerful hope that God might still allow her a bit more time at Rosary Hall.
Then a few days later I would learn that she was back at her desk. This superb
drama would be re-enacted time after time. She was quite unconscious that
there was anything at all unusual about it.
Realizing there would come the day which would be her last, it seemed right
that we of AA should privately present Sister with some tangible token that
could, even a little, communicate to her the depth of our love. Remembering
her insistence, in respect of the Akron plaque, that she would not really like
any public attention, I simply sent word that I'd like to come to Cleveland
for a visit, and casually added that should her health permit, we might take
supper together in the company of a few of her stalwart AA friends and
co-workers. Besides, it was her fiftieth year of service in her community.
On the appointed evening, we foregathered in one of the small dining rooms at
Charity Hospital. Plainly delighted, Sister arrived. She was barely able to
walk. Being old-timers all, the dinner hour was spent in telling tales of
other days. For, her part, Sister regaled us with stories of St. Thomas and
with cherished recollections of Anne and co-founder Dr. Bob. It was
unforgettable.
Before Sister became too tired we addressed ourselves to our main project.
From New York, I had brought an illuminated scroll. Its wording was in the
form of a letter addressed by me to Sister, and it was written on behalf of
our AA Fellowship worldwide. I stood up, read the scroll aloud, and then held
the parchment for her to see. She was taken by complete surprise and could
scarcely speak for a time. In a low voice she finally said, "Oh, but this is
too much - this is too good for me."
Our richest reward of the evening was of course Ignatia's delight; a joy
unbounded the moment we assured her that our gift need not be publicized; that
if she wished to stow it away in her trunk we would quite understand.
It then seemed that this most memorable and moving evening was over. But there
was to be another inspiring experience. Making light of her great fatigue,
Sister insisted that we all go up to Rosary Hall, there to make a late round
of the AA ward. This we did, wondering if any of us would ever again see her
at work in the divine vocation to which she had given her all. For each of us
this was the end of an epoch; I could think only of her poignant and
oft-repeated saying, "Eternity is now."
The scroll given to Sister may now be seen at Rosary Hall. This is the
inscription:
IN GRATITUDE
FOR SISTER MARY IGNATIA
ON THE OCCASION OF HER GOLDEN
JUBILEE
Dear Sister,
W e of Alcoholics Anonymous look upon you as the finest friend and the
greatest spirit we may ever know.
We remember your tender ministrations to us in the days when AA was very
young. Your partnership with Dr. Bob in that early time has created for us a
spiritual heritage of incomparable worth.
In all the years since, we have watched you at the bedside of thousands. So
watching, we have perceived ourselves to be the beneficiaries of that wondrous
light which God has always sent through you to illumine our darkness. You have
tirelessly tended our wounds; you have nourished us with your unique
understanding and your matchless love. No greater gifts of Grace than these
shall we ever have.
Speaking for AA members throughout the world, I say: "May God abundantly
reward you according to your blessed works - now and forever!'
In devotion,
March 25,1964 Bill W.
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++++Message 1726. . . . . . . . . . . . In Memory of Helen (1955)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/31/2004 2:09:00 PM
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November 1955 AA Grapevine
In Memory of Helen
JUST six years ago last month, a girl named Helen made a journey from Boston
to New York. She came to this city to join the staff of AA's General Service
Headquarters.
Her decision to leave Boston's Central Office, where she had for three years
been much loved as its first Secretary, was to result in benefits beyond
measure to worldwide AA. But for her, this decision proved to be a fateful
one.
Helen died in my home at Bedford Hills September 28, 1955. Her death was the
climax of a long period of severe exhaustion and of many difficulties. She had
come to stay with Lois and me to recuperate for the fresh start about which
she had eagerly written to friends only one day before the unexpected attack
of illness that did, in a matter of minutes, carry her away from us.
All the countless AAs who knew Helen will surely declare her to have been one
of the finest servants that we have ever had. Speaking for ourselves here at
Headquarters we feel that a void has been left in our lives of the kind which
can never quite be filled. With Lois and me, Helen always stood high among our
most devoted and treasured friends.
One more unforgettable thing: When the crucial decisions were made in 1951
that a Conference of elected AAs should be called to meet yearly with our
Trustees, that this Conference should ultimately become the guide and
conscience for our entire Society, and the successor to its founders, a most
difficult problem had to be faced. Anxiously we asked ourselves, "How can this
be done?"
Because of her keen sense of AA feeling and reaction, her inborn flair for
sound diplomacy, Helen was assigned to help me in the preparation of the Third
Legacy. This document, on which the future of AA so much depends, and of which
so many of us recently became conscious at St. Louis, will ever bear the stamp
of Helen's great perception and devotion.
"Well done, thou good and faithful servant."
Bill W.
Helen B. was buried in Rockland, Massachusetts on Saturday, October 1,
following a Solemn High Mass of Requiem at the Church of the Holy Family in
Rockland.
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++++Message 1727. . . . . . . . . . . . Traditions Question
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/31/2004 2:35:00 PM
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Does anyone know why the Twelve Traditions are in the order that they are in?
Thanks!
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
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++++Message 1728. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Traditions Question
From: Cloydg . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1/2004 1:25:00 AM
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A.A. Traditions
***************
During its first decade, A.A. as a fellowship accumulated substantial
experience which indicated that certain group attitudes and principles were
particularly valuable in assuring survival of the informal structure of the
Fellowship. In 1946, in the Fellowship's international journal, the A.A.
Grapevine, these principles were reduced to writing by the founders and early
members as the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. They were accepted
and endorsed by the membership as a whole at the International Convention of
A.A., at Cleveland, Ohio, in 1950.
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++++Message 1729. . . . . . . . . . . . Harper Brothers
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1/2004 1:36:00 AM
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The following is a compilation of earlier posts which have been deleted:
Nancy
From: John Wikelius
Date: Sun Oct 13, 2002 11:32 pm
Subject: Harper Brothers
In 1953 Harper printed the 12&12 because I believe Bill did not want the
controversy associated with getting this book into prints like he went through
on the Big Book. If this is true, why did Harper do two more printings since
AA published their first printing in 1953 as well. The AA Publishing was
established at that time. Was it a contract issue per chance?
In 1957 Harper printed the first printing of AA Comes of Age along with AA.
Does anyone know why they got involved in printing this book.
The answer may be obvious to some but I cannot find any reference to this
information to date.
From: "tcumming"
Date: Mon Oct 14, 2002 10:05 pm
Subject: re: Harper Brothers
Pass It On has nice fairly succinct history of the writing of our "Twelve
Steps & Twelve Traditions" on pages 352-56. Far too much for this lazy
alcoholic to type out the whole thing for you. But on pages 355-6 you can
read:
"'Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions' was first published in two editions -- one
for distribution through AA groups, and the second edition, costing 50 cents
more ($2.75 instead of $2.25), intended for sale in commercial bookstores and
distributed through Harper & Brothers (by arrangement with AA's old friend
Eugene Exman). AA made a contract with Harper that enabled the Fellowship to
retain full control and
copyright ownership of both editions."
AA Comes of Age, page 219, also has a bit on this:
"One more noteworthy event marked this period of quiet; the publication of
AA's 'Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions' in 1953. This small volume is strictly
a textbook which explains AA's twenty-four basic principles and their
application, in detail and with great care.
"Helped by my editorial team, Betty L. and Tom P., I had begun work on this
project in early 1952. The final draft was widely circulated among our friends
of medicine and religion and also among many old-time AA's. This rigorous
checkup was topped off by none other than Jack Alexander, who had added the
final editorial touch. For group distribution we published the volume
ourselves, and our old friend Gene Exman of Harper offered favorable terms for
distribution through his firm to bookstores."
I'll also include a quote from earlier in AA Comes of Age, pertaining to the
publishing of the Big Book, which may well have had an influence on this
volume as well. On page 158:
"... But Henry was not discouraged. He still had ideas. 'Bill,' he said, 'you
and I know this book is going to sell. And Harper thinks it will sell. But
these New York drunks just do not believe it. Some take it as a joke, and the
rest talk high and holy about mixing a spiritual enterprise with money and
promotion. ... .'"
Other references pertaining to Harpers include:
AA Comes of Age - 153, 156, 158, 219
Language of the Heart - 143-4
Pass It On - 193, 194, 195, 356
(BTW, it is not too difficult to look these up in the index at the back of the
books)
That's the official word. Now with salt shaker in hand:
What I think I remember being told about Harper publishing the 'Twelve Steps &
Twelve Traditions' is that it was set up that way to soothe some of those
complaints. Where GSO would publish and distribute copies for the fellowship,
and Harpers would handle it for those outside the fellowship. That way GSO
wouldn't have to engage in promoting the book to bookstores, and money from
outside sources
wouldn't get mixed in with our self support funds (Traditions 11 & 7).
It seemed like a good plan, but in reality it just didn't work.
At first Harpers did OK with the book, but eventually some bookstores and
institutions outside AA found they could get the book cheaper through GSO than
through their regular channels. Printing, distribution and publicity costs may
also have gone up. In the end, what I remember being told, Harper's sales were
down, costs were up and they knew they had to raise the price to make a
profit. They also
knew that GSO wasn't going to raise the price. They made the simple business
decision that it wasn't profitable to publish the book anymore and they
stopped. And so ended our experiment with split distribution, 'within the
fellowship' vs. outside the fellowship.
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++++Message 1730. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical Literature
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1/2004 9:45:00 AM
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I have aquired 13 more articles and with post them on successive days
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----
Alcoholics take steps to cure themselves.....
Alcoholics Anonymous
From The Illinois Medical Journal, Oak Park, Ill.
A new approach to the problem of chronic alcoholism has been taken by the
alcoholics themselves. Calling their group "Alcoholics Anonymous," they first
realized the utter hopelessness of their condition and then set out to do
something about it.
All of them had been in sanitoria, and many of them had been confined to
institutions for the insane. They recognized their addiction to be a disease
which medicines alone were unable to cure. They also realized that by
themselves they were unable to break the hold alcohol had upon them.
The chronic alcoholic has lost his friends by his drinking. He feels that no
one-not even his family-understands his plight. He is truly alone-and finds
solace and companionship only in his bottle. Most chronic alcoholics really
want to stop. When they openly admit this, and are willing to let others help,
then the members of Alcoholics Anonymous can enter the picture.
The chronic alcoholic in talking to a member of the group finds a person who
understands" - who has had the same experiences.
The new member is introduced to the fellowship of the group. "Business"
gatherings are held weekly to talk over common problems. "Social" gatherings
are held several other nights of the week where companionship is sincere and
bridge, poker and conversation abound.
There are no officers in the group. Each member has equal standing. There are
no fees, dues, nor expenses whatsoever.
When a new member has become thoroughly acquainted with the meaning of his new
life he should go out himself and work with other unfortunates.
This giving of himself, without thought of remuneration gives him strength to
combat his own desire.
It is indeed a miracle when a person who for years has been more or less
constantly under the influence of alcohol and in whom his friends have lost
all confidence, will sit up all night with a "drunk" and at stated intervals
administer a small amount of liquor in accordance with a doctor's order
without taking a drop himself.
Full co-operation is given to the medical profession. In dealing with patients
who are ill the family physician is called in who assumes charge until the
patient has recovered.
About six years ago "Alcoholics Anonymous" was started in New York. The group
gained headway slowly, but now there are about a thousand members with groups
in nearly every large city.
The first member in Chicago joined the group on Akron, Ohio, about three years
ago. One year ago Chicago had eight members; now there are 150 and the group
grows daily.
Of alcoholics who are contacted about 80% join "Alcoholics Anonymous." Of the
first 40 to join the Chicago group 23 have not tasted alcohol since being
admitted. This covers a period of time of from six months to three years.
Eleven have had one "slip." Three have had from two to four "slips" and three
have been lost.
A new member may feel so well physically and so strong mentally that in his
new condition he may believe he can drink moderately as many people do. In
trying to do so he re-discovers his complete lack of power to combat this
disease. After such an experience he usually remains firmly attached to his
new found heaven.
It seems unbelievable, when one considers that in people who were "hopeless
alcoholics" 58% have attained complete sobriety and 92% practical sobriety.
Broken minds and bodies that have been a weight on society have been
rehabilitated. Broken homes have been restored-innocent families no longer
suffer.
A movement that is strong enough to make rehabilitated men, some of high
position and great wealth, give themselves to help restore other broken lives
without thought of remuneration, is indeed a powerful thing, worthy of our
attention.
Source: Current Digest, April 1941
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++++Message 1731. . . . . . . . . . . . Fr. Ed Dowling Obituary (1960)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/1/2004 1:30:00 PM
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AA Grapevine June 1960
To Father Ed - Godspeed!
By Bill W.
EARLY Sunday morning, April 3rd, Father Edward Dowling died peacefully in his
sleep. The place was Memphis, Tennessee. Cheerfully unmindful of his ebbing
health, he had been visiting one of his "Cana'' groups (a favorite undertaking
which he founded, Father Ed's Cana groups are dedicated, under Church
auspices, to the solution of difficult family problems through the practice o
f AA's Twelve Steps.). Never was there a gayer evening than in the hours
before. He would have wanted to take his leave of us in just that way. This
was one of the most gentle souls and finest friends we AAs may ever know. He
left a heritage of inspiration and grace which will be with us always.
Father Ed had planned to be at our 1960 Long Beach Convention, come July. This
prospect, now to be unfulfilled, brings a moving recollection of his
appearance at AA's St. Louis International Convention of 1955. It seems
altogether fitting that I repeat the introduction I then made of him, together
with an account of the unforgettable impression he left upon me the very first
time we met - a fragment of history recorded years afterward in AA Comes o f
Age:
"With deep joy, I present to you Father Ed Dowling who lives at the Jesuit
House right here in St. Louis. Father Ed, knowing whence comes his strength,
is definitely allergic to praise. Nonetheless I think that certain facts about
him should be put into our record - facts that new generations of AAs ought to
hear, read, and know.
"Father Ed helped to start the first AA group in this town; he was the first
clergyman of his faith to note the surprising resemblance between the
spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius (founder of the Jesuit order) and the
Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. As a result, he was quick to write in
1940 the first Catholic recommendation of AA of which we have any knowledge.
"Since then, his labor for us has been a prodigy. Not only have his
recommendations been heard worldwide, but he has himself worked at AA and for
AA. Travels, AA meetings, wise and tender counsel - these works of his can be
measured in thousands of miles and thousands of hours.
"In my entire acquaintance, our friend Father Ed is the only one from whom I
have never heard a resentful word and of whom I have never heard a single
criticism. In my own life he has been a friend, adviser, great example, and
the source of more inspiration than I can say.
"Father Ed is made of the stuff of the saints.
* * *
'A great cheer of welcome greeted Father Ed Dowling as, indifferent to his
grievous lameness, he made his way to the lectern. Father Dowling of the
Jesuit order in St. Louis is intimately known to AAs for a thousand miles and
more around. Many in the Convention audience remembered with gratitude his
ministry to their spiritual needs. St. Louis old-timers recalled how he helped
start their group; it had turned out to be largely Protestant, but this fazed
him not a bit. Some of us could remember his first piece about us in The
Queen's Work, the Sodality's magazine. He had been the first to note how
closely in principle AA's Twelve Steps paralleled a part of the Exercises of
St. Ignatius, a basic spiritual discipline of the Jesuit order. He had boldly
written in effect to a11 alcoholics and especially to those of his own faith:
'Folks, AA is good. Come and get it.' And this they certainly had done. His
first written words were the beginning of a wonderfully benign influence in
favor of our fellowship, the total of which no one will ever be able to
compute.
"Father Ed's talk to us at the Convention that Sunday morning flashed with
humor and deep insight. As he spoke, the memory of his first appearance in my
own life came back to me as fresh as though it were yesterday: One wintry
night in 1940 in AA's Old Twenty-Fourth Street Club in New York I had gone to
bed at about ten o'clock with a severe dose of self-pity and my imaginary
ulcer. Lois was out somewhere. Hail and sleet beat on the tin roof over my
head; it was a wild night. The Club was deserted except for old Tom, the
retired fireman, that diamond in the rough lately salvaged from Rockland
asylum. The front doorbell clanged, and a moment later Toni pushed open my
bedroom door. 'Some bum,' said he, 'from St. Louis is down there and wants to
see you.' 'Oh, Lord!' I said. 'Not another one! And at this time of night. Oh,
well, bring him up.'
"I heard labored steps on the stairs. Then, balanced precariously on his cane,
he came into the room, carrying a battered black hat that was shapeless as a
cabbage leaf and plastered with sleet. He lowered himself into my solitary
chair, and when he opened his overcoat I saw his clerical collar. He brushed
back a shock of white hair and looked at me through the most remarkable pair
of eyes I have ever seen. We talked about a lot of things, and my spirits kept
on rising, and presently I began to realize that this man radiated a grace
that filled the room with a sense of presence. I felt this with great
intensity; it was a moving and mysterious experience. In years since I have
seen much of this great friend, and whether I was in joy or in pain he always
brought to me the same sense of grace and the presence of God. My case is no
exception. Many who meet Father Ed experience this touch of the eternal. It is
no wonder that he, was able to fill all of us there in the Kiel Auditorium
with his inimitable spirit on that wonderful Sunday morning."
Everyone then present will remember this famous quote from Father Ed's St.
Louis talk:
"There is a negative approach from agnosticism. This was the approach of Peter
the Apostle. 'Lord, to whom shall we go'?" doubt if there is anybody in this
hall who really ever sought sobriety. I think we were trying to get away from
drunkenness. I don't think we should despise the negative. I have a feeling
that if I ever find myself in Heaven, it will be from backing away from Hell."
(End)
Just before his death, Father Ed had completed the article he wrote for AA
TODAY, the twenty-fifth anniversary commemorative book prepared by the
Grapevine. The article will appear in the book under the title, "AA's Steps
for the Underprivileged Non-AA." - THE EDITORS.
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++++Message 1732. . . . . . . . . . . . Eddie Shill
From: Carter Elliott . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/2/2004 8:01:00 AM
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When I joined the Fellowship in 1969 (in North Jersey), one of my first
assigned service tasks was that of chauffeuring an old timer to meetings. A
stroke had rendered Eddie Shill physically disabled but his mind was razor
sharp. His personal recollections of those folks we now call pioneers makes
me wonder if his name pops up in any of our archive data bases.
Thanks,
Carter Elliott
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Yahoo! Small Business $15K Web Design Giveaway [21] - Enter today
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++++Message 1735. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodixal Lit., Your Life, November
1944
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/2/2004 9:42:00 AM
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Miracles at Work for Alcoholics
What is the secret of the success of Alcoholics Anonymous? A famous writer
gives you his answer
By Arthur Hopkins
In Tagore's Memories he tells of walking along a country road with his mother
when he was a small child. They passed a grotesque drunkard. The boy laughed.
The mother said: "Don't laugh. He, too, is on his way to God."
I had read and heard of the work being done by Alcoholics Anonymous. I vaguely
knew that the helpful service was being offered by former victims of alcohol
who had found a way out.
Marcie, a friend of mine, told me of having lunch with a bank executive friend
and was startled when the strong man told him, with no concealment, that he
had been an alcoholic and had come close to wrecking his career. He was one of
the workers in the Alcoholics Anonymous movement and asked Marcie if he would
like to attend a monthly meeting of the workers. Marcie, having a lively
interest in human service, accepted and later asked me if I would like to go
along. Thus I shall always be indebted to Marcie for a strongly revealing and
rewarding experience.
The prologue had a pleasant but conventional aspect. The host had us to dinner
at the Yale Club. He was an athletic, beaming man who showed no marks of
gutter bruises. He spoke of three ladies joining us for the evening. Presently
they came-three gracious and cultured women, probably in the thirties. It
looked more and more like a patronizing expedition of the Upper Ten to the
Lower Five.
Soon the conversation revealed that the ladies, also free of telltale ravages,
had likewise taken a pounding from John Barleycorn, but had managed to come up
for the final count with John left sprawling and were now prepared to step
back into the ring to second anyone who was ready to give John a battle.
Before the entrée the slumming aspect had disappeared. Here were the
privileged seeking the privilege of helping their own, and their own were
alcoholics.
More revealing than their willingness to discuss openly with strangers their
alcoholic ordeal, was the complete absence of any desire to conceal what
others would think shameful. This unusual freedom from the personal, I was
later to learn at the meeting, is one of the key causes of the great success
of the movement.
On entering the hall where there were several hundred men and women, mostly
graduate alcoholics and aspirants, I looked for the derelicts and defeated and
found none. There was gaiety and loud laughter, which had suffered nothing
from the absence of libations.
A little man, with considerable dental jubilation, called the meeting to
order. After a sullen, disapproving phonograph was prodded into action the
assembly sang the national anthem.
The little man then unwrapped his gleaming teeth from the package of his lips
and asked how many had remained abstinent for three months or longer. A number
raised their hands. The teeth gleamed.
Then the little man told his experience in his life's battle with alcohol.
There was nothing sad, self-pitying or exhibitionist about his recital. It was
rather the report of a persistent and hopeless experiment.
The one thing that he always knew after painful recovery from a devastating
bout was that when he got in shape he would know how to handle liquor like
sane people. Liquor wasn't going to lick him. No, sir! His cure began on the
day he was taken to the AA house and became convinced that he was an alcoholic
and the seductive opponent would best him every time. It was a fight in which
there was no compromise, a fight where the decision was already in. He was
talked to by people who knew his whole experience. They had lived the scenario
from beginning to end.
The little man, with AA guidance, gained his freedom and then became a worker
himself. He found he gained new strength by helping others.
"I never need to take an inventory of myself," he said. "I see myself in every
one I try to help. There it is looking right at me, all my liabilities and my
assets. I was never a religious man. Of course, I believed in God, I suppose,
but I never thought he could do anything about me. Now I know that I never
could have come through without Him. I had to have God's help. I kept asking
for it and got it." Shade of Tagore's mother.
There was a good deal of laughter through the little man's talk. It was the
comedy of identical experience. His hearers understood perfectly.
He then introduced a real estate operator from New Rochelle. Like the little
man he opened his talk by saying: "I am an alcoholic." It was a recital of
years of trying hopelessly to become a moderate drinker. There was obviously
an element of pride involved. He could never admit to himself that alcohol was
his master. As soon as he got into shape he would show alcohol how it ought to
be handled. He must be a good businessman because he managed to survive for
years with banks continuing to trust him.
"Finally," he said, "I wasn't invited to leave my home as some here have put
it. I was kicked out. I put a cot in the back of the office. I used to lie
down about twelve at night so I could wake up before three and knock over a
couple before the bar closed. Then I was awake at eight to be in time for the
bar opening up.
He tried cures. He tried will power, but always ended up seeing himself in the
bar mirror. He found AA. He knew for the first time that he was an alcoholic
and could never beat it. It was the end of alcohol or the end of him. New
challenge and new pride were awakened.
"Of course when I got off the stuff I began looking at myself to try and find
out what was wrong with me. It must have been more than appetite. Then I
discovered one of my troubles was intolerance. I couldn't bear to be crossed
by anyone. If, in putting through a deal, I thought someone was trying to pull
something I got mad and told them to go to hell, and, of course, I was so mad
I had to have a drink and then I was off again-once for five weeks in a
hospital with a fractured hip.
"One time, after I had been going fine, I blew up again, tore up the contract,
threw it on the floor. There was four hundred bucks in it for me, but to hell
with it. Nobody was going to make a monkey out of me. I stormed out of the
place, but this time I didn't go to a bar. I thought it over and wondered how
I could straighten myself out.
I always hated to apologize to anyone-knowing I'd been wrong only made it
harder. But finally I had to get square with myself, so I called the fellow
up. I said to him: `I'm sorry about that blow-up. I'm an alcoholic and
sometimes I lose my head. I don't want you to think I care about the money.
That's not why I'm calling you. I want you to forgive me.' The man said: `You
know, I've been trying to figure out why I blew up. Come on over and let's
straighten it out.' We did. My fee wasn't due for thirty days, but he gave me
the check then. In the old days it would have ended that way. I'd have tied
the bag on good.
"Soon after AA got hold of me my wife came to me and said: `Why don't you come
home?' I said: `Do you mean it?' `Of course, come on.'
"When I got home, I said: `I don't suppose I could get a drink around here.'
My wife said: `Sure.' She brought me a bottle of beer. The next day I had a
bottle of beer. That night I slept for the first time without drugs. I slept
because I was at peace.
"They tell us around here we can call it anything we like-God, Divine Power
or-well, I call it God. I never believed much, but I know that without God I'm
nothing. That time I blew up I knew I wasn't going to drink because I had
asked God that morning to help me." Shade of Tagore's mother.
I am an alcoholic," began the next speaker. He looked like a football coach.
He was a merchant from New Jersey. His drinking began young and industriously
in the West. As a traveling man he found it convenient to have supplies
constantly at hand by carrying three or four spares in his bag.
His experience was much as the others-releases and relapses, treatments,
sanitariums, lost money, lost business, lost home, lost family.
"In one hospital there was a bottle of rubbing alcohol in the closet. I drank
it to within one inch of the bottom, then turned on my face. When the nurse
came in I asked her to rub my back as I was in such pain. She found the nearly
empty bottle, refilled it and rubbed my back. When she had gone I helped
myself from the refill. Later she told me I had been drinking refuse. Doctors
and nurses had washed their hands in it. Wounds had been cleaned with it.
"After AA I got my family back and am in business again. I then tried helping
others, but I didn't have much success until I finally realized that I was
looking down on them. Now I know that I am only made strong by what I can give
others. I need them as much as they need me. Like the others I wasn't
religious, but I now say boldly and reverently it was God and only God.
Without Him I was helpless." Shade of Tagore's mother.
For a time, the writer was disturbed by people who had obviously been freed
saying emphatically: "I am an alcoholic." It seemed a false and harmful
affirmation.
Thinking back on what the traveling man had said about his feeling of
superiority once he had progressed beyond the other victims, it occurred to me
that a professed alcoholic might easily be more helpful than one who thinks of
himself only as a former alcoholic. Maybe it is better to stay right in the
lodge with the others with never a suggestion of superiority. Perhaps negative
affirmations for the purpose of closer brotherhood have a positive effect with
no injury to the affirmer.
And now the little chairman got up to introduce a product of his own
helpfulness.
One day a telephone call had come from the AA office for him to go to a Long
Island address from which a call for help had come. It was for a woman, so the
little man made sure first that her husband was at home. He called and the
good work was begun. And now, with pride, he presented her.
She was Mary, a darling woman in her late twenties, with shining face,
scoffing eyes and the wide, warm smile of Erin. She looked at the microphone
and laughed. "When I used to see one of those things I thought I was Lily
Pons."
So Mary was off to a great howl. She told the list of almost identical steps
of disintegration. She had two children. Her husband had helped her try
everything-sessions with priests, promises, pledges, treatments.
"But I hid bottles all over the house, even on the roof. Once when I needed it
real bad the bottle on the roof was gone. Maybe some poor devil needed it
worse than I did, but it was hard to see it that way at the time.
"I went to Sanitarium, too." The place had been mentioned twice before and
each time had raised a great laugh. "And, of course, like the others I tried a
psychiatrist. After he talked for some time I asked him if he drank. He said
that if he took two drinks it made him sick to his stomach. He couldn't take
two drinks without losing his stomach and there he was trying to tell me how
to handle liquor."
Perhaps Mary there touched one of the cardinal reasons for the success of the
AA movement. Their applicants soon learn that they have nothing to explain.
They are talking to experts who have gone all the way down the road, have lain
in every pitfall and tried every false exit. They cannot be shocked or
deceived.
"Finally," said Mary, "I landed in that lovely resort on the river, Bellevue,
and what I saw there in two days left nothing but the bottle.
"At last my husband gave up. He said there was nothing for us but a divorce.
When we were in court someone asked us why we didn't try AA. So we telephoned,
and the little man came. They asked me to the house on Twenty-fourth Street. I
went and as soon as I was in the place I knew this was it. They talked to me
some about God. I was raised in a convent school and that wasn't hard to take.
Well, it worked. There's nothing more to say except that five weeks ago I had
a baby." There were applause and cheers for Mary.
"When I came out of the ether the doctor said to me: `Never lose your sense of
humor, Mary. When you were still under you said: "What's all this talk about
no atheists in foxholes? I guess you won't find any in delivery rooms,
either."' From what my husband tells me you won't find any in the corridor."
Mary was a joyful benediction. She filled the place with a sense of blessing.
I doubt if there were any atheists there either.
The words of a sainted woman spoken nearly a hundred years ago had come true.
Drunkards, with the help of fellow victims, had found God. Whatever the pain
to themselves and their loved ones the journey was worth it. Perhaps in no
other way would they have found God. It seemed to one present that God was
nearer in that hall than He had ever been before, that the God long accepted
by the head had moved into the heart and only there can God's banners truly
fly.
Source: Your Life, November 1944
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++++Message 1736. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Traditions Question
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/2/2004 1:12:00 PM
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The data below is historical info on the development of the Traditions. I could not find anything to spell out what went into determining their sequence.
Arthur
*The history of the Twelve Traditions constructed from the following sources*
12&12 Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions
AACOA AA
Comes of Age
BW-FH Bill
W by Francis Hartigan
BW-RT Bill
W by Robert Thompson
DBGO Dr
Bob and the Good Oldtimers
GSC General
Service Conference (report)
GTBT Grateful
to Have Been There by Nell Wing
Gv Grapevine
LOH The
Language of the Heart
PIO Pass
It On
SM AA
Service Manual and Twelve Concepts for World Service
*1942:* Correspondence from groups gave
early signals of a need to develop guidelines to help with group problems that
occurred repeatedly. Basic ideas for the Twelve Traditions emerged from this
correspondence and the principles defined in the Foreword to the 1st
Ed. Big Book. (AACOA 187, 192-193, 198, 204, PIO 305-306, LOH 154)
*1945: *Apr, Earl T, pioneer member and
founder of AA in Chicago (whose story is _He
Sold Himself Short_), suggested that Bill codify the Traditions and write
essays on them for the Gv. Initially, the Twelve Traditions were qualified as
_Twelve Points to Assure Our Future_. (AACOA 22, 203, GTBT 54-55, 77, SM S8,
PIO 306, LOH 20-24)
Aug, the Gv
carried Bill's first Traditions article (titled _Modesty One Plank for Good
Public Relations_)
setting the ground work for his campaign for the Traditions. The July Gv had
an
article by member C.H.K. of Lansing, MI about the Washingtonians. Bill used
this article to begin his essay commentaries.
*1946: *Apr, the Gv carried the article _Twelve Suggested Points for AA
Tradition_. These would later be called the long form of the Traditions.
(AACOA viii, 96,
203, LOH 20, 154, Gv)
*1947: *Jun, the _AA Preamble_ first appeared in the Gv. It
was written by Tom Y, Grapevine's first editor.
Aug, in his Gv
Traditions essay _Last Seven Years Have Made AA
Self-Supporting_, Bill wrote 'Two years ago the trustees set
aside, out of AA book funds, a sum which enabled my wife and me to pay off the
mortgage on our home and make some needed improvements. The Foundation also
granted Dr. Bob and me each a royalty of 10% on the book Alcoholics Anonymous,
our only income from AA sources. We are both very comfortable and deeply
grateful.''
Dec, the Gv
carried a notice that an important new 48 page pamphlet _AA Traditions_ was
sent to each group and
that enough copies were available for each member to have one free of charge.
*1949: *As plans for the 1st Int'l Convention were under way, Earl T suggested
to Bill that the _Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition_
would benefit from revision and shortening. (AACOA says 1947). Bill, with
Earl's help, set out to develop the short form of the Traditions. (AACOA 213,
GTBT 55,
77, PIO 334)
Nov, the short
form of the Twelve Traditions was first printed in the Gv. The entire issue
was
dedicated to the Traditions in preparation for the forthcoming Cleveland
Convention. Two wording changes were subsequently made to the initial version:
'primary spiritual aim'' was changed to 'primary
purpose'' in Tradition Six, and 'principles above
personalities'' was changed to 'principles before
personalities'' in Tradition Twelve. (LOH 96)
*1950: *Jul, AA's 15th anniversary and 1st Int'l Convention at Cleveland, OH
(est. 3,000 attendees). Registration was $1.50 per person. (AACOA 213,
BW-RT 308, PIO 338). The Twelve Traditions were adopted unanimously by the
attendees by standing vote. (AACOA 43, LOH 121, PIO 338)
*1953: *Jun, the book Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions was published. Bill W. described the work as 'This
small volume is strictly a textbook which explains AA's 24 basic
principles and their application, in detail and with great care.'' Bill
was helped in its writing by Betty L and Tom P. Jack Alexander also helped
with
editing. It was published in two editions: one for $2.25 for distribution
through AA groups, and a $2.75 edition distributed through Harper &
Brothers for sale in commercial bookstores. (AACOA ix, 219, PIO 354-356)
*1955:* AA's 15th anniversary and 2nd Int'l Convention at St Louis, MO. On Jul
3, by resolution, Bill W and its old-timers turned over the
stewardship of the AA society to the movement. The Conference became the
Guardian of the Traditions and voice of the group conscience of the entire
Fellowship. The resolution was unanimously adopted by the Convention by
acclamation and by the GSC by formal resolution and vote. (AACOA ix, 47-48,
223-228)
*1957:* the GSC passed an advisory action
that 'No change in Article 12 of the [Conference] Charter or in AA Tradition
or in the Twelve Steps of AA may be made with less than the written consent of
three-quarters of the AA groups.'' (SM S87)
*1958:* the GSC passed an advisory action
'the GSC recognize the original use of the word `honest'
before `desire to stop drinking' and its deletion from the
Traditions as part of the evolution of the AA movement. Any change to be left
to the discretion of AA Publishing, Inc.'' This advisory action is worded
in a manner that can give the erroneous impression of a change to the wording
of Tradition Three. It actually involved removing the word 'honest''
from 'honest desire to stop drinking'' in the AA Preamble in the Gv_. _It also
led to changing the wording of
the Preamble from 'AA has no dues or fees'' to 'There are no
dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own
contributions.'' The changes were approved by the General Service Board in
the summer of 1958 (www.aagrapevine.org also _Best
of the Grapevine_, vol.1, 274-275)
*Third Tradition Story (Two items that often are erroneously
intermingled)*
*1937: *On the AA calendar of 'year
two,'' the spirit of Tradition Three emerged. A member asked to be
admitted who frankly described himself to the 'oldest'' member as
'the victim of another addiction even worse stigmatized than
alcoholism.'' The 'addiction'' was 'sex deviate.'' (Note:
info provided by David S from an audiotape of Bill W at an open meeting of the
1968 GSC. See also the pamphlet _The
Co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous_, P-53, pg 30). Guidance came form
Dr Bob (the oldest member in Akron) asking, 'What would the Master
do?'' The member was admitted and plunged into 12th Step work.
(DBGO 240-241 12&12 141-142) Note: this story is often erroneously
intermingled with an incident that occurred eight years later in 1945 at the
41st
St clubhouse in NYC (described next).
*1945:* Bill W was called by Barry L (who
would later author _Living Sober_)
from the 41st St clubhouse. Bill persuaded the group to take in a
black man who was an ex-convict with bleach-blond hair, wearing women's
clothing and makeup. The man also admitted to being a 'dope fiend.''
When asked what to do about it, Bill posed the question, 'did you say he
was a drunk?'' When answered, 'yes'' Bill replied, 'well
I think that's all we can ask.'' The man disappeared shortly after.
(BW-FH 8, PIO 317-318) Anecdotal accounts erroneously say that this individual
went on to become one of the best 12th Steppers in NY. This
story is often erroneously intermingled with that of a 1937 incident
('year two'' on the AA calendar) involving an Akron member that is
discussed in the Tradition Three essay in the 12&12 (pgs 141-142).
*The Order of the Traditions*
The order of
the Traditions was defined in April 1946 and I cannot find anything that
influenced
the sequence in which they were written.
The April 1946
Grapevine article states:
Almost any A.A. can tell you what
our group problems are. Fundamentally they have to do with our relations, one
with the other, and with the world outside. They involve relations of the A.A.
to his group, the relation of his group to Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole,
and
the place of Alcoholics Anonymous in that troubled sea called Modern Society,
where all of humankind must presently shipwreck or find haven. Terribly
relevant is the problem of our basic structure and our attitude toward those
ever pressing questions of leadership, money and authority. The future may
well
depend on how we feel and act about things that are controversial and how we
regard our public relations. Our final destiny will surely hang upon what we
presently decide to do with these danger-fraught issues!
Now comes the crux of our
discussion. It is this: Have we yet acquired sufficient experience to state
clear-cut policies on these, our chief concerns? Can we now declare general
principles which could grow into vital traditions--traditions sustained in
the heart of each A.A. by his own deep conviction and by the common consent of
his fellows? That is the question. Though full answer to all our perplexities
may never be found, I'm sure we have come at last to a vantage point whence we
can discern the main outlines of a body of tradition; which, God willing, can
stand as an effective guard against all the ravages of time and circumstance.
Acting upon the persistent urge of
old A.A. friends, and upon the conviction that general agreement and consent
between our members is now possible, I shall venture to place in words these
suggestions for _An
Alcoholics Anonymous Tradition of Relations_--_Twelve Points to Assure Our
Future._
The
sequence of the Gv essays that Bill wrote do not follow the sequence of the
Traditions until December 1947 through November 1948 when he wrote an essay
for
each Tradition in numerical sequence (later incorporated into the 12&12 and
AA Comes of Age).
His
essays from August 1945 to November 1947 were:
Modesty One
Plank for Good Public Relations - Aug 1945
'Rules''
Dangerous but Unity Vital - Sep 1945
The Book Is
Born - Oct 1945
A Tradition Born
of Our Anonymity - Jan 1946
Our Anonymity
Is Both Inspiration and Safety - Mar 1946
Twelve
Suggested Points for AA Tradition - Apr 1946
Safe Use of
Money - May 1946
Policy on Gift
Funds - Jun 1946
The Individual
in Relation to AA as a Group - Jul 1946
Who Is a Member
of Alcoholics Anonymous - Aug 1946
Will AA Ever
Have a Personal Government - Jan 1947
Dangers in
Linking AA to Other Projects - Mar 1947
Clubs in AA -
Apr 1947
Adequate
Hospitalization: One Great Need - May 1947
Lack of Money
Proved AA Boon - Jun 1947
Last Seven
Years Have Made AA Self-Supporting - Aug 1947
Traditions
Stressed in Memphis Talk - Oct 1947
Incorporations:
Their Use and Misuse - Nov 1947
The above
period of time was also when Bill was going through some of the worst of his
episodes of depression.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Lash, William
(Bill) [mailto:wlash@avaya.com]
*Sent:* Wednesday, March 31, 2004
1:35 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
Traditions Question
12.0pt;">
Does anyone know why the Twelve Traditions are in the order
that they are in? Thanks!
12.0pt;">
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1737. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Alan Guiness/A Members Eye View of
AA
From: mlibby . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/3/2004 1:06:00 AM
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His name was Allen McGuiness (deceased) and I believe he was from Southern
California. I love the pamphlet and have memorized a large chunk of it because
it is, in my opinion, the most beautiful expression of what AA is that I have
ever read. I'll send you separately a 15 minute excerpt from the pamphlet that
I recite daily on my way to work.
You can go to xa-speakers.org and search for "Allen" and you'll find a series
of five talks he gave in Brentwood, California back in 1968 called "AA
Workshop" or something to that effect. Tremendous....very much in line with A
Member's Eye View.
You can download those and learn a significant amount more about this man
through his sharing... He got sober in the early 1950's, went out shortly
thereafter, but came back. Thank God.
Mike
----- Original Message -----
From: burt reynolds
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 06, 2004 5:05 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Alan Guiness/A Members Eye View of AA
Does anyone know anything about the man whose speech became the pamphlet
"A Member's Eye View of AA"?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online [5]
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++++Message 1738. . . . . . . . . . . . Sam Shoemaker Obituary (1964)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/5/2004 8:08:00 AM
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January 1964 AA Grapevine
In Memory of Dr. Sam
by Bill
ON Thursday, October 31, 1963 Dr. Sam Shoemaker, the great Episcopal clergyman
and first friend of AA, passed from our sight and hearing. He was one of those
few without whose ministration AA could never have been born in the first
place - nor prospered since.
From his teaching, Dr. Bob and I absorbed most of the principles that were
later embodied in the Twelve Steps of AA. Our ideas of self-examination,
acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harms done and working
with others came straight from Sam. Therefore he gave to us the concrete
knowledge of what we could do about our illness; he passed to us the spiritual
keys by which so many of us have since been liberated.
We who in AA's early time were privileged to fall under the spell of his
inspiration can never be the same again.
We shall bless Sam's memory forever.
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++++Message 1739. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant April Dates in AA History
- Revised
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/6/2004 3:55:00 AM
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April 1:
1939 - Alcoholics Anonymous AA's Big Book was published.
1966 - Sister Ignatia died at the age of 77. She worked with Dr. Bob in
treating many early AA members at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron.
1984 - 12 Coconuts Group, Kapiolani Park, Waikiki, Hawaii, was founded.
[22]
April 3:
1941 - First Florida AA meeting was held.
April 4:
1960 - The Chicago Daily News reported that Fr. Edward Dowling, Jesuit Priest
who helped start the first AA group in St. Louis, had died at age 62.
April 7:
1941 - Ruth Hock reported there were 1,500 letters asking for help, as a
result of the Saturday Evening Post Article by Jack Alexander.
April 10:
1939 - The first ten copies of the Big Book arrived at the office Bill shared
with Hank Parkhurst in Newark, New Jersey.
April 11:
1938 - Alcoholic Foundation held its first meeting.
1939 - Marty Mann attended her first meeting a the home of Bill and Lois
Wilson in Brooklyn.
1941 - Bill and Lois Wilson moved into their new home, Stepping Stones.
April 12:
1942 - The Windsor Daily Star in Ontario, Canada, reported that over 400 AA's
attended a testimonial dinner for Dr. Bob.
April 16:
1940 - A sober Rollie Helmsley caught the only opening day no-hitter in
baseball history since 1909.
1973 - Dr. Jack Norris Chairman of the AA General Service Board, presented
President Richard Nixon with the one-millionth copy of the Big Book at the
White House.
April 17:
1941 - 2nd group in Los Angeles, the "Hole in the Ground Group" was formed.
April 19:
1940 - First AA group in Little Rock, Arkansas, was formed.
April 22:
1940 - Bill Wilson transferred his Works Publishing Stock to the Alcoholic
Foundation. The date on which Hank Parkhurst transferred his stock is
uncertain. See: Yahoo! Groups : AAHistoryLovers Messages : Message 75 of 1732
[23]
April 23:
1940 - Dr. Bob wrote the Trustees to refuse Big Book royalties, but Bill
Wilson insisted on them for Dr. Bob and Anne.
April 24:
1989 - Dr. Leonard Strong died. He was Bill's brother-in-law and an AA
Trustee.
April 25:
1951 - AA's first General Service Conference was held.
April 26:
1939 - Bill & Lois Wilson moved in with Hank Parkhurst after the bank
foreclosed on 182 Clinton St. This was the first of over 50 moves before they
acquired Stepping Stones.
April 30:
1989 - The film "My Name is Bill W.," a Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation,
was broadcast at 9 p.m. on ABC TV.
Other April events for which we have no specific dates:
1940 - The "Texas Preamble" used to open meetings in Texas, was written by
Larry J. of Houston. See:
Yahoo! Groups : AAHistoryLovers Messages : Message 841 of 1732 [24]
1940 - The first AA pamphlet was published, entitled simply: "AA."
1958 - The word "honest" was dropped from "an honest desire to top drinking,"
in the AA Preamble.
1960 - Bill Wilson refused to be on the cover of Time Magazine.
1988 - Cybil C., the first woman member in Los Angeles and archivist, died.
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++++Message 1740. . . . . . . . . . . . Periodical Lit., REad, March 1945
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/7/2004 7:15:00 AM
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Do You Drink Too Much?
A Professor of Psychology Tells Why PeopleDrink - and Offers Advice
By Peter J. Hampton
The moderate drinker avoids getting drunk. He does not seek intoxication. He
uses alcoholic beverages because he likes their taste and enjoys their
soothing effects. Occasionally he uses them also as a means of allaying
irritation and assuaging minor pains. Alcohol is not a necessity for the
moderate drinker. It constitutes only a small item in his budget.
More than half of the approximately 40,000,000 users of alcoholic beverages in
the United States fall into this category. They can take it or leave it alone,
for they have complete control over their drinking. This, more than anything
else, distinguishes the moderate from the habitual or intemperate drinker.
The habitual drinker uses alcohol almost every day but in view of his health
and tolerance for alcoholic beverages, he does not as a rule develop any
alcoholic disease. He indulges in alcohol for the lift he gets from it.
Alcohol breaks down his reserve and removes his inhibitions, and thus gives
him a chance to work up enthusiasm for social activities and self-expression.
Alcohol aids him, also, in covering up any neurotic faults he may have.
A credit manger for a retail store claims that drinking makes him a better
social companion and at the same time gives him a feeling of importance. "when
drinking," he says "I feel like 'a big shot' and have no worries."
An inspector of machine parts puts it this way: "Because of my backward and
timid nature, especially when I have to meet people, I take a few drinks to
bolster me up. I feel as though the only time I can assert myself is when I am
half drunk. I honestly believe that my being shy, timid, and having an
inferiority complex is the main reason for my drinking."
Unlike many of the 7,000,000 habitual drinkers, this inspector of machine
parts knows why he drinks. Knowing, he can help himself.
The neurotic drinker has to overcome his fear of people and things before he
can regain control over alcohol. The pleadings and prayers of others have no
effect on him. It is only when he shakes off his juvenile thinking and begins
to realize that peace, contentment, relaxation and happiness come from within
himself, and not from the inside of a beer glass, that he is on his way to
recovery from the bondage of liquor.
The remaining 3,000,000 users of alcoholic beverages in the United States,
grouped under intemperate drinkers, include the normal excessive drinkers,
symptomatic drinkers, stupid drinkers and alcoholic addicts. Recklessness,
exuberance and mistaken good fellowship are usually to blame for the
overindulgence of excessive drinkers. Many are individuals of high alcoholic
tolerance who could stop, but do not merely because there seems to be no
reason to do so.
The symptomatic drinkers are those individuals whose excessive drinking is the
result of a disturbed mental state. They may suffer from hysteria,
neurasthenia, psychasthenia, schizophrenia, paranoia or manic depressive
psychosis. Their drinking is only one of the many debilitating symptoms of
their psychoneurotic or psy-chotic state.
Here is the story of a retail salesman who may be classified as a symptomatic
drinker:
"As nearly as I can remember," the salesman told me, "I began to drink heavily
in 1927. My average consumption of liquor per day then was two pints of hard
stuff. In 1930, I had my first bout with delirium tremens and was
hospitalized. When I got out, I resumed my drinking. During the next few years
I was under a doctor's care three or four times. In 1937 I married, more to
escape the family and be able to drink in peace than anything else....
"The courts got tired of seeing me and I was probated and sent to a mental
hospital. I stayed for thirty days and then got out on probation. Two months
later I was back at the hospital. This time I was placed in the strong ward
for incurables where I spent the next thirteen months. Thirty days after I was
let out, I was drunk once more. My wife got fed up with me and divorced me.
"My trips to the hospital continued, sometimes for delirium tremens, sometimes
for epileptic convulsions. Finally in September, 1943, I joined Alcoholics
Anonymous. I had my last drink on October 3, 1943, and haven't had the
slightest urge to drink since."
Our friend, of course, is far from saved, even though he has joined Alcoholics
Anonymous and has been sober for more than a year. A psychiatric examination
shows that he has the symptomatology of paranoia, psychasthenia and
schizophrenia, and, by his own admission, he has had epileptic convulsions.
His drinking is therefore symptomatic and not causative, and unless the cause
of his psychotic tendencies can be removed or ameliorated, he will at some
future time relapse into inebriety.
Stupid drinkers are the feeble-minded individuals who drink because they
cannot resist temptation and because they cannot rise to any higher form or
recreation than the passive one of intoxication. These are the unfortunate
individuals who, because of their low intelligence, cannot foresee the
consequences of their actions.
Finally, the alcoholic addict is a person with an uncontrollable craving for
alcohol. The outstanding criterion is the inability to break with the habit.
Alcohol serves the purpose of creating an artificial social and personal
adjustment.
A woman inspector at a watch-case factory tells this story: "At the time I
started to be a heavy drinker, I had become very discouraged, not having a
husband and a home of my own in which to rear my daughter. All the men I came
in contact with were heavy drinkers and I drank with them. I thought at the
time most men liked a woman who drank with them. I drank because my marriage
had been a failure."
A bond dealer adds: "It was difficult to live with myself. I was not an
upstanding citizen. I could not understand myself. I drank because of the
threat of divorce and because I was losing custody of my baby son."
From a social point of view, only the 3,000,000 intemperate drinkers
constitute a serious problem to society. The symptomatic drinkers and the
stupid drinkers, when detected, are as a rule hospitalized in state
institutions, with the result that society manages to keep them harmless. The
normal excessive drinkers, although troublesome at times, usually contain
themselves sufficiently to avoid being public hazards. The most pernicious and
the most dangerous of intemperate drinkers are the alcoholic addicts.
Unable to control their drinking, they will go to almost any length to satisfy
their craving for liquor. Although many of these people are likable and
intelligent, they often become dangerous to themselves and to others. Their
main difficulty lies in their absence of deep emotional responses, their
inability to profit from experience, and their disregard of social mores.
Between alcoholic sprees, they behave like perfectly normal people.
The inability of alcoholic addicts to profit from experience makes them
especially liable to asocial and antisocial deeds. The following excerpts,
taken from autobiographical sketches of alcoholic addicts in my files,
illustrate the point.
A district manager for a business concern writes: "When I was in high school,
I worked afternoons and Saturdays at a shoe store for $7 per week. Finding
that having money in my pocket all the time added to my popularity, I soon
began a system of petty thievery at the store."
A woman running a rooming house writes: "I gradually came to the point where
drink was the first thing in my mind. I would lie, steal and deceive to get
it. I became a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I treated my mother awful while under
the influence of liquor, but would do anything for her when sober. The same
thing with my daughter. I even thought of suicide to end the disgrace I was
causing my mother and daughter."
Within the last ten years, a group of alcoholic addicts, known as Alcoholics
Anonymous, have instituted a program of cure which has led many of these
people back to sobriety. In a recent study of the personality structure of
alcoholic addicts, I had an opportunity to question several hundred members of
Alcoholics Anonymous as to why they became heavy drinkers.
Many of the reasons offered are good reasons, but not necessarily the real
ones, for, like most other people, alcoholic addicts are past masters of the
art of rationalization. However, the consistency found in the statements
reveals a common trend which points to escape as perhaps the most fundamental
reason for excessive drinking.
The alcoholic addict may try to escape from himself. Drink makes him gay,
lively and happy. He forgets about his emotional immaturity, his feelings of
insecurity. He becomes noisy, even boisterous and defiant. He feels like "a
big shot" with no worries.
Instead of trying to escape from himself, the alcohol addict may try to escape
from other people. He may drink to escape the nagging of his wife, the
pettiness of domestic and business relations. Disappointed in his social and
financial ambitions, he may drink to escape all social responsibilities. He
may become depressed and morose and hides from people.
A manager for a construction company says: "I was unable to secure the
financial and social position I desired. I had an adolescent viewpoint-refused
to accept things as they were. I tried to find continued escape through
alcohol and hide my frustration."
Finally, the alcoholic addict may try to escape from the environment in which
he finds himself. He may use alcohol as a means to overcome the fears, worries
and anxieties brought on by the real world or as a straight defense mechanism
to substitute phantasy for all reality.
An advertising copywriter explains: "I used my first wife's desertion as an
excuse to drink. But I believe it was an effort to escape from all reality. I
drank because of boredom, frustration, anger and the weather."
A stenographer says: "I sought to find temporary escape from reality. Mother's
illness, which steadily grew worse until she was finally committed to a mental
hospital for senile dementia, made my life drab and miserable. I drank to
escape from it all."
These then are the reasons why people drink. There are many ways of finding
relief from "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." Alcohol is one of
the worst.
Source: Read, March, 1945
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++++Message 1742. . . . . . . . . . . . grapevine 6/1950
From: billyk3 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/8/2004 4:22:00 PM
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does anyone know for sure who wrote this?
it was probably the 'editors' but if there is a name,
i'd like to know it. what a trbute to a wonderful lady!!
thanks
billyk
June 1950 AA Grapevine
ANNE SMITH
(March 21st, 1881 - June 1st, 1949)
"She greeted strangers, and listened for their names."
SOMEHOW we believe Dr. Bob's beloved Anne would prefer this simple
tribute beyond all others. It was written by one who knew her well.
It came from the bottom of a grateful heart which sensed that
extravagant language and trumpeting phrases would serve only to
obscure a life that had deep meaning.
It is doubtful if now, only one year after her passing, that, the
true significance of Anne Smith's life can be realized. Certainly it
cannot yet be written, for the warmth of her love, and charm of her
personality and the strength of her humility are still upon those of
us who knew her.
For Anne Smith was far more than a gracious lady. She was one of four
people, chosen by a Higher Destiny, to perform a service to mankind.
How great this contribution is, only time and an intelligence beyond
man's can determine. With Dr. Bob, Lois and Bill, Anne Smith stepped
into history, not as a heroine but as one willing to accept God's
will and ready to do what needed to be done.
Her kitchen was the battleground and, while Anne poured the black
coffee, a battle was fought there which has led to your salvation and
mine. It was she, perhaps, who first understood the miracle of what
passed between Bill and Dr. Bob. And, in the years to follow, it was
she who knew with divine certainty that what had happened in her home
would happen in other homes again, again, and yet again.
For Anne, understood the simplicity of faith. Perhaps that's why God
chose her for us. Perhaps that's why Anne never once thought of
herself as a 'woman of destiny' but went quietly about her job.
Perhaps that's why, when she said to a grief-torn wife, "Come in, my
dear, you're with friends now - friends who understand" that fear and
loneliness vanished. Perhaps that's why Anne always sat in the rear
of the meetings, so she could see the newcomers as they came, timid
and doubtful...and make them welcome.
There's a plaque on the wall of Akron's St. Thomas hospital dedicated
to Anne. It's a fine memorial. But there's a finer one lying
alongside the typewriter as this is being written - letters to Dr.
Bob from men and women who knew and loved her well. Each tries to put
in words what is felt in many hearts. They fail - and that's the
tribute beyond price. For real love, divine love, escapes even the
poet's pen.
So, in the simplest way we know, and speaking for every AA
everywhere, let's just say 'Thanks, Dr. Bob, for sharing her with
us.' We know that she's in a Higher Group now, sitting well to the
back, with an eye out for newcomers, greeting the strangers and
listening for their names!
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++++Message 1747. . . . . . . . . . . . Traditions applied to GSO? Compiled.
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/10/2004 1:54:00 AM
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The following have been deleted from the list and combined here:
From: kentedavis@aol.com [25]
Date: Thu Apr 8, 2004 11:43 am
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions applied to GSO?
I have been trying to find a reference that indicates if GSO is to be guided
by the traditions or were the traditions written to apply only to groups. So
far I have not been successful in my efforts. Specifically, I would like to
find out if any one knows of a reference of GSO being self supporting. I would
really like to figure out if there has been any conference action that
indicates that GSO is to follow the tradition.
Kent D
Concord, CA
From: Jim Blair
Date: Thu Apr 8, 2004 11:43 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions applied to GSO?
In an article in the November, 1952 AA Grapevine Bill W. stated that A.A.'s
Twelve Traditions-
Define my relation to the group.
Define my group's relation to AA as a whole.
Define our relations with the public.
Give us a set of attitudes towards money, property, power and prestige.
I think this will answer your question.
Jim
From: Jeff Your
Date: Fri Apr 9, 2004 9:11 am
Subject: Re: GSO and Traditions
Kent,
Take a look at Concepts III and XII:
[III] To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of AA. --
the
Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs,
committees, and executives -- with a traditional "Right of Decision."
[XII] The Conference shall observe the spirit of A.A. tradition, taking care
that it never becomes the seat of perilous wealth or power; that sufficient
operating funds and reserve be its prudent financial principle; that it place
none of its members in a position of unqualified authority over others; that
it reach all important decisions by discussion, vote, and, whenever possible,
by
substantial unanimity; that its actions never be personally punitive nor an
incitement to public controversy; that it never perform acts of government,
and
that, like the Society it serves, it will always remain democratic in
thought and action.
Now, I don't know how much you want to split hairs, but these two Concepts, as
well as references within the other Concepts clearly indicate to me that all
AA entities recognize and follow the Traditions. At the same time, the
Traditions are not legal documents and do not provide the necessary language
in
corporate circles to allow AA to live within the real world and conduct the
business of AA outside the rooms of AA. So, there are other documents and
by-laws which govern the day to day workings of the Trustees, when acting on
behalf of our Fellowship.
From: "Arthur"
Date: Fri Apr 9, 2004 12:32 pm
Subject: RE: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions applied to GSO?
The Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts are spiritual
principles that are supposed to be practiced by AA as whole (i.e. members,
groups, districts, central offices, areas, regions, GSOs, Conferences, etc.,
etc.). That’s how we pass on the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and
Service throughout the Fellowship.
Following is an abbreviated timeline of the evolution of the GSO in NY (which
in its early days was called the “NY Headquarters” office):
Aug 11, 1938: the Alcoholic Foundation was established as a charitable trust
with a board of 5 Trustees (in Language of the Heart 61, Bill W said it
started with 7 Trustees). Non-alcoholic board members were Willard (Dick)
Richardson (who proposed the Foundation) Frank Amos and John E F Wood. One of
the early challenges facing Wood was legally defining the difference between
an alcoholic and non-alcoholic. (Language of the Heart, pg 61) Alcoholic board
members were Dr Bob and NY member William (Bill) Ruddell (whose Big Book story
is A Business Man’s Recovery). Bill R was the first Board Chairman but
returned to drinking and resigned in Feb 1939. The board composition began a
long (and later troublesome) tradition of making non-alcoholics a majority. An
advisory committee to the board was also established. It consisted of A LeRoy
Chipman, Bill W, Albert L Scott and Hank P. (AA Comes of Age 151-152, Lois
Remembers 197, Not God 66, 307, 330, Pass It On 188 -- Not God 330 end note
states that the AA Comes of Age date and Amos’ date of Aug 5 are in error
and gives the date as Spring 1938, Language of the Heart 142 and AA Comes of
Age 15 say Spring of 1938).
Feb 8, 1940: John D Rockefeller Jr. held a dinner for AA at the Union League
Club. 75 out of 400 invited guests attended. Nelson Rockefeller hosted the
dinner in the absence of his ill father. The dinner produced much favorable
publicity for AA. It also raised $2,200 ($29,000 today) from the attendees
($1,000 from Rockefeller). Rockefeller and the dinner guests continued to
provide about $3,000 a year ($34,000 today) up to 1945 when they were asked to
stop contributing. The Alcoholic Foundation received the donations and income
from sales of the Big Book. (Lois Remembers 197, AA Comes of Age viii,
182-187, Not God 92-94, Pass It On 232-235).
Mar 1, 1941: Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post article was published. The
publicity caused 1941 membership to jump from around 2,000 to 8,000. Bill and
two other members’ pictures appeared full-face in the article. (AA Comes of
Age viii, 35-36, 190-191, Language of the Heart 149-150, Pass It On 245-247)
The article, led to over 6,000 appeals for help to be mailed to Box 658 for
the NY Office to handle. (Service Manual S7, Pass It On 249) The NY office
asked groups to donate $1 ($12 today) per member for support of the office.
This began the practice of financing the NY office operations from group
donations. (AA Comes of Age 112, 192, Language of the Heart 149, SM S7)
1945: The Alcoholic Foundation wrote to John D Rockefeller, Jr. and the 1940
dinner guests that AA no longer needed their financial help. Big Book
royalties could look after Dr Bob and Bill W and Group contributions could pay
the general office expenses. This ended all “outside contributions” to AA.
(AA Comes of Age 203-204)
1950: AA members were asked to donate $2 per year ($15 today) to support the
NY office. (Language of the Heart 159)
1958 General Service Conference Advisory Action: The suggestion of the name
change from General Service Hq. to General Service Office be adopted. (M-39)
The earliest written reference would likely be the long form of Tradition Nine
which states the following:
Each A.A. group needs the least possible organization. Rotating leadership is
the best. The small group may elect its Secretary, the large group its
Rotating Committee, and the groups of a large Metropolitan area their Central
or Intergroup Committee, which often employs a full-time Secretary. The
trustees of the General Service Board are, in effect, our A.A. General Service
Committee. They are the custodians of our A.A. Tradition and the receivers of
voluntary A.A. contributions by which we maintain our A.A. General Service
Office at New York. They are authorized by the groups to handle our over-all
public relations and they guarantee the integrity of our principle newspaper,
"The A.A. Grapevine." All such representatives are to be guided in the spirit
of service, for true leaders in A.A. are but trusted and experienced servants
of the whole. They derive no real authority from their titles; they do not
govern. Universal respect is the key to their usefulness.
Page S69 in the 2003-2004 Service Manual states the following:
FINANCIAL SUPPORT: According to the Seventh Tradition, every group should be
self-supporting, and the Tradition includes such pooled services as those
provided by G.S.O. A.A. World Services has two sources of revenue: group
contributions and income from the publishing operation. For reporting
purposes, activities at G.S.O. are lumped into two categories: service and
publishing expense. In the past, A.A. groups have contributed enough to cover
about two-thirds of the service expenses (services provided to all registered
groups, whether or not they make a contribution). The rest was covered by
publishing income, which was in excess of that required for publishing
expenses.
In 1986, the General Service Board asked for a special effort to inform the
Fellowship of the dangers inherent in this situation; particularly that a
substantial fraction of the publishing income now comes from outside sources.
The effort was begun to inform the groups about this growing problem. The
challenge was to make G.S.0.S service work self-supporting through
contributions of the membership and to sell literature at cost to everyone.
The number and extent of group services have increased over the years, but the
real cost of service per group has decreased consistently owing to the growth
of the Fellowship. However, all groups do not contribute to the support of the
service work. About one-half do not. This places a heavier burden on the
groups that do. More important than the dollar amount of contributions,
however, is group participation in this part of A.A. service work, as in the
other activities that make groups members of the A.A. community. Making
regular contributions to world services ties a group to A.A. worldwide.
Many groups have found it convenient to set up a regular contribution plan
whereby they send in a predetermined percentage each month or each quarter.
For part of this â€" or to make additions to it - they use various methods.
The Birthday Plan is one: On their A.A. birthdays each year, group members
make their personal contributions (through group treasuries) on the basis of
$1.00 for each year of sobriety. G.S.O. will send special Birthday Plan
envelopes on request.
Many groups have their own ways of getting their regular or special
contributions together. In Memoriam contributions honor the memory of a
deceased member. Of course contributions of this type, like those of any
other, can be accepted from A.A. members only. In keeping with the Traditions,
G.S.O. accepts contributions only from A.A. members, groups or other A.A.
entities. Furthermore, the General Service Conference limits individual
contributions to $2,000 per year. This limit also applies to a one-time
bequest of $2,000 in the wills of deceased members.
Arthur
PS Last year around 46% of the groups in the US/Canada contributed to the GSO.
From: "Dean @ e-AA"
Date: Fri Apr 9, 2004 5:46 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions applied to GSO?
GSO belongs to AA World Services, Inc., one of the two operating
corporations "owned" by the General Service Board of Trustees. (The other
corporation being the AA Grapevine, Inc.)
The Steps, Traditions (short form), and Concepts all appear in the GSB
bylaws. Here are some snippets from the bylaws:
"The General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous, Inc., now has but one
primary purpose, that of serving the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous."
"The General Service Board in its deliberations and decisions shall be
guided by the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. ..."
"The General Service Board also shall be guided by the spirit of the Twelve
Concepts of Alcoholics Anonymous. ..."
The GSB bylaws are included in the "AA Service Manual."
-- Dean C.
Monterey Peninsula, California
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++++Message 1748. . . . . . . . . . . . Reference to "As Bill Sees It"
From: Sheila . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/14/2004 6:59:00 AM
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In the Book "As Bill Sees It" there are several referenced footnotes
to "A.A. Today". However, I cannot find any info or links to this
literature. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks
Sheila
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++++Message 1749. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Reference to "As Bill Sees It"
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/17/2004 6:35:00 PM
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Hi Sheila
"AA Today" was the first book published by the AA Grapevine. It was unveiled
in 1960 at the 25th Anniversary Convention in Long Beach, CA. The book was an
album styled volume containing original pictures and articles by Bill W, AA
pioneers and early surviving AA friends.
Similar (but smaller sized) books were published in the anniversary years of
1985 ("50 Years With Gratitude") and 1995 ("AA Everywhere - Anywhere").
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Sheila
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2004 6:59 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Reference to "As Bill Sees It"
In the Book "As Bill Sees It" there are several referenced footnotes
to "A.A. Today". However, I cannot find any info or links to this
literature. Can anyone help me out?
Thanks
Sheila
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++++Message 1750. . . . . . . . . . . . New Update of "A Narrative Timeline of
AA History"
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/17/2004 8:48:00 PM
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Hi AA History Lovers
For those of you who are familiar with Archie M's "Timelines in AA History
(1864 - present)" - his basic research data was used some time ago as a
starting point to develop an expanded chronology with added narrative and
reference sources. It is titled "A Narrative Timeline of AA History" and will
be sent, in PDF file format, to any member of AA History Lovers who replies to
this message. If you desire a copy of the timeline, please be careful to reply
only to ArtSheehan@msn.com and not to AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com.
Otherwise Nancy O, our moderator, will get burdened with the replies.
The timeline document is marked "confidential" and is intended for AA members
and serious AA history researchers only. It contains last names and this
version should not be publicly posted. There is also a "public" version of the
document that can be posted on a web site and be distributed to the general
public (last names have been reduced to last initial).
Arthur
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++++Message 1756. . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Alexander Article pictures.
From: Jaime Maliachi . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/19/2004 4:12:00 PM
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*
bold;">Bill W. Told us in A.A. comes
of Age, that in the *Jack Alexander's _Saturday Evening Post_ article, some
pictures were required by editors.
*Somebody
knows who were the A. A. members that gave the face in that event?*
*Some body
has any image about?*
*
bold;"> *
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">Jaime F. Maliachi Pedrote.*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">servidor y amigo.*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">57 85 68 00 57 85 68
26*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">fax 57 85 68 44*
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1760. . . . . . . . . . . . Trip to the Lois Wilson Picnic,
Leaving from Berkeley Heights NJ, 6/5/04
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/20/2004 7:43:00 AM
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JOIN US FOR A TRIP TO THE ANNUAL 2004 LOIS WILSON PICNIC
At Stepping Stones
(where Bill & Lois Wilson lived from 1941 until they died)
62 Oak Road, Bedford Hills (Katonah), NY
Stepping Stones contact number is 914-232-7368.
Saturday, June 5, 2004
House & Wit's End is open for viewing at 12noon.
AA (someone who knew Bill Wilson), Alanon, & Alateen speakers meeting begins
at 2pm.
Only coffee, soda, & dessert will be served at the house so we will be
stopping for lunch on the way.
We are meeting at:
The Union Village United Methodist Church
1130 Mountain Ave., Berkeley Heights, NJ
We will be leaving from Berkeley Heights at EXACTLY 10:45am.
For more info or to call the day of the trip please contact Barefoot Bill at
732-939-5907 (cell).
Directions to The Union Village United Methodist Church (10:45am start):
Traveling Rt. 22 West take Watchung Ave - VA Hospital Exit. Proceed straight
on Watchung Ave. to traffic circle. Make first right then immediate left
toward Berkeley Heights. The Union Village Methodist Church is approximately 3
miles on Hillcrest Rd. before blinking red light.
Traveling Rt. 22 East take Watchung Ave. exit, make the first right and go
over Rt. 22 to the red light. Turn left onto Watchung Ave. and follow
directions above.
Traveling Rt. 78 West take Exit 40 and make a right a yield sign. Proceed
straight on Hillcrest Rd. for approximately 1 1/2 miles. Church is on the
right before blinking light.
Traveling Rt. 78 East take Exit 40 and make a left at stop sign. Proceed
straight on Hillcrest Rd. for approximately 1 1/2 miles. Church is on the
right before blinking light.
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++++Message 1761. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Isadore Tuerk - Compiled
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/21/2004 4:11:00 AM
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This is a compilation of posts about Isadore Tuerk:
The Alcoholics Anonymous West Baltimore Group began in 1947. It's website
mentions a Dr. Tuerk.
"One of the members approached Dr. Tuerk, who was in charge of the state
mental institutions and was given permission to bring alcoholic patients to
the meetings in Charlie C's home."
You can read more about the West Baltimore Group at this website:
Alcoholics Anonymous West Baltimore Group, alcoholism, recovery, aa, AA,
health [30]
Last week I attended the NCADD-Maryland Tuerk Conference where I spoke on AA
history. The following was in the first page of the program book for the
conference:
REMEMBERING DR. TUERK
Isadore Tuerk, a psychiatrist who served as Maryland's Mental Health
Commissioner for eight years, died of heart failure at the age of 81 on
February 26, 1989. A native of Baltimore, Dr. Tuerk oversaw the state's
mental hospital system from 1960 to 1968 before leaving public service, and
continued practicing psychiatry and teaching at the University of Maryland
and Johns Hopkins medical schools.
Dr. Tuerk grew up in the neighborhood around the School of Medicine, and
first came into contract with the school as a child when he delivered
clothes made by his tailor father. A 1924 graduate of Baltimore City
College, Dr. Tuerk completed undergraduate studies at Hopkins and received
his medical degree from the University of Maryland in 1934. He served in the
U.S. Army during World War II as a division psychiatrist in the European
Theatre, was awarded a bronze star and was discharged in 1946 as a
lieutenant colonel.
As a public servant, he fought for more dollars for the state's mental
hospitals and pioneered group therapy techniques for alcoholics. All were
welcome to the Saturday morning sessions he launched at Spring Grove State
mental Hospital where he became a staff psychiatrist in 1939 and
superintendent 10 years later. Even street people sometimes showed up for
the sessions. His son Jonathan recollected that Dr. Tuerk only once threw
someone out of the sessions - a man who came in with a bottle of whiskey.
"It was the only time he ever kicked somebody out of the group and years
later he kept asking whether that was the right thing to do."
Dr. Tuerk was an honorary member of the Maryland Society on Alcoholism
Treatment and was named its Man of the Year in 1957. Tuerk House, an
alcoholic treatment center, formerly a University of Maryland drug and
alcohol abuse treatment center, was named in his honor in 1970. He retired
in 1986.
A loyal member of the Medical Alumni Association, Dr. Tuerk received the
Gold Key and Honor Award in 1981. He was a faithful caller in the Annual
Phonothon, spreading his enthusiasm to the other participants. In 1987, he
received the Medical Alumni Association Service Award for having contributed
the most time making Phonothon calls. In November 1988, he was disappointed
that his health prevented him from taking part. He was loved and admired by
all those whose lives he touched. The Alumni office staff remembers him as
soft spoken, warm and caring.
Nancy Olson
Moderator
__________
From: kyyank@aol.com [31]
Date: Tue Apr 20, 2004 8:44am
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Dr. Isadore Tuerk
I came across some information that may be useful in the
research of my book "SILKWORTH- The Little Doctor Who Loved
Drunks" that is listed in the back section. Note particularly
the collection of articles from that period of time.
Dale Mitchel
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++++Message 1763. . . . . . . . . . . . LSD use by AA members in AA History.
- Compiled
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/21/2004 4:07:00 AM
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From: WCompWdsUnl@aol.com [32]
Date: Tue Apr 20, 2004 7:52 am
Subject: LSD use by AA members in AA History.
Dear AA History Lovers:
In "Pass It On," Bill Wilson's historical documentation of the
actual history of the AA movement, from it's inception, Bill
Wilson records an entire chapter, Chapter 23; Anything that
helps Alcoholics...Bill experiments with LSD but eventually
ceases when controversy stirs within AA. (This chapter describes
how the pioneers of AA, used LSD, to wean or taper, chronic
alcoholics to sobriety.) This is a phenomena similar to the
modern day recovery of heroin addicts, using methadone. (Pages
368 - 378.)
Can anyone provide further information related to the history of
the use of LSD by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith, with
Alcoholic's, in AA?
Larry W.
Atlanta, GA
From: "Alex H." [33]
Date: Tue Apr 20, 2004 9:13am
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] LSD use by AA members in AA
History.
I suggest studying the context of the time in which these events
occurred .... LSD initially was looked upon as a beneficial
drug. I am not sure how much was known at the time of its
potential for abuse. That is what I mean by finding out about
the context of the
time. How did normal folks look at LSD at the time?
Alex
From Arthur S:
Hi Larry
First off the book Pass It On is a biography not an
autobiography â€" it’s about Bill W not by Bill W.
The primary author of Pass It On is Mel B who is also a
member of AAHistoryLovers.
The functional comparison to methadone and heroin is a
bit of a stretch. The intent of the LSD experiments was
to induce DTs. If anything, it would likely fall into
the class of "aversion therapy." Also, there is no
linkage of Dr Bob to LSD in Pass It On. There were
postings in February on the topic under the subject of
"Humphrey Osmond." The response I sent in follows:
------ Feb response ------
There are a few other books that go in to the LSD
experiments in more detail than Not God. Mel, by the
way, is the modest and primary author of Pass It On
which covers the matter in some detail. Francis
Hartigan's book Bill W and Nell Wing’s book Glad to
Have Been There offer information as well. The info
below is a composite extract:
British radio commentator Gerald Heard introduced Bill
W to Aldous Huxley and to the British psychiatrists
Humphry Osmond and Abraham Hoffer (the founders of
orthomolecular psychiatry). Humphrey and Osmond were
working with schizophrenic and alcoholic patients at a
Canadian hospital.
Bill W joined with Heard and Huxley and first took LSD
in California on Aug 29, 1956. It was medically
supervised by psychiatrist Sidney Cohen of the Los
Angeles VA hospital. The LSD experiments occurred well
prior to the "hippie era." At the time, LSD was thought
to have psychotherapeutic potential (research was also
being funded by the National Institutes of Health and
National Academy of Sciences).
The intent of Osmond and Hoffer was to induce an
experience akin to delirium tremens (DTs) in hopes that
it might shock alcoholics from alcohol.
Among those invited to experiment with LSD (and who
accepted) were Nell Wing, Father Ed Dowling, (possibly)
Sam Shoemaker and Lois Wilson. Marty M and Helen W
(Bill's mistress) and other AA members participated in
NY (under medical supervision by a psychiatrist from
Roosevelt Hospital).
Bill had several experiments with LSD up to 1959
(perhaps into the 1960's). Pass It On reports that
there were repercussions within AA over these
activities. Lois was a reluctant participant and
claimed to have had no response to the chemical.
Hoffer and Osmond did research that later influenced
Bill, in Dec 1966, to enthusiastically embrace a
campaign to promote vitamin B3 (niacin - nicotinic
acid) therapy. It created Traditions issues within the
Fellowship and caused a bit of an uproar.
The General Service Board report accepted by the 1967
Conference recommended that "to insure separation of AA
from non-AA matters by establishing a procedure whereby
all inquiries pertaining to B-3 and niacin are referred
directly to an office in Pleasantville, NY in order
that Bill's personal interest in these items not
involve the Fellowship."
Please reference the following for more details:
Pass It On - pgs 368-376, 388-391
Not God - pgs 136-138
Bill W by Francis Hartigan - pgs 9, 177-179
Glad To Have Been There - pgs 81-82
Cheers
Arthur S
From Jared Lobdell:
The idea that Chapter 23 of PIO shows the use of LSD to "taper
off" alcoholics from alcohol in a mode of operations "simular"
to methadone for heroin users does not tally with the chapter or
with anything I know about Bill's use of LSD (or, indeed, with
the present uses of methadone). The fact that methadone is a
maintenance rather than a tapering-off program is not relevant
here, but the apparent inaccuracy on LSD is. It is true that LSD
was considered by some as a possible amethystine in the earlier
days of its development, but it is clear from Chapter 23 (and
the account in the not-now-Conference-approved book by Thomsen)
that what intrigued Bill was the possibility of tapping the
chemical component of classical mystical experiences otherwise
occurring through prayer, fasting, meditation, etc (see esp. p.
375) -- in order to aid in spiritual sobriety (through
ego-deflation etc.). Bill's general rule seems to have been that
spiritual aids (including LSD) might be used, but anything that
would turn AAs away from the spiritual path (valium = alcohol in
a pill, for example) should not. (Of course, improved physical
condition could also be sought, through Niacin etc.) -- Jared
Lobdell
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++++Message 1764. . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Alexander Article Picture
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/22/2004 8:55:00 AM
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11.0pt;">
*Saturday Evening Post Inside Spread - March 1, 1941*
Bill's
and others' pictures appeared full-face in the Saturday Evening Post
article.
(See Pass It On page 247) from left to right are:
Horace C
(partial view), Helen P, Tom M, Tom B, Ruth Hock, Bill W, Dick S, Ray W,
Lois
W, Gordon M and Bob F.
The
photo caption was 'A typical club house discussion group.''
Arthur
----- Original Message
-----
*From:* Jaime Maliachi
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:* Monday, April 19, 2004 4:12 PM
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Jack Alexander Article pictures.
Bill
W. Told us in A.A. comes of Age, that in the Jack Alexander's _Saturday
Evening Post_ article, some
pictures were required by editors.
*Somebody
knows who were the A. A. members that gave the face in that event?*
*Some
body has any image about?*
* *
*Jaime
F. Maliachi Pedrote.*
*servidory
amigo.*
*57 85
68 00 57 85 68 26*
*fax
57 85 68 44*
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++++Message 1766. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: LSD use by AA members in AA
History. - Compiled
From: Cloydg . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/22/2004 12:33:00 PM
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I found this short article in relation to questions being asked about Bill
W.'s LSD experience. It is short, concise and I believe it states his
over-all-thoughts. I found it on the Jeeves Answer Brouser by asking: Bill
Wilson, LSD Therapy. I too believe we AA's should remember, that at that
time LSD(d-lysergic acid diethylamide) was invented; circa 1938. Many
clinical uses were being experimented with to discover cures for many
aliments, depression being one of them. I am hopeful we all keep this in
perspective!
NOTE:
The following text is a transcription of Grinspoon & Bakalar's
introduction to the history and use of psychedelics in the field
of psychotherapy, originally published in Current Psychiatric
Therapies in 1981 (20:275-283). Lester Grinspoon is an Associate
Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University, and James Bakalar
is a Lecturer in Law in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard
Medical School. One error in reference numbering and one in
spelling (a typo) were corrected.
Ron Koster
October, 1996
Lester Grinspoon, M.D.
James B. Bakalar
The Psychedelic Drug Therapies
Between 1950 and the mid-1960s there were more than a thousand clinical
papers (discussing 40,000 patients), several dozen books, and six
international conferences on psychedelic drug therapy. Almost all
publication and most therapeutic practice in this field have now come to an
end, however, as much because of legal and financial obstacles as because of
loss of interest.
There were two main sources of therapeutic involvement. One of these was the
belief of some experimental subjects that, after taking a psychedelic drug,
they were less depressed, anxious, guilty, and angry and more
self-accepting, tolerant, deeply religious, and sensually alert.1 [34] The
other main interest arose from the possibility that therapeutic use could be
made of the powerful psychedelic experiences of regression, abreaction,
intense transference, and symbolic drama in psychodynamic psychotherapy.
As a result, two polar forms of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) therapy
emerged: one emphasized the mystical or conversion experience and its
aftereffects; the other concentrated on exploring the labyrinth of the
unconscious in the manner of psychoanalysis. Psychedelic therapy, as the
first of these was called, involved the use of a large dose of LSD (200 µg
or more) in a single session and was thought to be helpful in reforming
alcoholics and criminals, as well as in improving the lives of normal
people. The second type, psycholytic (literally, mind-loosening) therapy,
required relatively small doses (usually not more than 150 µg) and several
or even many sessions; it was used mainly for neurotic and psychosomatic
disorders.2 [35] ,3 [36]
In the psycholytic procedure, patients may be hospitalized or not; they may
be asked to concentrate on interpretation of the drug-induced visions, on
symbolic psychodrama, on regression with the psychotherapist as a parent
surrogate, or on discharge of tension in physical activity. Props such as
eyeshades, photographs, and objects with symbolic significance are often
used. Music often plays an important part. The theoretical basis of this
kind of psychotherapy is usually some form of psychoanalysis. If birth
experiences are seen as true relivings of the traumatic event, Rank's ideas
may be introduced; if archetypal visions are regarded as genuine
manifestations of the collective unconscious, the interpretations will be
Jungian.
An advantage of psychedelic drugs in exploring the unconscious is that a
fragment of the adult ego usually keeps watch through all the fantasy
adventures. Patients remain intellectually alert and remember their
experiences vividly. They also become acutely aware of ego defenses such as
projection, denial, and displacement as they catch themselves in the act of
creating them. Transference can also be greatly intensified.
Psycholytic therapy has been recommended to speed up psychoanalysis and
psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy, especially for people with
excessively strict superegos and a lack of self-esteem. It has also been
used to overcome the resistance of severe chronic neurotics with defenses so
rigid that they would otherwise be inaccessible to treatment.
In practice, many combinations, variations, a special applications with some
of the features of both psycholytic and psychedelic therapy have evolved.
Stanislav Grof regards the form of treatment he developed in Czechoslovakia
as a bridge between psycholytic and psychedelic therapy. The unconscious
material brought into consciousness by LSD is said to incorporate the most
significant events in the patient's emotional life and permit a systematic
exploration of personality along Freudian lines. This is followed by
reliving the birth trauma and then passage into the realm of archetypes and
mystical or transpersonal experience.4 [37]
The Chilean psychiatrist Claudio Naranjo has pioneered the use of
psychedelic drugs that do not produce the same degree of perceptual and
emotional disturbance as LSD. Harmaline and ibogaine, which he calls fantasy
enhancers, permit the use of guided fantasy techniques borrowed from Gestalt
therapy to explore unconscious conflicts. The "feeling enhancers," 3,4
methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) and the 3-methoxy-4,5 compound (MDMA), give
a heightened capacity for introspection and intimacy along with a temporary
freedom from anxiety and depression.5 [38]
NEUROTIC DISORDERS
One woman described her experience with psycholytic therapy this way:6 [39]
I found that in addition to being, consciously, a loving mother and a
respectable citizen, I was also, unconsciously, a murderess, a pervert, a
cannibal, a sadist, and a masochist. In the wake of these dreadful
discoveries, I lost my fear of dentists, the clicking in my neck and
throat, the arm tensions, and my dislike of clocks ticking in the bedroom.
I also achieved transcendent sexual fulfillment. . . .
At the end of nine sessions, over a period of nine weeks, I was cured of
my hitherto incurable frigidity. And at the end of 5 months, I felt that I
had been completely reconstituted as a human being. I have continued to
feel that way ever since.
These passages were written 3 years after a 5-month period during which she
took LSD 23 times. Before that, she had had 4 years of psychoanalysis, but
it was only after taking LSD that she became fully convinced of the value of
Freud's theories.
Psycholytic therapy has also been reported to be successful in treating
chronic migraine headaches:7 [40]
A 22-year-old woman who had suffered from migraine for 11 years went
through nine LSD sessions. She relived trips to the dentist, her fear when
she was given anesthesia for a tonsillectomy, and her desolation at being
abandoned in a hospital when she was 11 years old. The migraine
disappeared; 3 years later she and her husband wrote that she has felt
less tense, more at peace with herself, and more mature; the migraine
never returned.
Psychedelic drugs can also be used as a treatment for more ordinary forms of
neurotic depression and anxiety and to resolve sexual problems.8 [41] , 9
[42]
Individual case histories, however impressive, can always be questioned;
placebo effects, spontaneous recovery, and the therapist's and the patient's
biases in judging improvement must be considered. Not many studies satisfy
stringent methodological conditions; the most serious deficiencies are
absence of controls and inadequate follow-up. In the case of LSD there is
the special difficulty that a double blind study is impossible, since the
effects of the drug are unmistakable. No form of psychotherapy for neurotics
has ever been able to justify itself under stringent controls, and LSD
therapy is no exception.10 [43] , 11 [44] Most psychiatrists who have done
LSD therapy with neurotics would, however, probably regard all the recorded
controlled experiments as far too brief and superficial to provide a genuine
test, especially where so much may depend on the quality of the therapeutic
relationship.
For LSD therapy, as in psychoanalysis, psychiatrists tend to favor neurotics
with hight intelligence, a genuine wish to recover, a strong ego, and
stable, even if crippling, symptoms. Beyond that, little is clear. Should
the emphasis be on expression of repressed feelings, or working through a
transference attachment to the psychiatrist, or elsewhere? What should the
psychiatrist do during the drug session? How much therapy is necessary in
the intervals between LSD treatments? The fact that there are no general
answers to these questions reflects the complexity of psychedelic drug
effects; for the same reason a dose and diagnosis cannot be specified in the
manner of chemotherapy.
ALCOHOLISM
Assuming that a single overwhelming experience can sometimes change the
self-destructive drinking habits of a lifetime, can psychedelic drugs
consistently produce such an experience?
There is no doubt that LSD often produces powerful immediate effects on
alcoholics; the question is whether these can be reliably translated into
enduring change. Early studies reported dazzling success: about 50% of sever
chronic alcoholics treated with a single high dose of LSD recovered and were
sober a year or two later.12 [45] , 13 [46]
Unfortunately, as the results of more careful research began to come in, the
picture changed. All the early studies had insufficient controls, and most
lacked objective measures of change, adequate follow-up, and other
safeguards.14 [47] When patients were randomly assigned to drug and control
groups, it proved impossible to demonstrate any advantage for LSD. Even the
most enthusiastic advocates of LSD have not been able to produce
consistently promising results.15 [48]
Ludwig et al. at the Mendota State Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin undertook
an elaborate and methodologically adequate study of psychedelic therapy for
alcoholics. The 195 patients were randomly divided into four treatment
groups. All had 30 days of milieu therapy; three groups had in addition, LSD
alone, LSD with psychotherapy, or LSD with psychotherapy and hypnosis. The
results in all four groups were the same after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months; about
75% improved on measures of employment, legal adjustment, and drinking
habits.16 [49]
It would be wrong to conclude that a psychedelic experience can never be a
turning point in the life of an alcoholic. Bill Wilson, the founder of
Alcoholics Anonymous, said that his LSD trip resembled the sudden religious
illumination that changed his life. Unfortunately, psychedelic experiences
have the same weaknesses as religious conversions. Their authenticity and
emotional power are not guarantees against backsliding when the same
frustrations, limitations, and emotional distress have to be faced in
everyday life. When the revelation does seem to have lasting effects, it
might always have been merely a symptom of readiness to change rather than a
cause.
Analogous are the religious ceremonies of the Native American Church, in
which regular use of high doses of mescaline in the form of peyote is
regarded as, among other things, part of a treatment for alcoholism.
Obviously peyote is no panacea; otherwise, alcoholism would not be the major
health problem of Native Americans. Nevertheless, Native Americans
themselves and outside researchers believe that those who participate in the
peyote ritual are more likely to be abstinent.17 [50] Peyote sustains the
ritual and religious principles of the community of believers, and these
sometimes confirm and support an individual's commitment to give up alcohol.
DYING
In a letter to Humphry Osmond, Aldous Huxley recounted a mescaline trip
during which he came to the conclusion that, "I didn't think I should mind
dying; for dying must be like this passage from the known [constituted by
lifelong habits of subject object existence] to the unknown cosmic fact
[p.306]"18 [51] When Huxley was dying, he asked his wife to give him 100 µg
LSD, the drug he had portrayed in his last novel as the liberating moksha
medicine. After that he looked at her with an expression of love and joy but
spoke little except to say, when she gave him a second injection of LSD, and
shortly before he died, "Light and free, forward and up." Laura Huxley, in
the memoirs of her husband writes: "Now is his way of dying to remain for
use, and only for us, a relief and a consolation, or should others also
benefit from it? Aren't we all nobly born and entitled to nobly dying? [p.
308]."18 [51]
There is a new concern today about dying, in full consciousness of its
significance as a part of life. As we look for ways to change the pattern,
so common in chronic illness, of constantly increasing pain, anxiety, and
depression, the emphasis shifts away from impersonal prolongation of
physiological life toward a concept of dying as a psychiatric crisis, or
even, in older language, a religious crisis. The purpose of giving
psychedelic drugs to the dying might be stated as reconciliation: with one's
past, family, and human limitations. Granted a new vision of the universe
and their place in it, the dying learn that there is no need to cling
desperately to the self.
Beginning in 1965, the experiment of providing a psychedelic experience for
the dying was pursued at the Spring Grove State Hospital in Maryland, and
later at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Institute. Walter N. Pahnke, the
director of the cancer project from 1967 until his accidental death in 1971,
was a doctor of divinity as well as a psychiatrist, and he first reported on
his work in 1969. Seventeen dying patients received LSD after appropriate
therapeutic preparation; on-third improved "dramatically," one-third
improved "moderately," and one-third were unchanged by the criteria of
reduced tension, depression, pain, and fear of death.19 [52] The results of
later experiments using LSD and dipropyltryptamine have been similar.20 [53]
These studies lacked control groups, and there is no sure way to separate
the effects of the drug from those of the special therapeutic arrangements
that were part of the treatment.
COMPLICATIONS AND DANGERS
The main danger in psychedelic drug therapy is the same in any deep-probing
psychotherapy: if the unconscious material that comes up can be neither
accepted and integrated nor totally repressed, symptoms may become worse,
and even psychosis or suicide is possible. The potential for harm has,
however, been exaggerated, for two reasons. First, much irrational fear and
hostility is left over from the cultural wars of the 1960s. Second, and more
generally, we tend to misconceive drugs as something utterly different from
and almost by definition more dangerous than other ways of changing mental
processes. Actually, the dangers in work with LSD do not seem obviously
greater than in comparable forms of therapy aimed at emotional insight.
The most serious danger is suicide, and there are several reports of suicide
attempts or actual suicide among patients in psychedelic drug therapy. But
many people who have worked with psychedelic drugs consider them more likely
to prevent suicide than to cause it. H Clark and R Funkhouser asked about
this in a questionnaire distributed to 302 professionals who had done
psychedelic drug research and to 2230 randomly chosen members of the
American Psychiatric Association and American Medical Association. Of the
127 answering in the first group, none reported any suicides caused by
psychedelic drugs, and 18 thought they had prevented suicide in one or more
patients; of the 490 responding in other groups, one reported a suicide and
seven believed suicidal tendencies had been checked.21 [54]
All available surveys agree that therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs is not
particularly dangerous. In 1960, Sidney Cohen made 62 inquiries to
psychiatrist and received 44 replies covering 5000 patients and experimental
subjects, all of whom had taken LSD or mescaline a total of 25,000 drug
sessions. The rate of prolonged psychosis (48 hours or more) was 1.8 per
1000 in patients and 0.8 per 1000 in experimental subjects; the suicide rate
was 0.4 per 1000 in patients during and after therapy, and zero in
experimental subjects.22 [55] Other studies have confirmed Cohen's
conclusion that psychedelic drugs are relatively safe when used
experimentally or therapeutically.
All these studies have serious limitations. Many psychiatrists may have
minimized the dangers out of therapeutic enthusiasm and reluctance to admit
mistakes; a few may have exaggerated them under the influence of bad
publicity; long-term risks may have been underestimated if follow-up was
inadequate. The problem is the absence of a basis for comparison between
these patients and others with similar symptoms who were not treated with
psychedelic drugs or not treated at all. However, psychedelic drugs were
used for more than 15 years by hundreds of competent psychiatrist, who
considered them reasonably safe as therapeutic agents, and no one has
effectively challenged this opinion.
CONCLUSION
When a new kind of therapy is introduced, especially a new psychoactive
drug, events follow a common pattern. At the beginning, there is spectacular
success, enormous enthusiasm, and a conviction that it is the answer to a
wide variety of psychiatric problems. Then the shortcomings of the early
work become clear: insufficient follow-up, absence of controls, inadequate
methods of measuring change. More careful studies prove disappointing, and
the early anecdotes and case histories begin to seem less impressive. Later,
psychiatrists fail to obtain the same results as their pioneering
predecessor. As Sir William Osler said, "We should use new remedies quickly,
while they are still efficacious."
The rise and decline of LSD, however, took an unusual course. In 1960, 10
years after it was introduced into psychiatry, its therapeutic prospects
were still considered fair and the dangers slight. Then the debate received
an infusion of irrational passion from the psychedelic crusaders and their
enemies. The revolutionary proclamations and religious fervor of the
nonmedical advocates of LSD began to evoke hostile incredulity rather than
mere natural skepticism about the extravagant therapeutic claims backed
mainly by intense subjective experiences. Twenty years after its
introduction it was a pariah drug, scorned by the medical establishment and
banned by the law. In rejecting the notion that psychedelic drugs are a
panacea, we have chosen to treat them as entirely worthless and
extraordinarily dangerous. Perhaps the time has come to find an intermediate
position.
If therapeutic research becomes possible again, it might be good to begin
with the dying, since in this case only short-term effects have to be
considered. Psychedelic drugs might also be used to get past blocks in
ordinary psychotherapy: to help patients decide whether they want to go
through the sometimes painful process of psychotherapy, or to help a
psychiatrist to decide whether a patient can benefit from the kind of
insight that psychotherapy provides. In addition, MDA, harmaline, ketamine,
and other psychedelic drugs with unique effects still need to be evaluated.
Psychedelic drug therapy apparently still goes on unofficially. People would
not continue to practice it under difficult conditions unless they believed
they were accomplishing something. Many regard it as an experience worth
having, some as a first step toward change, and a few as a turning point in
their lives. It would simplify matters if we would be sure that they were
deceiving themselves, but we do not know enough about what works in
psychotherapy to say anything like that. No panacea will be discovered any
more than in psychoanalysis or religious epiphanies. Nevertheless, the field
obviously has potential that is not being allowed to reveal itself.
REFERENCES
1. McGlothin W, Cohen S, McGlothlin MS: Long lasting effects of LSD on
normals. J Psychedelic Drugs 3:20-31, 1970
2. Sherwood JN, Stolaroff MJ, Harman WW: The psychedelic experience a new
concept in psychotherapy. J Neuropsychiatry 2:59-66, 1967
3. Savage C., Hughes MA, Mogar R: The effectiveness of psychedelic (LSD)
therapy: A preliminary report. Br J Soc Psychiatry 2:59-66, 1967
4. Grof S: Realms of the Human Unconsious: Observations from LSD Research.
New York, Viking Press, 1975
5. Naranjo C: The Healing Journey. New York, Ballantine Books, 1975
6. Newland CA: My Self and I. New York, New American Library, 1962
7. Ling TA, Buckman J: Lysergic Acid (LSD 25) and Ritalin in the Treatment
of Neurosis. London, England, Lambarde Press, 1963
8. Vanggard T: Indications and counter-indications for LSD treatment. Acta
Psychiatr Scan 40:427-437, 1964
9. Leuner H: Halluzinogene in der psychotherapie. Pharmakopsychiatr
Neuropsychopharmakol 4:333-351, 1971
10. Savage C, McCabe OL: Residential psychedelic (LSD) therapy for the
narcotic addict: A controlled study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 28-808-814, 1973
11. Kurland AA: The therapeutic potential of LSD in medicine, in DeBold R,
Leaf R (eds): LSD, Man and Society. Middletown, Connecticut, Wesleyan
University Press, 1967
12. Maclean JR, Macdonald DC, Ogden F, et al: LSD 25 and mescaline as
therapeutic adjuvants, in Abramson H (ed): The Use of LSD in Psychotherapy
and Alcoholism. New York, Bobbs-Merrill, 1967
13. Hoffer A: A program for the treatment of alcoholism: LSD, malvaria and
nicotinic acid, in Abramson H (ed): The use of LSD in Psychotherapy and
Alcoholism. New York, Bobbs-Merrill, 1967
14. Smart RG, Storm T, Baker EFW, et al: A controlled study of lysergide in
the treatment of alcoholism. Q J Stud alc 27:469-482, 1966
15. Sarett M, Cheek F, Osmond H: Reports of wives of alcoholics on effects
of LSD-25 treatment on their husbands. Arch Gen Psychiatry 14:171-178, 1966
16. Ludwig AM, Levine J, Stark LH: LSD and Alcoholism: A Clinical Study of
Treatment Efficacy. Springfield, Ill, Charles C Thomas, 1970
17. Roy C: Indian peyotists and alcohol. Am J Psychiatry 130:329-330, 1973
18. Huxley LA: This Timeless Moment. New York, Farrar, Straus, & Giroux,
1968
19. Pahnke WN: The psychedelic mystical experience in the human encounter
with death. Harvard Theol Rev 62:1-21, 1969
20. Grof S, Goodman LE, Richards WA, et al: LSD-assisted psychotherapy in
patients with terminal cancer. Int Pharmacopsychiatry 8:129-141, 1973
21. Clark WH, Funkhouser GR: Physicians and researchers disagree on
psychedelic drugs. Psychol Today 3:48-50, 70-73, 1970
22. Cohen S: Lysergic acid diethylamide: Side effects and complications. J
Nerv Ment Dis130:30-40, 1960
23. Malleson N: Acute adverse reactions to LSD in clinical and experimental
use in the United Kingdom. Br J Psychiatry 118:229-230, 1971
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[56]
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++++Message 1767. . . . . . . . . . . . Smitty Passes On
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/23/2004 7:09:00 AM
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I just got word this evening of the passing of a very special friend of this
fellowship. Around 2 this afternoon, Thursday April 22 our friend Robert Smith
Jr. - son of Dr. Bob Smith passed over. Smitty was probably the last living
person who had witnessed the birth of AA. He was a young boy of 15 when his
father had that first eventful meeting with Bill Wilson in May 1935.
He went into the hospital on the 7th of April, and has went downhill from
there. I know you'll join me in sending prayers of comfort to Mona, his bride
of only a couple of years.
Please help pass the word.
Mona Sides-Smith
Mailing address: 2660 Stage Coach Drive, Memphis, TN 38134-4437
Yours in shared sorrow,
Maria Hoffman
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++++Message 1768. . . . . . . . . . . . Chan F. Talk About Pat C. (1978)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/22/2004 2:46:00 PM
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From a talk by Chan F. at the Annual Founder's Day Banquet, November 11, 1978
(thanks to Ken R. for this):
It started with a light rain and moderate temperatures in November, 1940 and
continued through the Armistice Day Blizzard.
There was the football game between the University of Minnesota and Michigan
for the Little Brown Jug (a trophy passed back and forth to the annual
winners).
Up from Chicago came two members of A.A., Bill L. and Chan F. The day after
the football game they proceeded to call on a list of A.A. prospects that they
had received from Ruth Hock, Bill Wilson's secretary. The fourth person on the
list wouldn't come to the door when they knocked. They had no luck until
calling on the last name on the list - Pat C. - at his apartment at 1704 1st
Avenue South.
Chan gave us more of the story in a talk at the 38th Annual Founder's Day
Banquet on November 11, 1978:
"Pat lived in a rear room on the second floor. He seemed glad to see us and
greeted us with a warm smile.
Though he was suffering from the granddaddy of all hangovers, it was apparent
that he desperately wanted to quit drinking.
No problem about the First Step; he admitted he was licked and obviously his
life had become unmanageable.
He told us his story, the usual sad one, and that he expected to get fired -
again - from his job on the WPA (Works Progress Administration - A New Deal
employment program) Writers Project next day because he had really messed
things up.
He seemed almost convinced about AA, but we left him without much real hope he
would make it - all by himself - though we promised to keep in close touch by
letter and phone.
It was snowing pretty good when we went back to the Kenesaw Hotel, a cheapie
on Hennepin Avenue about Twelfth Street. We were staying there because the
father of a friend of mine managed the hotel and would put us up for free.
All we could do was to go back to Chicago the next day and hope that through
some miracle Pat would catch fire, quit drinking on his own, read the Big Book
we had left him and stay sober.
Next morning we woke up late and looked out of our room into lower Nicollet
Avenue. It was Armistice Day. The sky was a strange gray, the snow was
swirling down and it didn't look like a good time to start that long drive
back to Chicago.
We dressed and went to breakfast. Afterward we looked out to where the old
Chevy was parked, already up to its hubcaps in snow.
'You'd better get the car off the street,' said Bill. 'Then we'll wait and see
what to do.'
I bundled up and drove a couple of blocks south on Nicollet up to a garage
whose door was already coming down with a 'full-up' sign on its side.
I honked desperately. The attendant opened up again and shouted, 'OK, OK.
We'll make room. But that's the last one.'
Bill and I holed up for another night at the friendly Kenesaw, whiling away
the evening hours in a long bull session just like AAs anywhere.
Next morning, we woke up late and looked outside.
The snow was waist-high and still swirling. Some places it had drifted nearly
to the second stories of buildings.
No way we could get out of town. What to do?
Our new pigeon, Pat C., lived just around the corner on First Avenue and a
couple of blocks south. That might give us an excuse to get out of the hotel
before we started climbing the walls.
'Let's try it,' I said to Bill. 'Maybe we can make it - even without
snowshoes.'
We wrapped mufflers around our faces, stayed close to buildings and trudged
through deep snow until we got to 1704.
Pat was really surprised and was he glad to see us!
He said he was toying with the idea of getting a bottle to shake off the
shakes. Now he wanted to talk.
Pat and I found we had quite a lot in common, besides alcoholism. He had once
worked on the Minneapolis Tribune as an ad salesman and he knew a couple of my
old drinking friends.
Our conversation went round and round for what seemed like hours. Pat could
partially accept the program, but he had lots of doubts.
'It's easy enough for you fellows,' he said. 'You've got a group and can help
each other. But I'm really alone and I'm not sure I could ever convince any of
my drinking pals to try AA.'
He used some of his Irish blarney to fend us off, then he'd grin and listen
some more."
"We told him there were other loners scattered about the country who were
staying sober just by reading the Big Book, trying to practice the program and
work the Twelve Steps as best they could - and looking for other alcoholics to
whom they could carry the message.
His face brightened. But in a moment he shot back: 'Anyway, I've got problems
that won't go away even if I quit drinking.'
So we tried to brainstorm his problems; each time he would bring up another,
we would try to put it into perspective. As he got them out, one by one, he
admitted they didn't seem quite so desperate.
His main problem, he said, involved a personal relationship. And it seemed
impossible that he could work it out. He might even get tossed into jail.
Gloom again.
We asked him how much he spent on booze. When he gave us his figure - not
really monumental in those years of cheap whisky - we pointed out that if he
stayed sober those tidy little sums of drinking money - in regular payments -
would help take care of the big problem. He hadn't thought of that.
When we left his room late in the day, Pat flashed that smile so many of you
knew so well and he said he'd give it a whirl.
'But for godsake,' he said to Bill and me, 'be sure to keep in touch.'
Next morning we got the Chevy out of the garage and headed for Chicago. The
blizzard, that had taken the lives of a number of Minnesota duck hunters in
the sloughs over in the Wheaton area, was over, the main highways had been
plowed.
The snowdrifts ended by the time we got to Hudson, Wisconsin, and it was clear
the rest of the way. We did stop overnight at the home of Harry S., the loner
who was making it in Madison and who had a lot of prospective members right at
his own doorstep. Harry was the chef at the Wisconsin State Hospital.
Now for what happened to Pat after we got back to Chicago.
Last week I ran across a batch of letters written that first year, and carbon
copies of some of my answers. I'm sure he wouldn't mind my sharing some of his
paragraphs with you.
Maybe he's even looking over my shoulder.
I'm sure the spirit of Pat C. is in the room every time two or 20 or 1,700 of
you - as tonight - get together in fellowship.
In a letter dated November 22, 1940 - just 10 days after we talked with him in
his room at 1704 - Pat wrote, in part:
'Dear Chan & Bill:
I am working this Friday to make up some time. So this joint letter to you is
on WPA time...'
(Pat didn't lose his WPA job. The day after we left him, he trudged a couple
of miles through deep snow to get to work. That heroic performance was so
unlike Pat of the drinking years that his boss was flabbergasted and gave him
back his job with another final warning. For those of you unfamiliar with such
Depression gobbledegook as WPA and such, WPA (Works Progress Administration)
was a Roosevelt creation of the Depression years to give employment to the
millions of jobless. The Writers Project, on which Pat worked, employed
thousands of talented writers and editors, artists and photographers in
producing state guidebooks that are now collectors' items and other creative
work.)
To go on with Pat's letter:
'Father C. is taking things slowly in the field of propagation of our faith or
code. You will be happy to know, however, that I have been definitely arid
since your departure, even going so far as to turn down a full quart of
McCormick's Special on Wednesday night for which Gabriel has appropriately
credited me with two gold stars, I hope...
I have had several rebuffs in my zeal for converts; guess you have to catch
them at the right time. George M. is reading the book right now; he drinks
spasmodically, mostly through lonesomeness, but he shoots his wad when he does
go...
Remember Joe B. who used to work on the project with me? A card from him
advises that he is in Inglewood, California. Like all rummies he was cute
enough to give his address as General Delivery. I wrote him right away telling
him about AA, requesting that he forward his street address. Armed with that,
I can turn the Los Angeles chapter loose on him.
(I wonder if AA ever caught up with Joe; Pat never mentioned him again.)
Pat goes on:
I am going to write Ed K. at Eau Claire tomorrow, a line from me might help.
(Bill L. and I had called on Ed K., a loner, on our way from Chicago that
fateful weekend.)
Pat again:
Haven't missed a day from work since your appearance here; my next check will
be quite, quite! But Lord, you should see this one...
Let me know that secretary's name at the AA Foundation in New York, the one
who wrote me. If she has any more inquiries from the Twin Cities I will be
glad to look them over and see if I can line them up.
Fraternally,
Pat C.'
"As far as I am concerned, I haven't had a drop since you called on me; got
the guard up and it hasn't bothered me"
"Paradoxically, however," Pat wrote, "all my drunken friends who have heard I
am dry pay me regular visits for the purpose of putting the bite on me for two
bits or half a buck to make up the balance on a pint."
"Those guys will never surrender with their present set-up so I have given up
trying to interest them at present."
"I haven't got that unselfish spirit as yet - looking out for the other guy -
and I know it is necessary to acquire it"
Then on January 21, 1941 - two and a half months dry on his own - Pat wrote
that things were really perking up!
"Lo and behold," he wrote, "Bill L. sent me a letter last week, the first I
have heard from him. Told me that Chicago was looking forward to an article in
the Saturday Evening Post which was expected to bring many inquiries."
"Chan, I bought a new suit of clothes and some haberdashery and am beginning
to feel respectable once more."
"(I) suppose you saw Winchell's reference to AA in his column last week. He
said the head of AA in New York was a famous trans-Atlantic flier; my guess is
that he refers to Clarence C. who was always quite a lush."
"Trust you are doing well in material things and that you are dry as I am. Had
no trouble at all during the holidays; I ducked and sat in movies, etc., ran
away from it rather than face it."
I hadn't seen the Winchell squib, but bits and pieces of information and
misinformation about AA were beginning to appear in newspapers around the
country. No doubt even the garbled versions sent desperate alcoholics hunting
for an AA contact.
In Chicago, a famous columnist named Howard Vincent O'Brien attended an open
meeting and wrote about it: "this miracle of regeneration."
Writing about the alcoholics at the meeting, O'Brien said: "Some of these
people I had known for a long time. I know what they once were, and I know
what they are now. Something has happened to them. I do not know what that
something is. That is to say, I cannot weigh it or measure it, or define it in
words. That doesn't matter. I have passed the stage of wanting to 'explain'
everything. I am content with reporting what I see and hear."
"Perhaps, when I recover from the awe of what I saw and heard last night, I
may have a go at an 'explanation.' But I doubt it. The facts need no
embroidery."
That column, written in mid-1940 when the Chicago group had fewer than 40
members, brought many inquiries which O'Brien referred to his AA friends.
Among those who came into Chicago AA after reading the column was O'Brien's
21-year-old son.
Soon afterward, the famous Saturday Evening Post article by Jack Alexander hit
the newsstands. That brought the deluge for many established groups around the
country - including Chicago.
But in Minneapolis, Pat C. was still working alone, there was no AA
headquarters except Pat's small room, and there had been no local publicity to
tell alkies, many of whom had seen the Post article, where to make contact.
Pat had a great idea which he told me about in a letter dated March 14, 1941,
at which time he had established a personal record - four months dry.
He wrote:
"Chan, my boy, the Lone Eagle from Minneapolis still clings to that old
waterwagon, hoping to find companionship"
3/10/41
417, 12th Ave. S.E.
Minneapolis, Minn.
Dear Daniel,
God bless the Irish! We have been swamped with letters recently and better
than half of them are from Irishmen. When we get organized and going strong,
I'm sure you'll feel right at home with us.
At present though, we are just struggling to set up the frame of a local
chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. I would suggest, in fact it's almost
necessary, that you get a March 1st copy of the "Saturday Evening Post" and
read the article in this magazine on our group, its aims and ambitions.
As soon as we have established contact with a few people like yourself, we
will determine on a meeting place and all get together for conference.
Please feel free to write us or drop around. We are just a bunch of men like
yourself who freely admit that drink has us down and we're willing to try
anything that might help us.
If your friends or druggist haven't a copy of the Post you'll find one on file
at any library. It states our aims much more clearly than I could in a letter.
You'll hear from us again shortly and until then I am,
Sincerely yours,
Frederick L. M.
Acting Secretary
Alcoholics Anonymous
"After the article appeared in the Post, I went in to see Cedric Adams, whose
column (in the Minneapolis Star) carries considerable weight in the Northwest.
He had been talking to Dr. Michael's, head of the mental and nervous
department (snake room, to you) at General Hospital."
"The doctor persuaded Adams to appeal for ex-drunks (meaning Minneapolis AAs,
if any) to look him up with a view to working on some of the prizes in his
ward. The appeal, which was quite vague, didn't pan out for them. But he
agreed a chapter of working AAs will help him solve some of his problems."
"Yesterday Adams ran another squib for me. Haven't been down to see the mail
as yet, but will stop in tomorrow. Don't know what to do with the guys when I
do contact them."
"Wish I knew the procedure you follow in Chicago. You might get together with
some of the members there and write me the procedure pronto so I can pass it
along to some of the shy lads who will be after writing me."
Meanwhile, Pat had called me on the phone several times as he kept looking for
advice and counsel and reassurance that he could handle the rummies who were
coming at him in droves.
Of course he could and did handle them.
Who could resist Pat's gift of the tongue and his down-to-earth and earnest
carrying of the message?
By April 28, 1941, Pat had somehow brought together a fledgling group of
alkies, including Orlo, one of my old friends.
Another of my very old and dear friends, Barry C., whom I had contacted during
the summer when he was critically ill in a hospital, was doing what he could
to help between his regular trips back to the operating room. And in the
hospital, Barry kept busy educating the doctors about AA.
So by now, Pat was the busiest guy in town, working full time and trying to
hold his group together.
He wrote on April 28, 1941: "Our weekly meeting is arranged for this evening,
at which 10 or 11 will be present. We had 10 at our last meeting. There are
four or five more who for some reason or other can't attend."
"Chan, we are getting some would-be members out of the upper brackets - a
lawyer, a big-shot insurance man."
It was almost three weeks before I heard from Pat again - a letter dated
December 12, 1940 - and I was getting a little worried.
But he was reassuring.
"Personally, I have been too busy to even think of a drink. My landlady has
developed fallen arches from running to the telephone, but we hope to remedy
that situation shortly. As you and Bill L. have intimated, a permanent meeting
place is our main problem. When we acquire one, we will have you up, we hope.
With your Big Book, we have four in circulation."
Two weeks later, on April 28, 1941, Pat was full of good news: "Chan, we have
a Post Office box, 594, also a couple of rooms at 201 East Franklin, and a
telephone GEneva 1251...
(When I later visited the group at the new address, I learned that it was a
beer flat left over from Prohibition years. How appropriate!)
Pat wrote: "A Scotsman and his wife, who were separated and reunited, are
living there. She answers the phone and we hold our meetings there...
It's crowded as hell, 26 at one meeting, but we hope to get hold of a
philanthropic realtor and arrange for a low-rental house, 8 rooms or so, where
we can take care of some of the boys who are coming out of it.
We now number a lawyer in our group, George W., and an insurance man, N. K.
P."
Others Pat mentioned as new pigeons included Guy T., Jesse C., Regis G., K. S.
A. who was a CPA, and one girl, Ruth B.
Pat added: "We are going to divide into squads at the next meeting and deal
out the assignments more equitably so everybody is working with some of the
stronger members..."
Again a moment of doubt: "Perhaps we have grown too fast, but what can you do
when the guys come for you?
I go to gatherings where whisky is served and my friends drink beer, but I
have no desire to slip, as yet. I am living the 24-hour schedule same as you
and it seems to work.
I try to impress on the boys, at every meeting, the necessity of asking for
Divine help."
Now we jump to May of 1942.
As you are aware, Pat and his cohorts did better than find a big house at low
rent in which to hold meetings. The good news is contained in an invitation
signed by Pat and Barry C. - and obviously sent out to many friends of the
Minneapolis group - to attend an open house on May 10.
The new home of Minneapolis AA, christened the Alano Club, was the old
Washburn mansion at 2218 First Avenue South.
Chan finished off his talk: So let's break off this chronicle right here.
The rest of the story - of the phenomenal growth of Minneapolis AA and the
growing pains, of the many groups throughout the Upper Midwest that owed their
start to Minneapolis, of Pat's happy marriage to Helga, and his later service
on the Board of Trustees of the AA Foundation - did not involve me.
Twice before, I have been a guest at your anniversary banquets.
The first time was, if my memory serves me right, the first annual banquet
held in the ballroom of the Leamington Hotel in 1941.
I have, somewhere among my souvenirs, a panoramic photograph of all who
attended that one, all lined up at the front of the hall. There probably were
more than a hundred that night at dinner, including spouses, a scattering of
judges, clergy and other friends of AA.
I am grateful to have been asked to share this 38th anniversary with you.
(Thanks to the Chicago Area 19 Archives Committee for furnishing a
transcript).
Bill Wilson (co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous) said in September 1965: "Pat
C. came among us (1940) when it was by no means clear that Alcoholics
Anonymous would succeed - whether permanent sobriety was going to be possible.
As we all know, he stands in the forefront of those few early ones who proved
that this could be so.
"In all my A.A. life I have never heard an ill word spoken of him and I was
always running across someone - indeed, hundreds - who owed him their very
lives.
"How well he kept the A.A. faith is now A.A. history, a demonstration for
which we shall be grateful to Pat - and to God."
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++++Message 1769. . . . . . . . . . . . LAST EYEWITNESS OF AA'S ORIGINS DIES
From: somrsickr . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/23/2004 2:17:00 PM
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LAST EYEWITNESS OF AA'S ORIGINS DIES IN MEMPHIS
(Memphis, Tenn. April 22, 2004) Robert "Bob" Smith II, last
eyewitness of the start of Alcoholics Anonymous, died of congestive
heart failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. about 5
o'clock Thursday evening, April 22, 2004. "Smitty," his
nickname in
youth and later at recovery gatherings worldwide, was the only son
of Anne Smith and Akron, Ohio physician Dr. Bob Smith. Then a
teenager, young Bob was there on Mother's day 1935 when his
father
met New York stockbroker Bill Wilson for the first time. The two co-
founded Alcoholics Anonymous, a twelve step recovery program that
has helped more than two million people worldwide recover from the
disease of alcoholism. AA's twelve step program has been
replicated
by more than 250 other groups that use the same steps to overcome
addictions to drugs, gambling, food, sex and other behaviors. Bob
Smith joined Al-Anon, a recovery program for the spouses, family,
friends and other loved ones of alcoholics, when one of his family
members began attending AA meetings in Nocona, Texas in the late
1970s. It was only then, the younger Smith would say, that he
realized the enormity of his father's contribution to the world
in
the co-founding of AA. In the past 27 years, Bob Smith accepted
invitations to speak at AA and Al-Anon Conventions worldwide thirty
to forty times a year. Smith made his last talk three weeks ago in
Chicago's Indiana suburbs at the Talumet Round-Up. He had cut
back
on his speaking engagements to twenty to twenty-five a year only as
he entered his mid-80s. Smith would say of such invitations,
"they
didn't invite me for who I am. It's who I know,"
referring to the
famous co-founders of AA who are regarded as spiritual giants by
recovering alcoholics worldwide. Bob Smith would share his memories
of AA's pioneering days at conferences, recalling how his
parents
and Bill Wilson allowed recovering drunks to stay in their Akron
home at 855 Ardmore Avenue. Bob Smith's childhood home is
visited
annually by thousands who wish to see where the program of recovery
had its origins. "It was such a gift to live with Bob. We
decided if
we had two weeks together or ten years together, we'd take it
one
day at a time and that's what we did, " said Mona
Sides-Smith, a
Memphis based therapist, who married the son of the AA co-founder in
September 2002. Smith's first wife of more than fifty years,
Betty
Smith, died several years earlier. Bob Smith leaves a son from huis
marriage to Betty, Todd Smith of Vernon, Texas and two daughters,
Penny Umbertino of Phoenix, Arizona and Judy Edmiston of Dallas,
Texas. He leaves one granddaughter, Kathy Graser of Denver,
Colorado. Smith also leave three stepdaughters: Rachel Farmer,
Elaine Orland and Elizabeth Douglas,all of Memphis. Smith spent his
working life in Texas as an oli producer. He served as a pilot in
World War II, flying the B-24 Liberator on 35 submarine huntinf
missions out of Africa. Smith worked as a commercial pilot for a
time after the war. But he spent the last three decades of his life
focused on sharing the gift his father helped bring into the world,
AA. In his book CHILDREN OF THE HEALER (Copyright 1992, Parkside
Publishing Company), co-authored with his late sister, Sue Smith
Windows, Smith's thoughts written on the dedication page seem a
fitting epitaph, "For the loving God who allowed me to lead a
very
exciting life and also loved me through my many mistakes and who
allows me to be of service. For the constant love and understanding
of four* good kids and a steadfast wife. I am truly grateful. For my
loving parents who tried to instill in me values by their tireless
example. For the many friends I have met and know as a result of 12
step programs. You have taught me a way of life in these programs
that I never would have figured out by myself. I am truly
grateful."
One AA member said upon learning of Smitty's death in Memphis,
"many
thousands of AAs who met Smitty and heard him tell the eyewitness
account of AA's origins will mourn his passing but will
celebrate
his life and the great gifts he shared." Memphis Funeral Home
on
Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. has charge.
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++++Message 1770. . . . . . . . . . . . old timers info?
From: text164 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/24/2004 11:36:00 PM
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is there any other people alive from 1934-39?i also have a question
if I provide a photo can someone help me identify a couple in the
picture?im thinking its an ol AA from Little Rock but not sure.
maybe some of you have seen this photo,its of Bill W at Dr.Bobs
grave theres a group of people in the back ground and one of the
couples is of african american decent.Im thinking its a guy named Joe
McQ.
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++++Message 1771. . . . . . . . . . . . Robert Ripley Smith Jr.
From: JKNIGHTBIRD@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/24/2004 9:48:00 PM
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A.A. co-founder's son is dead
Akron native Robert Ripley Smith Jr., 85, was proud that local program had
global impact
By Carol Biliczky
Akron Beacon Journal staff writer
As a child, ``Smitty'' came home to find a drunk in his bed, his house filled
with alcoholics.
Such was Robert Ripley Smith Jr.'s start in life as the son of the august --
and eventually revered -- co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In 1998, Bob Smith Jr. told the Akron Beacon Journal that he and his sister
were eyewitnesses to history as they saw A.A. unfold in their Akron home to
become a worldwide organization with millions of members.
``I loved it,'' he said. ``The first 17 years of my life I lived with active
alcoholism, now there was recovery.''
Mr. Smith died Thursday at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., of
congestive heart failure. He was 85.
He was the only son of Dr. Robert and Anna Smith, who lived at a modest
bungalow with three bedrooms at 855 Ardmore Ave. in Akron.
The son was there on Mother's Day in 1935 when his father, an Akron
physician, and New York stockbroker Bill Wilson co-founded what would become
A.A.
The organization flourished and its 12-step foundation has been used by more
than 250 other kinds of recovery groups that combat gambling, prostitution,
drugs and more.
As for Mr. Smith, he became a pilot in World War II, hunting submarines off
the coast of Africa. After the war, he worked as a commercial pilot and in the
oil industry, settling in Nocona, Texas, about 20 miles from the Oklahoma
border.
He was elected to the City Council from 1984 to 1991 and was mayor of the
town of 3,000 from 1991 to 1993, recalled Minnie Walker, then the city
secretary
and now the city manager.
``He was a fun man, a real cut-up,'' she said. ``He told me every year how
many people he gained for Alcoholics Anonymous, and I'd tell him, `Look you're
not making any progress here.' ''
Mr. Smith joined Al-Anon, a recovery program for spouses and loved ones of
alcoholics, when his wife, Betty, began attending A.A. meetings in the 1970s.
It was then that he began to realize the enormity of his father's
contributions to the disease of alcoholism. He began to speak at A.A. and
Al-Anon
meetings across the country, most recently just three weeks ago in northern
Indiana.
``They don't invite me for who I am. They invite me for who I know,'' he said.
He would relate the stories of growing up in the Smith household, home to
A.A. meetings that approached 70 people before they were moved to the King
School
building.
He and his late sister, Sue Smith Windows of Akron, captured their memories
in a book called Children of the Healer: The Story of Dr. Bob's Kids in 1992.
``For the many friends I have met and know as a result of 12-step programs,''
he wrote on the dedication page. ``You have taught me a way of life in these
programs that I never would have figured out by myself. I am truly grateful.''
His Akron home is revered now as a national, state and local landmark and is
something of a shrine to A.A. devotees who return there in an annual
pilgrimage each year.
``He was a kind man, he loved his father,'' said Don C. of Cleveland, who is
chairman of the board of the nonprofit Dr. Bob's House, which has been
restored to the way it looked in 1935, complete with many of the Smith
family's
original furnishings.
In keeping with A.A. tradition, group members only use the first letter of
their last names.
Mr. Smith's first wife and a son died several years ago. He leaves his
current wife, Mona Sides-Smith of Memphis; son Todd Smith of Vernon, Texas,
and
daughters Penny Umbertino of Phoenix and Judy Edmiston of Dallas; three
stepdaughters and one granddaughter.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Memphis Funeral Home's Poplar Chapel
in Memphis.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Carol Biliczky can be reached at 330-996-3729 or
cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com
--------------------------------------------------------
Submitted by Jocie, Chicago
JKNIGHTBIRD
A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer;
it sings because it has a song.
-Maya Angelou
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++++Message 1772. . . . . . . . . . . . HUMILITY PLAQUE - Compilation
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/26/2004 2:52:00 AM
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From: "dla32965"
Date: Sat Apr 17, 2004 8:11 am
Subject: HUMILITY PLAQUE
Does anyone know who wrote the text on the famous plaque that
sat on Dr. Bob's desk?
Humility is…Perpetual quietness of heart; It is never to be
fretted or vexed, irritable or sore; to wonder at nothing that
is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at
rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It
is to have a blessed home in myself where I can go in and shut
the door and kneel to my Father in secret and be at peace, as in
a deep sea of calmness, when all around and about is seeming
trouble.
From: "victoria callaway"
Date: Sun Apr 18, 2004 6:32 pm
Subject: Author of Plaque on Humility
Dr Bob's Plaque on Humility author is Andrew Murray, a
South African religous leader and writer who lived from
1828-1927-searched and found by Anne K., an AA member
with library experience. The results of her research
was printed in "The Point" a newsletter of the
Intercounty Fellowship of AA in San Francisco. A
research librarian found the citations in two
publications of religious quotations.
reprinted with permisssion from Box 459 aApril-May 1998
vicki
calllaway
From Bill L:
Please keep in mind that Dr. Bob's kids (Sue Smith Windows & Bob
Smith Jr./"Smitty") have both been asked about this plaque & (although they
were both in Dr' Bob's office many times) have stated that they had never seen
this plaque in Dr. Bob's office.
Interesting!
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
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++++Message 1773. . . . . . . . . . . . Book ''12'' - Compiled from Previous
Posts
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/26/2004 5:32:00 AM
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From: "steve "
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 2:46 pm
Subject: Book '12'
HistoryLovers,
I have stumbled across a book which I need help ientifying. The
cover is light blue with a gold `12' in the upper right hand
corner. The title page reads: TWELVE STEPS and the Older Member,
Older Member Press, Box 25, Guilford, Conn. Price Two Dollars
Copyright 1964, Older Member Press
Fourth Printing January, 1970
The book is 72 pages and its origination is articles in the
Grapevine from 1954-1956. At that time (1954) the author had 7
years of sobriety. The articles for the grapevine are written
about the steps. There are twelve
articles (one for each step). The book then reproduces these
Grapevine articles of an AA's experience with the steps at seven
years sober. The book also adds to these articles an AA's
experience with the steps at seven more years sober (14 years).
The Eleventh Step article mentions that the original eleventh
step article was printed in the April 1956 Grapevine, but none
of the other articles gives an original date for the articles.
Following the articles is `Lincoln on Alcoholism,' from
Lincoln's address to the
Washington Temperance Society, Springfield, Ill. February 22,
1842. Following this is a 5 page article titled THE 24-HOUR
PLAN.
I'm wondering if anyone has any more information on this piece,
or its author? Does anyone know when the rest of these articles
appeared in the Grapevine?
Thanks for your help
Steve Covieo
sober in kalamazoo
269-352-7702
From: Jim Blair
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 5:44 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Book '12'
The dates of the articles in the GV are as follows
Step 1- Aug,54, March 61
Step 2- Oct.54, May 61
Step 3- Dec.54, July 61
Step 4- Jan. 54, Sept. 61
Step 5-March 55, Dec. 61
Step 6- June 55, Feb. 62
Step 7- Aug. 55
Step 8 - Oct. 55, June 62
Step 9- Dec. 55, Aug. 62
Step10- Feb. 56-Oct. 62
Step 11- April 56, Dec. 62
Step 12-June 56, Oct. 63
He did not include the Oct. 62 and Dec. 62 articles in
the book you have.
The articles were written by Jerome E., who was a
writer for a national magazine. He went to work in the
GSO in 1962-63 and I guess he did not see eye to eye
with the way things were done.
He wrote a scathing attack on the "Headquarters" and
the way it publishes literature which was published in
"The Nation" on March 2, 1964.
Jim
From: "melb"
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 8:02 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Book '12'
Hi Everybody,
I sent a letter to Steve about Jerry E.'s book.
It's rue, as Jim says here, that Jerry had a
falling out with AA General Services and wrote
quite an attack on it for The Nation. He had
called me while he was writing the
article because I had once submitted an article
for The Grapevine about racial prejudice in a
southern Michigan town's AA group. He changed
that to "southern" only. We know that there has
been plenty of racial prejudice in
the South, but we should not accuse them of any
specific actions they were not guilty of! But
Jerry was a good writer and I'm sorry that he
had the falling out,
because he had a lot to contribute.
Mel Barger
Toledo, Ohio
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++++Message 1774. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Book ''12'' - Compiled from
Previous Posts
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/26/2004 10:10:00 AM
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Hi Steve and Friends:
The book you have was authored by the late Jerry E. who was for a short time
the editor of The Grapevine. Jerry had been a successful magazine writer,
having started his career at The Reader's Digest and later becoming managing
editor of Collier's when it was a popular family magazine. He discussed his
alcoholism in a book titled "Report to the Creator," which I read in the
1950s. I met Jerry at The Grapevine in 1962 and spent a few hou rs with him at
his home in Guilford, CT, in 1964.
Hang on to that book, Steve, as I'm sure most of the copies have now been
lost.
This is an odd coincidence, only a half-hour before reading your email, I was
telling a fellow member something I'd heard from Jerry in 1964!.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: NMOlson@aol.com
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 10:32 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Book '12' - Compiled from Previous Posts
From: "steve "
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 2:46 pm
Subject: Book '12'
HistoryLovers,
I have stumbled across a book which I need help ientifying. The
cover is light blue with a gold `12' in the upper right hand
corner. The title page reads: TWELVE STEPS and the Older Member,
Older Member Press, Box 25, Guilford, Conn. Price Two Dollars
Copyright 1964, Older Member Press
Fourth Printing January, 1970
The book is 72 pages and its origination is articles in the
Grapevine from 1954-1956. At that time (1954) the author had 7
years of sobriety. The articles for the grapevine are written
about the steps. There are twelve
articles (one for each step). The book then reproduces these
Grapevine articles of an AA's experience with the steps at seven
years sober. The book also adds to these articles an AA's
experience with the steps at seven more years sober (14 years).
The Eleventh Step article mentions that the original eleventh
step article was printed in the April 1956 Grapevine, but none
of the other articles gives an original date for the articles.
Following the articles is `Lincoln on Alcoholism,' from
Lincoln's address to the
Washington Temperance Society, Springfield, Ill. February 22,
1842. Following this is a 5 page article titled THE 24-HOUR
PLAN.
I'm wondering if anyone has any more information on this piece,
or its author? Does anyone know when the rest of these articles
appeared in the Grapevine?
Thanks for your help
Steve Covieo
sober in kalamazoo
269-352-7702
From: Jim Blair
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 5:44 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Book '12'
The dates of the articles in the GV are as follows
Step 1- Aug,54, March 61
Step 2- Oct.54, May 61
Step 3- Dec.54, July 61
Step 4- Jan. 54, Sept. 61
Step 5-March 55, Dec. 61
Step 6- June 55, Feb. 62
Step 7- Aug. 55
Step 8 - Oct. 55, June 62
Step 9- Dec. 55, Aug. 62
Step10- Feb. 56-Oct. 62
Step 11- April 56, Dec. 62
Step 12-June 56, Oct. 63
He did not include the Oct. 62 and Dec. 62 articles in
the book you have.
The articles were written by Jerome E., who was a
writer for a national magazine. He went to work in the
GSO in 1962-63 and I guess he did not see eye to eye
with the way things were done.
He wrote a scathing attack on the "Headquarters" and
the way it publishes literature which was published in
"The Nation" on March 2, 1964.
Jim
From: "melb"
Date: Sun Dec 8, 2002 8:02 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Book '12'
Hi Everybody,
I sent a letter to Steve about Jerry E.'s book.
It's rue, as Jim says here, that Jerry had a
falling out with AA General Services and wrote
quite an attack on it for The Nation. He had
called me while he was writing the
article because I had once submitted an article
for The Grapevine about racial prejudice in a
southern Michigan town's AA group. He changed
that to "southern" only. We know that there has
been plenty of racial prejudice in
the South, but we should not accuse them of any
specific actions they were not guilty of! But
Jerry was a good writer and I'm sorry that he
had the falling out,
because he had a lot to contribute.
Mel Barger
Toledo, Ohio
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
10:44:14 AM ET - 4/26/2004
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++++Message 1775. . . . . . . . . . . . More Info on quote from Bill W
From: davidt030992 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/27/2004 8:39:00 AM
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While researching a workshop I am preparing for on singleness of
purpose, I recently came across this quote from Bill W in As Bill
Sees it on page 79
Our Sole Purpose
"An AA group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of
its members, let alone those of nonalcoholics in the world around us.
The AA group is not, for example, a mediator of domestic relations,
nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone.
"Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his
friends in AA, the primary responsibility for the solutions of all
his problems of living and growing rests squarely upon the individual
himself. Should an AA group attempt this sort of help, its
effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissipated.
"This is why sobriety - freedom from alcohol - through the teaching
and practice of AA's Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of the group.
If we don't stick to this cardinal principle, we shall almost
certainly collapse. And if we collapse we cannot help anyone."
This was from a letter written to a memeber in 1966. I'd like to know
if anyone has any further info on this (maybe the entire letter),
what question was he responding to from this member? Also, I'd be
interested in any more material any of you may have to offer
regarding the subject.
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++++Message 1776. . . . . . . . . . . . Special token of appreciation given to
Bill W.
From: victoria callaway . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/28/2004 12:49:00 PM
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In the BB and "Pass it On" it mentions a special token of
appreciation given to Bill W. Page 62 in "Pass it On' and page 1 in
BB. Can anyone tell me what this was that was given to him-much
thanks vicki c
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++++Message 1777. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Special token of appreciation
given to Bill W.
From: goldentextpro@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/28/2004 11:05:00 AM
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From Lois Remembers: Memoirs of the Co-Founder of Al-Anon and Wife of the
Co-Founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, (New York: Al-Anon Family Headquarters,
Inc.), 1991, pp. 26-27:
Upon leaving France the men of his [Bill's] battery paid him special honor.
His letter of January 3, 1919, read: "Quite a touching thing happened
yesterday. The men presented Captain Sackville and me each with a watch, chain
and ring. The whole battery was lined up, and I tell you it was equal to
promotion and decoration by J. J. Pershing himself! Coming as it did from a
clear sky, it was quite overwhelming. Wouldn't have changed insignia with a
brigadier general. It means so much more than promotion. Insofar as I know, we
are the only people in the reigment who have been so honored. I'm sure you
will be as happy and proud as I am."
Richard K.
Haverhill, MA
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++++Message 1778. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: More Info on quote from Bill W
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/29/2004 8:33:00 AM
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Hi David
In going through Bill's writings it strikes me that he was an astute
"recycler" of the same basic messages in order to maintain consistency and,
perhaps, reinforce through repetition. The letter you cite on page 79 in "As
Bill Sees It" was written in 1966.
The substance, and a part of the citation, is contained in Bill's February
1958 Grapevine article titled "Problems Other Than Alcohol." The article is
preserved in the book "Language of the Heart" pages 222-225 and also contained
in a Conference-approved pamphlet of the same title (publication number P-35).
There is also a small excerpts pamphlet of "Problems Other Than Alcohol"
(publication number F-8) which is provided by GSO at no charge.
A very powerful portion from the Grapevine/pamphlet article is:
"Now there are certain things that AA cannot do for anybody, regardless of
what our several desires or sympathies may be.
Our first duty, as a Society, is to insure our own survival. Therefore we have
to avoid distractions and multipurpose activity. An AA group, as such, cannot
take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone the problems of
the whole world.
Sobriety - freedom from alcohol - through the teaching and practice of the
Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of an AA group. Groups have repeatedly tried
other activities and they have always failed. It has also been learned that
there is no possible way to make nonalcoholics into AA members. We have to
confine our membership to alcoholics and we have to confine our AA groups to a
single purpose. If we don't stick to these principles, we shall almost surely
collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone."
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: davidt030992
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 8:39 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] More Info on quote from Bill W
While researching a workshop I am preparing for on singleness of
purpose, I recently came across this quote from Bill W in As Bill
Sees it on page 79
Our Sole Purpose
"An AA group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of
its members, let alone those of nonalcoholics in the world around us.
The AA group is not, for example, a mediator of domestic relations,
nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone.
"Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his
friends in AA, the primary responsibility for the solutions of all
his problems of living and growing rests squarely upon the individual
himself. Should an AA group attempt this sort of help, its
effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissipated.
"This is why sobriety - freedom from alcohol - through the teaching
and practice of AA's Twelve Steps, is the sole purpose of the group.
If we don't stick to this cardinal principle, we shall almost
certainly collapse. And if we collapse we cannot help anyone."
This was from a letter written to a memeber in 1966. I'd like to know
if anyone has any further info on this (maybe the entire letter),
what question was he responding to from this member? Also, I'd be
interested in any more material any of you may have to offer
regarding the subject.
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++++Message 1779. . . . . . . . . . . . "Academics Recovering Together" now a
Yahoo Group
From: jblair10101 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/29/2004 3:31:00 PM
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In message 483, August 25, 2002, Barefoot Bill provided an extensive
list of anonymous groups and 12-step offshoots. One group listed
was "Academics Recovering Together," which began in 1989 at Brown
University. This group is now online as a Yahoo Group.
John
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++++Message 1780. . . . . . . . . . . . Hubert "Cubby" Selby--Obituary
From: jimmy . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/30/2004 7:29:00 PM
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A much loved, longtime sober and active member in Los Angeles.....
Author Hubert Selby Jr. Dead at 75
Associated Press
Monday, April 26, 2004
LOS ANGELES -- Hubert Selby Jr. , the acclaimed and anguished author of
"Last Exit to Brooklyn" and "Requiem for a Dream," died Monday of a lung
disease, his wife said. He was 75.
Selby died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at his home in the
Highland Park section of Los Angeles, said his wife of 35 years, Suzanne.
Born in New York City, Selby's experience among Brooklyn's gritty
longshoremen, homeless and the down-and-out formed the basis for his
lauded 1964 novel "Last Exit to Brooklyn," which was made into a film in
1989.
"It was a seminal piece of work. It broke so many traditions," said Jim Reg=
an,
head of the master's of professional writing program at the University of
Southern California, where Selby taught as an adjunct professor for the pas=
t
20 years.
"There was that generation of writers: William Burroughs, Henry Miller, and=
there was Hubert Selby. And he's one of the last of that generation, of som=
e of
the greatest writers in this country."
Suzanne Selby said her late husband was kind and generous but in recent
years suffered from depression and occasionally would launch into rages.
"He screamed, he yelled, he broke things," she said. "But he did not have
rages when he was writing."
Selby shared screenwriting credit on the 2000 film version of his 1978 nove=
l
"Requiem for a Dream," a harrowing look inside a family's many addictions. =
His other novels include "The Room" (1971), "The Demon" (1976) and "The
Willow Tree" (1998). A collection of short stories, "Song of the Silent Sno=
w,"
was published in 1986.
Selby continued to work on screenplays and teach at USC until he was
hospitalized last month. He had been in and out of the hospital in recent
weeks and died with his wife by his side, she said.
He contracted tuberculosis as a child and had suffered from breathing
problems ever since, Suzanne Shelby said. He was diagnosed with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease several years ago.
Selby often wrote at an apartment he kept in West Hollywood. He worked in a=
bedroom there for at least five hours most days, and always left one line
unfinished at night to have a place to start the next morning, Suzanne Selb=
y
said.
She said that he had battled addictions, but while much of his work dealt w=
ith
the topic, he always wrote while sober and had not had any alcohol or any
drugs since 1969.
Along with his wife, he is survived by four children and 11 grandchildren.
© Associated Press. All rights reserved.
__________________________________
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 27, 2004
Hubert Selby Jr., Who Wrote `Last Exit to Brooklyn,' Dies at 75
By ANTHONY DePALMA
Hubert Selby Jr., the Brooklyn-born ex-merchant mariner who turned to drugs=
and to writing after cheating death and created a lasting vision of urban h=
ell in
his novel "Last Exit to Brooklyn," died yesterday at his home in Los Angele=
s.
He was 75.
The cause was chronic pulmonary disease, said his son, Bill Selby, who
added that his father's death was the long-term consequence of the
tuberculosis he had contracted while at sea during World War II.
Mr. Selby had no formal training, and disdained the prim order of punctuati=
on
and plot. His writing was spare and direct. But what most marked his work
was the stark despair and loneliness he described in such shocking terms
that some of his work was blocked for a time in the United States, and late=
r
England, as obscene.
He said he did not understand what the fuss was about.
"The events that take place are the way people are," he said in an intervie=
w
with The New York Times in 1988, describing the gang rapes, brutal beatings=
and countless perversions described in "Last Exit." "These are not literary=
characters; these are real people. I knew these people. How can anybody
look inside themselves and be surprised at the hatred and violence in the
world? It's inside all of us."
"Tralala," one of the stories that make up the book, was the subject of an =
obscenity trial involving The Provincetown Review, which published it in
1961. And when "Last Exit," which consists of "Tralala" and five other loos=
ely
connected stories, was published in England in 1966, a jury found it to be =
obscene and fined its publisher.
The novel describes the seedy underbelly of the Red Hook waterfront
neighborhood in the Brooklyn of the 1950's, which is depicted as a wastelan=
d
prowled by gangs, whores and transvestites. When it was published by Grove =
Press in 1964, its repulsive language and blast-furnace images made the
novel difficult either to accept or reject.
"This is a brutal book -- shocking, exhausting, depressing," wrote Eliot
Fremont-Smith in the first review of the book in The Times. Yet, despite th=
e
gutter language and obscene grunts of the dark characters in the novel, Mr.=
Fremont-Smith said that the book could not be easily dismissed. "The
profound depression it causes -- once one starts seriously to read it -- is a=
measure of an authentic power which carries through and beyond revulsion," =
he wrote. "Just who should be asked to undergo this experience is another
matter."
Hubert Selby Jr. was born on July 27, 1928, in Brooklyn, the son of Adalin =
and
Hubert Selby Sr., a coal miner from Kentucky who served in the merchant
marine for several years until his son was born. During World War II the se=
nior
Mr. Selby returned to the merchant marine. His son, though underage,
convinced the recruiters he was old enough to join as well. While at sea he=
developed tuberculosis. After going through radical surgery and more than a=
year of hospitalization, he was given no chance of recovery.
He did recover, but was hooked on the morphine he had received during his
hospitalization. He started drinking. With no other prospects, he decided t=
o try
writing, although he once said he had never read anything until he was an
adult. While he wrote the stories that went into "Last Exit to Brooklyn" he=
worked for a time as an insurance analyst in Manhattan.
Before the book was published in 1964, Mr. Selby's writing had earned him
less than $100. Despite its bleakness, the book's underlying message of
redemption through self-destruction caught on in a United States about to
enter the radical 1960's.
Mr. Selby overcame his addictions and moved to the West Coast, where he
wrote several other books, including "The Room" (1971) "The Demon" (1976), =
and "The Willow Tree" (1998). In 1989 "Last Exit" was made into a film by t=
he
German director Uli Edel.
Hubert Selby Jr. was married three times, most recently in 1969 to Suzanne =
Victoria Selby, who survives him, along with four children: Claudia Adams o=
f
Marrow Bone, Ky.; Kyle, of Yorktown, N.Y.; Rachel Kuehn of Corona, Calif.; =
and Bill, of Loma Linda, Calif.
At the time of his death, Mr. Selby, a high school dropout, taught a gradua=
te
writing class at the University of Southern California. His son Bill Selby =
said
he was also working on a novel and a screenplay.
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
________________________
World on the fringes of writer Selby
Hubert Selby Jr, who has died aged 75, has been described as one of
America's most influential writers.
Selby has been compared to William Burroughs and Joseph Heller for his
uncompromising prose and the scale of his impact as a US author.
He will probably be best remembered for his debut novel, Last Exit To
Brooklyn, a story of urban brutality set in a wasteland inhabited by charac=
ters
existing on the fringes of society.
It caused a storm on its publication in 1964 for its stark language and ble=
ak
storyline of prostitutes and gang members.
At a time when US society was regarded as the epitome of wholesome family
life, the book was notable for its daring depiction of a previously hidden =
underclass consisting of thieves, drug addicts and misfits.
Using material drawn from his experiences growing up in the New York
borough, the book became a cult classic but split the critics.
Allen Ginsberg, the New York beat poet, said it would "explode like a rusty=
hellish bombshell over America and still be eagerly read in a hundred years=
".
A review in The Times stated: "This is a brutal book - shocking, exhausting=
,
depressing"; yet the New York Times called it "an extraordinary
achievement... with a vision of hell so stern that it cannot be chucked or =
raged
aside".
In 1989 it was turned into a film by Uli Edel, starring Jennifer Jason Leig=
h and
Stephen Lang, set against a backdrop of violence and corruption in 1950s
Brooklyn. Like the book, it became cult viewing.
Selby's other best-known work was Requiem For A Dream, a harrowing
account of heroin addiction informed by his own problems with substance
abuse: he had become addicted to morphine during treatment for
tuberculosis.
On its publication in 1978, the New York Times Book Review said it cemented=
Selby's place in the "front rank" of American novelists.
It, too, was made into a film, released in 2000, starring Ellen Burstyn and=
Jennifer Connelly. Directed by Darren Aronofsky, it portrayed the tragic
downward spiral of four once-ambitious individuals consumed by their
addictions.
Years before the plaudits afforded to Selby by new generations of film-goin=
g
fans, critics had been in thrall of his lesser-known second novel, The Room=
,
published in 1971.
It received what Selby called "the greatest reviews I've ever read in my li=
fe",
then promptly vanished leaving barely a trace of its existence.
Typically dark and claustrophobic, it centred on a petty criminal locked in=
a
remand cell harbouring feelings of impotence, hatred and rage, and
fantasising about revenge.
Selby's foray into literature began as a teenager when he was sent home fro=
m
the merchant marines, critically ill with tuberculosis, during World War II=
.
Spending a year in hospital having survived radical surgery, he began writi=
ng
the work that would later develop in to Last Exit To Brooklyn.
A high school dropout, Selby was teaching a writing class at the University=
of
Southern California until his death.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/arts/3666117.stm
Published: 2004/04/28 11:44:29 GMT
© BBC MMIV
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++++Message 1781. . . . . . . . . . . . The New York Times Magazine, February 21, 1988
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/1/2004 2:58:00 AM
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ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
More youths, blacks, women, homosexuals, Hispanics and alcoholics addicted to
other drugs now join A.A.
(Adapted from "Getting Better: Inside Alcoholics Anonymous©" by Nan Robertson,
to be published by William Morrow in April 1988.)
By Nan Robertson
Only Bill Wilson could have imagined A.A. as it is today, because only Bill,
among the old-timers of Alcoholics Anonymous, had such grandiose, improbable
dreams. In the summer of 1935, there were only two A.A. members - Wilson, a
failed Wall Street stockbroker, and Dr. Bob Smith, a practicing surgeon -
sitting in the Smith kitchen in Akron, Ohio, through half the night,
chain-smoking and gulping coffee and trying to figure out how they could sober
up other drunks like themselves. The society they had founded attracted only
100 members over the next four years; it would not even have a name until
1939. Now there are more than a million and a half of us around the world -
members of the most successful, imitated, yet often misunderstood self-help
movement of the 20th century.
About half of all A.A.'s are in the United States, the rest are scattered
among 114 other countries. Many additional millions have passed through the
movement and been made whole by its program, but A.A. periodically counts only
those who are regularly attending meetings.
For those in the know, there are clues to A.A.'s presence everywhere: the sign
on a jeep's hood in a Mexican town that says the "Grupo Bill Wilson" will meet
that night; a West Virginia bumper sticker advising "Keep it Simple." The
Serenity Prayer, attributed to the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and recited at
the end of A.A. meetings, appears framed on the wall in a South African living
room or embroidered on a pillow in a chic Madison Avenue shop.
A.A.'s meet in Pagopago, American Samoa, on Wednesday nights, in McMurdo
Sound, Antarctica, on Saturdays, and in Lilongwe, Malawi, on Mondays and
Friday, They find one another just to sit and chat between meetings in a
doughnut shop and coffee shop on the main street of Peterborough, N.H., a town
of 5,200 that has four A.A. groups. One of them is called Our Town in honor of
Thornton Wilder, who took Peterborough as the model for his nostalgic play
about American small-town life. The belfry of a Roman Catholic Church near
Covent Garden in London and a bank's board room in Marin County, Calif., are
reserved for A.A. meetings once each week. Some groups meet on ships, at sea
or port. To these exotic settings must be added the thousands of prosaic
basements and halls in churches, community centers and hospitals where most
A.A.'s inch their way back to a life of quality.
In the last decade or so, large numbers of Americans, mainly entertainers,
have gone public to say they are recovered alcoholics. Almost all said their
motivation, and their hope, was, by their example, to inspire still-drinking
alcoholics to recover. But the great mass of membership everywhere is composed
of more or less ordinary people. They are neither movie stars nor skid row
bums; the great drama of their lives has not been played out in the spotlight
or in squalid flophouses. These alcoholics have suffered, increasingly
isolated, in bars, in their own bedrooms, or in the living rooms of friends
who have become estranged by their drunken behavior. Their recovery has been
worked out in private.
Over the last 50 years, the substance of A.A. - its core literature, its
program of recovery and its ways of looking at life - has changed very little.
But in terms of the numbers and diversity of its members, A.A. today would be
unrecognizable to its pioneers. In the early years, A.A. members were almost
exclusively male, white, middle-class, middle-aged and of Western extraction.
They were men who had fallen very far, often from the top of their business
and professions.
The A.A. of 1988 is huge, increasingly international, multiethnic,
multiracial, cutting across social classes, less rigidly religious than it was
in the beginning, more accepting of gay people, and of women, who now form
one-third of the total North American membership and about half of the A.A.
membership in big cities. Increasingly, many turn to A.A. for help in earlier
stages of their disease.
A much more abrupt and spectacular trend is that young people have streamed
into A.A. in the last 10 years, most of them addicted to other drugs as well
as to alcohol. Dr. LeClair Bissell, the founding director of the Smithers
alcoholism center, in Manhattan, expresses the consensus of the alcoholism
research and treatment world when she says: "There are almost no 'pure'
alcoholics among young people anymore. They are hooked on booze and other
drugs, or only other drugs."
It is common now at A.A. meetings to hear a young speaker say, "My name is
Joe, and I'm a drug addict and an alcoholic."
The dually addicted anger some A.A. members. One with 20 tears of sobriety
says: "This fellowship was formed to help suffering alcoholics, and alcoholics
only. That's why it has been so successful - we don't monkey around with other
problems."
In a few communities, A.A. members have formed groups billed for those "over
30." The message is clear: No druggies wanted. This development infuriates
John T. Schwarzlose, executive director of the Betty Ford Center for substance
abusers in Rancho Mirage, Calif.: "A.A. is the epitome of tolerance,
flexibility and inclusiveness, but some drug addicts have told me about being
turned away from A.A. meetings in the Midwest and South when they say they
were just addicted to drugs, Now I tell them to say they are both alcoholics
and drug abusers." In the big cities and at A.A. headquarters, attitudes
toward the dually addicted are much more welcoming.
For a long time, Alcoholics Anonymous was believed to be a purely North
American phenomenon. It was thought that its themes of self-help and
voluntarism would not transfer to more relaxed cultures. A.A.'s Ecuador-born
coordinator for Hispanic groups voiced the early point of view among his Latin
friends: "A.A. is O.K. for gringos, but not for us. In Latin America... if a
man doesn't drink, he's not a macho." To his surprise, A.A. began to boom
among Hispanics in the 1970's. Mexico's membership of 250,000 is now second
only to that of the United States. Brazil, with 78,000 members, and Guatemala,
with 43,000, are next-highest in Latin America.
Until recently, A.A. had been unable to gain a toe-hold in the Soviet Union or
in Eastern Europe. The movement had been regarded there as possibly
threatening, because of its precepts of anonymity and confidentiality, its
religious overtones and the fact that it operates outside any government
control. Then last summer, the Soviet Union sent to the United States four
doctors specializing in addiction. They visited Alcoholism-treatment centers,
the Summer School of Alcohol Studies at Rutgers University and numerous A.A.
meetings. When they returned home, they took back quantities of A.A. pamphlets
translated for them into Russian. Still, the only Eastern European nation to
embrace A.A. has been Poland. Its Government finally recognized what is called
the "psychotherapeutic" value of A.A.
In the United States, those long familiar with A.A. meetings notice that there
seem to be disproportionately high numbers from certain ethnic groups.
"Alcoholism goes with certain cultures, such as Celtic or the Scandinavian,
that approve of drinking, or at least are ambivalent about it," says Dr.
Bissell. "But in some environments or religions, people don't drink on
principle. These abstinent cultures in the United States include Baptists,
some other Southern Protestant sects and Mormons."
For a long time, there was a widely held belief that Jews did not become
alcoholics. The work of JACS - Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons
and Significant Others - is helping to dispel that myth. Jews are present in
large numbers, JACS says, at A.A. meetings in many large cities where there is
a significant Jewish population. But rarely do A.A. meetings take place in
synagogues or Jewish community centers.
Sheldon B., an alcoholism counselor in New York, told of how a few years ago
he approached his own rabbi with the idea of opening their temple to an A.A.
group. He though that Jewish members in any A.A. group might be more
comfortable about accepting help in a synagogue setting than in a church. The
rabbi informed him that there was no need: "There are no Jewish alcoholics."
When Sheldon B. said, "But I am an alcoholic," the rabbi thought for a moment
and them replied, "are you sure you know who your real father was?"
Although there are black A.A. groups and mixed racial groups in large Northern
cities, the number of blacks in A.A. does not appear to reflect the race's
proportion in the nation - 29 million, or 12 percent of the population.
"There is a great stigma in being black and being drunk, even recovered, a
black Philadelphia teacher declared at a meeting devoted to the subject. "I
made the mistake of telling my principal that I had a problem. I checked
myself into a treatment center. She used a hatchet on me."
As a black Milwaukee social worker explained: "The black community is afraid
that if blacks admit their alcoholics, it will reinforce the white stereotype
that they are shiftless...The black community likes to think that oppression
causes their alcoholism...Other oppressed minorities use the same argument.
"Who wouldn't drink?" they say. "Our lives are so goddamed awful. Oblivion is
the only way out of our pain."
Homosexuals are coming into A.A., and in sophisticated communities are
welcomed. Some recovered alcoholics have formed all-gay groups, just as there
are special groups for women, doctors, agnostics, lawyers, airline pilots and
others.
"Growing up in Alabama, I was taught to hate myself," one gay member told an
A.A. meeting. "I was a nigger sissy. In A.A., I learned that God loves us all.
My business in A.A. is to stay sober and help you if you want it."
A.A. surveys do not inquire whether members attend religious services or if
they believe in God. There are no questions about ethnic or racial origins,
sexual preference or whether alcoholism runs in the family. But a family
predisposition to alcoholism is reflected strikingly within A.A. Often,
speakers at meetings begin: "My name is Mary, and I am an alcoholic...and my
father [or mother] was an alcoholic."
Longtime A.A. members believe that it is hopeless to drag another into
sobriety if the alcoholic is determined not to be helped or refuses to believe
he is ill. Even so, the courts in some states are sending thousands of
offenders to A.A. meetings instead of to jail. But the A.A. program sometimes
catches on even with unwilling alcoholics.
There are many things outsiders believe A.A. to be that it is not. It is not a
temperance organization or Prohibition society. A.A. does not want to save the
world from gin. Nobody invites you to join A.A. You are a member if you say
you are, or if you walk into an A.A. meeting with the thought that you have a
drinking problem and you want to stop. There are no papers to sign, no pledges
to take, no obligations to speak up, no arms twisted. The attitude of members
toward those outside who drink moderately is, "I wish I could drink as you do,
but I can't."
A.A. is not a religious cult. Some members are agnostics or atheists. Many
choose to believe that their "higher power" is their A.A. group. Most members
prefer to call A.A.'s program "spiritual." Yet God is mentioned directly or
indirectly in five of the Twelve Steps, which A.A. uses to help heal
individuals, and this sometimes repels outsiders who might otherwise be
attracted. (Boiled down to six instantly understandable principles, the Twelve
Step program might read: We admitted we are licked and cannot get well on our
own. We get honest with ourselves. We talk it out with somebody else. We try
to make amends to people we have harmed. We pray to whatever greater Power we
think there is. We try to give of ourselves for our own sake and without stint
to other alcoholics with no thought of reward.)
A.A. does not work for everybody. But then, nothing does. About 60 per cent of
those coming to A.A. for the first time remain in A.A. after going to meetings
and assiduously "working the program" for months or even years. Usually, they
stay sober for good. But about 40 percent drop out. These statistics refute a
widely held notion that A.A. is always successful or an "instant fix." Even
so, its success rate is phenomenally high.
Freudian analysis and religious faith, for example, may be two great ways to
heal the human spirit, but they do not work on their own for alcoholics. The
vast majority of doctors, psychologists and members of the clergy who are
familiar with A.A. as well as almost all experts in alcoholism, make A.A.
their No. 1 choice for a long-term program of recovery. A.A. precepts are
built into the programs of every respected intensive alcoholism treatment
center in the country, including those of Hazelden in Minnesota, Smithers in
New York and the Betty Ford Center. John Schwarzlose of the Betty Ford Center
expresses a typical opinion. "Patients ask how important it is that they go to
A.A. after they're through here. I say, 'I can give you a guarantee. When you
leave here, if you don't go to A.A., you won't make it.'"
A.A. has no ties with political parties, foundations, charities or causes, nor
does it sponsor research into alcoholism.
And unlike most tax-exempt organizations, A.A., whose current annual budget is
$11.5 million, does no fund raising. Nor does A.A. accept money from
outsiders. The funds supporting headquarters services come mainly from A.A.'s
huge publishing empire, which distributes authorized literature to members.
Each group is self-supporting, passing a basket at every meeting to help pay
for coffee, snacks, literature and rent for the meeting space. Those present
often give a dollar. Others may just drop a coin in the basket. Some cannot
give anything.
No member may donate more that $1,000 a year to A.A. Nor may a member bequeath
more than $1,000, or leave property to A.A., which has never owned any real
estate.
"The reason we discourage gifts and bequests," says Dennis Manders, a
nonalcoholic who served for 35 years as the controller at A.A. headquarters,
"is that we don't ever want some person dropping a million bucks in the A.A.
hopper and saying, 'Now, I'm going to call the tune.'"
About half of the groups contribute nothing at all for headquarters services.
Many members feel that carrying the expenses of their "home group" is enough.
This kind of autonomy and decentralization typifies Alcoholics Anonymous.
The average A.A. member, according to surveys, attends four meetings a week.
After about five years of regular attendance, some A.A.'s go to fewer and
fewer meetings. They may stop altogether when they feel they are able to
function comfortably without alcohol. However, some speakers at meetings are
full of cautionary tales about how they drifted away from A.A. and drank
again, sometimes disastrously and for long, periods of time, before returning
to the fold.
The movement works in quiet and simple ways. Members usually give of
themselves without reservation; exchange telephone numbers with newcomers;
come to help at any hour when a fellow member is in crisis; are free with tips
on how to avoid that first drink. Most people in A.A. are flexible, tolerant
of eccentrics, suspicious of "rules" and "musts." The lack of ritual can be a
surprise to beginners. So is the absence of confrontation, finger-pointing,
blame-laying, angry debate and chronic whining.
The essence of A.A. can only be guessed at in big, showy gatherings, such as
its international conventions every five years. It is in the intimacy of the
neighborhood meetings that the truth, the flavor and the inkling of the
reasons for A.A.'s success can be grasped. The members may meet in groups as
small as 2 or 3, or as large as 200, but the usual attendance is somewhere
between a dozen and 40 people. In New York City, the most active single A.A.
spot anywhere, there is a choice of 1,826 listed meetings held by 724 groups
every week.
As A.A. grew and diversified, the stigma of alcoholism gradually faded. There
were many stages along A.A.'s road to respectability, beginning in the 1940's,
that gradually transformed the public's perception of the society of recovered
drunks from a butt of disbelief and even ridicule to that of an accepted and
admired organization. None was more significant than the action taken by the
American Medical Association. In 1956, the AMA's trustees and its House of
Delegates declared that alcoholism was a disease, thereby validating a central
belief of A.A., from its co-founders on, that it is a sickness, not a sin.
Now the Supreme Court of the United States is debating the legality of the
issue. Last Dec. 7, the court heard a challenge by two Vietnam War Veterans
against the Veterans Administration for excluding "primary alcoholism" (in
which drinking itself is the root disorder) from the list of illnesses and
disabilities that allow veterans more time to claim education benefits.
Extensions can be granted to veterans hindered by physical or mental problems
"not the result of their own willful misconduct." The justices are expected to
hand down an opinion before the Court's term ends in June.
The structure of A.A. is a little harder to grasp than the disease theory of
alcoholism. It is close to the truth to say that A.A. consists of a million
Indians and no chiefs. And that it is less an organization than an organism
that keeps splitting amoeba like, into ever more groups. If a member doesn't
like how things are run in his group, he can start another one with people he
finds more compatible. This has given rise to an A.A. saying: "All you need to
start a new group is two drunks, a coffee pot and some resentment."
There is a structure in Alcoholics Anonymous, but it would set any
conventional notion of how to run a business on its head. Basically, the local
groups are boss and the board of trustees and the staff at the General Service
Office are supposed to carry out their orders. The board of trustees is made
up of 14 A.A. members and 7 non-alcoholics.
Although alcoholics hold all the top administrative jobs, they never handle
money. A.A.'s financial operation is run by non-alcoholics. The reason is that
Bill Wilson and the early A.A.'s were afraid that if anybody running A.A. fell
off the wagon, that would be bad enough, but if he were handling finances as
well, the results could be disastrous. The philosophy has endured.
The manner in which A.A. directs its collective affairs and sets policy can be
seen most clearly - or in all its democratic confusion - at its yearly General
Service Conference, the closest approximation to a governing body of A.A.
About 135 people attend, including 91 delegates elected at regional A.A.
assemblies in the United States and Canada. Also on hand are the trustees of
the board and representatives of the head-quarter's staff.
The day-to-day business of Alcoholics Anonymous has been carried on since 1970
in a brick building at 468 Park Avenue South, in midtown Manhattan. Whatever
policies are decided at the conference are carried out by the headquarters
staff. Their jobs are divided into specialties such as literature, treatment
centers, prisons, public information and cooperation with professionals -
doctors, counselors, social workers and teachers, for example - in the
alcoholism field. And just in case somebody should become overly fond of a
specialty, all the top staff members, except the general manager and the
Hispanic coordinator, regularly rotate jobs every two years. The same frequent
rotation occurs at every level in A.A. Officers in local groups usually step
down every six months.
The seven nonalcoholic trustees, who are often experts in some profession,
such as medicine, law, banking or social work, serve a special need. Joan K.
Jackson, a sociologist with long experience among alcoholics, explains: "We
can use our full names in public. We are not perceived by outsiders as having
any vested interest. Privately within A.A., our greatest function is as
gadflies and questioners."
What makes A.A. headquarters run is the A.A. World Service publishing empire.
It now brings in $8.8 million annually or 76 per cent of A.A.'s yearly
corporate revenues. It is the cause of some trepidation among those who have
taken what amounts to a vow of poverty. Each year, A.A. distributes 7 million
copies of more than 40 pamphlets (mostly gratis for members), and almost a
million and a half copies of 6 books and two booklets. Seven million copies of
the Big Book (A.A.'s central text, published in 1939, whose formal title is
"Alcoholics Anonymous") have been sold. Last year alone, about a million Big
Books were purchased, virtually all of them at A.A. meetings, alcoholic
rehabilitation centers or through mail orders.
At the time of his death, early in 1971, Bill Wilson was earning about $65,000
a year in royalties from the Big Book and three other books he wrote for A.A.
Last year, his widow, Lois, received $912,000 in royalties. Under the terms of
the agreement Bill concluded with A.A. headquarters in 1963, she was allocated
13.5 per cent of Wilson's royalties. Another 1.5 percent went to his last
mistress, who died a few years after Bill.
There has been almost no negative publicity about Alcoholics Anonymous over
the five decades of its history. Extensive research turns up only a handful of
critical views in the press. Writing in The Nation in 1964, Jerome Ellison
charged that A.A.'s conservative top councils had lost touch with the ever
more diverse rank-and-file. The same year, Arthur H. Cain, a New York
psychologist, in a book and articles for various magazines, called A.A. a
"cult" that enslaved its members to self-righteous sobriety. Bill Wilson's
reaction was typical of the man's tolerance. The co-founder trying to calm the
ensuing fuss at headquarters, said: "In all the years, this is the first
thorough- going criticism our fellowship ever had. So the practicing of
absorbing stuff like that in good humor should be of value." It was the first
public criticism, and it proved to be one of the last.
Privately within A.A., there has been a growing dissatisfaction with
headquarters. Some members say staff members are becoming frozen in
bureaucracy and are overly sensitive to pressure from the most rigid and
narrow-minded members, particularly old-timers, who regard the Big Book and
other authorized literature almost as Holy Writ.
"If anything is going to destroy A.A.," says Dr. John Norris, a nonalcoholic
physician, friend of Bill Wilson's and for many years chairman of A.A.'s board
of trustees, "It will be what I call the 'tradition lawyers.' They find it
easier to live with black and white than they do with gray. These 'bleeding
deacons' * these fundamentalists are afraid of and fight any change."
Source: The New York Times Magazine©, February 21, 1988
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++++Message 1782. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant May Dates in AA History
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/1/2004 3:25:00 AM
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May 1
1941 - First Wisconsin AA meeting was held in a Milwaukee hotel.
May 2
1941 - Jacksonville, FL, newspaper reported start of a new AA group.
1941 - First meeting was held in San Bernardino, California.
May 3
1941 - First AA group formed in New Orleans, Louisiana.
1943 - Democrat Chronicle in Rochester, NY, reported first annual AA dinner at
Seneca Hotel with 60 attending.
May 4
1946 - Marty Mann explained Alcoholics Anonymous and the National Committee
for Education on Alcoholism on the "We the People" radio show.
May 5
1940 - Washington, DC, Sunday Star reported formation of first AA group in the
District of Columbia.
May 7
1956 - The first English AA Convention was held in Cheltenham, England.
May 8
1943 - Akron AA group had its 8th anniversary celebration with 500 present and
sober.
1971 - Bill Wilson was buried in private ceremony.
May 10
1946 - Searcy W. had his last drink. (Searcy died September 30, 2003.)
May 11
1935 - From the Mayflower Hotel, Bill Wilson called Walter Tunks who referred
him to Henrietta Seiberling who introduced Bill to Dr. Bob.
May 12
1935 - Mothers' Day - Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith met for the first time in
Akron, Ohio, at the home of Henrietta Seiberling.
May 14
1948 - Long Beach, California. Central Office was opened.
1998 - Sybil C., first woman to enter A.A. west of the Mississippi, died. Her
date of sobriety was March 23, 1941. Her name at the time was Sybil Maxwell,
though she later opened her talks by saying, "My name is Sybil Doris Adams
Stratton Hart Maxwell Willis C., and I'm an alcoholic."
May 15
1961 - Bill Wilson's mother, Emiliy Strobell, died.
May 16
1941 - Ruth Hock learned that Joe W. (credited with coming up with the name
Alcoholics Anonymous) had a "wet brain."
May 17
1942 - The Journal-Herald in Dayton, Ohio, ran a story on A.A. with photos of
members in Halloween masks to protect their anonymity.
May 18
1950 - Dr. Bob told Bill "I reckon we ought to be buried like other folks"
after hearing that local A.A.'s wanted a huge memorial.
May 19
2000 - Dr. Paul Ohliger died at the age of 83. His story, "Doctor, Alcoholic,
Addict," was retitled "Acceptance Was the Answer," in the 4th edition.
May 22
1948 - Atlantic City Group celebrated its second anniversary with Dr. C.
Nelson Davis of St. Luke's Hospital, Philadelphia, and other A.A.s speaking.
May 28
1974 - The first World Service meeting of AA outside of America was held in
London.
May 29
1980 - "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers," AAWS biography of AA co-founder and a
history of early Mid-
west AA, was published.
May 31
1938 - Bill and other AA's began writing the Big Book.
__________
Other May events for which we have no specific date:
1939 - Clarence Snyder told Dr. Bob, his sponsor, he would not be back to the
Oxford Group meetings in Akron and would start an "A.A." meeting in Cleveland.
1942 - Richmond Walker, author of "Twenty-Four Hours a Day," had his last
drink.
1946 - Long Form of Twelve Traditions was published in the AA Grapevine.
1946 - The AA Grapevine announced: "AA has 6,000 members in 180 groups."
1947 - Avalon, California (Catalina Island Group) was formed.
1948 - The AA Grapevine reported $2.00 was sent to the General Service
headquarters of AA in New York, asking for a bottle of Alcoholics Anonymous.
1951 - Al-Anon was founded by Lois Wilson and Anne B.
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++++Message 1783. . . . . . . . . . . . A MINOR HISTORY OF AA IN KANKAKEE,
ILLINOIS
From: kankakeebern . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/2/2004 10:27:00 PM
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(Kankakee is about 60 miles south of Chicago)
According to an article published in the Kankakee Journal in
December, 1958, A.A. here had endured 10 years in October of 1958. In
1948 a man named Doc Mills went up to Evanston to the Georgian Hotel
to hear Bill W. speak. He wanted to try the program here so he and
three others met at the courthouse the first time. As others joined,
they met once a week at different homes or wherever they could do it.
This first group was listed with G.S.O. in 1949 as the Kankakee Kounty
Kourthouse Group with 5 members. They tried to get churches to meet
in, but the churches would have no part of it. They met at the St.
Rose School in one corner of the gym while the basketball team
practiced at the other end. They met at a roller rink that used to be
where the old Radeke Brewery was. They met in a tavern storeroom on
south Washington. They met at the Salvation Army. They met in DeSelm
at a fellow's house who had a farm spraying business.
Whoever was elected chairman got the Book and coffee pot and was in
charge. It was an honor that they thought that much of you. They
didn't have a lot of meetings but they spent a lot of time with one
another. They were a close knit group. At the time, if one was in
trouble, the other ones were there. By 1950 there were 12 members.
Uncle Billie came in later for a while and he was sober for about a
year, but he went back out. He came back and stayed straight. Uncle
Billie was chairing a meeting at the Salvation Army with four others.
They were paying the Salvation Army five dollars for the meeting.
They passed the basket and there were only four dollars in it. He
said, "Well, we don't have enough." The other members said there would
be if he had put his dollar in. He had forgotten to put his money in.
Uncle Billy kept it going, because he was home during the day.
If they had a Twelfth Step call they ended up over at Uncle Billie's
kitchen with coffee. It grew slowly in the beginning, from six to nine
to 12 members.
Every once in a while they would take a big trip. One time they got
together to go to Indianapolis to hear Father John Doe talk. Three or
four of them would get together and go to Danville or Chicago or
another place for an out-of-town meeting. (This was before the
Interstate Highways we take for granted now.)
It was in 1972 they thought they had enough members to rent space on
Durham St. in Bradley for a meeting place and Alano Club. They ended
up with the space next to it being donated bcause the landlord didn't
have any luck renting it.
The late John Hefner came here from Chicago in 1960 to start an
alcohol rehab unit at Kankakee State Hospital. In 1984 They purchased
a building on East River Street for an Alano Club for meetings. As a
postscript, Doc Mills never did stay sober. Besides Kankakee, Bradley
and DeSelm, there were members from Momence and Bonfield.
(from interviews with Spike V. and John H.)
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++++Message 1784. . . . . . . . . . . . One Page At A Time (2004)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/4/2004 5:25:00 PM
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One Page At a Time
Susan Cheever's Chilling Glimpse of AA's Tormented 'Saint'
By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 3, 2004; Page C01
During her research for a biography of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill
Wilson, author Susan Cheever dug through the just-opened archives at Stepping
Stones, Wilson's longtime home outside New York City. Alongside an archivist,
she sifted reams of material that had not been looked at in decades.
One day, the archivist handed her a sheaf of wide, green-lined pages -- hourly
logs kept by the nurses who tended Wilson on his deathbed.
Cheever glanced at them. They seemed mundane.
"Keep reading," the archivist urged her.
Cheever came to the pages covering Christmas 1970. On the eve of the holiday,
Bill Wilson passed a fitful night. A lifelong smoker, he had been fighting
emphysema for years, and now he was losing the battle. Nurse James Dannenberg
was on duty in the last hour before dawn. At 6:10 a.m. on Christmas morning,
according to Dannenberg's notes, the man who sobered up millions "asked for
three shots of whiskey."
He was quite upset when he didn't get them, Cheever writes.
Wilson asked for booze again about a week later, on Jan. 2, 1971.
And on Jan. 8.
And on Jan. 14.
"My blood ran cold," Cheever said recently of the discovery. "I was shocked
and
horrified." With time to ponder, though, she found herself thinking, "Of
course
he wanted a drink. He was the one who talked about sobriety being 'a daily
remission.' I realized that this was a story about the power of alcohol: that
even Bill Wilson, the man who invented sobriety, who had 30-plus years sober,
still wanted a drink."
In the Big Book, as AA's foundation text is known, Wilson recalled the time in
1934 when doctors concluded that he was a hopeless drunk and told his wife
that
there was no cure, apart from the asylum or the grave. "They did not need to
tell me," he added. "I knew, and almost welcomed the idea."
On Jan. 24, 1971, the man known modestly to legions of alcoholics as "Bill W."
was finally cured.
Powerless Over Alcohol
Cheever's discovery, reported in her book "My Name Is Bill," doesn't really
change what little we know about alcoholism, a cruel, confounding and
mysterious
disease. It doesn't really change what we know about Wilson, a rough-hewn and
unorthodox American saint sketched by Cheever in all his chain-smoking,
womanizing, Ouija-board-reading, acid-tripping holiness.
But it might change, at least a bit, the way some of us think about miracles
--
the shelf life of miracles, the limited warranty they carry, and how
high-maintenance they are. Miracles come in Bill Wilson's story, but always
with
strings attached. They are a bequest -- but not like an annuity that pays out
endlessly and effortlessly. More like an old mansion, precious and beautiful,
but demanding endless, unglamorous upkeep.
The miracle of Wilson's sobriety -- and the birth of AA -- arrived like
something out of the Old Testament. It was 1934, late in the year, when the
doctors had given up on Bill. Booze, which once put its arm around his
shoulder,
now had its jaws around his throat. A smart, handsome, charming man, Wilson
had
become the kind of drunk who could set off one morning to play golf and awaken
a
day later outside his house, unsure how he got there, with his head bleeding
mysteriously and his unused clubs still at his side. "The more he decided not
to
drink," Cheever writes, "the more irresistible drink seemed to become."
So for the third time, Wilson checked himself into a private hospital in New
York that specialized in drying out "rum hounds," as he called himself. He
knew
what to expect: doses of barbiturates, assorted bitter herbs, castor oil and
other purgatives, vomiting, tremors and depression. He also knew it probably
would not work, that just about every hard case like him went back to drinking
after being discharged.
The prospect was so dismal that Wilson picked up a few bottles of beer for the
cab ride.
Wilson had a friend named Ebby Thatcher, another alcoholic, who had a friend
named Roland Hazard, yet another drunk, who was wealthy enough to seek help
from
the eminent psychiatrist Carl Jung in Switzerland. When Jung realized how
serious Hazard's drinking problem was, he told his patient that the only hope
was a religious conversion -- in Jung's experience, nothing else worked. The
American psychologist William James had arrived at a similar conclusion,
declaring in "The Varieties of Religious Experience" that "the only cure for
dipsomania is religiomania."
Well, by God, Hazard got religion and sobered up, for a while. He preached
this
approach to Thatcher, and Thatcher in turn proselytized Wilson.
"I was in favor of practically everything he had to say except one thing,"
Wilson later recalled of his conversations with Thatcher. "I was not in favor
of
God."
After a couple of days at Towns Hospital, Bill Wilson was past the d.t.'s and
feeling really low. Science could do nothing for him. He now realized that he
couldn't kick the booze by himself. Yet he was unable to believe in the only
power experts knew of to save a drunk.
Then:
"Like a child crying out in the dark, I said, 'If there is a Father, if there
is
a God, will he show himself?' And the place lit up in a great glare, a
wondrous
white light. Then I began to have images, in the mind's eyes, so to speak, and
one came in which I seemed to see myself standing on a mountain and a great
clean wind was blowing, and this blowing at first went around and then it
seemed
to go through me. And then the ecstasy redoubled and I found myself
exclaiming,
'I am a free man! So this is the God of the preachers!' And little by little
the
ecstasy subsided and I found myself in a new world of consciousness."
Wilson never had another drink.
Carry This Message
Brimming with vision and new consciousness, Wilson blew back into the familiar
world as if everything had changed -- not just for him, but for all of
creation.
He bragged that he was going to save every drunk in the world. He went
scavenging for men to preach to, finding them in missions and hospitals and
jails and among his own drinking buddies. Some of his targets thought he
sounded
an awful lot like the Bible-brandishing temperance ladies he had rebelled
against as a young man. He discovered that many alcoholics were "not in favor
of
God" -- God was an authority figure and drunks don't deal well with authority.
"This doesn't work," he despaired to his wife, Lois. She reminded him that he
was keeping at least one drunk sober -- himself.
But within months, even that project was at risk. Having been blinded like
Saul
on the road to Damascus, he now had his sight back and -- as often happens to
the miraculously enlightened -- was discovering little by little that he was
much the same as before.
Tempted while on a business trip in Akron, Ohio, Wilson fought off the bottle
by
cold-calling churches from the hotel directory in search of a drunk to help.
One
call led him to an alcoholic surgeon named Bob Smith. Initially, Smith
objected
to being saved -- this was after one of those sad-but-hilarious tales that
give
a sort of rosy glow to a truly savage disease: Wilson's first scheduled
encounter with Smith was called off after the doctor staggered home blotto
carrying an enormous potted plant for no discernible reason. He deposited the
non sequitur before his bewildered wife, then passed out.
The next day, when they finally met, Wilson answered Smith's reluctance by
saying that he wasn't there for Smith, he was there for Bill Wilson. This was
a
key insight in the development of AA -- the realization that helping another
drunk is key to staying sober oneself. It reflected Wilson's new humility
about
his wondrous white light and great clean wind. Before, he was trying to work
miracles in the lives of others. Now, he was just trying to maintain the
miracle
in his own.
And it worked. After one relapse, Smith, who had been drinking even longer and
harder than Wilson, got sober. Bill W. and Dr. Bob shared the story of their
recoveries with more drunks in this same spirit. Some of those men and women
got
sober themselves, and reached out to still others. And so on, down through the
years and out around the planet to the largely anonymous millions of today,
who
range from celebrities to legislators to schoolteachers to busboys, from a
former first lady to the businessman striding down the sidewalk to the
desperate
soul working on a second sober sunrise. AA is now so widespread and well known
that creators of the children's movie "Finding Nemo" could playfully include a
12-step meeting for fish-addicted sharks, confident that every parent in the
global reach of Disney would get the joke.
It's impossible to know exactly how many people have tried AA, how many stayed
sober, how many attend meetings and how often. The group is not only
anonymous,
it is non-hierarchical, nondenominational, non-centralized, nonpartisan.
According to the Twelve Traditions that govern AA, there is no requirement for
membership except a desire to stop drinking, and the group endorses no cause
apart from that one. All it takes to convene an AA meeting is two alcoholics
who
feel like talking, and the tone of the meetings is as varied as the people who
choose to attend. Group consensus rules in all things, so in any good-size
city
there are smoking meetings and nonsmoking meetings, meetings for early risers
and for night owls, meetings mostly populated by long-timers and meetings more
oriented to the newly sober.
The 12 Steps and decentralized structure have proved so effective and popular
that other groups have copied the template for dealing with other problems:
Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and so forth.
But
AA has never branched out. Getting and staying sober has been labor enough.
Unlike many spiritual visionaries, Wilson came to understand "that when he
heard
the voice of God, it was often just the voice of Bill Wilson," as Cheever puts
it. And so, in the now-famous catechism that he created, AA members are
pledged
simply to turn their will and lives over to "the care of God as we understood
him," with italics right there in the Big Book. Prospective converts are often
assured that they may take as their God the nearest radiator if that's what
works for them. Almighty God with the white beard, or a gentle breeze in the
treetops, or the sublime engineering of a molecule, or the vastness of space,
or
the love of friends, or the power of the AA meeting itself: Choose your own
Infinite.
Whatever works.
In the can-do land of the bottom line, even our spirituality tends to be
results-oriented.
But the language of AA plays provocatively with a simple word: "work." In one
sense, sobriety is something that just happens, much like Wilson's great clean
wind. It is a gift from the Higher Power to the alcoholic. At the same time,
"work" means work, as in tangible, sometimes even grudging, effort. In the
early
days, Bill W. and Dr. Bob would sit in the Smith parlor refining their
drunk-saving techniques, and often Smith's wife, Anne, read aloud from the
Bible. They were partial to the Epistle of James, which reminded them that
"faith without works is dead." AA members speak of "working the steps," and
many
meetings end with the affirmation that "it works if you work it."
This means returning again and again to the state of mind and the exercises
that
constitute the upkeep on each miracle of sobriety. Beginning with the
admission
that they are powerless over alcohol and continuing through labors of
humility,
repentance, meditation and service, AA members maintain the dam that holds
back
the obliterating tide of booze from their lives.
A Friend of Bill W.
Cheever is a forthright woman with a big laugh and no immediately obvious
illusions, a hard-working writer who publishes books like clockwork, pens a
column for Newsday and teaches at Bennington College. She decided to write
about
Wilson because "I loved him. I loved how he changed the world without knowing
it, just as a way to stop drinking himself. I loved his Yankeeness," by which
she seems to mean a range of qualities, from the Emersonian flinty optimism,
to
the unsentimental practicality, to the hovering dark clouds and the weirdo
seances, which she calls his "table-tapping after dark."
No doubt she also loved Wilson for the fact that his miracle, worked and
reworked through the long chain of drunks, touched her own family, late in the
life of her father, the short-story artist John Cheever. Booze was the
lubricant
of Cheever's masterpieces. He was the poet laureate of postwar suburbia, in
which hope, striving, lust and angst were all refracted through the bottom of
a
cocktail glass.
But what was symbol and atmosphere in his stories was toxic in John Cheever's
life, as his daughter explained in her acclaimed memoirs "Home Before Dark,"
and
booze washed into Susan Cheever's life as well. In her book "Note Found in a
Bottle," she recalls learning to mix a martini by the age of 6, and doing
plenty
of drinking as an adult. Susan Cheever now speaks of her father's AA years as
an
amazing gift to the whole family, not a gift of bliss so much as a gift of
simple reality. When a drunk enters the unreal world of his illness, he takes
his family and friends with him.
Her homage to the family benefactor is pro-Wilson but not hagiographic. "I
like
to take saints and make them into people," she explains. She touches the
spiritual bases in her portrait of Wilson, but seems more moved by the
concrete
elements. Over lunch at a Manhattan bistro, she recalls her first visit to
Wilson's boyhood home in East Dorset, Vt., not far from the Bennington campus.
Cheever noticed the low ceiling of the stairway leading to Wilson's room, and
caught a glimpse in her mind's eyes, so to speak, of the gangly boy having to
duck his head each time he passed.
"And I was him," for that moment, she says. "I understood what it was to be a
depressed 10-year-old boy trapped in that house" after his parents had
abandoned
him to his remote and austere grandparents.
It's not easy making a spiritual figure compelling and real without slipping
into iconoclasm. Cheever's approach is to apply a writerly version of Wilson's
humility. She gets the goods on his serial adultery, for instance, but
declines
to make too much of it. "He was engaged to Lois when he was 18 -- hello!"
Cheever says. "They were married 53 years. All we really know is that they
were
friends through an amazing life. He was a good-enough husband."
Likewise, she can look into Wilson's LSD experiment with proto-hippie Aldous
Huxley without getting mired in a puritanical inquisition into whether this
constituted a "slip" in his sobriety or hypocrisy in his creed.
This attitude allows Cheever to see that Wilson's inconsistencies and quirks
weren't blemishes on his record -- they were the essence of a flawed man who
was
endlessly seeking what works. "Again and again, his intuitions were wrong,"
Cheever says. "But he wasn't interested in problems. He was interested in
solutions." Most of the key traditions of AA operations, including its
independence, anonymity and governance-by-consensus, ran counter to Wilson's
personal disposition. "He wanted fame and fortune, but somehow was able to
figure out that AA would have to be a group in which nobody represents it,
nobody speaks for it and nobody's in charge of it."
Sobering Reality
The striking thing about Wilson's story -- which only settles in upon
reflection
-- is how hard his life was even after he sobered up.
What, really, had that bright light and clean wind changed? He and Lois
remained
penniless, even homeless, for years. Sometimes it seemed that AA was
determined
to keep him poor forever. He had a chance to cash in by allying his message
with
a particular hospital, but his fledgling flock forbade him to do it. He
harbored
hope that John D. Rockefeller Jr. would lavish money on him, but instead
Rockefeller came through with a tiny stipend. Alcoholics Anonymous struggled
for
six long and underwhelming years before catching its crucial break: a glowing
article in the Saturday Evening Post.
Then, as the group flourished, Wilson was attacked by jealous colleagues and
abandoned by old friends. He sank into a crushing depression, and "often just
sat for hours with his head on the desk or with his head in his hands,"
Cheever
writes. "When he raised his head, he was sometimes weeping." Wilson liked
children but was childless. Cigarettes were killing him but he couldn't stop
smoking.
He wrote of "being swamped with guilt and self-loathing . . . often getting a
misshapen and painful pleasure out of it."
It was enough to drive a man to drink.
Yet for 36-plus years of this troubled and very human life, he was able to
resist that next drink. Perhaps the most efficacious miracles are the small
ones. And because "his mind was the right lens" and his will was "the right
machine," in Cheever's words, for mass-producing that limited but crucial
victory, Bill Wilson's miracle keeps working, one person and one day at a
time.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson, Cheever says, "He changed the
world
without knowing it, just as a way to stop drinking himself." (Helayne Seidman
For The Washington Post)
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++++Message 1785. . . . . . . . . . . . One Solitary Voice by Jack B...any
info.?
From: wbmscm . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/4/2004 6:43:00 PM
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Does anyone have any information on a gentlemen by the name of Jack
B. who wrote a publication called "One Solitary Voice"?
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++++Message 1786. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: One Page At A Time (2004)
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/6/2004 10:40:00 AM
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I found Cheever's book to be a big disappointment - not based its so-called
"revelations" but from numerous factual errors in the material. Having read
most of the books cited in its bibliography, I don't get the sense Cheever
studied them very thoroughly. The book is acclaimed to be well researched but
I don't get a sense that it measures up to those claims. I'm somewhat tempted
to develop an itemized list of its errors (they are not trivial).
Outside of revealing a letter from Bill that his first drink was a beer (a few
weeks or so before drinking a Bronx cocktail) I didn't see anything that
hadn't appeared elsewhere. In regards to Bill asking for whiskey on his death
bed, the delirious comments of a dying man should not be projected as being
representative of anything other than the delirious comments of a dying man.
Regrettably there are those who persist in wanting to elevate Bill to demigod
status and deprive him of his human fallibility. All things considered,
despite his infidelities, séances, LSD, niacin, smoking himself to death,
etc., etc., Bill's shortcomings do not need to be either rationalized or
vilified. Bill left a priceless legacy of recovery, unity and service that has
saved the lives of countless millions since 1935. That legacy gets obscured by
what seems to be a disturbing and ever-increasing trend these days to churn
out titillating exposés and editorials masquerading as well-researched
biographies.
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Lash, William (Bill)
Sent: Tuesday, May 04, 2004 5:25 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] One Page At A Time (2004)
One Page At a Time
Susan Cheever's Chilling Glimpse of AA's Tormented 'Saint'
By David Von Drehle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 3, 2004; Page C01
During her research for a biography of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill
Wilson, author Susan Cheever dug through the just-opened archives at
Stepping
Stones, Wilson's longtime home outside New York City. Alongside an
archivist,
she sifted reams of material that had not been looked at in decades.
One day, the archivist handed her a sheaf of wide, green-lined pages --
hourly
logs kept by the nurses who tended Wilson on his deathbed.
Cheever glanced at them. They seemed mundane.
"Keep reading," the archivist urged her.
Cheever came to the pages covering Christmas 1970. On the eve of the
holiday,
Bill Wilson passed a fitful night. A lifelong smoker, he had been fighting
emphysema for years, and now he was losing the battle. Nurse James
Dannenberg
was on duty in the last hour before dawn. At 6:10 a.m. on Christmas morning,
according to Dannenberg's notes, the man who sobered up millions "asked for
three shots of whiskey."
He was quite upset when he didn't get them, Cheever writes.
Wilson asked for booze again about a week later, on Jan. 2, 1971.
And on Jan. 8.
And on Jan. 14.
"My blood ran cold," Cheever said recently of the discovery. "I was shocked
and
horrified." With time to ponder, though, she found herself thinking, "Of
course
he wanted a drink. He was the one who talked about sobriety being 'a daily
remission.' I realized that this was a story about the power of alcohol:
that
even Bill Wilson, the man who invented sobriety, who had 30-plus years
sober,
still wanted a drink."
In the Big Book, as AA's foundation text is known, Wilson recalled the time
in
1934 when doctors concluded that he was a hopeless drunk and told his wife
that
there was no cure, apart from the asylum or the grave. "They did not need to
tell me," he added. "I knew, and almost welcomed the idea."
On Jan. 24, 1971, the man known modestly to legions of alcoholics as "Bill
W."
was finally cured.
Powerless Over Alcohol
Cheever's discovery, reported in her book "My Name Is Bill," doesn't really
change what little we know about alcoholism, a cruel, confounding and
mysterious
disease. It doesn't really change what we know about Wilson, a rough-hewn
and
unorthodox American saint sketched by Cheever in all his chain-smoking,
womanizing, Ouija-board-reading, acid-tripping holiness.
But it might change, at least a bit, the way some of us think about miracles
--
the shelf life of miracles, the limited warranty they carry, and how
high-maintenance they are. Miracles come in Bill Wilson's story, but always
with
strings attached. They are a bequest -- but not like an annuity that pays
out
endlessly and effortlessly. More like an old mansion, precious and
beautiful,
but demanding endless, unglamorous upkeep.
The miracle of Wilson's sobriety -- and the birth of AA -- arrived like
something out of the Old Testament. It was 1934, late in the year, when the
doctors had given up on Bill. Booze, which once put its arm around his
shoulder,
now had its jaws around his throat. A smart, handsome, charming man, Wilson
had
become the kind of drunk who could set off one morning to play golf and
awaken a
day later outside his house, unsure how he got there, with his head bleeding
mysteriously and his unused clubs still at his side. "The more he decided
not to
drink," Cheever writes, "the more irresistible drink seemed to become."
So for the third time, Wilson checked himself into a private hospital in New
York that specialized in drying out "rum hounds," as he called himself. He
knew
what to expect: doses of barbiturates, assorted bitter herbs, castor oil and
other purgatives, vomiting, tremors and depression. He also knew it probably
would not work, that just about every hard case like him went back to
drinking
after being discharged.
The prospect was so dismal that Wilson picked up a few bottles of beer for
the
cab ride.
Wilson had a friend named Ebby Thatcher, another alcoholic, who had a friend
named Roland Hazard, yet another drunk, who was wealthy enough to seek help
from
the eminent psychiatrist Carl Jung in Switzerland. When Jung realized how
serious Hazard's drinking problem was, he told his patient that the only
hope
was a religious conversion -- in Jung's experience, nothing else worked. The
American psychologist William James had arrived at a similar conclusion,
declaring in "The Varieties of Religious Experience" that "the only cure for
dipsomania is religiomania."
Well, by God, Hazard got religion and sobered up, for a while. He preached
this
approach to Thatcher, and Thatcher in turn proselytized Wilson.
"I was in favor of practically everything he had to say except one thing,"
Wilson later recalled of his conversations with Thatcher. "I was not in
favor of
God."
After a couple of days at Towns Hospital, Bill Wilson was past the d.t.'s
and
feeling really low. Science could do nothing for him. He now realized that
he
couldn't kick the booze by himself. Yet he was unable to believe in the only
power experts knew of to save a drunk.
Then:
"Like a child crying out in the dark, I said, 'If there is a Father, if
there is
a God, will he show himself?' And the place lit up in a great glare, a
wondrous
white light. Then I began to have images, in the mind's eyes, so to speak,
and
one came in which I seemed to see myself standing on a mountain and a great
clean wind was blowing, and this blowing at first went around and then it
seemed
to go through me. And then the ecstasy redoubled and I found myself
exclaiming,
'I am a free man! So this is the God of the preachers!' And little by little
the
ecstasy subsided and I found myself in a new world of consciousness."
Wilson never had another drink.
Carry This Message
Brimming with vision and new consciousness, Wilson blew back into the
familiar
world as if everything had changed -- not just for him, but for all of
creation.
He bragged that he was going to save every drunk in the world. He went
scavenging for men to preach to, finding them in missions and hospitals and
jails and among his own drinking buddies. Some of his targets thought he
sounded
an awful lot like the Bible-brandishing temperance ladies he had rebelled
against as a young man. He discovered that many alcoholics were "not in
favor of
God" -- God was an authority figure and drunks don't deal well with
authority.
"This doesn't work," he despaired to his wife, Lois. She reminded him that
he
was keeping at least one drunk sober -- himself.
But within months, even that project was at risk. Having been blinded like
Saul
on the road to Damascus, he now had his sight back and -- as often happens
to
the miraculously enlightened -- was discovering little by little that he was
much the same as before.
Tempted while on a business trip in Akron, Ohio, Wilson fought off the
bottle by
cold-calling churches from the hotel directory in search of a drunk to help.
One
call led him to an alcoholic surgeon named Bob Smith. Initially, Smith
objected
to being saved -- this was after one of those sad-but-hilarious tales that
give
a sort of rosy glow to a truly savage disease: Wilson's first scheduled
encounter with Smith was called off after the doctor staggered home blotto
carrying an enormous potted plant for no discernible reason. He deposited
the
non sequitur before his bewildered wife, then passed out.
The next day, when they finally met, Wilson answered Smith's reluctance by
saying that he wasn't there for Smith, he was there for Bill Wilson. This
was a
key insight in the development of AA -- the realization that helping another
drunk is key to staying sober oneself. It reflected Wilson's new humility
about
his wondrous white light and great clean wind. Before, he was trying to work
miracles in the lives of others. Now, he was just trying to maintain the
miracle
in his own.
And it worked. After one relapse, Smith, who had been drinking even longer
and
harder than Wilson, got sober. Bill W. and Dr. Bob shared the story of their
recoveries with more drunks in this same spirit. Some of those men and women
got
sober themselves, and reached out to still others. And so on, down through
the
years and out around the planet to the largely anonymous millions of today,
who
range from celebrities to legislators to schoolteachers to busboys, from a
former first lady to the businessman striding down the sidewalk to the
desperate
soul working on a second sober sunrise. AA is now so widespread and well
known
that creators of the children's movie "Finding Nemo" could playfully include
a
12-step meeting for fish-addicted sharks, confident that every parent in the
global reach of Disney would get the joke.
It's impossible to know exactly how many people have tried AA, how many
stayed
sober, how many attend meetings and how often. The group is not only
anonymous,
it is non-hierarchical, nondenominational, non-centralized, nonpartisan.
According to the Twelve Traditions that govern AA, there is no requirement
for
membership except a desire to stop drinking, and the group endorses no cause
apart from that one. All it takes to convene an AA meeting is two alcoholics
who
feel like talking, and the tone of the meetings is as varied as the people
who
choose to attend. Group consensus rules in all things, so in any good-size
city
there are smoking meetings and nonsmoking meetings, meetings for early
risers
and for night owls, meetings mostly populated by long-timers and meetings
more
oriented to the newly sober.
The 12 Steps and decentralized structure have proved so effective and
popular
that other groups have copied the template for dealing with other problems:
Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous and so forth.
But
AA has never branched out. Getting and staying sober has been labor enough.
Unlike many spiritual visionaries, Wilson came to understand "that when he
heard
the voice of God, it was often just the voice of Bill Wilson," as Cheever
puts
it. And so, in the now-famous catechism that he created, AA members are
pledged
simply to turn their will and lives over to "the care of God as we
understood
him," with italics right there in the Big Book. Prospective converts are
often
assured that they may take as their God the nearest radiator if that's what
works for them. Almighty God with the white beard, or a gentle breeze in the
treetops, or the sublime engineering of a molecule, or the vastness of
space, or
the love of friends, or the power of the AA meeting itself: Choose your own
Infinite.
Whatever works.
In the can-do land of the bottom line, even our spirituality tends to be
results-oriented.
But the language of AA plays provocatively with a simple word: "work." In
one
sense, sobriety is something that just happens, much like Wilson's great
clean
wind. It is a gift from the Higher Power to the alcoholic. At the same time,
"work" means work, as in tangible, sometimes even grudging, effort. In the
early
days, Bill W. and Dr. Bob would sit in the Smith parlor refining their
drunk-saving techniques, and often Smith's wife, Anne, read aloud from the
Bible. They were partial to the Epistle of James, which reminded them that
"faith without works is dead." AA members speak of "working the steps," and
many
meetings end with the affirmation that "it works if you work it."
This means returning again and again to the state of mind and the exercises
that
constitute the upkeep on each miracle of sobriety. Beginning with the
admission
that they are powerless over alcohol and continuing through labors of
humility,
repentance, meditation and service, AA members maintain the dam that holds
back
the obliterating tide of booze from their lives.
A Friend of Bill W.
Cheever is a forthright woman with a big laugh and no immediately obvious
illusions, a hard-working writer who publishes books like clockwork, pens a
column for Newsday and teaches at Bennington College. She decided to write
about
Wilson because "I loved him. I loved how he changed the world without
knowing
it, just as a way to stop drinking himself. I loved his Yankeeness," by
which
she seems to mean a range of qualities, from the Emersonian flinty optimism,
to
the unsentimental practicality, to the hovering dark clouds and the weirdo
seances, which she calls his "table-tapping after dark."
No doubt she also loved Wilson for the fact that his miracle, worked and
reworked through the long chain of drunks, touched her own family, late in
the
life of her father, the short-story artist John Cheever. Booze was the
lubricant
of Cheever's masterpieces. He was the poet laureate of postwar suburbia, in
which hope, striving, lust and angst were all refracted through the bottom
of a
cocktail glass.
But what was symbol and atmosphere in his stories was toxic in John
Cheever's
life, as his daughter explained in her acclaimed memoirs "Home Before Dark,"
and
booze washed into Susan Cheever's life as well. In her book "Note Found in a
Bottle," she recalls learning to mix a martini by the age of 6, and doing
plenty
of drinking as an adult. Susan Cheever now speaks of her father's AA years
as an
amazing gift to the whole family, not a gift of bliss so much as a gift of
simple reality. When a drunk enters the unreal world of his illness, he
takes
his family and friends with him.
Her homage to the family benefactor is pro-Wilson but not hagiographic. "I
like
to take saints and make them into people," she explains. She touches the
spiritual bases in her portrait of Wilson, but seems more moved by the
concrete
elements. Over lunch at a Manhattan bistro, she recalls her first visit to
Wilson's boyhood home in East Dorset, Vt., not far from the Bennington
campus.
Cheever noticed the low ceiling of the stairway leading to Wilson's room,
and
caught a glimpse in her mind's eyes, so to speak, of the gangly boy having
to
duck his head each time he passed.
"And I was him," for that moment, she says. "I understood what it was to be
a
depressed 10-year-old boy trapped in that house" after his parents had
abandoned
him to his remote and austere grandparents.
It's not easy making a spiritual figure compelling and real without slipping
into iconoclasm. Cheever's approach is to apply a writerly version of
Wilson's
humility. She gets the goods on his serial adultery, for instance, but
declines
to make too much of it. "He was engaged to Lois when he was 18 -- hello!"
Cheever says. "They were married 53 years. All we really know is that they
were
friends through an amazing life. He was a good-enough husband."
Likewise, she can look into Wilson's LSD experiment with proto-hippie Aldous
Huxley without getting mired in a puritanical inquisition into whether this
constituted a "slip" in his sobriety or hypocrisy in his creed.
This attitude allows Cheever to see that Wilson's inconsistencies and quirks
weren't blemishes on his record -- they were the essence of a flawed man who
was
endlessly seeking what works. "Again and again, his intuitions were wrong,"
Cheever says. "But he wasn't interested in problems. He was interested in
solutions." Most of the key traditions of AA operations, including its
independence, anonymity and governance-by-consensus, ran counter to Wilson's
personal disposition. "He wanted fame and fortune, but somehow was able to
figure out that AA would have to be a group in which nobody represents it,
nobody speaks for it and nobody's in charge of it."
Sobering Reality
The striking thing about Wilson's story -- which only settles in upon
reflection
-- is how hard his life was even after he sobered up.
What, really, had that bright light and clean wind changed? He and Lois
remained
penniless, even homeless, for years. Sometimes it seemed that AA was
determined
to keep him poor forever. He had a chance to cash in by allying his message
with
a particular hospital, but his fledgling flock forbade him to do it. He
harbored
hope that John D. Rockefeller Jr. would lavish money on him, but instead
Rockefeller came through with a tiny stipend. Alcoholics Anonymous struggled
for
six long and underwhelming years before catching its crucial break: a
glowing
article in the Saturday Evening Post.
Then, as the group flourished, Wilson was attacked by jealous colleagues and
abandoned by old friends. He sank into a crushing depression, and "often
just
sat for hours with his head on the desk or with his head in his hands,"
Cheever
writes. "When he raised his head, he was sometimes weeping." Wilson liked
children but was childless. Cigarettes were killing him but he couldn't stop
smoking.
He wrote of "being swamped with guilt and self-loathing . . . often getting
a
misshapen and painful pleasure out of it."
It was enough to drive a man to drink.
Yet for 36-plus years of this troubled and very human life, he was able to
resist that next drink. Perhaps the most efficacious miracles are the small
ones. And because "his mind was the right lens" and his will was "the right
machine," in Cheever's words, for mass-producing that limited but crucial
victory, Bill Wilson's miracle keeps working, one person and one day at a
time.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
Of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson, Cheever says, "He changed the
world
without knowing it, just as a way to stop drinking himself." (Helayne
Seidman
For The Washington Post)
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++++Message 1788. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: One Solitary Voice by Jack B...any
info.?
From: Jim K. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/6/2004 7:25:00 AM
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Jack B got sober in 1942 in the southern Westchester county area
just north of New York City. Before relocating to Perth, Australia
in the late 1970s, he was associated with "The Cops and Robbers" of
Westchester AA [oldtimers from the era of 1950-80 in Westchester]
and notably at the Sobriety Unlimited Group on Gramatan Avenue in
Mt. Vernon, NY. As an aside: this group keeps a fully decorated
Christmas tree in the meeting room 365 days per year. Sobriety is
like Christmas everyday! It never stops giving!
Jack was well known for his emphasis on the physical aspects of our
disease which is chronicled in his pamphlet published in 1968 - "One
Solitary Voice". He used to go to area meetings with a contraption
known as "The Monster". Roughly it was a representation of the body,
it's organs, and the physical interrelations between the alcohol
intake in an alcoholic and the effect it has on the brain and body
of an alcoholic.
Jack passed in the mid 1980's if I recall correctly. He was a good
friend of my mom's [Margette Grandy/Hartzell (deceased) of Maryknoll
Group] and of Jim B. of Lincolndale.
I still have photocopies of "One Solitary Voice", [someone made off
with the original sometime ago] which I pass on to newcomers as it
helps to explain the physical dimension of alcoholism which isn't
discussed in many meetings these days.
Glenn K. Audiotapes of Long Island has a recording of Jack at the
Blackstone Retreat.
Jim K.
The Into Action Group
Manhattan, NY
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "wbmscm"
wrote:
> Does anyone have any information on a gentlemen by the name of
Jack
> B. who wrote a publication called "One Solitary Voice"?
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++++Message 1801. . . . . . . . . . . . Chip system, etc. -- Compilation
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/12/2004 4:37:00 PM
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This is a compilation of previous posts which have been deleted.
Nancy
From: "pete_geilich"
Date: Thu May 6, 2004 3:00 pm
Subject: Chip System
How did this system come about, and is it practiced world wide?
From: Ken Ring
Date: Sat May 8, 2004 8:28 pm
Subject: Re: Chip System
I don't claim that I have authenticated all of the statements
included in the following, but it has been accepted locally for
quite some time. From our archives collection.
MEDALLIONS
In 1965, a Wendell's employee, "Bill," joined AA. Bill gave
numerous talks at Mission Farms and detention centers in
Minneapolis and surrounding areas. He began handing out bronze
medallions with the Serenity Prayer on one side and two large
A's on the reverse. Everyone wanted a medallion!
Bill then got the idea that all AA members should have a
medallion to carry in their pocket or purse, to constantly
remind them of their hard won sobrietyĹ but the medallions
should be just for that person-so, somehow it has to say how
long he/she has been soberĹ it had to be easily distinguished
from pocket change, thus, the raised center medallion was born.
The first versions of the medallion were actually two pieces-the
medallion was struck, then the center was soldered on. This
worked, but the medallions began to sell in such great numbers,
Wendells couldn't keep up with the demand. At that time, coining
dies were made and they used insert dies in the center with the
Roman numeral engraved and when the medallion was struck, it
gave them a one-piece medallion that could be made in one
operation.
The raised center medallion was introduced in November of 1973
at the Founders Group weekend at the Leamington Hotel in
Minneapolis. The response was outstanding. A mailing went out to
all the Intergroups and Central Offices in the United States and
Canada. Wendell's has had to make various changes in the
medallion at the request of AA World Services (they deleted the
two A's). Without a doubt, the raised center medallion has been
used by more recovering people than any one item, aside from the
Big Book, used in recovery, and it all came to be because of one
member who recognized the need for "reassurance" and was
fortunate enough to be employed by a coining mint.
In many parts of the country, or the world for that matter, have
their own traditional ways of recognizing sobriety birthdays.
Some offer "pins" to be worn on the lapels of jackets (remember
them)?
Others simply have a cake, much like a real birthday
celebration, to be shared in the group. And there are certainly
combinations of all of these and further adornments that show
the support of family, group and fellowship.
In some locales, recognition is in increments of months, years
or sets of years-every five years-in others it is much more
personal and not brought before the group at all and between
sponsor and sponsee.
Ken Ring, Dist. 18 Archives Committee Chair
Archivist/Historian Alano Society of Minneapolis, Inc. "2218"
From: "Robert Stonebraker"
Date: Sun May 9, 2004 1:15 am
Subject: RE: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Chip System
Could someone please give me the history of celebration
of sobriety. I have not been able to find this in the
BB.
Here is a post on this subject I saved for history
Lovers:
Chips, Medallions and Birthdays
The traditions of chips, medallions and birthdays vary
in different parts of the country and I thought it
would be interesting to look up some of the history on
them.
Sister lgnatia, the nun who helped Dr. Bob get the
hospitalization program started at St. Thomas Hospital
in Akron was the first person to use medallions in
AlcoholicsAnonymous. She gave the drunks who were
leaving St. Thomas after a five day dry out a Sacred
Heart Medallion and instructed them that the acceptance
of the medallion signified a commitment to God, to A.A.
and to recovery and that if they were going to drink,
they had a responsibility to return the medallion to
her before drinking.
The sacred heart badges had been used prior to A.A. by
the Father Matthew Temperance Movement of the 1840s and
the Pioneers an Irish Temperance Movement of the 1890s.
The practice of sobriety chips in A.A. started with a
Group in Elmira, N.Y. in 1947 and has grown from there.
The celebration of birthdays came from the Oxford Group
where they celebrated the anniversary of their
spiritual rebirth. As we have a problem with honesty,
A.A. chose the anniversary of the date of our last
drink.
Early celebrations of birthdays resulted in people
getting drunk and Dr. Harry Tiebout was asked to look
at the problem and he commented on this phenomenon in
an articled titled "When the Big "I" Becomes Nobody",
(AAGV, Sept. 65)
"Early on in A.A., I was consulted about a serious
problem plaguing the local group. The practice of
celebrating a year’s sobriety with a birthday cake
had resulted in a certain number of the members getting
drunk within a short period after the celebration. It
seemed apparent that some could not stand prosperity. I
was asked to settle between birthday cakes or no
birthday cakes. Characteristically, I begged off, not
from shyness but from ignorance. Some three or four
years later, A.A. furnished me the answer. The group no
longer had such a problem because, as one member said,
"We celebrate still, but a year’s sobriety is now a
dime a dozen. No one gets much of a kick out of that
anymore."
The AAGV carried many articles on chips and cakes and
the following is a brief summary of some.
Feb. 1948, Why All the Congratulations? "When we start
taking bows (even on anniversaries) we bow ourselves
right into the cuspidor."
July, 1948. Group To Give Oscar for Anniversaries.
The Larchmont Group of Larchmont, N.Y. gives a cast
bronze camel mounted on a mahogany base to celebrate
1st., 5th and 10th anniversaries.
"The camel is wholly emblematic of the purposes of most
sincere A.A.s, i.e., to live for 24 hours without a
drink."
August 1948. The Artesta, N.Mex. Group awards marbles
to all members. If you are caught without your marbles,
you are fined 25 cents. This money goes into the
Foundation Fund.
June 1953, We operate a poker chip club in the Portland
Group (Maine). We have poker chips of nine colors of
which the white represents the probation period of one
month. If he keeps his white chip for one month he is
presented with a red chip for one month's sobriety.
The chips continue with blue for two months, black for
three, green for four, transparent blue for five, amber
for six, transparent purple for nine months and a
transparent clear chip for one year. We have our chips
stamped with gold A.A. letters.
Also at the end of the year and each year thereafter,
we present them with a group birthday card signed by
all members present at the meeting.
January 1955, Charlotte, N.C. "When a man takes "The
Long Walk" at the end of a meeting, to pick up a white
chip, he is admitting to his fellow men that he has
finally accepted the precepts of A.A. and is beginning
his sobriety. At the end of three months he exchanges
his white chip for a red one. Later, a handsome,
translucent chip of amber indicates that this new
member has enjoyed six months of a new way of life. The
nine month chip is a clear seagreen and a blue chip is
given for the first year of sobriety. In some groups a
sponsor will present his friend with an engraved silver
chip, at the end of five years clear thinking and clean
living.
March 1956, The One Ton Poker Chip. Alton, Illinois.
Author gave friend a chip on his first day eight years
ago (1948) and told him to accept it in the spirit of
group membership and that if he wanted to drink to
throw the chip away before starting drinking.
October 1956, Bangor Washington. Article about a woman
who sits in a bar to drink the bartender sees her white
chips and asks what it is. She tells him. He throws her
out as he does not want an alcoholic in his bar. She
calls friend.
April 1957, Cape Cod, Mass. Group recognizes 1st, 5th
and 15th anniversaries. Person celebrating leads
meeting. Person is presented with a set of wooden
carved plaques with the slogans.
July 1957, New Brunswick, Canada. Birthday Board.
Member contributes one dollar for each year of sobriety
July 1957, Oregon. Person is asked to speak and is
introduced by his or her sponsor. The wife, mother,
sister or other relative brings up a cake. The Group
sings Happy Birthday. The wife gives a two or three
minute talk.
April 1959, Patterson, N.J. People are asked to give
"three month pin talks."
And that's a little bit of info on chips, cakes and
medallions.
From: "Robert Stonebraker"
Date: Sun May 9, 2004 1:33 am
Subject: RE: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Chip System
In 1975, when I first came to AA in the Los
Angeles area of Southern California, this was
the custom:
· No beginner's chip was given, but you had to
hold up your hand if you had less than 30 days
sober.
· Then embossed poker chips on chains were
given: White for 30 days, Red for 3 months, Blue
for 6 months, and Yellow for 9 months. They had
“God grant me the serenity” stamped on the
back.
· It was the custom to carry all these
accumulated tokens till you got one year.
· No tokens were given for number of years, but
there was always a birthday cake and singing of
“Happy Birthday.” Followed by singing
“Keep coming back.” Then the candles were
blown out.
· This custom was still in effect at some of
the meetings I attended out there last year.
Bob S., now from Indiana
From: "Kimball Rowe"
Date: Sat May 8, 2004 7:52 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Chip System
The "chip" system used in Germany consisted
of poker chips and pie pans (originally).
They used poker chips with 5 colors, white,
green, red, yellow and blue. They were given
for beginners, 2 months, 3 months, and 6
months. There was no 9 month chip, and there
was no 18 month chip. Metal chips started at
one year.
SURRENDER - The white chip was called the
surrender chip since the international color
for surrender is white. It was given to all
new comers (1-30 days). It is said that if
you chose not to surrender, then the white
could stand for the color of the sheet that
they cover you dead body with.
GO - The green chip was called the "GO" chip
since green is the international color for
go. It was given at 30 days and implied that
the owner should GO to more meeting, GO get
a big book, GO read your big book, GO take a
step, GO get into service, GO get into
action, etc. It is said that if you don't
take these simple suggestions that green
could also symbolize the color of your liver
as they perform the autopsy.
STOP - The red chip was called the "STOP"
chip since red is the international color
for stop. It was given at two months and
meant for us to STOP our stinking thinking,
to STOP using our character defects, STOP
taking others inventory, STOP ducking
responsibility, etc. It is said that if you
persisted in your old ways, then perhaps red
could be the color of your windshield as you
are ejected from the car in an alcohol
related car accident.
CAUTION - The yellow chip was called the
"CAUTION" chip since yellow is the
international color for caution. It was
given at three months because at three
months a member knows just enough about
sobriety to be dangerous, so CAUTION is the
watch word. It is said that if you do not
practice caution during this time that the
color yellow could reflect the color of your
eyes as jaundice sets in.
SERENITY - The blue chip was called the
"SERENITY" chip, as it resembles the color
of the a peaceful sky. It was given at six
months. It is said that if you don't do what
it takes to achieve serenity that the color
blue could refer to the emotional state of
your loved ones as you disappear into an
alcoholic oblivion.
After the plastic chips, a disc of aluminum
was cut our of an aluminum pie pan and the
number of your sobriety year was stamped
onto the soft aluminum. The aluminum chips
have since been replaced by "store-bought"
metal chips with anniversary years on them.
Kim R.
From: "Gerry Silver"
Date: Sun May 9, 2004 9:37 am
Subject: Fw: Chip System
I read with interest the comments of Ed Ring
re Medallions, and that they first surfaced
in the Minneapolis area in 1965.
In the early 1950's a Group in Brandon,
Manitoba, Canada began using copper chips to
recognize years of sobriety. They were
almost as large as a large penny (for those
who remember what a large penny looked
like), they were blank and then stamped with
the members initials and the number of years
of sobriety. A number of these early chips
are
hanging on the wall of the Wheat City Group
in Brandon today.
In the mid 1950's, groups in Winnipeg,
Manitoba began to use a heavy copper oval
medallion about 1½" x 1". There was a
raised AA on one side, and the flat reverse
was used to engrave the members' name (with
last initial), dry date, and group name.
This type of medallion soon became widely
used in Western Canada.
I still have my first medallion from 1959,
although can't find it this minute.
Gerry Silver
From: "wilfried antheunis"
Date: Sun May 9, 2004 3:37 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Fw: Chip System
[69]
From:.The History of A.A. in Ontario:
The medallion as we know It today was thought
of and designed by Tom G. the acting manager
of our A.A. Toronto Office in April 1946.
Little could he have known that his simple
idea would come to mean so much to so many In
such a short time.
From: "Jim K."
Date: Mon May 10, 2004 12:46 pm
Subject: Re: Fw: Chip System
In a twist on the chip system Long Islanders
once had the following tradition:
When there was still smoking in meetings on
Long Island, and in particular in Suffolk
County, people were issued lighters at their
first anniversary. A Zippo with your
sobriety date and your name and a single
star. With each subsequent year a new star
was added. Some would also bear a slogan of
the member's choice.
Non-smokers, few indeed back in the 70's and
80's, were given a
medallion.
Then the meetings went non-smoking, as
did I.
Jim K
The Into Action Group
Manhattan, NY
And I would add to the above, that I was
told in New
York in 1965 -- where we then did not have
chips, only a cake on the first anniversary
-- that some sponsors
gave a marble to their sponsees, telling the
sponsee to carry it in his pocket and throw
it away if he decided to take a drink. "Then
you will have lost
all your marbles."
Nancy
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++++Message 1802. . . . . . . . . . . . Principles Meditation Card
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/13/2004 2:27:00 AM
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The following is a compilation of previous posts. No
further posts on this subject will be approved.
Nancy
From: "David G."
Date: Sun May 9, 2004 9:40 pm
Subject: Principles Meditation Card
[72]
Good Day All,
While attending an AA Area function, I purchased a
meditation card, from a vendor, which listed "The
Principles of the Program."
Step One-Honest
Step Two-Hope
Step Three-Faith
Step Four-Courage
Step Five-Integrity
Step Six-Willingness
Step Seven-Humility
Step Eight-Brotherly Love
Step Nine-Justice
Step Ten-Perseverance
Step Eleven-Spiritual awareness
Step Twelve-Service
I've seen these around for years and usually buy some
to just pass along.
Does anyone know where and/or when these originated?
Thanks, Respectfully,
David G.
Illinois-USA
From: "Kimball Rowe"
Date: Mon May 10, 2004 8:28 am
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Principles Meditation
Card
I have a card like that, that has the principles on one
side and the gifts on the other. The gifts were
received as the result of taking the step.
The Gifts
Step 1 - Willingness - As willing to listen as a dying
man can be.
Step 2 - Open-Mindedness - All you really need is a
truly open mind.
Step 3 - Honesty - Turning our will and lives over to
the care of God, we lose our reason to lie.
Step 4 - Truth - The truth we must now share with our
God and another human being.
Step 5 - Humility - We gained a genuine humility, a
recognition of who and what we are, followed by a
sincere attempt to become what we could be.
Step - 6 - Spiritual Growth - We begin to grow in the
image and likeness of our Creator.
Step 7 - Unselfishness - We stand ready to make amends
and serve others.
Step 8 - Forgiveness - Forgiveness of others makes step
nine possible.
Step 9 - Freedom - Freedom of others, of our past and
of ourselves. Free to seek God in the steps that
follow.
Step 10 - Sanity - We will react normally, even where
alcohol is concerned.
Step 11 - Strength - Sufficient strength to help
others.
Step 12 - Recovery.
If anyone knows where the gifts come from that would be
appreciated too!
From: "J. Lobdell"
Date: Mon May 10, 2004 9:21 am
Subject: RE: [AAHistoryLovers] Principles Meditation
Card
[75]
They originated with a Texas Intergroup sometime around
1951, I think -- there's a copy of the original
Intergroup sheet/flyer/whatever in the Archives in NYC.
They are not GSO literature, and as they date from the
time when the Conference had been established, they are
at most local AA literature. So far as I know "practice
these principles" in Step 12 is intended to refer to
the Steps. -- Jared Lobdell
From: "wilfried antheunis"
Date: Mon May 10, 2004 11:19 am
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Principles Meditation
Card
They have been around forever plus a day. The
principles vary from various to other cards. A list I
have dated February 2000 has the following variances;
8. Self-discipline
9. Love
The Big Book uses the word Principle 36 times.
USE OF THE WORD PRINCIPLE IN THE BIG BOOK
Here are the 36 instances of "principle" in the Big
Book.
1 & 2) As we discovered the principles by which the
individual alcoholic could live, so we had to evolve
principles by which the A.A. groups and A.A. as a whole
could survive and function effectively. [Big Book, page
xix, lines 8 & 9]
3) Though none of these principles had the force of
rules or laws, they had become so widely accepted by
1950 that they were confirmed by our first
International Conference held at Cleveland. [Big Book,
page xix, line 27]
4) The basic principles of the A.A. program, it
appears, hold good for individuals with many different
life-styles, just as the program has brought recovery
to those of many different nationalities. [Big Book,
page xxii, line 13]
5) My friend had emphasized the absolute necessity of
demonstrating these principles in all my affairs. [Big
Book, page 14, line 29]
6) We feel elimination of our drinking is but a
beginning. A much more important demonstration of our
principles lies before us in our respective homes,
occupations and affairs. [Big Book, page 19, line 7]
7) Quite as important was the discovery that spiritual
principles would solve all my problems. [Big Book, page
42, line 32]
8) That was great news to us, for we had assumed we
could not make use of spiritual principles unless we
accepted many things on faith which seemed difficult to
believe. [Big Book, page 47, line 23]
9) 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result
of these steps, we tried to carry this message to
alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs. [Big Book, page 60, line 3]
10) No one among us has been able to maintain anything
like perfect adherence to these principles. [Big Book,
page 60, line 8]
11) The principles we have set down are guides to
progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than
spiritual perfection. [Big Book, page 60, line 9]
12) We listed people, institutions or principles with
whom we were angry. We asked ourselves why we were
angry. [Big Book, page 64, line 30]
13) Although these reparations take innumerable forms,
there are some general principles which we find
guiding. [Big Book, page 79, line 6]
14) Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon
spiritual principles we think we ought not to urge
them. [Big Book, page 83, line 13]
15) If not members of religious bodies, we sometimes
select and memorize a few set prayers which emphasize
the principles we have been discussing. [Big Book, page
87, line 26]
16) The main thing is that he be willing to believe in
a Power greater than himself and that he live by
spiritual principles. [Big Book, page 93, line 10]
17) When dealing with such a person, you had better use
everyday language to describe spiritual principles.
[Big Book, page 93, line 12]
18) We are dealing only with general principles common
to most denominations. [Big Book, page 93, line 12]
19) Should they accept and practice spiritual
principles, there is a much better chance that the head
of the family will recover. [Big Book, page 97, line
29]
20 & 21) When your prospect has made such reparation as
he can to his family, and has thoroughly explained to
them the new principles by which he is living, he
should proceed to put those principles into action at
home. [Big Book, page 98, lines 26 & 28]
22) The first principle of success is that you should
never be angry. [Big Book, page 111, line 1]
23) If you act upon these principles, your husband may
stop or moderate. [Big Book, page 112, line 20]
24) The same principles which apply to husband number
one should be practiced. [Big Book, page 112, line 22
25) Your new courage, good nature and lack of
self-consciousness will do wonders for you socially.
The same principle applies in dealing with the
children. [Big Book, page 115, line 20]
26) Now we try to put spiritual principles to work in
every department of our lives. [Big Book, page 116,
line 30]
27) Though it is entirely separate from Alcoholics
Anonymous, it uses the general principles of the A.A.
program as a guide for husbands, wives, relatives,
friends, and others close to alcoholics. [Big Book,
page 121, footnote line 3]
28) Another principle we observe carefully is that we
do not relate intimate experiences of another person
unless we are sure he would approve. [Big Book, page
125, line 18]
29) Giving, rather than getting, will become the
guiding principle. [Big Book, page 128, line 2]
30) Whether the family has spiritual convictions or
not, they may do well to examine the principles by
which the alcoholic member is trying to live. [Big
Book, page 130, line 21]
31) They can hardly fail to approve these simple
principles, though the head of the house still fails
somewhat in practicing them. [Big Book, page 130, line
23]
32) Without much ado, he accepted the principles and
procedure that had helped us. [Big Book, page 139, line
5]
33) The use of spiritual principles in such cases was
not so well understood as it is now. [Big Book, page
156, line 33]
34) Twelve - Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of
all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place
principles before personalities. [Big Book, Appendix I,
page 564, line 32]
35) & 36) There is a principle which is a bar against
all information, which is proof against all arguments
and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting
ignorance -- that principle is contempt prior to
investigation. HERBERT SPENCER [Big Book, Appendix II,
page 570, lines 16 & 19]
[Note: These page numbers are from the 3rd edition, not
the 4th. Nancy]
From: "Arthur Sheehan"
Date: Tue May 11, 2004 12:25 pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Principles
Meditation Card
Hi
In comparing the so-called "principles" and
"gifts" cards, it seems fairly self-evident that
both represent little more than the creative
exercises of individual imagination. Also, the
imagination can go in many well-intended, but
far different, directions. It is easy to go from
"keep it simple" into a realm that can be just a
bit too simplistic.
It's also interesting to note that the
"principles" card was purchased from a "vendor"
yet is being associated with an "AA function."
I'd sure like to see the members who put
together so-called "AA functions" eliminate the
participation of those who sell tapes, trinkets
and t-shirts. Words printed on a card, and sold
by a vendor, are not endowed with any special or
extra insight, authority, validity, accuracy or
historical relevance. The so-called "principles"
and "gifts" cards, do little more than denote
the semantic preferences of the those who did
the word association.
I've seen a number of variations on this theme
(in the form of cards, wall charts, etc.) trying
to reduce the Steps to single words and
asserting that the word represents the
"principle" embodied in the Step. I just don't
see how this rises to the level of an adequate
description.
Much can be gained, and gleaned, from the Steps
(and Traditions and Concepts) both in
understanding and results, when each of them is
viewed as a whole instructive sentence. Each
whole instructive sentence can then be viewed as
a "principle" (i.e. a rule of personal conduct)
that we try to practice in all our affairs as a
means of developing a spiritual condition that
offers a daily reprieve from alcohol. The
resultant God-given gift is something called
"sobriety" (freedom from alcohol).
I'm always amazed at the energy that goes into
reading things into AA's spiritual principles
with perhaps far too much emphasis on cleverness
than clarity. It is often done at the expense of
missing what is written there in rather plain
language. One of our principal principles (rule
#62) is to try to carry a message - not
creatively modify it.
Arthur
From: "Dick" [78]
Date: Wed May 12, 2004 6:41pm
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Principles
Meditation Card
Thank you, Arthur. I wish I could have said it so
eloquently.
Whenever I hear the "principles debate", I think of
page 15, the
Forward to Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (Third
paragraph):
"A.A.'s Twelve Steps are a group of principles,
spiritual in
their nature, which, if practiced as a way of life, can
expel the
obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become
happily and usefully whole."
Bill Wilson clearly intended this to be a "Program of
Action".
Practicing these principles with these goals in mind
seems much more important to me than playing word
games.
Dick Spaedt
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++++Message 1806. . . . . . . . . . . . What Causes A Man to Slip? (1948)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2004 5:43:00 AM
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Aug. 1948 AA Grapevine
What Causes A Man to Slip? The Program?
From Ponca, Neb.
What is there about a man that causes him to slip? Why, having once accepted
something which he so desperately wanted and needed, does he suddenly get
drunk? Surely there can be nothing wrong with the Program. It has been
effective in too many cases to lay the blame on it; it even proved effective
for the slipper for a good period of time. It can and will prove effective for
him again if he chooses to use it. If the fault does not lie within the
Program then it must be that the fault lies within the man himself. Either he
never actually accepted the Program in the first place, or else he accepted it
with reservations.
Too Much Attention
But perhaps, and most likely, he gradually lost sight of the A.A. Program in
favor of some other related activities and thus just as gradually began
re-inflating an ego that had once been satisfactorily deflated.
Perhaps he began paying too much attention to the related activities that have
somehow become attached to A.A. The result being that he began attaching more
and more importance to these related activities and his relation to them and
less and less importance to the real A.A. Program. Perhaps he began to believe
that these activities were the Program.
Over-emphasis
Thus the over-emphasis on the attached but basically unrelated activities
tended to obscure in his mind his continuing need for the basic A.A. Program.
He began to drop his own A.A. in favor of conventionitis and banquetitis to
such an extent that what was once recognized as a desperate need gradually
came to be considered as no need at all. His ego and self-sufficiency began to
build itself up again.
From a program of personal salvation the shift was to a program of personal
glorification. Instead of worrying about the problem of alcohol, he began
worrying about making his speeches click. In-stead of seeking help, he began
to seek applause. Pride began to replace humility. He began to lose his
salvation because he forgot that he needed it. He no longer needed to be saved
because he was saved already. He could now turn his attention to things more
important than the search for God.
God Not Important
God was not so important anymore because he had become important in him-self.
His prayer was no longer "Thy will be done,"' but "My will be done." The
poisonous vapors of self-concern began to cloud his vision. The reliance upon
God was over for he had become a self-sufficient alcoholic again, concerned
about his own importance and welfare. Then lo and behold--he slipped.
In view of these slips it seems essential that we continue to re-examine
ourselves as alcoholics and our relationship as alcoholics to the A.A. Program
as our way of life. - L.T.C.
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++++Message 1807. . . . . . . . . . . . Rowland Hazard
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/15/2004 3:04:00 AM
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THE ROUNDTABLE OF AA HISTORY
April 12, 1998
**************
Rowland Hazard (1881-1945)
**************************
[This is being reposted as the original post became garbled. Nancy]
Rowland Hazard was the sober alcoholic who brought the spiritual message of
The Oxford Group to Ebby Thacher. Thacher carried the message to Bill Wilson.
Wilson then based much of the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous on Oxford
Group principles. The rest is history; millions have recovered from
alcoholism.
Hazard was born October 29, 1881, into a prominent, enormously wealthy Rhode
Island industrial family. He was the oldest son of Rowland Gibson and Mary
Pierrepont Bushnell Hazard. An unbroken line of Hazard men named Rowland dates
back to 1763. His grandfather and great-great-grandfather had the same name.
So: he sometimes used the name Rowland Hazard III. He named one of his
companies, Rowland Third, Inc. The Hazard family's colonial roots dated back
to 1635 and its members were large-scale landowners, manufacturers and people
of learning in science and literature. They were respected widely as achievers
and as philanthropists.
The family resided in a colony of estates at Peace Dale, Rhode Island. Oakwood
was built in the 1800’s by Rowland's paternal grandfather. Rowland lived
from age 11 at Holly House. His Aunt Helen's home, The Acorns, was where 1941
Pulitzer Prize winning poet Leonard Bacon grew up. And, there was Scallop
Shell, the home of Rowland's Aunt Caroline, on her return from serving as
President of Wellesley College.
Rowland was the tenth generation of Hazards born in Rhode Island. The subject
of this writing was a Yale graduate (BA, 1903). Some of his classmates called
him, "Ike" or “Rowley”. He sang in the varsity glee club and chapel choir
and was a member of Alpha Delta Phi fraternity. Both his father and paternal
grandfather had graduated from Brown University. The males on his mother's
side of the family favored Yale. One of these was Eli Whitney, who invented
the cotton gin.
Rowland spent the years immediately following Yale learning the various family
businesses. He began at The Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, of Peace Dale
Rhode Island, a woolen mill that produced much of the family wealth. That mill
had made blankets for the Army during the Civil War. Rowland then moved on to
work in family industries producing coke and coke ovens, soda ash, calcium
chloride and soda bicarbonate in Chicago and Syracuse, before returning to
Peace Dale Manufacturing in 1906, as Secretary-Treasurer.
In October 1910, Rowland married his wife, Helen Hamilton Campbell, a Briar
Cliff graduate, the daughter of a Chicago banker. They had one daughter and
three sons. Two of their three sons were killed while serving with the US
armed forces during World War Two.
Like many of his family, Rowland was active in Republican Party politics. He
was a delegate to the 1912 national party convention, which re-nominated
President William Howard Taft. Hazard was a Rhode Island State Senator from
1914 to 1916. Previously he had served as President of the South Kingstown,
Rhode Island Town Council
When World War 1 began, Rowland became a civilian official of the Ordnance
Department. But, he resigned later to accept a commission as Captain in the US
Army's Chemical Warfare Service.
It's unclear precisely when Rowland's drinking problems began. The socially
elite of that time were quite guarded about private family matters. But,
relatives who were alive at the time this research began say they believe
Rowland's alcohol problems began when he was quite young. These relatives note
that covering up his heavy drinking was no problem for Rowland, because he was
a member of the family that owned the businesses. And they conclude that he
probably hit bottom hard before he decided to consult with doctors for help.
Rowland sought treatment for his rapidly progressing alcoholism from all of
the major psychiatrists in the United States. None had an answer that worked.
Dr. Sigmund Freud, according to legend, was too busy to take Rowland's case.
So: in 1931, still drinking, at 50, Hazard traveled to Zurich, Switzerland,
where he consulted Dr. Carl Gustav Jung -- then considered, with the possible
exception of Freud, the finest psychiatrist in the world.
Dr. Jung treated Rowland for his drinking problem. That much is clear from
Jung's correspondence with Bill Wilson, published in the AA book, “Pass It
On”. But, there are at least two different conclusions concerning precisely
when, to what extent and at what intervals the treatment took place.
Some AA historians believe Jung treated Hazard, in Zurich, for almost a year
and that Hazard then felt fully ready to return home to the United States â€"
convinced he had solved his drinking problem, and that the solution was
self-knowledge. They believe Rowland left Zurich by train and got as far as
Paris before he got drunk. Other AA historians believe Rowland returned to the
United States before he drank again. Its generally agreed that Hazard returned
immediately to Zurich and Dr. Jung for an explanation concerning his relapse.
But, records on file among the Hazard Family Papers in the Manuscripts
Division of the Rhode Island Historical Society show that Rowland was in the
United States for part of every month of 1931 and 1932, with the exception of
a family trip to Europe from June 12 to September 10, 1931. During that time
period, Hazard can be traced to France, on July 9, Italy on July 20 and
apparently to England on August 13, 1931. Furthermore, there is no evidence in
the records of the RIHS to suggest Hazard was in Switzerland at all during
1931 or ’32. And RIHS officials note that the Hazard family commented quite
freely, on other occasions, about Rowland's travels and treatment.
That Jung treated Rowland Hazard hardly seems in dispute. In his published
correspondence with Bill Wilson, Jung said he treated him. But, the RIHS
records make it appear unlikely that the treatment was seven days per week,
for an entire year. It is possible the treatment took place over a one-year
period, but was intermittent.
At the conclusion of treatment, following Hazard's relapse, Jung told Rowland
that he had done everything he could for him, clinically. He told the
despondent Hazard that psychiatry and medicine could no nothing more for him
and that his only hope would be to have what the psychiatrist called a
“vital spiritual experience”. Dr. Jung further suggested that Rowland find
what we would now call a “self-help group” to help him have such an
experience.
Hazard joined The Oxford Group, a spiritual, evangelical group founded on
first-century Christian principles and practices (prayer, meditation, and
guidance). The Group was then at the height of its success and popularity in
Europe. Through attending meetings and practicing the group's beliefs, Rowland
had a conversion experience such as Dr. Jung had described, an experience that
released him from the obsession/compulsion to drink. (There is disagreement
among A.A. historians over whether Rowland's spiritual experience happened in
Europe or the US. Most believe it happened in Europe.)
Some psychiatric experts call it a blessing that Dr. Freud was too busy to see
Rowland. They say it's fortunate he consulted Dr. Jung. They point out that
while Jung insisted the solution to Rowland's alcoholism was spiritual, a
turning to God, a conversion experience: Freud would have condemned any such
spiritual experience as a neurosis.
In the United States, Hazard connected with The Oxford Group in New York, led
by the Reverend Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, at the mission of Calvary Episcopal
Church, on 23rd. Street, in Manhattan.
In 1932, Rowland moved to Shaftsbury, Vermont. There, during August 1934, he
heard from two other Oxford Groupers about Edwin Throckmorton “Ebby”
Thacher's pending six-month sentence to Windsor Prison for drunkenness and
alcoholic insanity.
Hazard and fellow Oxford Grouper Cebra Graves attended Ebby’s sentencing
hearing in court at Bennington, Vermont. There are two conflicting accounts of
what happened next. The first version says they told the presiding judge,
Judge Collins Graves, Cebra's father, of their group's success in controlling
alcohol problems and asked the Court to release Ebby to Rowland's custody.
This version says Judge Graves consented. The second version says it was Judge
Graves who asked Hazard to take Ebby under his wing and that Rowland
consented. Both versions conclude the same way: that Ebby was released to
Rowland's custody and, Rowland, Cebra and a third Group member, Shep Cornell,
began taking Ebby with them to Oxford Group meetings in Vermont.
Ebby moved with Rowland to New York, later in 1934. And, it was there, during
late November 1934 that Ebby Thacher, sober approximately two months, brought
the message of recovery from alcoholism through the principles of The Oxford
Group, to Bill Wilson, in Wilson's kitchen, at 182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn
Heights. That visit would result, approximately seven months later, in the
founding of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Yet, Rowland Hazard, who played such a major part in AA's birth, returned to
drinking. Records of the Hazard family indicate he was treated in 1933-1934 by
the well-known lay therapist Courtenay Baylor.
In August 1936, the Hazard family paid to have Rowland brought home to Rhode
Island from his ranch in Alamagordo, New Mexico, because his drinking had
become still more serious. Rowland apparently consented. His younger brother,
Thomas, authorized the use of funds from the family-owned Aguadero Corporation
to cover the expenses.
But, later events tempt one to conclude that Rowland must have stopped
drinking, again, at least for a time. From 1938 to 1939 he was associated with
an engineering firm, Lockwood-Greene Engineers, Inc. From 1940 to 1941 he was
an independent consultant. In 1941 he became vice-president and general
manager of the Bristol Manufacturing Company of Waterbury, Connecticut.
(Bristol was a leading manufacturer of industrial measuring and recording
devices.)
Rowland Hazard died of a coronary occlusion, (a heart blockage) on Thursday,
December 20, 1945, while at work in his office at Bristol Manufacturing. He
was 64. The fact that he was a top executive of a major corporation at the
time of his death suggests that Rowland had stopped drinking again.
Nonetheless, some A.A. historians question whether he died sober.
He had stayed active in The Oxford Group and remained in the group after it
changed its name to Moral Rearmament (MRA) in 1938. Some early AA members said
they knew Rowland because he sometimes visited the old 24th Street clubhouse,
which Bill, Lois and others had established during early June 1940 in a former
stable at 334½ West 24th Street, in Manhattan. But, there is no evidence that
Rowland Hazard ever joined AA.
-0-
SOURCES: AA publications “Alcoholics Anonymous”, “Pass It On” and
“The Grapevine” (May 1995); The Hazard Family Papers, Manuscripts Division
of The Rhode Island Historical Society and Rick Stattler, Curator;
“Not-God” by Ernest Kurtz; “Ebby The Man Who Sponsored Bill W.” by Mel
B; “Lois Remembers” by Lois Burnham Wilson; “Bill W.” by Francis
Hartigan; The Archives of the AA General Service Office and The Providence
Journal. .
-0-
I'm very grateful for the above sources. Any mistakes are my own.
-0-
Researched/written for The Roundtable of AA History by: Mike O. (Michael
O'Neil), of The Just Do It Big Book Study Group of Alcoholics Anonymous,
DeBary, Florida. Updated/revised periodically through July 2001.
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++++Message 1808. . . . . . . . . . . . The Towns Hospital
From: apexnomad . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/16/2004 5:51:00 PM
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Is the "old" CHARLES B. TOWNS HOSPITAL still standing?
The adress 293 central west ny ny, is the American Anorexia/Bulima
Association. Is this the same bulding?
I am going to NYC this Fri. and would love some info. if someone
knows.
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++++Message 1809. . . . . . . . . . . . Jack Alexander Obit (1975)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/16/2004 10:04:00 PM
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December 1975 AA Grapevine
Passing of Jack Alexander
Recalls Early AA Growth
Our Fellowship has reason to be forever grateful to Jack Alexander, who died
on September 17 in St. Petersburg, Fla., at 73. AA was less than six years
old, with a membership around 2,000, when the reporter and magazine writer was
assigned to do a Saturday Evening Post article on the obscure group of
recovering alcoholics.
Jack approached the job skeptically, but ended his research as "a true AA
convert in spirit," in the words of co-founder Bill W. The article (now
re-printed as an AA pamphlet, "The Jack Alexander Article") was published in
the March 1, 1941, issue - and by the end of that year, AA membership had
reached 8,000! In the May 1945 Grapevine, Jack told the
story-behind-the-story, "Were the AAs Pulling My Leg?'
During Jack's 1951-56 service as a non-alcoholic trustee on the AA General
Service Board, he "added the final editorial touch" to the manuscript of the
"Twelve and Twelve." He was a senior editor on the Post at his retirement, in
1964. After he and his wife (who survives him) moved to Florida, he kept in
touch with AA until his health began to fail.
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++++Message 1810. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Jersey Lightning
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 8:56:00 AM
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A member asked about Jersey Lightning which Bill was drinking
during one of his failed attempts to stay sober on his own.
What is it?
I remember reading that the engineers were playing cards and
passing around a jug of Jersey Applejack in the hotel while
working on one of Bill's deals. Bill was trying to stay sober
and turned it down several times. Unfortunately, he refused
the jug one less time than it was offered. Here is a history
timeline item on it thanks to the West Baltimore Group:
May 1932, Bill went on a business trip to Bound Brook NJ with
a group of engineers from the Pathe Co. to look at a new
photographic process. It turned into a disaster. In a small
hotel, Bill drank Apple Jack (Jersey Lightning) and was drunk
for three days. His contract with Wheeler and Winans was cancelled.
"Pass It On" pages 91-92
"Bill W." by Robert Thompson (soft cover) pages 165-167
This is probably the incident on Page 5 of the Big Book.
"Someone had pushed a drink my way, and I had taken it.
Was I crazy?"
There are sources on the web that refer to "Jersey Applejack
a.k.a. Jersey Lightning." This is not just hard cider. Applejack
is a brandy distilled from hard cider. It goes back to colonial
times. It was widely distributed in the east during prohibition.
I would give the recipe for a home brew version if everyone
promised not to make it. :-)
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++++Message 1811. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Towns Hospital
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 7:50:00 AM
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The Charles B Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions opened in NYC in
1901. It was a private "drying out" hospital for the affluent.
It initially opened on 81st and 82nd Sts. and later moved to 293 Central Park
West.
Towns also later opened an annex (behind the Central Park facility) at 119 W
81st St to provide treatment for patients of "moderate means."
Hospital fees had to be paid in advance, or be guaranteed.
Treatment fees for alcoholism ran from $75 to $150 in the main hospital
($1,560 to $3,120 today) and $50 ($1,040 today) in the annex.
Reference Slaying the Dragon pgs 84-85, and Silkworth pg 125.
----- Original Message -----
From: apexnomad
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, May 16, 2004 5:51 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] The Towns Hospital
Is the "old" CHARLES B. TOWNS HOSPITAL still standing?
The adress 293 central west ny ny, is the American Anorexia/Bulima
Association. Is this the same bulding?
I am going to NYC this Fri. and would love some info. if someone
knows.
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++++Message 1812. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Towns Hospital
From: Jim K. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 1:59:00 PM
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Towns Hospital at 293 Central Park West is still standing but as a
Co-op apartment building. It is one door north of the intersection
of West 89th Street and CPW. Best viewed from the park side of CPW
it is steps north of the northern exit of the 8th Avenue (B, C, D
trains) subway line station at 86th street.
For more info you may email me offlist at jknyc@hotmail.com
Jim K.
The Into Action Group
Manhattan, NY
>>Is the "old" CHARLES B. TOWNS HOSPITAL still standing?<<
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++++Message 1813. . . . . . . . . . . . Fitz M
From: Jim Burns . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 5:30:00 PM
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Hello group,
I am interested in why Fitz M.'s story was not put in the Pioneer section
until the 4th edition.
Also, is there any addition information on Dr. Jim S. from " Jim's Story?"
Thank you,
Jim
Orange County, California
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++++Message 1814. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine Magazine, May 1945
From: Charles Knapp . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 11:58:00 PM
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In post # 560, the December 1975 AA Grapevine article about Jack Alexander
passing, it mentioned a May 1945 Grapevine article by Jack. Here is a copy
of that article.
Hope you enjoy
Charles from California
*******************************************************************
JACK ALEXANDER OF SAT EVE POST FAME
THOUGHT A.A.s WERE PULLING HIS LEG
Grapevine Magazine, May 1945
Ordinarily, diabetes isn't rated as one of the hazards of reporting, but the
Alcoholics Anonymous article in the Saturday Evening Post came close to
costing me my liver, and maybe A.A. neophytes ought to be told this when
they are handed copies of the article to read. It might impress them. In the
course of my fact gathering, I drank enough Coca-Cola, Pepsi-Cola, ginger
ale, Moxie and Sweetie to float the Saratoga. Then there was the thickly
frosted cake so beloved of A.A. gatherings, and the heavily sweetened
coffee, and the candy. Nobody can tell me that alcoholism isn't due solely
to an abnormal craving for sugar, not even a learned psychiatrist. Otherwise
the A.A. assignment was a pleasure.
It began when the Post asked me to look into A.A. as a possible article
subject. All I knew of alcoholism at the time was that, like most other
non-alcoholics, I had my hand bitten (and my nose punched) on numerous
occasions by alcoholic pals to whom I had extended a hand --unwisely, it
always seemed afterward. Anyway, I had an understandable skepticism about
the whole business.
My first contact, with actual A.A.s came when a group of four of them called
at my apartment one afternoon. This session was pleasant, but it didn't help
my skepticism any. Each one introduced himself as an alcoholic who had gone
"dry," as the official expression has it. They were good-looking and well
dressed and, as we sat around drinking Coca-Cola (which was all they would
take), they spun yarns about their horrendous drinking misadventures. The
stories sounded spurious, and after the visitors had left, I had a strong
suspicion that my leg was being pulled. They had behaved like a bunch of
actors sent out by some Broadway casting agency.
Next morning I look the subway to the headquarters Alcoholics Anonymous in
downtown Manhattan, where I met Bill W. This Bill W. is a very disarming guy
and an expert at indoctrinating the stranger into the psychology,
psychiatry, physiology, pharmacology and folklore of alcoholism. He spent
the good part of a couple of days telling me what it was all about. It was
an interesting experience, but at the end of it my fingers were still
crossed. He knew it, of course, without my saying it, and in the days that
followed he took me to the homes of some of the A.A.s, where I got a chance
to talk to the wives, too. My skepticism suffered a few minor scratches, but
not enough to hurt. Then Bill shepherded me to a few A.A. meetings at a
clubhouse somewhere in the West Twenties. Here were all manner of
alcoholics, many of them, the nibblers at the fringe of the movement, still
fragrant of liquor and needing a shave. Now I knew I was among a few genuine
alcoholics anyway. The bearded, fume-breathing lads were A.A. skeptics, too,
and now I had some company.
The week spent with Bill W. was a success from one standpoint. I knew I had
the makings of a readable report but, unfortunately, I didn't quite believe
in it and told Bill so. He asked why I didn't look in on the A.A.s in other
cities and see what went on there. I agreed to do this, and we mapped out an
itinerary. I went to Philadelphia, first, and some of the local A.A. a took
me to the psychopathic ward of Philadelphia General Hospital and showed me
how they work on the alcoholic Inmates. In that gloomy place, it was an
impressive thing to see men who had bounced in and out of the ward
themselves patiently jawing a man who was still haggard and shaking from a
binge that wound up in the gutter.
Akron was the next stop. Bill met me there and promptly introduced me to Doc
S., who is another hard man to disbelieve. There were more hospital visits,
an A.A, meeting, and interviews with people who a year or two before were
undergoing varying forms of the blind staggers. Now they seemed calm,
well-spoken, stead-handed and prosperous, al least mildly prosperous.
Doe S. drove us both from Akron to Cleveland one night and the same pattern
was repeated. The universality of alcoholism was more apparent here. In
Akron it had been mostly factory workers. In Cleveland there were lawyers,
accountants and oilier professional men, in addition to laborers. And again
the same stories. The pattern was repeated also in Chicago, the only
variation there being the presence at the meetings of a number of
newspapermen, I had spent most of my working life on newspapers and I could
really talk to these men. The real clincher, though, came in St. Louis,
which is my hometown. Here I met a number of my own friends who were A.A.s,
and the last remnants of skepticism vanished. Once rollicking rumpots, they
were now sober. It didn't seem possible, but there it was.
When the article was published, the reader mail was astonishing. Meat of it
came from desperate drinkers or their wives, or mothers, fathers or
interested friends. The letters were forwarded to the A.A. office in New
York and from there were sent on to A.A. groups nearest the writers of the
letters. I don't know exactly how many letters came in, all told, but the
lust time I checked, a year or so ago, it was around 6,000. They still
trickle in from time to time, from people who have carried the article in
their pockets all this time, or kept it in the bureau drawer under the
handkerchief case intending to do something about it.
I guess the letters will keep coming in for years, and I hope they do,
because now I know that every one of them springs from a mind, either of an
alcoholic or of someone close to him, which is undergoing a type of hell
that Dante would have gagged at. And I know, too, that this victim is on the
way to recovery, if he really wants to recover. There is something very
heartening about this, particularly in a world which has been struggling
toward peace for centuries without ever achieving it for very long periods
of lime.
Jack Alexander
The Saturday Evening Post
Philadelphia, Pa.
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++++Message 1815. . . . . . . . . . . . Promises
From: Cloydg . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 6:43:00 PM
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I'm told there are 118 promises in the BB, not just the 12 we refer to on
pages 63-64. Does anyone have a complete list with page numbers?
In sobriety, Clyde G.
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++++Message 1816. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Fitz M
From: goldentextpro@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/17/2004 7:03:00 PM
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Hello Jim,
Here's the summary:
In the second and third editions of the book, the same twelve stories appeared
in the section "Pioneers of AA." They were:
STORY - MEMBER - DOS
Dr. Bob's Nightmare - Dr. Bob Smith - June 1935
Alcoholic Anonymous Number Three - Bill Dotson - June 1935
He Had to Be Shown - Dick Stanley - Feb. 1937 (1st Ed. story called "The Car
Smasher")
He Thought He Could Drink... - Abby Goldrick - May 1938
Women Suffer Too - Marty Mann - March 1939
The European Drinker - Joe Doppler - April 1936
The Vicious Cycle - Jim Burwell - Jan. 1938
The News Hawk - Jim Scott - July 1937 (1st Ed. story - "Traveler, Editor,
Scholar")
From Farm to City - Ethel Macy - May 1941
The Man Who Mastered Fear - Archie Trowbridge - Sept. 1938 (1st Ed. "The
Fearful One")
He Sold Himself Short - Earl Treat - April 1937
Home Brewmeister - Clarence Snyder - Feb. 1938
The Keys of the Kingdom - Sylvia Kaufman - Aug. 1939
The fourth edition removed Dick, Abby, Joe, Jim Scott, Ethel, and Clarence.
(Interestingly, they were all part of the Akron root.) One story was added:
Dave B., Gratitude In Action, 1944.
The fourth edition's pioneer section is noticeably more condensed, as
apparently the GSC was going for a more "eclectic" feel. (My word for it.)
Simply put, Fitz Mayo (Oct. 1935) fit the bill as a pioneer, and the New
Yorker was kept in the pool. As to the details behind the selection process,
Valerie O. at GSO could probably be of help, as she was on the committee.
As to why Fitz wasn't in the second and third editions as a "pioneer," the
committee probably felt that the early women pioneers (Marty, Ethel and
Sylvia) were needed to be representative of the lower percentage of women at
that time, and the only woman from the first edition (Florence Rankin) later
resumed drinking and committed suicide.
Regards,
Richard K.
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++++Message 1817. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Promises
From: Diz Titcher . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 7:19:00 AM
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Go to:
www.msag.org/BBCA/the%20147%20promises.htm
Best,
Diz T.
----- Original Message -----
From: Cloydg
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 7:43 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Promises
I'm told there are 118 promises in the BB, not just the 12 we refer to on
pages 63-64. Does anyone have a complete list with page numbers?
In sobriety, Clyde G.
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++++Message 1818. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Fitz M
From: J. Lobdell . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 9:22:00 AM
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It's not clear why Bill put "Our Southern Friend" in "They Lost Nearly All"
rather than "Pioneers of AA" -- especially since Fitz is identified as an "AA
pioneer" and given that Fitz was Bill's first NY success. We can't say this
question will be answered at our panel on Fitz (9:10-10:10 a.m.) at our June 5
2004 Multi-District History & Archives Gathering in Elizabethtown PA, but we
thought we'd remind HistoryLovers of the panel and of the Gathering. My email
is jaredlobdell@aol.com or jaredlobdell@comcast.net or call 717-367-4985 (not
after 9:30 p.m. EDT). The Gathering also includes Eastern PA oldtimers (50
yrs+), plus Nancy O., Rick T., exhibits from Areas 29, 44, 59, Philadelphia
Intergroup, a panel on Coming Into AA Before Jan 24 1971. 8:00 registration.
Over at 5:00 p.m. Free. Hope to see you there. -- Jared Lobdell
>From: Jim Burns
>Reply-To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Fitz M
>Date: Mon, 17 May 2004 15:30:00 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Hello group,
>I am interested in why Fitz M.'s story was not put in the Pioneer section
until the 4th edition.
>
>Also, is there any addition information on Dr. Jim S. from " Jim's Story?"
>
>Thank you,
>Jim
>Orange County, California
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Do you Yahoo!?
>SBC Yahoo! - Internet access at a great low price.
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++++Message 1819. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Fitz M
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 8:43:00 PM
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Hi Jim
Fitz M's story (Our Southern Friend) has appeared in the original manuscript
and all editions of the Big Book. His story was moved to Part I (Pioneers of
AA) of the Personal Stories in the 4th edition. It was previously in Part III
(They Nearly Lost All). I don't believe that the appearance of his story in
Part III, as opposed to Part I, represented any form of diminished stature in
the scheme of things. Fitz M's sober life was rather brief. He died in 1943
(of cancer). AA Comes of Age (pgs 17-18) contains some of Bill W's
recollections of Fitz M (he and Bill, and their wives, were reputedly very
close friends). Fitz started AA in Washington DC and helped get AA started in
Maryland as well.
Jim S, the black physician (Jim's Story), is mentioned briefly in AA Comes of
Age on page 37.
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Burns
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 5:30 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Fitz M
Hello group,
I am interested in why Fitz M.'s story was not put in the Pioneer section
until the 4th edition.
Also, is there any addition information on Dr. Jim S. from " Jim's Story?"
Thank you,
Jim
Orange County, California
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
SBC Yahoo! [79] - Internet access at a great low price.
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++++Message 1820. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Promises
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 10:36:00 AM
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Promises, promises! How often we hear the incorrect phrase "The Twelve
Promises of AA" used in meetings when referring to the Ninth Step promises on
pages 83 & 84. What about all the OTHER promises found in the Big Book, like
the ones associated with working Steps 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, and 12? As a matter of
fact, the Ninth Step promises are only SOME of the better ones! Well, Dave F.
was taught to consider all statements of hope in the Big Book, which guarantee
a result, through our sober actions, in the working of the Steps, to be a
"promise". Therefore, by this definition (although some of the groupings here
may be a stretch), here are 238 promises of the Big Book. - Barefoot Bill
First Step Promises:
1. How many thousands of men and women have recovered from alcoholism.
(Title page).
2. Who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.
(foreword 1st edition xiii)
3. To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main
purpose of this book. (foreword 1st edition xiii)
4. We are sure that our way of living has its advantages for all. (foreword
1st edition xiii)
5. Our earliest printing voiced the hope -that every alcoholic who journeys
will find the Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination
(foreword 2nd edition xv)
6. It also indicated that strenuous work, one alcoholic with another, was
vital to permanent recovery (xvii)
7. A.A.'s had to hang together or die separately. We had to unify our
Fellowship or pass off the scene.(xix)
8. Today the remarkable unity of A.A. is one of the greatest assets that our
Society has.(xix)
9. It is our great hope that all those who have as yet found no answer may
begin to find one in the pages of this book and will presently join us on
the highroad to a new freedom. (xxi)
10. ...recovery begins when one alcoholic talks with another alcoholic,
sharing experience, strength, and hope. (xxii)
11. We who have suffered alcoholic torture must believe that the body of the
alcoholic is quite as abnormal as his mind (xxiv)
12. We are sure that our bodies were sickened as well. (xxiv)
13. We work out our solution on the spiritual as well as an altruistic
plane. (xxiv)
14. Once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed
doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly
finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort
necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules. (xxvii)
15. There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving
which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight.
(xxviii)
16. I was soon to be catapulted into what I like to call the fourth
dimension of existence. I was to know happiness, peace, and usefulness, in a
way of life that is incredibly more wonderful as time passes. (8:2)
17. I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have
the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems. Belief in
the power of God, plus enough willingness, honesty and humility to establish
and maintain the new order of things, were the essential requirements.
(13:5)
18. For if an alcoholic failed to perfect and enlarge his spiritual life
through work and self-sacrifice for others, he could not survive the certain
trials and low spots ahead. If he did not work, he would surely drink again,
and if he drank, he would surely die. Then faith would be dead indeed. With
us it is just like that. (14:6)
19. It is a design for living that works in rough going. (15:1)
20. The joy of living we really have, even under pressure and difficulty.
(15:2)
21. There is scarcely any form of trouble and misery which has not been
overcome among us. (15:2)
22. I have seen hundreds of families set their feet in the path that really
goes somewhere; have seen the most impossible domestic situations righted;
feuds and bitterness of all sorts wiped out. I have seen men come out of
asylums and resume a vital place in the lives of their families and
communities. Business and professional men have regained their standing.
(15:2)
23. There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all. I suppose some
would be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath
there is deadly earnestness. Faith has to work twenty-four hours a day in
and through us, or we perish. (16:2)
24. Most of us feel we need look no further for Utopia. We have it with us
right here and now. Each day my friend's simple talk in our kitchen
multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to
men. (16:3)
25. ...there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an
understanding which is indescribably wonderful. (17:2)
26. Our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual
ways. (17:2)
27. The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the
powerful cement which binds us... The tremendous fact for every one of us is
that we have discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can
absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious
action. This is the great news this book carries to those who suffer from
alcoholism. (17:2)
28. An illness of this sort-and we have come to believe it an
illness-involves those about us in a way no other human sickness can. (18:1)
29. For with it (the alcoholic illness) there goes annihilation of all the
things worth while in life. It engulfs all whose lives touch the sufferer's.
It brings misunderstanding, fierce resentment, financial insecurity,
disgusted friends and employers, warped lives of blameless children, sad
wives and parents-anyone can increase the list. (18:1)
30. Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people's shortcomings and
viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more
useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our
constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs. (19:4)
31. The alcoholic reacts differently from normal people. We are not sure
why, once a certain point is reached, little can be done for him. We cannot
answer the riddle. We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink,
as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are
equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system,
something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes it
virtually impossible for him to stop. (22:3)
32. The main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in
his body. (23:1)
33. At a certain point in the drinking of every alcoholic, he passes into a
state where the most powerful desire to stop drinking is of absolutely no
avail. (24:0)
34. The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the
power of choice in drink. Our so-called will power becomes practically
nonexistent. We are unable, at certain times, to bring into our
consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and
humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against
the first drink. (24:1)
35. There is a solution. (25:1)
36. We saw that it really worked in others. (25:1)
37. We have found much of heaven and we have been rocketed into a fourth
dimension of existence of which we had not even dreamed. (25:1)
38. The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our
Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed
miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we
could never do by ourselves. (25:2)
39. A new life has been given us or, if you prefer, "a design for living"
that really works. (28:2)
40. All of us, whateverour race, creed, or color are the children of a
living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and
understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try.
(28:3)
41. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is
the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. (30:1)
42. We alcoholics are men and women who have lost the ability to control our
drinking. We know that no real alcoholic ever recovers control. All of us
felt at times that we were regaining control, but such intervals-usually
brief-were inevitably followed by still less control, which led in time to
pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization. We are convinced to a man that
alcoholics of our type are in the grip of a progressive illness. Over any
considerable period we get worse, never better. (30:3)
43. To be gravely affected, one does not necessarily have to drink a long
time nor take the quantities some of us have. This is particularly true of
women. Potential female alcoholics often turn into the real thing and are
gone beyond recall in a few years. (33:3)
44. The actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be
absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. (39:1)
45. That if I had an alcoholic mind, the time and place would come-I would
drink again. (41:2)
46. I saw that will power and self-knowledge would not help in those strange
mental blank spots. (42:0)
47. The program of action, though entirely sensible, was pretty drastic
(42:0)
48. Most alcoholics have to be pretty badly mangled before they really
commence to solve their problems. (43:1)
49. The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against
the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human
being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power.
(43:3)
50. If he is an alcoholic of the hopeless variety. To be doomed to an
alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy
alternatives to face. (44:2)
51. We had to face the fact that we must find a spiritual basis of life -or
else. (44:3)
52. Our human resources, as marshalled by the will, were not sufficient;
they failed utterly. (45:0)
53. Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we
could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves.(45:1)
Second Step Promises:
1. We did not need to consider another's conception of God. (46:2)
2. God does not make too hard terms with those who seek Him. (46:2)
3. We found that as soon as we were able to lay aside prejudice and express
even a willingness to believe in a Power greater than ourselves, we
commenced to get results, even though it was impossible for any of us to
fully define or comprehend that Power, which is God. (46:1)
4. The Realm of Spirit is broad, roomy, all inclusive; never exclusive or
forbidding to those who earnestly seek. It is open, we believe, to all men.
(46:2)
5. As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe,
we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly
proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective
spiritual structure can be built.* (47:2)
6. In the face of collapse and despair, in the face of the total failure of
their human resources, they found that a new power, peace, happiness, and
sense of direction flowed into them. (50:4)
7. When we saw others solve their problems by a simple reliance upon the
Spirit of the Universe, we had to stop doubting the power of God. Our ideas
did not work. But the God idea did. (52:3)
8. Deep down in every man, woman, and child, is the fundamental idea of God.
It may be obscured by calamity, by pomp, by worship of other things, but in
some form or other it is there. (55:2)
9. If our testimony helps sweep away prejudice, enables you to think
honestly, encourages you to search diligently within yourself, then, if you
wish, you can join us on the Broad Highway. With this attitude you cannot
fail. The consciousness of your belief is sure to come to you. (55:4)
10. He has come to all who have honestly sought Him. When we drew near to
Him He disclosed Himself to us! (57:3)
Third Step Promises:
1. Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path.
(58:1)
2. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely
give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are
constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. (58:1)
3. Their chances are less than average. (58:1)
4. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil
until we let go absolutely. (58:3)
5. Without help it is too much for us. (59:0)
6. But there is One who has all power-that One is God. (59:0)
7. Half measures availed us nothing. (59:1)
8. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence
to these principles. (60:1)
9. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. (60:1)
10. We were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives. (60:2)
11. Probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism. (60:2)
12. God could and would if He were sought. (60:2)
13. that any life run on self-will can hardly be a success. On that basis we
are almost always in collision with something or somebody, even though our
motives are good. (60:4)
14. Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our
troubles. (62:1)
15. We invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions
based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. (62:1)
16. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise
out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run
riot, though he usually doesn't think so. (62:2)
17. Above everything, we alcoholics must be rid of this selfishness. We
must, or it kills us! God makes that possible. And there often seems no way
of entirely getting rid of self without His aid. Many of us had moral and
philosophical convictions galore, but we could not live up to them even
though we would have liked to. Neither could we reduce our self-centeredness
much by wishing or trying on our own power. We had to have God's help.
(62:2)
18. We had to quit playing God. It didn't work. (62:3)
19. God was going to be our Director. He is the Principal; we are His
agents. He is the Father, and we are His children. Most good ideas are
simple, and this concept was the keystone of the new and triumphant arch
through which we passed to freedom. (62:3)
20. We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed,
if we kept close to Him and performed His work well. (63:1)
21. Established on such a footing we became less and less interested in
ourselves, our little plans and designs. (63:1)
22. More and more we became interested in seeing what we could contribute to
life. (63:1)
23. As we felt new power flow in, as we enjoyed peace of mind, as we
discovered we could face life successfully, as we became conscious of His
presence, we began to lose our fear of today, tomorrow or the hereafter. We
were reborn. (63:1)
Fourth Step Promises:
1. Though our decision was a vital and crucial step, it could have little
permanent effect unless at once followed by a strenuous effort to face, and
to be rid of, the things in ourselves which had been blocking us. (64:0)
2. Our liquor was but a symptom. (64:0)
3. Resentment is the "number one" offender. It destroys more alcoholics than
anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been
not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. (64:3)
4. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and
physically. (64:3)
5. Nothing counted but thoroughness and honesty. (65:3)
6. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters
got. As in war, the victor only seemed to win. Our moments of triumph were
short-lived. (66:0)
7. It is plain that a life which includes deep resentment leads only to
futility and unhappiness. To the precise extent that we permit these
(resentments), do we squander the hours that might have been worth while.
(66:1)
8. But with the alcoholic, whose hope is the maintenance and growth of a
spiritual experience, this business of resentment is infinitely grave. We
found that it (resentment) is fatal. For when harboring such feelings we
shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit. The insanity of alcohol
returns and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. (66:1)
9. If we were to live, we had to be free of anger. (66:2)
10. We turned back to the list, for it held the key to the future. (66:3)
11. We began to see that the world and its people really dominated us. In
that state, the wrong-doing of others, fancied or real, had power to
actually kill. (66:3)
12. This was our course: We realized that the people who wronged us were
perhaps spiritually sick.
13. Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us,
they, like ourselves, were sick too. (66:4)
14. We cannot be helpful to all people, but at least God will show us how to
take a kindly and tolerant view of each and every one. (67:4)
15. "Fear" This short word somehow touches about every aspect of our lives.
It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot
through with it. It set in motion trains of circumstances which brought us
misfortune. (67:3)
16. Just to the extent that we do as we think He would have us, and humbly
rely on Him, does He enable us to match calamity with serenity. (68:2)
17. We ask Him to remove our fear and direct our attention to what He would
have us be. At once, we commence to outgrow fear. (68:3)
18. If we are sorry for what we have done, and have the honest desire to let
God take us to better things, we believe we will be forgiven and will have
learned our lesson. (70:1)
19. If we are not sorry, and our conduct continues to harm others, we are
quite sure to drink. (70:1)
20. If we have been thorough about our personal inventory, we have written
down a lot. (70:3)
21. We have listed and analyzed our resentments. (70:3)
22. We have begun to comprehend their futility and their fatality. (70:3)
23. We have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. (70:3)
24. We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men,
even our enemies, for we look on them as sick people. (70:3)
25. We have listed the people we have hurt by our conduct, and are willing
to straighten out the past if we can. (70:3)
Fifth Step Promises:
1. In actual practice, we usually find a solitary self-appraisal
insufficient. (72:2)
2. If we skip this vital step, we may not overcome drinking. (72:2)
3. They took inventory all right, but hung on to some of the worst items in
stock. They only thought they had lost their egoism and fear; they only
thought they had humbled themselves. But they had not learned enough of
humility, fearlessness and honesty, in the sense we find it necessary, until
they told someone else all their life story. (73:0)
4. We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live long or
happily in this world. (73:4)
5. Once we have taken this step, withholding nothing, we are delighted.
(75:2)
6. We can look the world in the eye. (75:2)
7. We can be alone at perfect peace and ease. (75:2)
8. Our fears fall from us. (75:2)
9. We begin to feel the nearness of our Creator. (75:2)
10. We may have had certain spiritual beliefs, but now we begin to have a
spiritual experience. (75:2)
11. The feeling that the drink problem has disappeared will often come
strongly. (75:2)
12. We feel we are on the Broad Highway, walking hand in hand with the
Spirit of the Universe. (75:2)
Sixth Step Promises:
None in the Big Book... See the 12 & 12 for promises.
=====================================================
Seventh Step Promises:
None in the Big Book... See the 12 & 12 for promises.
Eighth Step Promises:
1. Now we need more action, without which we find that "Faith without works
is dead." (76:3)
Ninth Step Promises:
1. We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that nothing
worth while can be accomplished until we do so, never trying to tell him
what he should do. (77:2)
2. If our manner is calm, frank, and open, we will be gratified with the
result. (78:0)
3. In nine cases out of ten the unexpected happens. (78:1)
4. Rarely do we fail to make satisfactory progress. (78:1)
5. We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for
we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them. (78:2)
6. Perhaps there are some cases where the utmost frankness is demanded. No
outsider can appraise such an intimate situation. (82:1)
7. Yes, there is a long period of reconstruction ahead. We must take the
lead. A remorseful mumbling that we are sorry won't fill the bill at all.
(83:1)
8. If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be
amazed before we are half way through. (83:4)
9. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. (83:4)
10. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. (83:4)
11. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. (83:4)
12. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our
experience can benefit others. (84:0)
13. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. (84:0)
14. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our
fellows. (84:0)
15. Self-seeking will slip away. (84:0)
16. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. (84:0)
17. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. (84:0)
18. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle
us. (84:0)
19. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do
for ourselves. (84:0)
20. Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled
among us-sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize
if we work for them. (84:1)
Tenth Step Promises:
1. We continue to take personal inventory and continue to set right any new
mistakes as we go along. (84:2)
2. We vigorously commenced this way of living as we cleaned up the past.
(84:2)
3. We have entered the world of the Spirit. (84:2)
4. Love and tolerance of others is our code. (84:2)
5. We have ceased fighting anything or anyone even alcohol. (84:3)
6. For by this time sanity will have returned. (84:3)
7. We will seldom be interested in liquor. If tempted, we recoil from it as
from a hot flame. (84:3)
8. We react sanely and normally, and we will find that this has happened
automatically. (85:0)
9. We will see that our new attitude toward liquor has been given us without
any thought or effort on our part. It just comes! That is the miracle of it.
(85:0)
10. We are not fighting it, neither are we avoiding temptation. (85:0)
11. We feel as though we had been placed in a position of neutrality-safe
and protected. (85:0)
12. We have not even sworn off. Instead, the problem has been removed. It
does not exist for us. (85:0)
13. We are neither cocky nor are we afraid. (85:0)
14. That is our experience. That is how we react so long as we keep in fit
spiritual condition. (85:0)
15. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. (85:1)
16. We are not cured of alcoholism. (85:1)
17. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of
our spiritual condition. (85:1)
18. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all
of our activities. (85:1)
19. "How can I best serve Thee-Thy will (not mine) be done." These are
thoughts which must go with us constantly. (85:1)
20. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the
proper use of the will. (85:1)
21. If we have carefully followed directions, we have begun to sense the
flow of His Spirit into us. (85:2)
22. To some extent we have become God-conscious. (85:2)
23. We have begun to develop this vital sixth sense. But we must go further
and that means more action. (85:2)
Eleventh Step Promises:
1. We shouldn't be shy on this matter of prayer. Better men than we are
using it constantly. It works, if we have the proper attitude and work at
it. (85:3)
2. We ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced
from self-pity, dishonest or self-seeking motives. Under these conditions we
can employ our mental faculties with assurance, for after all God gave us
brains to use. (86:2)
3. Our thought-life will be placed on a much higher plane when our thinking
is cleared of wrong motives. (86:2)
4. We are often surprised how the right answers come after we have tried
this for a while. (86:3)
5. What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration gradually becomes
a working part of the mind. (87:0)
6. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and
more on the plane of inspiration. We come to rely upon it. (87:0)
7. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends. Many of us have
wasted a lot of time doing that and it doesn't work. (87:1)
8. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly
saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in
much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish
decisions. (87:3)
9. We become much more efficient. (88:0)
10. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as
we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. (88:0)
11. It works-it really does. (88:1)
12. "Faith without works is dead." (88:3)
Twelfth Step Promises:
1. Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from
drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other
activities fail. (89:1)
2. Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else
can. (89:1)
3. You can secure their confidence when others fail. (89:1)
4. Life will take on new meaning. (89:2)
5. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of
our lives. (89:2)
6. Unfortunately a lot of prejudice exists. You will be handicapped if you
arouse it. (89:3)
7. Ministers and doctors are competent and you can learn much from them if
you wish, but it happens that because of your own drinking experience you
can be uniquely useful to other alcoholics. (89:3)
8. To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish,
constructive action. (93:2)
9. You should not be offended if he wants to call it off, for he has helped
you more than you have helped him. (94:1)
10. You will be most successful with alcoholics if you do not exhibit any
passion for crusade or reform. (95:1)
11. We have no monopoly on God; we merely have an approach that worked with
us. (95:4)
12. Helping others is the foundation stone of your recovery. (97:1)
13. A kindly act once in a while isn't enough. You have to act the Good
Samaritan every day, if need be. (97:1)
14. The men who cry for money and shelter before conquering alcohol, are on
the wrong track. (98:0)
15. Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this truth: job or no
job-wife or no wife-we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place
dependence upon other people ahead of dependence on God. (98:1)
16. Burn the idea into the consciousness of every man that he can get well
regardless of anyone. The only condition is that he trust in God and clean
house. (98:2)
17. Remind the prospect that his recovery is not dependent upon people. It
is dependent upon his relationship with God. (99:3)
18. If you persist, remarkable things will happen. (100:1)
19. When we look back, we realize that the things which came to us when we
put ourselves in God's hands were better than anything we could have
planned. (100:1)
20. Follow the dictates of a Higher Power and you will presently live in a
new and wonderful world, no matter what your present circumstances! (100:1)
21. Assuming we are spiritually fit, we can do all sorts of things
alcoholics are not supposed to do. (100:4)
22. An alcoholic who cannot meet them, still has an alcoholic mind; there is
something the matter with his spiritual status. (101:1)
23. In our belief any scheme of combating alcoholism which proposes to
shield the sick man from temptation is doomed to failure. (101:2)
24. At a proper time and place explain to all your friends why alcohol
disagrees with you. If you do this thoroughly, few people will ask you to
drink. (102:1)
25. Keep on the firing line of life with these motives and God will keep you
unharmed. (102:2)
26. We would not even do the cause of temperate drinking any good, for not
one drinker in a thousand likes to be told anything about alcohol by one who
hates it. (103:1)
27. After all, our problems were of our own making. Bottles were only a
symbol. (103:3)
28. Besides, we have stopped fighting anybody or anything. We have to!
(103:3)
Miscellaneous Promises:
1. The power of God goes deep! (114:1)
2. If God can solve the age-old riddle of alcoholism, He can solve your
problems too. (116:2)
3. You will lose the old life to find one much better. (120:0)
4. All problems will not be solved at once. Seed has started to sprout in a
new soil, but growth has only begun. In spite of your new-found happiness,
there will be ups and downs. Many of the old problems will still be with
you. This is as it should be. (117:1)
5. The faith and sincerity of both you and your husband will be put to the
test. These work-outs should be regarded as part of your education, for thus
you will be learning to live. You will make mistakes, but if you are in
earnest they will not drag you down. Instead, you will capitalize them. A
better way of life will emerge when they are overcome. (117:2)
6. You and your husband will find that you can dispose of serious problems
easier than you can the trivial ones. (118:1)
7. Patience, tolerance, understanding and love are the watchwords. Show him
these things in yourself and they will be reflected back to you from him.
(118:2)
8. Live and let live is the rule. If you both show a willingness to remedy
your own defects, there will be little need to criticize each other. (118:2)
9. Both of you will awaken to a new sense of responsibility for others.
(119:2)
10. We grow by our willingness to face and rectify errors and convert them
into assets. The alcoholic's past thus becomes the principal asset of the
family and frequently it is almost the only one! (124:1)
11. Cling to the thought that, in God's hands, the dark past is the greatest
possession you have-the key to life and happiness for others. With it you
can avert death and misery for them. (124:2)
12. We alcoholics are sensitive people. It takes some of us a long time to
outgrow that serious handicap. (125:2)
13. But we aren't a glum lot. If newcomers could see no joy or fun in our
existence, they wouldn't want it. We absolutely insist on enjoying life. We
try not to indulge in cynicism over the state of the nations, nor do we
carry the world's troubles on our shoulders. (132:1)
14. We have recovered, and have been given the power to help others. (132:2)
15. We have three little mottoes which are apropos. Here they are: First
Things First, Live and Let Live, Easy Does It.(135:4)
16. The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resentment, jealousy, envy,
frustration, and fear. (145:3)
17. As a class, alcoholics are energetic people. They work hard and they
play hard. (146:1)
18. Yes, there is a substitute and it is vastly more than that. It is a
fellowship in Alcoholics Anonymous. (152:2)
19. There you will find release from care, boredom and worry. (152:2)
20. Your imagination will be fired. (152:2)
21. Life will mean something at last. (152:2)
22. The most satisfactory years of your existence lie ahead. Thus we find
the fellowship, and so will you. (152:2)
23. You will be bound to them with new and wonderful ties, for you will
escape disaster together and you will commence shoulder to shoulder your
common journey. (152:4)
24. Then you will know what it means to give of yourself that others may
survive and rediscover life. (153:0)
25. You will learn the full meaning of "Love thy neighbor as thyself."
(153:0)
26. The practical answer is that since these things have happened among us,
they can happen with you. Should you wish them above all else, and be
willing to make use of our experience, we are sure they will come. The age
of miracles is still with us. Our own recovery proves that! (153:1)
27. He will show you how to create the fellowship you crave. (164:1)
28. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. (164:2)
29. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously you
cannot transmit something you haven't got. (164:2)
30. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events
will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for
us. (164:2)
31. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will
surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. (164:3)
-----Original Message-----
From: Cloydg [mailto:cloydg449@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Monday, May 17, 2004 7:44 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Promises
I'm told there are 118 promises in the BB, not just the 12 we refer to on
pages 63-64. Does anyone have a complete list with page numbers?
In sobriety, Clyde G.
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++++Message 1821. . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Dubiel on Rowland Hazard (Part 1 of 2)
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 5:24:00 PM
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ROWLAND HAZARD
Part 1 of 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE BY GLENN C. (South Bend, Indiana) -- What has now become the definitive
account of Rowland Hazard's life and role in the founding of A.A. is contained
in a recent book by Richard M. Dubiel, Professor at the University of
Wisconsin-Stevens Point, entitled *The Road to Fellowship: The Role of the
Emmanuel Movement and the Jacoby Club in the Development of Alcoholics
Anonymous,* Hindsfoot Foundation Series on the History of Alcoholism Treatment
(New York: iUniverse, 2004).
For more details about the book see the Hindsfoot website at:
http://hindsfoot.org
In my own view, it is a book which should be read and studied in detail by
anyone, from this point on, who wishes to write about early A.A. history. It
gives us an incredible insight into the actual thought currents of the period
in American history during which A.A. was coming into being -- it puts A.A.
into historical context, in ways that we have to understand in order to
determine what was important to the founders, and what the problems were which
they were trying to solve -- and which they in fact DID solve so well.
What follows is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of that book, though without the
copious and detailed endnotes. Anyone wishing to do serious research on Hazard
needs to get a copy of the book and check through all of those carefully.
Some of the more important findings are that Rowland Hazard (who was a very
busy businessman in the United States) had no opportunity to see the famous
psychiatrist Carl Jung, who lived and worked in Switzerland, except for a two
month period (at most) in 1931, when Rowland and other members of the Hazard
family traveled around Europe for part of the summer He did not join the
Oxford Group and get sober immediately after seeing Jung -- there is in fact
no record of him being involved with the Oxford Group until almost three years
later. He was hospitalized for his alcoholism in February and March of 1932,
and totally incapable of carrying on business activities from January 1933
until October 1934. He had recovered enough however to come to Ebby Thatcher's
rescue in August 1934 (along with two other Oxford Groupers) when Thatcher was
threatened with commitment to the Brattleboro Asylum. After his rescue,
Thatcher took to the program of the Oxford Group with a good deal of
enthusiasm. Three months afterwards, Ebby then passed the message on to Bill
W. in the latter's kitchen in November 1934.
What is even more important is that Rowland was under the care of the Emmanuel
Movement therapist Courtenay Baylor in 1933 and 1934. Although Carl Jung might
have planted a valuable seed a few years earlier, the therapist who really got
Rowland sober was Baylor.
The reason for paying careful attention to Courtenay Baylor's role, is that
the only three groups in the United States during the first half of the
twentieth century which had any notable success in getting alcoholics sober
and keeping them sober, were the Emmanuel Movement (where Baylor was a key
leader), the closely associated Jacoby Club, and Alcoholics Anonymous.
In spite of the importance of the Oxford Group to A.A. beginnings, and the way
it shaped some of the phrasing of the Twelve Steps, and so on, the Oxford
Group all by itself had had no great success at all in sobering up alcoholics.
As long as Bill W. had only the Oxford Group, he was still miserable and
desperate a good deal of the time, and hanging onto sobriety only by the skin
of his teeth. Richmond Walker, the author of *Twenty-Four Hours a Day,*
managed to stay sober in the Oxford Group for two and a half years
(1939-1941), but then went back to drinking again. It was only joining the
Jacoby Club-linked Alcoholics Anonymous group in Boston in May 1942 that got
Rich permanently sober. Dr. Bob was never able to stop drinking at all, as
long as the only thing he had was the Oxford Group.
Rowland Hazard was able to get sober when he had both the Oxford Group people
AND the Emmanuel Movement therapist Courtenay Baylor working with him. But he
then stopped going to Baylor for counseling, and by 1936 was back drinking
once again.
The Oxford Group clearly had PART of the vital answer to how alcoholics could
stop drinking, but one must also look at A.A. after the gradual split from the
O.G. started occurring, and at the Emmanuel Movement and the Jacoby Club --
and what these latter three groups all had in common -- in order to see what
else in addition was necessary in order to produce high success rates in
treating alcoholism.
Prof. Dubiel's book gives us an excellent account of the Emmanuel Movement
(which was linked strongly to the Episcopal Church and its spiritual
tradition), and is the only detailed research ever published on the Jacoby
Club, which was spiritually oriented but run by lay people, and was even
closer to A.A. in the way that it was organized and the way it worked with
suffering alcoholics.
But let me now start excerpting from Prof. Dubiel's book, which explains
things much better than I can:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CHAPTER 4
Rowland Hazard and the Beginnings of A.A.
Rowland Hazard III was a wealthy Rhode Island businessman who had become an
alcoholic, requiring hospitalization on more than one occasion. He is
well-known to the A.A. tradition as one of the Oxford Group circle who rescued
Ebby Thatcher and got him sober when Ebby was threatened with commitment to
the Brattleboro Asylum in August 1934. Three months later, in November 1934,
Ebby visited Bill Wilson, the co-founder of A.A., and they sat in Bill's
kitchen talking for hours in the famous scene which is reported in the first
chapter of *Alcoholics Anonymous*. Ebby was the messenger to Bill W. of
victory over the alcoholic compulsion through a new spiritual way of life.
But even if Ebby was the one who actually talked with Bill, Rowland Hazard is
recognized in the A.A. tradition as "the messenger behind the messenger," and
two things about him are normally highlighted: He was a member of the Oxford
Group, and he had been a patient of the famous psychiatrist Carl Jung in
Switzerland. In the traditional A.A. version of the latter story, it was said
that Hazard had been unable to stop returning to the bottle in spite of
extensive Jungian therapy, until finally Jung told him that with alcoholics of
his type only a spiritual conversion of some sort, which would enable him to
radically remake and remold his inner spirit, would ever give him freedom from
his overwhelming compulsion to drink.
But there was a third factor involved in Hazard's story, one that up until now
has been omitted in A.A. accounts of his role in their history. During both
1933 and that especially crucial year 1934, he was also a patient of the
Emmanuel Movement author Courtenay Baylor, whose contributions and methods
were discussed in the previous chapter. So early A.A. was influenced by the
Emmanuel Movement from at least two different sources. Bill W. read Richard R.
Peabody's *The Common Sense of Drinking*, which taught a secularized and
intellectualized version of the Emmanuelite methods (as was explained in the
previous chapter), but he was also in secondhand contact (via Ebby) with
Rowland Hazard and hence the ideas of Courtenay Baylor, who taught something
much closer to the original spiritually based Emmanuel therapy as devised in
1906 by the Rev. Elwood Worcester in the basement meetings he conducted in the
church he pastored in downtown Boston..
The discovery that Rowland Hazard was deeply involved with Courtenay Baylor
and the Emmanuelite tradition in addition to his Oxford Group activities was
in fact only made quite recently. The present chapter will discuss the way
this new information can be documented in the Hazard family papers which are
preserved in the Rhode Island Historical Society,. It will also attempt to
sort out some of the perplexing issues surrounding the story of Rowland's
therapy with Carl Jung in 1931, because materials contained in that same
archival source make it clear that he was only in Europe from June to
September of that year as part of a Hazard family trip, and that the dates and
places given in the family's letters from that period would have given Rowland
two months at most to spend in Switzerland with Jung. In fact, as will be
seen, even that may be pressing the matter: Rick Stattler at the Rhode Island
Historical Society, who did the primary research, sorting through all the
family papers searching for relevant items, has stated that he believes that
Rowland would have found it very difficult to have spent more than two weeks
at most talking to Jung in any great depth during that trip to Europe.
Rowland Hazard III
Rowland Hazard III was born in Peace Dale, Rhode Island, on October 29, 1881.
(Bill Wilson was born in 1895 and Dr. Bob Smith in 1879, so he was closer to
Dr. Bob's age, and fourteen years older than Bill W., who likely seemed to him
but a brash young man.) Rowland ("Roy") represented the tenth generation of
his family in Rhode Island. The first American Hazard, Thomas, was born in
1610; he came over to the New World after the British had begun settling in
Massachusetts, taking up his residence first in Boston, then the Massachusetts
Bay Colony. Roy was the eldest of five children born to woolen manufacturer
Rowland Gibson Hazard and Mary Pierrepont Bushnell. Hazard graduated from the
Taft School in Waterbury, Connecticut, and Yale University (1903) with a B.A.
degree. He sang in the Glee Club and University Choir and was a member of
Alpha Delta Phi fraternity as well as the Elihu Club.
After graduation Hazard worked at family businesses in Chicago and Syracuse
briefly, then entered the woolen textile trade in Rhode Island, where he
joined the Peace Dale Manufacturing Company, which specialized in woolen and
worsted fabrics. The firm had been founded circa 1801 by his
great-great-grandfather and his great-grand-uncle, Rowland Hazard and Joseph
Peace Hazard respectively. He began work in the wool-sorting department and
worked his way up, eventually being elected treasurer of the firm. The firm
was sold in 1918.
Hazard served in the Rhode Island state senate between 1914 and 1916 and spent
World War I as a captain in the Chemical Warfare Service of the Army. Shortly
after the war a number of family deaths left Hazard the eldest member of his
generation. In 1919 he effected a plan originally formulated by his father and
uncle and formed the Allied Chemical and Dye Company. By 1920 he was a
director and so remained throughout his career. By 1921 Hazard had also joined
the New York banking firm of Lee, Higginson and Company and remained there
until 1927. Throughout this period he remained active in Rhode Island
politics.
In the fall of 1927, Hazard went on a hunting expedition to Africa for big
game and specimens for American museums. He contracted a tropical illness, and
on his return to the United States in 1928 settled on the West Coast. He
established a ranch in southern New Mexico, at La Luz, and shortly organized
the La Luz Clay Products Company. He had discovered substantial deposits of
high-grade clay for the manufacture of items ranging from roofing tiles to
decorative urns and vases. Upon establishing La Luz, he returned to the East
Coast to pursue other ventures. By 1931 he had transferred his residence from
Peace Dale, Rhode Island, to a family home in Narragansett, Rhode Island,
originally built in 1884 by his great-grand-uncle, Joseph Peace Hazard, and
known as Druid's Dream. "He also kept residences intermittently at 52nd Street
and other addresses in Manhattan; in La Luz, New Mexico; at 'Ladyhill' in
Shaftsbury, Vermont; and at 'Sugarbush' in Glastonbury, Vermont."
In his later years, following his move to Narragansett, Hazard served as the
executive vice president of the Bristol Manufacturing Company, Waterbury,
Connecticut, manufacturers of precision instruments. He also served as a
director of the Allied Chemical and Dye Company, the Rhode Island Hospital
Trust Company, and the Interlake Iron Company. From 1935 to 1938 he was in a
general partnership with the New York brokerage house of Taylor Robinson
Company, Inc. At one point he was director of the old Merchants' Bank in
Providence.
In 1910 Hazard married Helen Hamilton Campbell, the daughter of a Chicago
banker. The couple were divorced on February 25, 1929, and remarried on April
27, 1931, little more than a month before the trip to Europe during which
Hazard was supposed to have had his crucial encounter with Carl Jung. Rowland
and Helen had four children, Caroline C., Rowland G. III, Peter Hamilton, and
Charles B. Of these four, it was Charles who lived the longest, dying in 1995.
Rowland Hazard III remains somewhat of a mystery, cloaked in a silence that
was partly a feature of his times and his class, but a silence that was
especially impenetrable because he left behind almost no extant letters of his
own. We have to read about his life for the most part through the letters of
other family members. In addition, much of the information concerning Hazard's
relationship with early A.A. is anecdotal, very little of it documented.
On the surface, Hazard's life is mirrored effectively in the descriptions of
some of the characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel *The Great Gatsby*,
though Hazard was more like one of the East Egg crowd, the established wealthy
class, than the upstart Jay Gatsby himself. When Fitzgerald (in a remark to
Ernest Hemingway) spoke of the very rich as being different from you and me,
he might have been speaking of the Hazard family and Rowland. Hazard moved
from place to place with apparent ease, tried his hand in this business and
adventure and then that. His success was seemingly always assured, his
position never tangibly threatened. His alcoholism was spoken of in hushed
terms, if mentioned at all. The information about exactly where he was and
when during his trips to Europe or Africa is vague and not well documented.
And this has bearing on the claim that has been long accepted: that Hazard met
with Carl Jung and was in therapy with him for an extensive period of time
("over a year" in the version frequently seen in the later A.A. tradition).
Since Rowland's own letters are no longer in existence, the correspondence
between his mother and his brother, Thomas Pierre Hazard, provide the bulk of
what we do know about "Roy," but they do not ever mention him going to Jung
for psychiatric treatment. This may have been a matter which he did not fully
share with his mother and brother, or they may have avoided talking about it
in their letters out of embarrassment that a member of a family so solid and
distinguished as theirs would need a psychiatrist. But these letters do
provide enough information about where Rowland was during the period from 1930
to 1934 to make it clear that the only opportunity he would have had to see
the Swiss psychiatrist Jung in Zurich in any kind of extensive fashion was for
a couple of months in 1931.
Hazard clearly struggled with alcoholism throughout his life, even though
mentions of it in the letters are scant. It embarrassed the family and it made
them uncomfortable to acknowledge his drinking problem even to other family
members. We do know that he eventually became acquainted with Ebby Thatcher, a
friend of Bill Wilson's from their days as classmates at the Burr and Burton
boarding school. And we know that Hazard's connection to A.A., that is, to
Bill W., came through his meeting Ebby and helping rescue him from commitment
to an asylum in August 1934.
Hazard and Courtenay Baylor
Whatever his relationship to Jung -- an issue which will be discussed in more
detail later in this chapter -- Rowland Hazard had considerable involvement
with Courtenay Baylor, establishing a direct link between the Emanuel Movement
and the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous. The documentation of Hazard's
treatment by Baylor is contained in the list of Hazard family documents
prepared by Rick Stattler.
The relationship between Hazard and Baylor, though provable, is lacking in
detail: ample evidence at the Rhode Island Historical Society documents that
Hazard was a client or patient of Baylor during 1933 and 1934. The Hazard
family papers also show that after January 1933, Rowland went through a long
period when he was virtually incapacitated by his personal problems. He ceased
being actively involved in the ventures he had begun in New Mexico, and his
brother-in-law Wallace Campbell had to take over all his regular business.
Rowland's canceled checks showed only routine payments (although they were
still signed by him) for many months afterward. Finally in late 1933 he
completely stopped writing any checks at all. During most or all of this
period, he seems to have been in Vermont under the care of Courtenay Baylor,
and only occasionally made trips to New York to see family and sign checks. He
was unable to return to his normal high level of activity until October 1934.
So the period when Hazard was Courtenay Baylor's patient corresponded to the
deepest slump in his life, the time between January 1933 and October 1934,
when this normally aggressive and continuously active businessman,
industrialist, and entrepreneur seems to have been rendered almost totally
nonfunctional by his psychological and alcohol-related problems.
Baylor may in fact have been first called in when Hazard was hospitalized for
his alcoholism in February and March of 1932, but this would be merely
supposition. We do know that Baylor visited the family and worked in some
fashion with other family members also during 1933 and 1934. But the lack of
full detail means that though we know that their continuing relationship
existed during this period, we know little else about it. The available
documents thus do not allow us to discover whether Hazard's enthusiasm for the
Oxford Group was aided by his work with Baylor or diminished by it. We do know
that Hazard did not remain sober throughout his life, and did drink again
after 1934.
The first mention of Baylor in the surviving family documents occurs in a list
of acquaintances compiled by Hazard on April 13, 1933. Hazard was attempting
to sell maple syrup from his farm in Vermont and a "C. Baylor" is listed.
According to Stattler's notes, Baylor responded but did not order syrup. The
next reference to Baylor occurs on July 24, 1933, when his mother writes to
Thomas Hazard from Vermont: "Mr. Baylor just arrived. Am to have a talk with
him today, Roy goes to N.Y. and Baylor will go to Burlington tonight and come
back here tomorrow." The first therapeutic contact, as mentioned previously,
may of course have arisen much earlier, and may have been related to Hazard's
hospitalization for alcoholism in February and March 1932. Perhaps the
severity of that episode triggered a serious recovery effort on Rowland's
part, or caused his family to call in Baylor for an intervention. But this
must be conjecture. And it is also possible that Baylor may not have become
involved in trying to help until after Rowland's further breakdown in January
1933.
Of the fourteen letters in the RIHS material pertaining to Baylor, most
concern bills from him paid by Thomas Hazard. As Stattler summarizes, "It
collectively indicates that Hazard hired Baylor from at least December 15,
1933 to October 16, 1934 for unspecified services" There is also reference to
the fact that Baylor worked with the entire family, not simply on a personal
basis with Hazard alone. In one letter (November 20, 1934), Thomas Hazard
wrote: "Inasmuch as throughout 1933 and 1934 you were working with Helen,
Carol and Rowley as well as Roy, it seemed to me that it would be proper to
estimate that one-third of your remuneration could be considered as a gift to
my brother."
Baylor seemed to have become rather a part of the family in some ways. While
brother Thomas was signing checks, he was also a potential business partner,
or so it seemed in Baylor's eyes. On Feb. 2, 1934, Baylor sent Thomas Hazard a
long letter detailing the opportunity to buy into a Nevada gold and silver
mine. Baylor referred to the deal as one which he believed to be as "clean a
proposition as could be found in mining." Thomas checked this out with
business friends who advised him against the deal. On February 13, Thomas's
secretary curtly informed Baylor that "Mr. T. P. Hazard has directed me to
advise you that all the individuals have been heard from, in connection with
your letter, and are not in favor of going into the venture." The letter
concludes with a reference to an Internal Revenue tax matter covering payments
to Baylor by Hazard's mother.
The RIHS packet of Hazard-Baylor letters concludes with a rare document of
Emmanuel Movement history. In 1949 a letter was written to Thomas Hazard at
Peace Dale, the family home, by the Courtenay Baylor Memorial Committee, so
indicated by the letterhead. The letter is a request for donations for a
memorial to Baylor, consisting of lighting fixtures at the entrance of the
Parish House of the Emmanuel Church. They were to be wrought-iron lanterns,
"one to be fixed to the outside of the Parish House entrance, and the other to
be placed inside the entrance porch. A dedicatory inscription will be carved
into the stone wall of the porch." The author of the letter preceded this
description with the comment that "the idea [of the lighting] is a
particularly happy one as it is symbolic of the light shed by him on the paths
of so many people."
The bills from Baylor to Hazard document the continued existence of the
Emmanuel Movement, renamed the Craigie Foundation, as manifested in Baylor's
work. The full nature of the foundation's activities during this time are not
easy to document. The bills do not explicitly specify that Baylor was paid
this money for treating Hazard for his alcoholism, but it is difficult to see
anything else Baylor could have provided them for which payments of this sort
would be due.
Baylor knew that a person had to rethink and reformulate himself, that is,
"remake himself," if he were to escape from alcoholism. Attempting to bring
this message to a person of Rowland Hazard's stature and accomplishments could
only have been a vexing task.
Just how Baylor related to the rest of the Hazard family raises questions the
surviving documents cannot answer. Baylor believed "every alcoholic came from
what might be called an alcoholic or neurotic atmosphere" and that "we can
hardly expect a patient to become or stay cured if he must remain in an
environment which has in all probability contributed to his own abnormal
nervous condition. This environment must in its turn be 'cured.'" So in terms
of Baylor's normal methodological assumptions, it would make sense if, in the
process of attempting to treat Rowland for his alcoholism, he also made some
efforts to change the way the other members of his family interacted with one
another. Nevertheless, given the accomplishments and self-confidence of the
Hazard family as evidenced by their letters to one another, it is difficult to
believe that Baylor would have remained a popular guest if he had pushed too
hard on the other members of the family to change their ways also. Hazard's
mother in particular does not appear to be the type of person who would take
kindly to the suggestion that she too needed to be cured.
Hazard was also participating in the Oxford Group during this same period. The
earliest reference in the Rhode Island Historical Society collection is a
letter from Thomas P. Hazard to his mother in February of 1934 which refers to
Rowland as being a member of the Oxford Group, but he could in fact have
joined them much earlier.
Whether from his therapy with Courtenay Baylor or his participation in the
Oxford Group (or both combined), Rowland Hazard was ultimately apparently able
to achieve at least significant periods of continuous sobriety; whether he
achieved real serenity and happiness we cannot know.
A linked chain did however exist, starting with the Rev. Elwood Worcester at
Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston, and linking him to Courtenay Baylor, who
in turn worked with Rowland Hazard during the years 1933 and 1934. Hazard in
turn was linked, through Ebby Thatcher, to Bill Wilson at the decisive moment
at the beginning of the A.A. movement. Hazard also knew the people at Calvary
Church in New York, where Bill W. started going in 1934 for further spiritual
help with his alcoholism. So he definitely moved in the same orbits as the
early members of A.A. and was present during the time period when Bill W. was
first getting sober.
How and to what degree Hazard influenced events must remain more conjectural,
beyond a few bare bones facts such as his major role in helping to rescue Ebby
Thatcher and get him sober in August 1934. Nevertheless A.A. historians must
take seriously not only his continual and important presence behind the scenes
during that key period, but also the possible ways that he could have been of
major influence.
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++++Message 1822. . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Dubiel on Rowland Hazard (Part
2 of 2)
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/18/2004 5:27:00 PM
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ROWLAND HAZARD
Part 2 of 2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE BY GLENN C. (South Bend, Indiana) -- Excerpted from Richard M. Dubiel,
*The Road to Fellowship: The Role of the Emmanuel Movement and the Jacoby Club
in the Development of Alcoholics Anonymous,* Hindsfoot Foundation Series on
the History of Alcoholism Treatment (New York: iUniverse, 2004), Chapter 4,
"Rowland Hazard and the Beginnings of A.A."
See http://hindsfoot.org for more details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hazard and Jung
Ernest Kurtz's definitive history of A.A. regards Hazard as instrumental in
one of the four founding moments of Alcoholics Anonymous, the point where Bill
W. learned from Ebby Thatcher about what Carl Jung was supposed to have told
Hazard, that is, that alcoholics could not recover without some sort of
spiritual conversion. Bill W. interpreted this kind of conversion experience
as necessarily involving a major ego deflation.
"One-half of the core idea -- the necessity of spiritual conversion -- had
passed from Dr. Carl Jung to Rowland. Clothed in Oxford Group practice it had
given rise to its yet separate other half -- the simultaneous transmission of
deflation and hope by "one alcoholic talking to another" -- in the first
meeting between Bill and Ebby."
Kurtz quotes Bill W.'s own words on this issue (where the "Oxford Group
friend" is of course Rowland Hazard):
"Deflation at depth, yes that was it. Exactly that had happened to me. Dr.
Carl Jung had told an Oxford Group friend of Ebby's how hopeless his
alcoholism was and Dr. Silkworth had passed the same sentence upon me. Then
Ebby [Thatcher], also an alcoholic, had handed me the identical dose."
Carl Jung (along with the American psychologist William James) was frequently
cited by Bill W. and the early A.A.s as a way of legitimizing their emphasis
on the spiritual dimension of recovery. For James, religion embodied a
perfectly valid kind of experience, one that could be studied and said to have
its own objective reality. It could be demonstrated that certain kinds of
religious experiences could produce extraordinary life changes. For Jung,
religion was a way of expressing in symbolic fashion certain key components
within the human psyche, using archetypal images which were part of the makeup
of all human minds at the unconscious level. This material had to become
integrated at the conscious level, he stated, to produce full mental health.
Conventional psychiatry by itself could not bring freedom from the alcoholic
compulsion to a certain type of chronic alcoholic, as Bill W. had heard the
story of what Jung told Hazard. So as Bill interpreted what he believed to be
Jung's opinion, he saw this at first as a decree of hopelessness just as
severe as the one imposed on him by his own American psychiatrist William D.
Silkworth. The psychiatrists, even the best in the world, could not help a
certain kind of chronic alcoholic by conventional psychiatry. But Jung had
said to Hazard, according to the story Bill had been told, that a real
spiritual conversion could provide the power to stop drinking.
So conversion then became the only hope. This necessity of conversion became a
key ingredient in the formation of A.A. For the history of A.A., the
connection with the ideas of Carl Jung was extremely important in this way,
and in a variety of other ways also. Kurtz goes into considerable depth on
this matter, including long discussions of the way Bill W. regarded Jung (and
William James too) and appropriated their material.
All these observations remain valid. Carl Jung stated in a letter to Bill W.
many years later that the A.A. understanding of his theory of alcoholism was
in fact correct, and those who have studied Jungian psychiatry can easily see
how that understanding fits smoothly into his overall theoretical structure.
Jung praised the A.A. movement in that letter and indicated that he
wholeheartedly approved of their approach. But the fact is that there was at
the very least a considerable exaggeration of the length and depth of Rowland
Hazard's contact with Carl Jung in Switzerland. Part of the Hazard-Jung story,
as recounted in later A.A. sources, was clearly more legend than historical
reality.
The Traditional Account of Hazard's Therapy with Carl Jung and Its Influence
on A.A.
The official story regarding Hazard goes something like this, as stated by
Bill's early biographer Thomsen and quoted by later A.A. historians. The story
begins with the assertion that Hazard "wound up in Zurich, a patient of Carl
Jung," and that he worked with him in therapy of some sort for "over a year."
This was supposed to have happened in 1931. Hazard apparently thought that he
had seen the depths of his unconscious and understood himself to the extent
that he could rest easily in a sober life. According to the basic Bill W.
biography, Hazard then left Zurich but soon found himself drunk once again. He
returned to Zurich and once more sought the counsel of Jung. At this time the
psychologist told Hazard that he was hopeless in his alcoholism, insofar as
conventional psychiatry was concerned, and that religious conversion seemed
the one hope for such cases.
After this second meeting, Hazard is said to have discovered the Oxford Group
and to have begun to flourish in the program it provided. Hazard then came to
Ebby Thatcher's rescue in August 1934 when Thatcher was threatened with
commitment to the Brattleboro Asylum. The intervention of Hazard, along with
Cebra G. and another Oxford Group member, Shep C., was apparently fortuitous.
The three members happened to be vacationing at a summer home near Bennington
when they heard of the impending commitment. So they decided there on the spot
to make Thatcher a "project."
After his rescue, Thatcher took to the program of the Oxford Group with a good
deal of enthusiasm. Their zeal and evangelical fervor appealed to him,
granting him an extended period of sobriety. Three months after the Oxford
Group people had saved him from the insane asylum, he passed the message on to
Bill W. in the latter's kitchen in November 1934. The standard A.A. tradition
regards this as the context in which Ebby told Bill W. the story about Rowland
Hazard and Carl Jung. And then, according to the time-honored story, the
account of what Jung had told Hazard continued to sit and ferment in Bill W.'s
mind, and was one of the more important things that Bill learned from Ebby in
that meeting in his kitchen in November 1934.
The importance of Jung to Bill W. is not in doubt. But the detailed account
given for many years by A.A. people of Rowland Hazard's activities from 1931
to 1934 clearly contained some legendary elements. Hazard could not
conceivably have seen Jung for more than two months, perhaps less, in 1931.
There is no evidence in the Hazard family papers that he joined the Oxford
Group at that point. In fact, the earliest documentary evidence of him being a
member did not appear until February 1934, six months before he helped rescue
Ebby Thatcher from the asylum. Although this does not mean that he could not
have joined the Oxford Groupers much earlier, all our evidence so far of any
deeply committed involvement on his part in that group's activities comes from
1934. Furthermore, we have now considerable evidence of Hazard's contact with
the Emmanuel Group author Courtenay Baylor during 1933 and 1934, presumably as
Baylor's patient, which is a key factor which was left out of the traditional
A.A. legend.
So to understand the actual role which Rowland Hazard may have played in the
development of early A.A., it will be necessary to go beyond the legend and
see what the Hazard family papers reveal of what may or may not have actually
happened.
The Problems with the Traditional Account of the Hazard-Jung Contact
Two scholars, Rick Stattler and William L. White, have recently investigated
Hazard's role in the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, in part by examining
materials at the Rhode Island Historical Society (RIHS) in Providence. This
author likewise examined selected Hazard material at the RIHS, focusing
largely on Hazard's connection with the Emmanuel Movement, but also reading
materials discovered by Stattler which might pertain to the Carl Jung
question. Scholars must be warned that the nature of these papers means that
many important questions still cannot be answered. They give us evidence which
is in many ways partial and sometimes frustrating.
In recent correspondence with the author, Rhode Island Historical Society
Manuscripts Curator Rick Stattler summarized the findings of a 1998 research
project which endeavored to document Hazard's whereabouts during the period
1930-1934. Stattler's scholarship as summed up in this letter and seen in an
accompanying six-page document list (1930-1934) is thorough and germane to the
subject at hand: Hazard's involvement with Courtenay Baylor.
Stattler himself best summarizes his main point: "I can state with confidence
that Rowland Hazard did not undergo any counseling in Zurich for more than a
couple of months between 1930 and 1934. I can also state that the records
examined, which are very suggestive on other matters, do not so much as hint
at any treatment by Dr. Jung, at least not as I have interpreted them."
The Stattler letter is accompanied by a document list, an annotated list of
letters from the Hazard Family Papers between 1930-1934. The letters either
place Hazard in a specific locale or refer in some way to his alcoholism. The
letters verifying his 1931 trip to Europe also substantiate Stattler's claim
that "there is no way he could have spent an extended period in Europe between
1930 and early 1933; he was intimately involved in several business ventures
in New York and New Mexico." When he did visit Europe from June to September
of 1931 he was with his wife and children. Stattler adds: "it seems very
unlikely that he could have spent more than a couple of weeks in Zurich." This
author examined the letters on Stattler's document list and can attest to the
reasonableness of Stattler's conclusions. The letters during the 1931 trip do
in fact give the feel of a family adventure. In one such letter Hazard's
mother, Mary, writes to his brother Thomas from Florence, Italy, wondering if
Roy (Rowland) won't bring her LaSalle automobile over when he arrives so she
can take it to England. When the itinerary is discussed in several places, a
familial feeling pervades, at least in the heart of the mother. There is an
expectation that all the family members will be in contact and will meet at
some point
Examining the family correspondence, however, still leaves a few mysteries
during the overall period that ran from 1930 to 1934. In a March 9, 1930,
letter to Thomas, the mother asserts: "I think Roy has had a spiritual
awakening which makes him ready to do anything which he feels incumbent upon
him. That is why I think those about him should try to prevent a sacrifice
which is not to the best good of all." She recognizes his vulnerability at
this point, particularly with regard to his ex-wife At that time he would have
been considering remarriage to Helen after their divorce a year earlier. The
point is that this spiritual awakening would have been in advance of meeting
Dr. Jung or being introduced to the Oxford Group or any contact that we know
of between him and Courtenay Baylor. What was this awakening? At this point we
do not know.
A second mystery surfaces in letters written on February 3, 5, and 13 of 1933,
in which his mother mentions Roy's "successes" with a "patient" and later
refers to other "patients," presumably while he was in Vermont. The "patient"
could not have been Thatcher at this point, since Hazard and Cebra did not
carry out their intervention with him until August 1934. Was Hazard attempting
to be like Baylor, emulating his own doctor and trying to take on patients
himself as a lay psychotherapist? This would be interesting in itself since
the first actual documentation on any connection between Hazard and Baylor
does not occur until December 15, 1933, ten months later. But as has been
noted, there is the possibility that Baylor may have first been called in when
Hazard was hospitalized for his alcoholism in February and March of 1932, so
his apparent attempts to play lay psychotherapist in early 1933 could have
occurred under Baylor's influence. There are no other mentions of this
practice in the collections, so the references to Hazard having "patients" of
his own in early 1933 remain a mystery.
It is important to note that these investigations do not conclude that Hazard
had no contact with Jung. It is possible that the two had a brief encounter,
and that it was of such a force that the meeting turned into a legend which,
in the retelling, was expanded into the tale of a course of extensive
psychotherapy that soon encompassed a full year or more. The news from Jung
that so impressed Bill Wilson might also have affected Hazard in a similar
manner; such is the nature of "good news." Apostles, stricken as they are with
the revelatory nature of the message, are more interested in passing the
message along than in documenting times and dates. And so it may have been
with Hazard and Jung. A cynical interpreter would also note that alcoholics
tend by their nature to exaggerate and boast and inflate the stories which
they tell. Such is the nature of the disease.
The Correspondence between Bill W. and Carl Jung
On January 23, 1961, Bill Wilson wrote a letter to Carl Jung referring to the
psychiatrist's encounter with Rowland Hazard thirty years earlier, and on
January 30, 1961 Jung wrote him back [*"Pass It On" The Story of Bill Wilson
and How the A.A. Message Reached the World* (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous
World Services, 1984), 381-6]. Jung said that he remembered working with
Hazard, and that Bill's account of what he told Rowland at that time was
"adequately reported" and completely correct.
[In recent correspondence with the author, Glenn F. Chesnut, Indiana
University South Bend, noted:] Jung's letter also gives the only perhaps
potentially deep insight we could possess into Hazard's personality and
character. The psychiatrist seemed, on the basis of his remarks in his letter
to Bill W., to have had other experience in trying to work with alcoholics,
and made the interesting observation in that letter that the kind of spiritual
conversion he was referring to when he spoke to Hazard could take one of three
forms. It could be produced by "an act of grace," but Hazard, the hardheaded
businessman, apparently had too many mental blocks in place to ever allow
himself to have anything like the vision of divine light, for example, which
Bill W. experienced in the Charles B. Towns Hospital not long after his
meeting in the kitchen with Ebby Thatcher, or any equivalent to that sort of
spiritual experience. Conversion could also be produced, Jung said in his
letter to Bill W., "through a higher education of the mind beyond the confines
of mere rationalism," but the pragmatic industrialist and banker Hazard did
not seem to have had any ability to explore the Jungian interpretation of
religious ritual and art in a way which would involve the deeper feeling
levels. Hazard's mind apparently was too prosaic for that.
But a spiritual remaking could also be produced, Jung commented, "through a
personal and honest contact with friends," that is, through joining in a
fellowship of people who were attempting to lead the spiritual life and then
becoming totally immersed in the activities of that group. And on the basis of
what Bill W. had reported in his letter, Jung said that he believed that
Rowland had chosen that way, "which was, under the circumstances, obviously
the best one." Fellowship among recovering people -- that vital part of both
the Emmanuel Movement method and the Oxford Group's practices -- had been the
only one of these threes routes through which a man like Rowland Hazard could
be reached and freed from his alcoholic compulsion.
The Rhode Island Historical Society material requires us to regard part of the
later A.A. account of the meeting between Rowland Hazard and Carl Jung as
legendary expansion. Whatever specific conclusion a reader of those documents
might reach, their contents cannot be simply ignored. Yet we also have this
1961 letter from Carl Jung affirming that he had in fact had some sort of
significant contact with Hazard thirty years earlier, and that the A.A.
account of what he had told the Rhode Island businessman at that time was
substantially correct. And it seems unquestionably the fact that Jung came
into the thinking of the A.A. founders in 1934, and exerted a profound
influence on their ideas during the years following.
Additional Emmanuel Movement Influence on A.A.: the Emphasis on Fellowship
Hazard's later years seem to have been prosperous enough, although he never
did join Alcoholics Anonymous. In 1936 he became a member of the Episcopal
Church and remained active in several of its organizations. Throughout the
latter part of his troubled life, Hazard relied on the fellowship of the
Oxford Group (including activities such as his work with Ebby Thatcher in
1934) to aid and comfort him in his struggle with alcohol. It was fellowship
that helped him even toward the end of his life, when he was being returned to
New York after his 1936 binge. The comment Carl Jung made in his letter to
Bill W. seems to have been correct, that a saving encounter with the healing
quality of the spiritual life could in fact be brought about "through a
personal and honest contact with friends," and that this route had been
"obviously the best one" for someone of Rowland Hazard's personality.
It was fellowship between recovering people that was a vital part of the
approach which the Emmanuel Movement and its offshoot, the Jacoby Club, began
developing in 1906-1909. We do not know whether Courtenay Baylor was one of
the people who was encouraging Hazard to participate in the activities of the
Oxford Group in 1934, but since Hazard lived at a great distance from Boston
where Emmanuel Episcopal Church and the Jacoby Club were located, the Oxford
Group could have appeared to Baylor as a useful alternative to suggest to the
businessman.
Fellowship with recovering alcoholics was also one of the most important
features of the A.A. method of freeing people from the compulsion to drink.
There have been voices to the contrary: Linda Mercadante, in her book *Victims
and Sinners*, claims that the original intention of A.A.'s founders was to
have the Big Book the central point of recovery. She insists that "meeting
attendance was not seen as 'vital to sobriety.'" In her analysis, the rise of
meetings was accidental, more or less an afterthought that later took over the
very character of the movement. This seems a very strained interpretation.
While it is true that the Big Book was seen as the central point, capable of
evoking reverence both then and now, this does not diminish that fact that
fellowship, the idea of one drunk helping another, sprang forth almost
immediately as one of the key ingredients in the movement. A person cannot get
sober alone: this became an axiomatic and vital A.A. tenet. Fellowship became
indistinguishable from the movement itself. This was a situation in which one
could not tell the dancer from the dance.
Rowland Hazard's own personal experiences made the importance of fellowship
clear to the early A.A. people who knew him. And he was a patient of Courtenay
Baylor, who came out of the fellowship-oriented Emmanuel Movement tradition.
Rowland himself was very active in 1934 in the Oxford Group, which was a
strongly fellowship-based spiritual program, and as a result of this, seems to
have recovered from his almost two-year total breakdown and returned to his
normal business activities by October of that year.
Although Hazard did not get along with Bill Wilson and the other early A.A.s,
never joined an A.A. group, and may not have even liked its program, the fact
is that he knew from personal experience the power of the fellowship he had
seen, felt, and witnessed in other contexts. And he must have had some sort of
influence on early A.A.s who knew about him, whether at first or second hand.
Could one imagine that some small portion of the power of the early Emmanuel
meetings, held by Elwood Worcester in the church basement in Boston back at
the beginning of the century, was somehow carried through time and was
conveyed to Hazard by Courtenay Baylor when he ministered to and influenced
him in 1933 and 1934? We cannot know. But it is clear that behind Ebby
Thatcher, the messenger who brought the word of salvation to Bill Wilson in
the kitchen of Bill's apartment in November 1934, lay the figure of Rowland
Hazard III, the mysterious messenger behind the messenger.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE BY GLENN C. (South Bend, Indiana) -- Prof. Dubiel backs up his account
with a set of detailed endnotes, which have been omitted from this brief
excerpt from his book, except for one of the notes, which is important to
cite.
There he talks about the actual dates of Rowland Hazard's involvement in the
Oxford Group, as nearly as we can reconstruct this: "Rowland's membership and
active participation in the Oxford Group is well-documented in family
correspondence. See the letter from Mary P. B. Hazard to Thomas P. Hazard
dated 25 February 1934 in the Thomas P. Hazard Papers; and the letters from
Thomas P. Hazard to Mary P. B. Hazard dated 14 February and 28 March 1934 in
the Rowland G. Hazard II Papers, both in the Manuscripts Collection, RIHS."
What is especially important to observe in this set of dates is that there is
no indication that Rowland Hazard joined the Oxford Group immediately after
talking with Carl Jung in 1931. Or at any rate, references to his involvement
in the Oxford Group do not appear in any documents now known until almost
three years later. The later statements by various A.A. members purporting to
show that Rowland saw the light and joined the Oxford Group within a few days
or weeks after seeing Jung and never drank again (often accompanied by what
looks like an amazing amount of detail) seem to be on the whole totally
legendary. In fact, the later A.A. oral traditions about Rowland Hazard, for
some unknown reason, seem to show more in the way of free-floating creative
imagination and pure invention than almost any other part of early A.A.
history!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SELECTED REFERENCES FROM PROF. DUBIEL'S ENDNOTES
Winfield Scott Downs, *Men of New England*, vol. 4 (New York: American
Historical Co., 1947).
"Rowland Hazard Dead in 65th Year," *Providence Journal*, 21 December 1945.
Steve Dalpe and Rick Stattler, "A Guide to the Rowland Hazard III Papers,"
Rhode Island Historical Society, 1999.
Letter from Rick Stattler (Rhode Island Historical Society Manuscripts
Curator) to Richard M. Dubiel, 8 September 2003.
Courtenay Baylor, *Remaking a Man: One Successful Method of Mental Refitting*
(New York: Moffat, Yard, 1919).
Ernest Kurtz, *Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous* (Center City, MN:
Hazelden, 1979).
*Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age* (New York: A.A. Publishing, Inc., 1957).
R. Thomsen, Bill W. (New York: Harper & Row, 1975).
*"Pass It On" The Story of Bill Wilson and How the A.A. Message Reached the
World* (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1984).
Letter from Glenn F Chesnut, Professor of History, Indiana University (South
Bend), to Richard M. Dubiel, 17 October 2003.
Linda A. Mercadante, *Victims and Sinners: Spiritual Roots of Addiction and
Recovery* (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996).
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++++Message 1823. . . . . . . . . . . . More on Fitz M
From: jlobdell54 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/19/2004 5:32:00 AM
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Just a reminder that Fitz was also a founder (present at the first
regular meeting) in Eastern PA, and in North Jersey, as well as MD
and DC. Also, I'm told, through Oscar V., the line in Kansas City
and CO (and probably other places too) also goes back to Fitz. You
might be interested to know that there is evidence his family called
him Hugh -- but we'll cover some of that at our panel in Eastern PA
(Elizabethtown) June 5. -- Jared
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++++Message 1824. . . . . . . . . . . . Capt. Jim Baxter dead at 79
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/22/2004 10:25:00 AM
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The following obituary appeared today:
James A. Baxter, New Bern, North Carolina
Saturday, May. 22, 2004
©The Virginian-Pilot
James Arthur "Jim" Baxter, 79, died May 21, 2004, at his home. Born Sept. 30,
1924, in Van Buren, Ark., he was the son of the late William Arthur Baxter and
Waisie Johnson Baxter. Jim was a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of
1947, serving his country for 28 years as a naval officer, attaining the rank
of captain. During his military career, he commanded the USS Waldron and the
USS Dahlgren, as well as serving as Naval Attache in Warsaw, Poland. Jim
founded, organized and served as director for the Navy's Alcoholism Prevention
Program, for which he was awarded the Legion of Merit. After retiring from
active duty, he continued his fight against alcoholism by serving in the
allied field of Employee Assistance Programs, as executive director of ALMACA,
the national professional organization for those in the employee assistance
field. Jim is survived by his soul mate and wife, Karen; as well as three
daughters, Christine B. Philput, Ph.D., Winchenden, Mass. and her husband
Donald, Mary R. "Molly" Baxter and Elizabeth L. Baxter, both of Virginia
Beach; two stepsons, Clifton T. Hopper of Moorestown, N.J. and his wife
Barbara and Whitney Hopper of Overland Park, Kan. and his wife Pamela; and
five grandchildren including his namesake, James Philput and his wife Miranda,
Katherine Baxter, Ashley Hopper, Alexis Hopper and Brennan Hopper. A memorial
service will be held Sunday at 5 p.m. at Cotten Funeral Home with full
military honors. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in
memory of Jim to Craven County Health Department Home-Health Hospice.
The following is an excerpt from my book "With a Lot of Help From Our Friends:
the Politics of Alcoholism" in which I discuss Jim's role:
"In late 1970 we held our first hearings specifically on drug abuse and
alcoholism in the military. We decided to have a panel of recovered alcoholics
who had suffered from alcoholism while in the military. So on December 3 this
panel testified in such a way that we could preserve their anonymity. Julien
Granger had met a young Army non-commissioned officer, Jim S., who had worked
â€" drunk â€" on nuclear warheads. I also invited Jim B., from the Navy, and
Hal M. a retired Air Force Colonel. Both Jim and Hal had held highly sensitive
intelligence positions during their military service and while they were still
drinking.
"When I telephoned Jim and Hal and asked them to testify, they agreed without
hesitation. Hal told me later that he had told his boss at the State
Department that he was going to testify. It was the first time he had told her
that he was as recovered alcoholic. She was very understanding.
"Jim had more of a problem with his superiors. Not long after I invited them
to testify, I received a call from the Pentagon. 'I understand that you have
invited [Jim B.] to testify before the subcommittee. Of course, this was done
informally â€" you didn't go through Navy channels â€" so I have no official
role here. But I wanted you to know that we believe he would be much more
comfortable about testifying if he could testify in civilian clothes instead
of in uniform.'
"'Of course,' I replied in as sweet a manner as I could muster, 'we want the
Captain to be as comfortable as possible so he may wear whatever he chooses.'
"Later that day I got a call from Jim. 'Nancy,' he said, 'I got a call from
the Pentagon. They are not too happy about my testifying and told me that they
want me to wear civilian clothes. Do you want me in uniform?'
"'Well, Jim,' I replied, 'we certainly want you to feel comfortable.' I then
told him of the call I'd had from the Pentagon. 'But if you'd feel just as
comfortable in uniform we sure would like to have you in uniform.'
"'Gotcha, kid,' he replied. He showed up for the hearing in uniform.
"When this panel was called to testify Hughes made the usual announcement that
they were testifying anonymously and there would be no pictures allowed which
showed their faces. 'It's O.K. to shoot the back of their heads' he added,
'but not their faces.' As they were testifying, one of the TV network
reporters approached me and whispered, 'We'd like to bring the cameras up to
the side to get a picture of their hands. We will not shoot their faces.' I
told him it would be O.K.
"I was puzzled about why they would want a shot of the witnesses' hands, but
my curiosity was satisfied when I watched the TV news that evening. True to
their word they showed no pictures of the faces. But there was a wonderful
shot of Jim's sleeve showing the gold braid of his Captain's rank. I suspect
there was apoplexy at the Pentagon.
"...
"At one point the Senator mentioned to the panel that people often think of
alcoholics as skid row bums. 'Do you feel like bums?' he asked. Jim B.
responded by raising his arm to show the gold braid.
"A few months later, Jim telephoned me. 'I heard a rumor that the Navy has
found a recovered Captain whom they are going to name to head the Navy's
alcoholism program. Do you know who it is? I'd like to contact him and ask him
for a job.'
'Jim, you're the only recovered Captain I am aware of; it's probably you.'
"'Oh, no,' he said, 'I'd certainly know if it were me. It's someone else.'
Well, my hunch was right. On August 22, 1971, he was installed as the first
Director of the Navy Alcohol Abuse Control Program. It grew rapidly in size
and effectiveness under Jim's able leadership and in January 1972, the Alcohol
Rehabilitation Center in Norfolk, Virginia, was commissioned. Other centers
were soon opened in Great Lakes, Illinois; San Diego, California; and
Jacksonville, Florida, all patterned after Zuska's Long Beach facility.
Smaller units were opened in a total of fourteen Naval Hospitals, and
Alcoholic Rehabilitation "Drydocks" were planned as outpatient resources at
strategic locations all over the world.
"...
"It seems that all the recovered naval officers still on active duty got
assigned to the Navy's alcoholism program. This was not surprising because
there was really nowhere else they could go in the Navy. As Jim told the
Subcommittee: 'Due to the lack of understanding by many people in the service,
once an alcoholic has been openly identified he can be sober indefinitely but
that man's career is pretty much down the drain. Right now in some particular
areas, I am unassignable as far as the service is concerned, because they will
not put somebody with a history of alcoholism into a number of different jobs.
This, I feel, is unfortunate because I certainly feel that I am more competent
now than I was two or three years ago when I was commanding officer of a ship
â€" certainly more reliable, if not more competent.'".
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++++Message 1825. . . . . . . . . . . . Oscar V
From: jlobdell54 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/23/2004 12:22:00 PM
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I'm looking for any information on Oscar Vieths, listed by Richard K
among the first forty members of AA, with an indication he did not
stay sober. Thomsen's BILL W gives him as from an old St Louis
family, and a recent conversation with a Regional Trustee (Gary K)
suggests that Oscar did in fact stay sober and was fundamental in
establishing AA in Kansas City and from that in the founding of AA
in Colorado. The only Oscar Vieths I have found in St Louis was
born in 1874, son of Claus Vieths (1843-1896). If anyone can give
me any information on our Oscar V I would very much appreciate it. --
Jared lobdell
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++++Message 1826. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Oscar V
From: goldentextpro@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/23/2004 11:32:00 PM
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In response to Jared's request for information on Oscar Veiths:
Bill Wilson typed up a short "history" of sorts of the years 1934-1939. This
was found at Stepping Stones. In this list he refers to Oscar as one of the
failures during that early period. Bill's notes do not elaborate on events
post-Big Book release. As my own roster of early AA members indicates, the
information I had provided portrays the picture at that time (1934-39).
Whether he did eventually make it, it is very possible. And it would be of
value for my own purposes to know that information for accuracy.
As to his purported involvement in Kansas City and in Colorado:
My sources for the history of AA's growth around the country include Bob P.'s
never-released Non-Approved History of Alcoholics Anonymous 1957-1985. The
title is a bit of a misnomer, as it covers quite a lot of facts from 1939 to
1985. Bob P. broke down AA's expansion into regions. In the sections "Kansas
City and Western Missouri" and "Colorado," there is no mention of an "Oscar"
anywhere. I should also make note of Bob's own comments that his work was by
no means a complete picture for every region. However it was exhaustively
researched and compiled very well.
My other sources are AA's Conference-approved literature and other "non-AA"
works (i.e., Kurtz's Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous), as well as
rosters that were compiled by Jim Burwell and Bill Wilson on the early AAs.
Oscar is not on any lists.
I would suggest that the best way to go about verifying this claim would be to
check with the Kansas City Intergroup for archival research. And the same with
Denver. Quite often these offices will have correspondence letters and early
rosters somewhere on file or in storage. Hopefully something may exist there
that will corroborate Gary K's information.
Best of luck,
Richard K.
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++++Message 1827. . . . . . . . . . . . 12 th tradition -Anonymity is the
spiritual foundation of all our traditions,
From: snuffysdead . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/24/2004 8:25:00 PM
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Hi friends
I am new here - used to do history buffs a while back.
I am doing a short presentation on Tradition 12 on Friday. would you
have a few comments on the 12th Tradition that I may share these
with our Primary Purpose Group? I will do so anonymously if you so
request.
I am particularly interested in history, the spirtual foundation of
the 12th tradition, and any application of this tradition such as
you may have in your personal life.
I think alot of local AA members get confused about what is to be
kept anonymous and what is not, too. An example of this is what
someone said at a previous meeting - should it be repeated inside
the group? Outside the group among AA friends -etc., and any
general guidelines of that kind you may have.
Of course the general presentation is just on the 12th tradition.
Any help would be appreciated -post to thread here or e-mail to
snuffysdead@yahoo.com
Thanks
Beth T
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++++Message 1828. . . . . . . . . . . . AA archivists
From: steve . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/24/2004 9:31:00 PM
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Does anyone have a list of archivists by location? Recently an
archivist from Pinella County tracked me down through this group to
introduce me to a man 56 years sober---who's originally from
michigan, and it brought to my attention that if we had a contact
list by area, or county, or city...that it would be much easier to
send the right info to the right archivist, and easier to connect.
Thanks for all you do,
Steven (now in mt pleasant, michigan) Covieo
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++++Message 1829. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12 th tradition -Anonymity is the
spiritual foundation of all our traditions,
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 8:27:00 AM
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Hi Beth
The long form of the Traditions is invaluable for establishing informed
context:
11) Our relations with the general public should be characterized by personal
anonymity. We think A.A. ought to avoid sensational advertising. Our names and
pictures as A.A. members ought not be broadcast, filmed, or publicly printed.
Our public relations should be guided by the principle of attraction rather
than promotion. There is never need to praise ourselves. We feel it better to
let our friends recommend us.
12) And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of
Anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to
place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a
genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us;
that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over
us all.
A piece of AA literature that might be very helpful is the pamphlet
"Understanding Anonymity." It is both concise and informative.
The historical origins of the Traditions (i.e. Bill W's Traditions essays) can
be found in the Grapevine book "Language of the Heart." Other good sources of
historical information are the book "AA Comes of Age" and the pamphlet "AA
Tradition - How It Developed."
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: snuffysdead
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2004 8:25 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] 12 th tradition -Anonymity is the spiritual
foundation of all our traditions,
Hi friends
I am new here - used to do history buffs a while back.
I am doing a short presentation on Tradition 12 on Friday. would you
have a few comments on the 12th Tradition that I may share these
with our Primary Purpose Group? I will do so anonymously if you so
request.
I am particularly interested in history, the spirtual foundation of
the 12th tradition, and any application of this tradition such as
you may have in your personal life.
I think alot of local AA members get confused about what is to be
kept anonymous and what is not, too. An example of this is what
someone said at a previous meeting - should it be repeated inside
the group? Outside the group among AA friends -etc., and any
general guidelines of that kind you may have.
Of course the general presentation is just on the 12th tradition.
Any help would be appreciated -post to thread here or e-mail to
snuffysdead@yahoo.com
Thanks
Beth T
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++++Message 1830. . . . . . . . . . . . The DAy Dr Bob died...
From: andyrawks . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 8:53:00 AM
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Can anyone fill me in on a tape I have called 'The Day Dr Bob Died'
which purports to be Bill speaking at the first anniversary of the
Kips Bay, NY group - but which I seem to remember reading may
actually be an acted radio performance? Does anyone know more about
this?
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++++Message 1831. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12 th tradition -Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions,
From: Alex H. . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 12:39:00 PM
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> I am particularly interested in history, the spirtual foundation of
> the 12th tradition, and any application of this tradition such as
> you may have in your personal life.
Well... there is a Jewish tradition that one should be careful
not to shame the person who needs help. In that vein, Maimonides
(Rambam) listed several levels of "charity" that are all good
ways to give but some are better than others. One way to give
"charity" is to "give in secret". In other words, the giver
doesn't know who is receiving and the receiver doesn't know who
is giving. This takes the ego out of the giving and no one
loses or gains social status.
I should better define the word "charity" because Christians
have changed the emphasis of this word. The word "Charity" comes
from the Greek and means "to give out of love." "Charity" in
Hebrew is "tzedaka" and it means "to give justice" roughly
speaking. In "Freedom from Bondage" one of my favorite quotes
reads "The greatest freedom a person can know is doing what he
is supposed to do because he wants to do it." In a Jewish sense,
"Charity is what you are SUPPOSSED to do" whether you can muster
the feeling or not. Christians emphasize "and you should WANT to
do it out of love". In AA we know that having both is best, but
if you can't have both, just do it and the feeling will follow
later. That is a Jewish attitude.
> I think alot of local AA members get confused about what is
> to be kept anonymous and what is not, too. An example of
> this is what someone said at a previous meeting - should it
> be repeated inside the group? Outside the group among AA
> friends -etc., and any general guidelines of that kind
> you may have.
I generally keep to my own story. If I hear something in a
meeting that helped me then I relate that to what I learned and
don't try to duplicate what the other person said exactly.
Frankly, trying to relate what others said usually fails and
ends up sounding more like preaching or like reading from a
textbook. I hate that and usually stop listening. But when I
relate what I heard to myself, then my voice has conviction and
that is what makes AA powerful.
Alex H.
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++++Message 1832. . . . . . . . . . . . The day that Dr. Bob died
From: kilroy6131.rm . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 2:34:00 PM
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There is a tape that was recorded the night Dr. Bob died. On that
night Bill Wilson was to speak at the the first anniversary of the
Kips Bay, NY group. That afternoon he had got the news about the
death of his old friend by means of a telephone call. Bill decided to
go to the anniversity anyway but in stead of telling his personal
story he told the AA story. Bill talked of meeting Dr. Bob and the
beginning of AA. Bills voice was badly broken up he didn't sound much
like himself.
Kilroy W.
4021 Club
Philadelphia PA
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++++Message 1833. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The day that Dr. Bob died
From: goldentextpro@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 12:37:00 PM
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That tape is not of Bill. It was a re-enactment of sorts. I have copies of
this tape, as well as over 100 other talks by Bill over the years. It is
definitely not Bill.
Richard K.
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++++Message 1834. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The DAy Dr Bob died...
From: davidt030992 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/25/2004 4:57:00 PM
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Yes, this is a play written and performed by Bill McN around 1989.
Unfortunately, it has gotten passed around the fellowship as an
actual tape of Bill speaking on the night of Bob's death, which was
never the intent of the author of the play.
Here's a description of the play from the Winter/Spring 2004 Erie
County "Aware News" about a recent local performance:
Close to 100 celebrants journeyed back in time to New York City in
November, 1950 to mark National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery
Month. The occasion for the time-travel was Moments...An Evening With
Bill W., an evening of theater that recaptured the
birth and early struggles of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous
and of the American phenomenon known as the recovery
movement.\Moments, a one-man show written and performed by Bill
McN*** of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, took place at Daemen College in
September. The performance, preceded by a dessert reception, was
presented by The Recovery Alliance and ECCPASA.
The show is set at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous held by the Kips
Bay group in Brooklyn, New York, where the evening's speaker is to be
Bill Wilson, co-founder of the fellowship with Dr. Bob Smith of
Akron, Ohio. On that night, Wilson has just learned that Smith has
just died, and uses the occasion to reminisce about how the two
friends came together to offer a solution to the disease of
alcoholism. \Though the Kips Bay meeting where Wilson spoke never
occurred - it's entirely fictional - all the incidents related by
Wilson are rooted in fact. McN*** interviewed numerous members of the
recovering community who had connections with Wilson, Smith and other
early members of Alcoholics Anonymous, which dates its beginnings to
1935. Many of their anecdotes and recollections are incorporated into
the play.
Wilson had been a speculator on Wall Street during the boom years of
the 1920s. But by the 1930s, the Depression and his out-of-control
drinking had laid him low. Many attempts to achieve sobriety in the
primitive "drying out" hospitals of the era proved fruitless.
Then, by chance, Wilson met up with an old drinking buddy who had
become sober through membership in the Oxford Group. Some of the
bedrock principles of that organization helped Wilson to attain at
least a shaky sobriety. Later, these prinicples were to grow into the
steps of AA.
But finding himself in Akron, Ohio, in 1935 to clinch a business
deal, Wilson found himself wanting a drink. Remembering that helping
another active alcoholic to refrain from drinking is the best way to
stay sober, Wilson sought out Smith, a surgeon whose practice was in
tatters owing to his alcoholism. The beginning of Alcoholics
Anonymous dates from their historic meeting.\With the arrival of
their third member, Alcoholics Anonymous began slowly to grow, with
most of its members based in New York, where Wilson lived, and Akron,
Smith's home town. One of the fellowship's earliest struggles
centered around funding, when an expected grant from the Rockefeller
Foundation did not come through. It turned out to be a blessing in
disguise, for from that time on AA became self-supporting through the
contributions of its members only, and would never find itself
beholden to outside interests.\Using but a few props - a bar stool, a
kitchen table, a lectern - McN*** recreated the ambience of the
Depression era and the post-war years. And he brought to life
something that was then new under the sun - the hope for millions of
sufferers of lifelong recovery from the scourge of addictive disease.
It was an age of humble, defeated men and women who would become
legendary pioneers, an age captured in Moments...An Evening With Bill
W.
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "andyrawks"
wrote:
> Can anyone fill me in on a tape I have called 'The Day Dr Bob Died'
> which purports to be Bill speaking at the first anniversary of the
> Kips Bay, NY group - but which I seem to remember reading may
> actually be an acted radio performance? Does anyone know more about
> this?
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++++Message 1835. . . . . . . . . . . . MAY, 1971
From: dla32965 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/27/2004 4:51:00 AM
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I am looking for any article that may have been published reporting
the burial of Bill W. in East Dorset, VT in May, 1971.
Thanks.
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++++Message 1836. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: The DAy Dr Bob died...
From: Bob McK . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/27/2004 10:26:00 AM
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10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">See message #743
(http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/743)
where Bill McNiff, the actor in this performance, talks about it.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">Our area archives (NE
Ohio, area 54) has an original copy of the videotape. It's a
very nice historical fiction production.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* andyrawks
[mailto:chartvoter@hotmail.com]
*Sent:* Tuesday, May 25, 2004 9:53 AM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] The DAy
Dr Bob died...
12.0pt;">
Can anyone fill me in on a
tape I have called 'The Day Dr Bob Died'
which purports to be Bill speaking at the first anniversary
of the
Kips Bay, NY group - but which I seem to remember
reading may
actually be an acted radio performance? Does
anyone know more about
this?
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++++Message 1837. . . . . . . . . . . . Fourth Edition of Big Book
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/31/2004 2:31:00 AM
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Alcoholics Anonymous World Services has now made the entire Fourth Edition of
the Big Book, including the Personal Stories, available online. Thanks to Doug
H. for bringing this to my attention.
Nancy
http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline
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++++Message 1838. . . . . . . . . . . . Grapevine Digital Archives
From: kentedavis@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/31/2004 6:09:00 AM
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For the month of June The AA Grapevine has made it possible to access the
archives at no charge.
.AA Grapevine - Our Meeting in Print Online [81]
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++++Message 1839. . . . . . . . . . . . SUPPORT YOUR SERVICES
From: dla32965 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/31/2004 12:01:00 PM
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In some AA communities in South Florida I am aware of "Support Your
Services" Committees that have been established and are functioning
in some districts. Not in my own, however, and I am trying to find
out what these committees are all about. I can find nothing
about "Support Your Services" on any of the non-AA websites I
frequently visit. It does not appear that such committees are part
of the general service structure as it is nowhere mentioned in the
service manual. I would like to know if anyone has this information
what objectives these disctrict "Support Your Services" committees
are designed to meet, what criteria are generally in place to
necessitate the establishment of such a committee, and what are it's
traditional guidelines.
Thank you.
Darcie Alcott
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++++Message 1840. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: SUPPORT YOUR SERVICES
From: J. Carey Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/1/2004 11:10:00 AM
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Darcie,
District 9, Broward County, holds service "events" in Ft. Lauderdale which
feature presentations by the various committees -- including the Central
Office/Intergroup -- active in the District. Perhaps this is what you have
heard about. I'm not sure there is a specific committee, per se, behind the
efforts.
Contact the District 8 folks at the next quarterly, July 11th in Miami Beach
In Love and Service,
_\|/_
(o o)
-----------o00-(_)-00o-----------carey----------
Archives Committtee, Area 15, District 8.
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++++Message 1841. . . . . . . . . . . . Lincoln''s Washingtonian Address
From: Carter Elliott . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2004 8:19:00 AM
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Each February we post Abraham Lincoln's address to the Springfield, IL,
Washingtonian Temperance Society (Feb. 22, 1842) on our local billw listserv.
One of our members who's a grad student at Radford U. wants to quote portions
in a paper, but needs bibliographical references. I've had the speech on file
for so many years I have no idea where we got it. Does anyone in our AA
History Lovers group have a reference the student can use?
Carter Elliott
http://home.usit.net/~carter32/
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Friends. Fun. Try the all-new Yahoo! Messenger [82]
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++++Message 1842. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Lincoln''s Washingtonian Address
From: Roger Weed . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2004 10:50:00 AM
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I found his address to the Washingtonians at <
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/History/ancient/TempAddr.htm
>.
Roger
--- Carter Elliott wrote:
> Each February we post Abraham Lincoln's address to
> the Springfield, IL, Washingtonian Temperance
> Society (Feb. 22, 1842) on our local billw listserv.
> One of our members who's a grad student at Radford
> U. wants to quote portions in a paper, but needs
> bibliographical references. I've had the speech on
> file for so many years I have no idea where we got
> it. Does anyone in our AA History Lovers group have
> a reference the student can use?
> Carter Elliott
> http://home.usit.net/~carter32/
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++++Message 1843. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Lincoln''s Washingtonian Address
From: Hugh D. Hyatt . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2004 9:06:00 AM
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Carter Elliott is alleged to have written, on or about 6/2/2004 09:19:
> Does anyone in our AA History Lovers group have a reference the student can
use?
Try Vol. 1 of *The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln*, (8 vols.) Roy P.
Basler, Ed., Rutgers University Press, 1953, on or about p. 278 (from
http://www.bartleby.com/73/36.html).
--
Hugh D. Hyatt voice: 215.947.1799
P.O. Box 143 fax: 603.316.0347
611 Dale Road e-mail: hughhyatt@bluehen.udel.edu
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 web: http://hugh.freeshell.org
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++++Message 1844. . . . . . . . . . . . Significant June Dates in AA History
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2004 1:12:00 PM
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June 1:
1949 - Anne Smith, Dr. Bob's wife, died.
June 4:
2002- Caroline Knapp, author of "Drinking: A Love Story" died sober of lung
cancer.
June 5:
1940 - Ebby Thatcher took a job at the NY Worlds Fair.
June 6:
1940 - The first AA Group in Richmond, VA, was formed.
1979 - AA gave the two-millionth copy of the Big Book to Joseph Califano, then
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. It was presented by Lois Wilson,
Bill's wife, in New York.
June 7:
1939 - Bill and Lois Wilson had an argument, the first of two times Bill
almost slipped.
1941 - The first AA Group in St. Paul, Minnesota, was formed.
June 8:
1941 - Three AA's started a group in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
June 10:
1935 - The date that is celebrated as Dr. Bob's last drink and the official
founding date of AA. There is some evidence that the founders, in trying to
reconstruct the history, got the date wrong and it was actually June 17.
June 11:
1945 - Twenty-five hundred attend AA's 10th Anniversary in Cleveland, Ohio.
1969 - Dr. Bob's granddaughter, Bonna, daughter of Sue Smith and Ernie
Galbraith (The Seven Month Slip in the First Edition) killed herself after
first killing her six-year-old child.
1971 - Ernie Galbraith died.
June 13:
1945 - Morgan R. gave a radio appearance for AA with large audience. He was
kept under surveillance to make sure he didn't drink.
June 15:
1940 - First AA Group in Baltimore, MD, was formed.
June 16:
1938 - Jim Burwell, "The Vicious Cycle" in Big Book, had his last drink.
June 17:
1942 - New York AA groups sponsored the first annual NY area meeting. Four
hundred and twenty-four heard Dr. Silkworth and AA speakers.
June 18:
1940 - One hundred attended the first meeting in the first AA clubhouse at
334-1/2 West 24th St., New York City.
June 19:
1942 - Columnist Earl Wilson reported that NYC Police Chief Valentine sent six
policemen to AA and they sobered up. "There are fewer suicides in my files,"
he commented.
June 21:
1944 - The first Issue of the AA Grapevine was published.
June 24:
1938 - Two Rockefeller associates told the press about the Big Book "Not to
bear any author's name but to be by 'Alcoholics Anonymous.'"
June 25:
1939 - The New York Times reviewer wrote that the Big Book is "more soundly
based psychologically than any other treatment I have ever come upon."
June 26:
1935 - Bill Dotson. (AA #3) entered Akron's City Hospital for his last detox
and his first day of sobriety.
June 28:
1935 - Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson visited Bill Dotson at Akron's City Hospital.
June 30:
1941 - Ruth Hock showed Bill Wilson the Serenity Prayer and it was adopted
readily by AA.
2000 - More than 47,000 from 87 countries attended the opening meeting of the
65th AA Anniversary in Minneapolis, MN.
Other significant events in June for which we have no specific date:
1948 - A subscription to the AA Grapevine was donated to the Beloit,
Wisconsin, Public Library by a local AA member.
1981 - AA in Switzerland held its 25th Anniversary Convention with Lois Wilson
and Nell Wing in attendance.
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++++Message 1845. . . . . . . . . . . . type of cancer Dr. Bob died from?
From: Dan Roe . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2004 5:17:00 PM
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Does anyone know where to find documentation of the type of cancer that killed Dr. Bob?
Dan R
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++++Message 1846. . . . . . . . . . . . Gratitude Month/Week
From: Colston Vear . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/3/2004 10:50:00 AM
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Aside from Box 459 Vol 48, No.5 oct-Nov 2002 does anyone have any
information about the origins of Gratitude Week/Month. I understand
it is November in the US. I am UK based and here it is June. I
also understand it is October in Canada. Does anyone know why the
discrepancy? It is recommended here that we give the equivalent of
a day's drinking in "gratitude". Are there any customs elsewhere?
Thanks.
Colston, Bristol, UK.
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++++Message 1847. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Gratitude Month/Week
From: J. Carey Thomas . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/3/2004 3:51:00 PM
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Colston,
Below, a smattering of AA History in Plam Beach County, Florida. The last item
-- it is believed -- was the first celebration of a Gratitude Dinner in the
US. This has continued each year, with all proceeds contributed to GSO in New
York. Others in the group can -- and probably will -- fill you in on your
other questions.
(I have 'pasted' the items into this note, as the group doesn't want
"attachments.")
carey
Area 15, District 8 Archives Committee
IMPORTANT DATES IN PALM BEACH COUNTY
AA HISTORY
1. September 13, 1945:
A Lake Worth resident, Steve Hulme, who found AA in Chicago, spoke at a Rotary
Club meeting in Lake Worth about AA.
2. December 13, 1945:
Steve and Bob R. (from Connecticut) held first AA meeting in Lake Worth.
3. February 3, 1946;
First AA meeting in West Palm Beach held at Norton Art Gallery. Our own Paul
M. attended and marks his sobriety from that date. Chris O. (for whom Chris
House is named) also attended that meeting, but his sobriety dated from 1955
or 1956.
4. December 6, 1951:
Sixth Anniversary of AA in Palm Beach County held in Lake Worth.
Chairman - Steve H.
AA Speakers: Hazel O., P.O. G.
Guest Speaker: Charles Francis Coe
5. November 30, 1949:
First Club Room opened at 512 South Olive, West Palm Beach.
6. March 5, 1961:
Dedication of our new Headquarters at 423 4th Street, West Palm Beach.
7. First Saturday in November, 1962:
First of our GRATITUDE DINNERS held at 423 4th Street, West Palm Beach.
____________________________________________________________________________
provenance:
12TH ANNUAL GRATITUDE DINNER
SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 3, 1973
reproduced by Carey Thomas
from a card distributed at that Dinner.
District 8 Archives:January 10, 2002
carey
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++++Message 1848. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: AA archivists
From: rrecovery1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/6/2004 8:07:00 AM
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There will be the National Archivists Workshop in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee from Septemeber 23-26. Might be good place to go.
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++++Message 1849. . . . . . . . . . . . History of Alcoholics Anonymous --
Suffolk County NY
From: rrecovery1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/6/2004 11:34:00 AM
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Took over as archivist over a year ago and am trying to put together
the history of all meetings. Anyone know anything please feel free to
contact me
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++++Message 1850. . . . . . . . . . . . origin of the 3rd tradtion
From: buickmackane0830 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/5/2004 3:34:00 AM
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Besides the examples listed in the 12&12,AA comes to age,etc,are
there any other backround storeis for the inception of the 3rd
tradition ?
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++++Message 1851. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. George Gehrmann, Dr. Jack Norris
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/9/2004 9:00:00 AM
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Hi Friends,
This is Mel Barger, the occasional free-lance writer in Toledo. I am
interested in finding out more about the industrial alcoholism program started
at DuPont in the early 1940s by Dr. George Gehrmann, the medical director. He
reportedly brought an AA member onto his staff to counsel DuPont employees
with alcohol problems. This may have been the first such program in industry.
Does anybody know who the AA member was?
Dr. Jack Norris also started an early program at Eastman Kodak. Anything known
about his program and AA members involved would be helpful.
Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I do need this
information in the next few days.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1852. . . . . . . . . . . . Father Ed Dowling and CANA
From: rrecovery1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/6/2004 8:01:00 AM
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Wonderful to find this site. In addition to the history of AA. I am
interested in those other groups that formed using the 12 steps of
AA. The more obscure or little known the better.
For starters I am trying to track down more information on CANA that
Father Ed Dowling started around 1942. I am right in assuming this
was the second 12 step program? What are there 12 steps? Does anyone
know of a good site for information on this and of course, I am
always interested in finding information out on other 12 step groups
especially ones that no longer exist.
Bob
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++++Message 1853. . . . . . . . . . . . Fw: the passing of an AA friend and
servant
From: ricktompkins@sbcglobal.net> . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/9/2004 11:01:00 AM
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Relocating from Canada and serving a brief five years as a Staff Member at
AA's General Service Office, Bill Archer most recently served AA as the 2004
General Service Conference Coordinator and Secretary. Please keep his family
in your thoughts and hearts, and remember his example of service and courage.
Our love goes with him.
Rick, Illinois
----- Original Message ----- From: General Service Office Staff
Sent: Monday, June 07, 2004 1:27 PM
Subject: Bill Archer's Passing
Friends,
It is with enormous sadness that we inform you of the death of our beloved
friend and colleague, Bill Archer, on Sunday evening, June 6, 2004 at the
Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y.
I know you join all of us here at G.S.O. in sending our love and support to
Bill's wife, Audrey, and his brother, David, as they mourn the passing of this
dear person.
Bill fought a courageous battle, always putting others ahead of himself,
giving every ounce of energy he could to the work and well-being of Alcoholics
Anonymous and practicing the principles of A.A. in all his affairs - right to
the end. Our lives are sadder without him but richer for having known and
worked with him.
Here are the planned arrangements for Bill's funeral and memorial service:
Funeral Home - Wake:
Wednesday, June 9, 2004
3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home
1076 Madison Ave at 81st Street
New York, N.Y. 10028
212-288-3500
Memorial Service -
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Service: - 2:00 pm - 3:00pm
Reception: - 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Interchurch Chapel (ground floor)
Interchurch Building
475 Riverside Drive
New York, N.Y. 10115
Audrey asks, in keeping with Bill's wishes, that in lieu of flowers a
contribution be sent to one or both of the organizations listed below:
Gilda's Club
195 West Houston Street
New York, N.Y., 10014
Please make checks out to:
Montefiore Medical Center Department of Oncology
Send to:
Dr. Andreas Kaubisch, M.D.
Montefiore Medical Center
Department of Oncology
111 East 210th Street
Bronx, N.Y. 10467-2490
Condolences to Bill's wife may be sent to:
Audrey Van Slyck
200 Clinton St # 4J
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
Condolences to Bill's brother may be sent to:
David Archer
c/o Audrey Van Slyck
200 Clinton St # 4J
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
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++++Message 1854. . . . . . . . . . . . AA Birthplace opens to public
From: JKNIGHTBIRD@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/9/2004 9:42:00 AM
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AA Birthplace Opens to Public June 12-13
6/8/2004
For the first time, the public will be able to view the Tudor-style cottage
where the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) founders came up with the idea for the
recovery program nearly 70 years ago, the Associated Press reported June 8.
The Gate Lodge in Akron, Ohio, will be open June 12-13. "It's such a
significant, blessed site," said Rev. Sam Ciccolini, who works with
individuals
with
alcohol and other drug addiction in Summit County.
The open house is part of this year's Founders Day weekend. Founders Day is
held annually to honor Robert Smith and William Wilson, who started the
organization that focuses on sobriety through faith and fellowship.
Today, the Gate Lodge is part of the Stan Hywet Estate, which is the family
home of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. founder F.A. Seiberling. His
daughter-in-law, Henrietta, introduced Smith, a friend of hers, to Wilson
through a group
called the Oxford Movement, a group of intellectuals who believed in using
Christian principals to solve problems.
Gate Lodge has remained a private residence over the years. However, a
fundraising campaign has begun to restore the home and create a public
exhibit.
"It's not unusual to see people jump the fence just to touch the building
with tears in their eyes," said curator Mark Heppner.
-------------------------------------------
Submitted by: Jocie in Chicago
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++++Message 1855. . . . . . . . . . . . Recordings of Bill W
From: rrecovery1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/10/2004 9:41:00 PM
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For the 69th anniversary of AA tonight, we played a CD of Dr. Bob
from 1948 and wonder if anyone has any tapes of Bill that would be
interested in swapping for a copy of this CD. Bob talked for about 45
minutes on this one. Kindly email me. Thanks
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++++Message 1856. . . . . . . . . . . . Printer''s Copy of Big Book
From: Pittman, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/11/2004 9:43:00 AM
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AA history for sale. In AACA p. 169 it states "in Henry's (Hank P) clear
handwritting all corrections were transferred to it."
Last year, May 2003, I was contacted by Bauman Rare Books in New York. They
had the printer's copy for sale. I flew out to take a look and verify the
handwriting. Lois gave the multilith to Barry Leach Jan 1, 1978. A relative
of Barry's is selling it. The owner thinking it is very valuable has now
taken it to Sotheby's and will be auctioned June 18. Put Bill W in search at
www.sotherbys.com and you will see item# N08006 in Lot 330.
The item description is wrong in my opinion. Bill W's handwriting is not in
the manuscript. It would be great to have it purchased and donated to GSO
archives or Stepping Stones.
Bill Pittman
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++++Message 1857. . . . . . . . . . . . Printer''s Copy of Big Book Part 2
From: Pittman, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/14/2004 8:34:00 AM
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here's link to NY Times article today, Bill Pittman
www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/books/14BILL.html
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++++Message 1858. . . . . . . . . . . . NY Time story re Big Book Manuscript
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/14/2004 9:41:00 AM
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From the New York Times today:
---
NY
My Name Is the Big Book. My Future Is Open.
June 14, 2004
By FELICIA R. LEE
On June 10, 1935, Robert Smith, a physician from Akron,
Ohio, took his last drink. He and William Wilson, better
known as Dr. Bob and Bill W., had no idea that the date
would later mark the beginning of what some consider one of the most important
movements in the 20th century:
Alcoholics Anonymous. Wilson later wrote an account of
their philosophy - that only an alcoholic could help
another alcoholic quit drinking - and the lives of other
alcoholics that is referred to as the Big Book, the
movement's bible.
Now Sotheby's is planning to auction what it says is
Wilson's master copy of the working draft of "Alcoholics
Anonymous," the Big Book's disarmingly straightforward
official title. Its value has been estimated by the auction
house as $300,000 to $500,000. The sale, scheduled for
Friday, has created excited speculation among collectors
and scholars about who will buy it, and a debate about its
value and rightful place.
Given the enormous impact of a book that in its fourth
printing alone has reached more than 19 million people,
some believe that Sotheby's is offering a priceless
historical document. That status, some argue, means that it
should be placed in an archive accessible to scholars and
ordinary people rather than on the auction block.
"I think these things really belong to the fellowship of
A.A.," said Eileen Giuliani, executive director of the
Stepping Stones Foundation, which maintains the home and
the documents of Wilson and his wife, Lois Wilson, as a
museum in Bedford Hills, N.Y. "Documents like this belong
in archives."
Bill Pittman, a historian who has written extensively about
the history of A.A., said he, too, was concerned that the
manuscript's sale would make it inaccessible to scholars.
He said the Sotheby catalog incorrectly stated that
Wilson's annotations were among the multitude of
annotations on the typewritten manuscript. Mr. Pittman said
he viewed the manuscript last year when the owner took it
to a rare-book dealer.
But Selby Kiffer, a senior vice president at Sotheby's,
said the manuscript did indeed contain Wilson's
annotations. He said experts had spent weeks going through the 161-page
manuscript, which contains thousands of annotations by many people.
In either case, the absence of Wilson's annotations does
not reduce the document's value, said Mr. Pittman, the
director of historical information at the Hazelden
Foundation in Center City, Minn. Although Wilson was the
primary author, there were many drafts and many comments from a wide variety
of people involved in the project, he said. The book authorship is stated as
"the story of how many thousands of men and women have recovered from
alcoholism."
"It's the most important piece of A.A. history to be sold,
ever," said Mr. Pittman, who worked for several years at
the A.A. archive in New York City. He said the margin notes
and last-minute changes before the master copy went off to
the printer provided valuable insights into how the Big
Book evolved. Still, he said, he thought the document was
overpriced. "I think someone should buy it and give it back
to A.A. and let researchers like myself look at it," Mr.
Pittman said. "I don't want someone to buy it and sell each
individual page."
Ms. Giuliani said, she too, thought the manuscript's price
put it out of the reach of serious researchers and was out
of line with what A.A. material usually cost.
In many ways the argument about Bill W.'s manuscript is
familiar, occurring whenever price tags are attached to
valuable historical items. The first edition of "Alcoholics
Anonymous" was published in April 1939, and only the
personal stories attached to the basic text have changed
over the years.
The 1938 document being auctioned was consigned to
Sotheby's by an A.A. member, Joseph B. (He asked that only the initial of his
last name be used.) His aunt was also an A.A. member, who knew Wilson
personally, he said, and she gave Mr. B. the manuscript back in 2001. The 1978
inscription on the manuscript is from Wilson's wife, who
died in 1988, to a "Barry" (who some historians say is the
writer Barry Leach, who wrote a biography of Lois Wilson).
Along with the manuscript, Sotheby's is offering a second-edition Big Book
that Wilson inscribed in 1958 to "Grace," Mr. B.'s aunt, and four LP albums of
A.A. lectures.
Mr. B. said his efforts to find interest in the document
within Alcoholics Anonymous "ran into a lot of brick walls,
a lot of dead ends." So, he said, he turned to Sotheby's to
establish its provenance and find a buyer. "Not being a
rich man, there was some money to be made, but that was not my main reason,"
Mr. B. said. "It's beyond words for me."
As an alcoholic in recovery since 1976, he said that Wilson
"saved my life." He found it thrilling, he added, to
imagine Wilson cobbling together the Big Book. "I hope it
ends up in a proper setting, an academic setting," he
continued. "I think Sotheby's can provide that venue."
Early drafts of the Big Book went out to dozens of people,
from alcoholics to psychologists, who sprinkled the margins
with their ideas, feelings and experiences. As the manuscript being auctioned
by Sotheby's shows, the book was a vigorous exercise in group-think, with a
jumble of
different handwriting crossing out words, circling phrases,
excising passages.
The first chapter tells Bill W.'s story. Wilson was born in
East Dorset, Vt., in 1895 and died of emphysema in 1971. He met Dr. Bob, the
co-founder of A.A., during a 1935 business trip to Akron. Desperate for a
drink, he contacted a local minister who put him in touch with Dr. Bob, a
general
practitioner and an alcoholic with a failing practice. The
two talked for hours, and the idea of a fellowship of
alcoholics helping alcoholics was born.
The Big Book was published four years later, but the first
sales were slow. It took took off only after a March 1,
1941, article in The Saturday Evening Post about Alcoholics
Anonymous and its "freed slaves of drink," as the writer
Jack Alexander put it.
"What really matters for us is the final version of the Big
Book,' which helped millions of people to recover," said
Judit Santon, the archivist at the General Service Office
of A.A. in New York City, home to the largest A.A. archive
in the world with half a million pieces of personal
correspondence and primary documentation.
Much of the interest in the manuscript has come from
"traditional book and manuscript dealers," Mr. Kiffer of
Sotheby's said. As far as anyone knows, he added, the
highest price tag for a single A.A.-related item has been
for first-edition copies of the Big Book, signed by Wilson,
which have gone for as much as $25,000.
A thriving market exists for Alcoholics Anonymous items, in
the same way that people collect Elvis Presley or Civil War
memorabilia, said David C. Lewis, a physician and founder
of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown
University. Social historians or any collector of Americana, as well as
members of 12-step programs would also find the manuscript intriguing, Dr.
Lewis said.
"It's basically priceless," he said of the document being
sold by Sotheby's. Susan Cheever, the author of "My Name Is Bill" (Simon &
Schuster, 2004), a biography of Wilson,
agreed. "This is one of the 10 or 20 most important books
written in the 20th century, probably the most important
nonfiction book," she said. "This guy, with `Dr. Bob,'
figured out how to save alcoholics. They changed the way we think about human
nature."
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++++Message 1859. . . . . . . . . . . . Selling Memberships
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/14/2004 2:30:00 PM
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The early members knew even before the Big Book was written that there should
be
no dues or fees. But I heard a presenter say that the man who took A.A. to one
part of the United States (possibly Florida) was selling memberships. He
wasn't
keeping the money. He sent it to the Alcoholic Foundation or whatever it was
at
the time. His reasoning was that people were more inclined to value something
that costs them money.
Can anyone confirm this, possibly with a supporting reference? From what the
speaker said, it sounded like there was documentation in the form of letters
that were exchanged at the time.
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++++Message 1860. . . . . . . . . . . . Conference Approved Literature
From: Roseanne Schofield . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/14/2004 9:20:00 PM
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Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be able
to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether or not
the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program was
acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem to
recall having read something about the use of conference approved literature
by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site, but I
searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak or
write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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++++Message 1861. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/15/2004 7:20:00 AM
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Hi Roseanne and Friends,
As author of both conference-approved and non-approved literature, I have a
special interest in this matter. As far as I know, it's never been stated that
we shouldn't read "outside" material. After all, don't we live in a country
that has a First Amendment permitting us to read what we want to read?
As I understand it, conference-approved came into being to assure that all
members would understand just what AA's position was on various issues, etc.
Unfortunately, some members do take this to mean that we should read only
conference-approved material. Here in Toledo, the groups are very rigid on
this issue and don't even offer that marvelous gem, Twenty-Four Hours a Day.
Our Central Office sells only conference-approved material, when they could
actually raise more money (and pay our secretary a decent salary) if they sold
other books.
I am very grateful that I spent my first months in sobriety in Pontiac, Mich.,
where the group offered Emmet Fox's "The Sermon on the Mount" and other items
that have been very helpful to me over the years.
Incidentally, an early Akron Manual put together with the help of Dr. Bob
listed about ten books that were considered helpful. None of them are on
today's conference-approved list, but they are excellent for our uses. Dr. Bob
was especially keen on recommending Henry Drummond's "The Greatest Thing in
the World" and said it would change your life if you would read it for thirty
days.
With the help of Glenn Chesnutt, I am publishing a book that includes both "As
A Man Thinketh" and "The Greatest Thing in the World, " along with the St.
Francis Prayer and commentary.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Roseanne Schofield
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 10:20 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Conference Approved Literature
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be
able to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether
or not the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program
was acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem
to recall having read something about the use of conference approved
literature by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site,
but I searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak
or write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant
articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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7:01:41 AM ET - 6/15/2004
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++++Message 1862. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/15/2004 9:05:00 AM
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Roseanne,
There is an unconscious movement to make the term "Conference Approved" mean
something that it does not mean. The simple summary of "Conference Approval"
is that it is literature written for AA that has been voted on in General
Service Conference meetings as representing the thinking of the majority of
(US and Canadian) AA groups. It is not a representation that the literature is
more right than other literature, only that it does not create substantial
disagreement within AA and represents the thinking of AA as a whole.
There is other literature, equally revered either locally or internationally,
that cannot be "Conference Approved" because it was not written for AA and is
either public domain or the copyright is owned by some private source.
A general statement that applies is that there is no such thing as "Conference
Dis-Approved" literature. All literature is fair grist for AA groups. Within
AA history we have the use of the Bible (cf., Anne's morning readings with
Bill and Bob), The Upper Room - a periodical meditation pamphlet that I
believe was put out by the Episcopal or some other church, "24 Hours A Day"
privately written and now owned by the Hazelton Foundation. There is a
pamphlet reputed to have been written in Akron and published under the title
"A Guide To the 12 Steps" that is not copyrighted and is published by various
sources that has seen much use in discussion meetings but is not "Conference
Approved" and probably will never be due to its parochial nature.
All of these, and more, have at some time been part of various AA groups
format for meetings and/or been used by individuals to augment their recovery
from alcoholism. There is no point in using the term "Conference Approved" to
imply that some literature is acceptable and other literature is not. The
stamp just means that in gatherings and votes of our delegates, substantial
agreement has been reached about the content and that no minority viewpoint
has been trampled upon.
The most valuable part of "Conference Approved" on literature is in using it
as a source when expressing a viewpoint about AA to non-AAs. If the viewpoint
is not in the stamped literature, it is probably a personal opinion and does
not represent AA as a whole. That doesn't make personal opinion wrong, only
that it is not held in common and it would not be fair to say that "AA
says....."
Mary, In Michigan
----- Original Message -----
From: Roseanne Schofield
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 10:20 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Conference Approved Literature
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be
able to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether
or not the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program
was acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem
to recall having read something about the use of conference approved
literature by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site,
but I searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak
or write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant
articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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++++Message 1863. . . . . . . . . . . . AA''s Anonymity Keeps Focus On Cause
From: JKNIGHTBIRD@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/15/2004 6:10:00 AM
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Posted on Fri, Jun. 11, 2004
A.A.'s anonymity keeps focus on cause
Tradition more about protecting movement than those who fear exposure
By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal staff writer
Rob, Gail, Bob, Jay and Harmon make no secret they are alcoholics, and the
fact that you won't find their last names or photos with this story has
nothing
to do with shyness or shame.
As volunteers with this weekend's Founders Day activities -- the annual
celebration of the forming of Alcoholics Anonymous in 1935 -- their faces and
phone
numbers will circulate widely.
But A.A. takes the ``anonymous'' part of its name very seriously -- and not
just for the reasons you might think.
While a promise of confidentiality is critical in reaching people who fear
exposure, A.A.'s strict tradition of anonymity is more about protecting the
reputation of a movement that millions depend on.
``You sacrifice your last name for the good of the whole,'' Gail said.
By keeping names and images out of the media, A.A. can't be exploited for
personal power or gain, said Rob, as he sat around a table discussing the
subject
with his peers.
Within reach was a stack of black ``Lone Ranger'' masks, just in case a
photographer showed up wanting a picture.
As a matter of fact, only a non-alcoholic can be elected as the national
chairman because of the exposure that job requires. Elaine McDowell, elected
to
the post in 2001, can face the cameras head-on and use her name in legal and
public venues.
As A.A. co-founder Bill W. once explained: ``A.A. had to become known
somehow, so we resorted to the idea that it would be far better to let our
(non-alcoholic) friends do it for us.''
The tradition of anonymity also has helped A.A. avoid being stereotyped. It
is not the image of a male or female, a Democrat or Republican, factory worker
or business owner, Protestant or Jew, gay or straight.
``People need to feel that A.A. is for people just like them,'' said Jay.
From beginning
The tradition of not using last names goes back to the very beginning, when
Akron physician Dr. Robert Smith and New York businessman William Wilson began
working out the details of their 12-step program.
The co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous called themselves Dr. Bob and Bill W.
Gail, archivist for the Akron Intergroup Council of Alcoholics Anonymous,
said there is some evidence Dr. Bob and Bill W. gave up their last names
partly
out of concern their phones would never stop ringing as word of their efforts
spread.
``There were too few of them to handle all the requests,'' Gail said.
Bill W. might also have been influenced by the Oxford Group to which he
belonged. In that religious movement, anonymity was a way of showing humility.
And that reason still melds perfectly with the 12-step program, Harmon said.
``Until the alcoholic surrenders his ego, he can't get better,'' he said.
The concept of stressing anonymity as a way to protect the work of the
organization can be traced to 1939, when a well-known Cleveland Indians
catcher
went
public with his ties to an A.A. group in Akron.
The catcher was making a spectacular comeback, and the media lavished
attention on his successful struggle with alcoholism. At first, Dr. Bob and
Bill
W.
didn't balk at the attention.
But when other members began coming out, the pair began to wonder what it
would mean for A.A. if those celebrities started falling off the wagon. Would
there be a public perception that A.A. had failed them? Would that make others
reluctant to try it?
In 1950, an A.A. convention in Cleveland unanimously accepted a list known as
the 12 traditions.
The 12th tradition is this: ``Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all
our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.''
Avoid controversy
Anonymity extends to the organization itself.
A.A. will not take an official stance on any outside issue, Rob said. That
way, it can avoid public controversy and avoid alienating someone who needs
help
but disagrees with an opinion.
For the same reason, local A.A. groups have to be self-supporting.
A.A.'s adherence to anonymity can lead to some complicated situations.
In 1951, Bill W. agonized over whether A.A. should accept a prestigious
national award. He finally agreed to, though he admitted that merely being on
hand
to accept it forced him to be a celebrity for the day.
A decade later, however, he cited anonymity in declining a request by Time
magazine to put a picture of the back of his head on the cover.
More recently, the Akron group struggled with the issue when Good Morning
America expressed interest in doing a story on A.A.'s roots.
After speaking to members throughout the country, it was clear such publicity
would lend a celebrity image to Akron.
``We told them no,'' Gail said. ``We can only have one purpose in A.A. -- to
maintain sobriety and help others.''
No reprimands
Privately, A.A. members do not have to maintain anonymity, and indeed, it
would be impossible to operate that way, Rob explained.
``How would anybody reach me? You can't look in the phone book under `Rob,'
'' he said.
But the organization is mindful when last names and images show up in the
paper, on TV or film, or on the Internet.
``There is no punishment or reprimand,'' Rob said, ``but a delegate will
usually approach the member and remind them politely of the tradition.''
The head office in New York usually will swing into action, too, contacting
the media outlet that revealed an identity to ask for cooperation in the
future.
And even though the identities and images of A.A.'s co-founders were revealed
long ago, members still commonly call them simply Dr. Bob and Bill W.
``They would tell you that they were just instruments,'' Gail said. ``We're
all just instruments.''
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--
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com
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--
Submitted by Jocie in Chicago
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++++Message 1864. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: David Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/15/2004 1:17:00 PM
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Dear Roseanne:
G.S.O. has responded in the past by mentioning a few concerns on staying "on
topic" re: alcoholism but there are no rules "written in stone." Dr. Bill
recommends quite a list of non-conference approved books in his Homegroup
Manual, written in 1940: "SUGGESTED READING
The following literature has helped many members of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Alcoholics Anonymous. (Works Publishing Company.)
The Holy Bible.
The Greatest Thing in the World. Henry Drummond.
The Unchanging Friend. (A Series) (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee.)
As a Man Thinketh. James Allen.
The Sermon on the Mount. Emmet Fox (Harper Bros.)
The Self You Have to Live With. Winfred Rhoades. (Lippincott.)
Psychology of Christian Personality. Ernest M. Ligon. (Macmillan Co.)
Abundant Living. E. Stanley Jones
The Man Nobody Knows. Bruce Barron."
Once again, this is from A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous, From AA Group No.
1, Akron, Ohio, 1940.Dr. Bob's Home Group
Hope this helps!
crescentdave@yahoo.com
Roseanne Schofield wrote:
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be
able to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether
or not the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program
was acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem
to recall having read something about the use of conference approved
literature by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site,
but I searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak
or write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant
articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail [83] - 100MB free storage!
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++++Message 1865. . . . . . . . . . . . Use of "The Promises" at Meetings
From: aceyahut . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/15/2004 3:04:00 PM
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Hi, all.
A bit of a "difference of opinon" has developed at a group I serve
regarding reading of the so-called "12 Promises" at the close of the
meeting.
Some folks seem to believe this is an important part of AA tradition
while others insist it is a relatively recent development and a
"twisting of meaning" of the Big Book passage on pages 83-84.
The nay-sayers point to the fact that, unlike the 12 Traditions or
"How It Works", New York has steadfastly declined to make available a
single page broadside of "The Promises", suitable for passing out to
designated "readers".
Can anyone shed light on:
1. When and by who this passage was first dubbed "The 12 Promises",
2. Where, when and why the custom of reading it aloud at meetings
began, and
3. Why, indeed, there is no "conference approved" sheet, suitable for
lamination.
Thanks for your help on this.
Ace, alcoholic
Santa Cruz, California
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++++Message 1867. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Conference Approved Literature
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/16/2004 12:55:00 PM
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Most homegroups in my area also put out some non-conference approved
literature. What is the general practice here in New Jersey is to separate
them by NOT putting approved & non-approved literature on the same table.
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
P.S. - This is what GSO officially has to say about it:
WHAT DOES 'CONFERENCE-APPROVED LITERATURE'' MEAN?
Service Material From G.S.O.
'Conference-approved'' - What It Means to You
The term 'Conference-approved'' describes written or audiovisual material
approved by the Conference for publication by G.S.O. This process assures that
everything in such literature is in accord with A.A. principles.
Conference-approved material always deals with the recovery program of
Alcoholics Anonymous or with information about the A.A. Fellowship.
The term has no relation to material not published by G.S.O. It does not imply
Conference disapproval of other material about A.A. A great deal of literature
helpful to alcoholics is published by others, and A.A. does not try to tell
any individual member what he or she may or may not read.
Conference approval assures us that a piece of literature represents solid
A.A. experience. Any Conference-approved booklet or pamphlet goes through a
lengthy and painstaking process, during which a variety of A.A.'s from all
over the United States and Canada read and express opinions at every stage of
production.
How To Tell What Is and What Is Not Conference-approved
Look for the statement on books, pamphlets and films:
'This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature''
All 'A.A. Literature'' Is Not Conference-approved
Central offices and intergroups do write and distribute pamphlets or booklets
that are not Conference-approved. If such pieces meet the needs of the local
membership, they may be legitimately classified as 'A.A. literature.'' There
is no conflict between A.A. World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S. - publishers of
Conference-approved literature), and central offices or intergroups - rather
they complement each other. The Conference does not disapprove of such
material.
G.S.O. does develop some literature that does not have to be approved by the
Conference, such as service material, Guidelines and bulletins.
Available at Most A.A. Groups
Most local A.A. groups purchase and display a representative sampling of
Conference-approval pamphlets, and usually carry a supply of hardcover books.
Conference-approved literature may be available at central offices and
intergroups, or it may be ordered directly from G.S.O. Groups normally offer
pamphlets free of charge, and the books at cost.
Copyright
Conference-approved literature is copyrighted with the Copyright Office,
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. To insure the continued
integrity of A.A. literature, and to make sure the A.A. recovery programs will
not be distorted or diluted, permission to reprint must be obtained from
A.A.W.S. in writing.
However, A.A. newsletters, bulletins, or meeting lists have blanket permission
to use the material, providing proper credit to insure that the copyrights of
A.A. literature are protected.
The A.A. Preamble is copyrighted by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. (not by A.A.
World Services). Beneath it, these words should appear: Reprinted with
permission of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. The Steps and Traditions should be
followed by these words: Reprinted with Permission of A.A. World Services,
Inc.
-----Original Message-----
From: Roseanne Schofield [mailto:roseanne120100@tbc.net]
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 10:20 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Conference Approved Literature
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be able
to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether or not
the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program was
acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem to
recall having read something about the use of conference approved literature
by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site, but I
searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak or
write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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++++Message 1868. . . . . . . . . . . . Painting that is signed "Helen
Griffith"
From: silkworthdotnet . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/16/2004 9:41:00 PM
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The following was sent to me @ silkworth.net:
Name: Ann
Email: ag......@c......
Subject: Painting signed "Helen Griffith"
Hello, I am an Art Researcher in Seattle, WA. I have a painting
which is signed "Helen Griffith". The painting dates, by my estimate
from late 1920's. It is titled, "Gig Harbor - Fishing Village". I
believe it may have been painted by the Helen Griffith who helped
Bill and Lois, get their 1st house. I have read the most recent
biography about Bill Wilson and the background for Helen Griffith
could be a match. Do you have any other details about Helen? Was
there possibly an obituary, when and where she died? Any help,
references, or additional resources would be greatly appreciated. Of
course, it would be an amazing coincidence that I would be so lucky
to find this painting if it is by YOUR Helen Griffith. I am the
mother of a son who is the 1st in 3 generations (of alcoholics I have
known and loved ) to find recovery (after being on death's doorstep
at age 17). He now has 7+ years of sobriety and is an amazing person.
Best regards !and thanks for the help on retracing Helen Griffith's
background. -Ann G.
=======================================
I will direct Ann to AAHistoryLovers to see if anyone has
responded and posted information about the above information.
Kind regards,
/ Jim Myers
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++++Message 1869. . . . . . . . . . . . I need help encouraging more Closed
meetings
From: Lance . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/16/2004 10:09:00 PM
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Anyone who can cite where out literature or other sources may say
that closed meetings are one way to help us stick to our Primary
Purpose...I'd be grateful for those references!
Thanks so much!
HUGS!!! Lance from colorful Colorado!
Lance_1954@yahoo.com
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++++Message 1870. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: I need help encouraging more
Closed meetings
From: Gilbert Gamboa . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/17/2004 10:34:00 PM
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First of all read Tradition 5-it states our primary purpose, also tradition 3
talks about membership(not attendance of meetings) being for alcoholics..step
12 also states our primary purpose, and page 159 (third edition)it reads
-
"IN ADDITION TO THESE CASUAL GET TOGETHERS,ITS BECOME CUSTOMARY TO SET APART
ONE NIGHT A WEEK FOR A MEETING TO BE ATTENDED BY ANYONE OR EVERYONE INTERESTED
IN A SPIRITUAL WAY OF LIFE.ASIDE FROM FELLOWSHIP AND SOCIABILITY,THE PRIME
OBJECT WAS TO PROVIDE A TIME AND PLACE WHERE NEW PEOPLE MIGHT BRING THEIR
PROBLEMS".(problems in this sentence refers to alcoholism !!!!!)
again we are here for the newcomer,its important to understand that most
reasons for making a meeting a closed one is because of sharing of personal
problems we are having that day.see somthing wrong with that?these things
arent for the meeting
where is the solution in sharing personal problems in a meeting,that should be
left to your higher power and your sponsor.A meeting is to hook up the
new-comer to a solution and remind each other (50 years sober or 30 days
sober) where we found that solution.
Trust God,Clean house,Carry hope
Gilbert G.
Lance wrote:
Anyone who can cite where out literature or other sources may say
that closed meetings are one way to help us stick to our Primary
Purpose...I'd be grateful for those references!
Thanks so much!
HUGS!!! Lance from colorful Colorado!
Lance_1954@yahoo.com
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
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++++Message 1871. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Danny S . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/18/2004 4:35:00 AM
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The term "Conference Approved" did not even exist in our Fellowship
prior to the First Annual General Service Conference held in April 20-
22, 1951. Not even the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous could
be "Conference Approved" before that year.
Today not all AA material distributed through AA has gone through the
rather tedious conference approval processed, nor does it require
approval of the General Service Conference in order to be considered
by members as AA literature.
All references to use of the term "Conference Approved" in the Report
of the First Annual General Service Conference appears to point
heavily toward the creation of a process by which we could officially
distinguish which literature we hold publishing rights and therefor
control over the proceeds that such literature generates. This also
would establish a firm precedence in order to prevent non-AA entities
from profiting out the sale of AA literature. No small issue.
There is no written record, to which I am aware that would indicate
that "Conference Approved" should construed by AA members as a "stamp
of approval" for content.
Peace,
Danny S
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++++Message 1872. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Painting that is signed "Helen
Griffith"
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/17/2004 8:12:00 PM
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Hi Ann and History Lover friends:
I stayed two weekends at Stepping Stones while working on "Pass It On."
The story I got from Lois was that a Griffith had lived there in the 1920s
and had a drinking problem. The coincidence is that Griffith was Bill's
middle name and also the family name of his maternal grandparents. But
perhaps the real estate agent was named Griffith too. In any case, she
pushed hard to persuade the Wilsons to visit the house which they were
reluctant to do because they were flat broke and didn't even have money for
a down payment. After getting them to see the house, the agent worked out
a deal so they could get it for $6500 with no down payment and $40 a month
payments. Since they were already paying $20 a month to store their
furniture, all they had to do was come up with another $20 and they were
home free, which they did.
The bedrooms were very tiny and it wouldn't have been a good family home.
But it was fine for a couple and would have been great for a person with an
artistic bent. The Wilsons were happy there and Lois wouldn't have moved
even when her income had soared to half a million a year and she could have
moved into the swankiest Manhattan apartment. She was a great gardener and
knew where everything on the eight or ten acre place was planted.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~ Mel Barger melb@accesst ~~~~~~~~ Mel Barger melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "silkworthdotnet"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 10:41 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Painting that is signed "Helen Griffith"
> The following was sent to me @ silkworth.net:
>
> Name: Ann
> Email: ag......@c......
> Subject: Painting signed "Helen Griffith"
>
> Hello, I am an Art Researcher in Seattle, WA. I have a painting
> which is signed "Helen Griffith". The painting dates, by my estimate
> from late 1920's. It is titled, "Gig Harbor - Fishing Village". I
> believe it may have been painted by the Helen Griffith who helped
> Bill and Lois, get their 1st house. I have read the most recent
> biography about Bill Wilson and the background for Helen Griffith
> could be a match. Do you have any other details about Helen? Was
> there possibly an obituary, when and where she died? Any help,
> references, or additional resources would be greatly appreciated. Of
> course, it would be an amazing coincidence that I would be so lucky
> to find this painting if it is by YOUR Helen Griffith. I am the
> mother of a son who is the 1st in 3 generations (of alcoholics I have
> known and loved ) to find recovery (after being on death's doorstep
> at age 17). He now has 7+ years of sobriety and is an amazing person.
> Best regards !and thanks for the help on retracing Helen Griffith's
> background. -Ann G.
> =======================================
>
> I will direct Ann to AAHistoryLovers to see if anyone has
> responded and posted information about the above information.
>
> Kind regards,
> / Jim Myers
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________
> This message was scanned by GatewayDefender
> 8:18:46 AM ET - 6/17/2004
>
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++++Message 1873. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Susan Krieger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/18/2004 2:13:00 PM
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In the 1977 conference actions report: It was suggested tha A.A.groups be
discouraged from selling literature not distributed by the General Service
Office and the Grapevine. p44 A Summery: Advisory Actions of the General
Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous 1951 - 1986
susan
baltimore
----- Original Message -----
From: "Danny S"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 2:35 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Conference Approved Literature
> The term "Conference Approved" did not even exist in our Fellowship
> prior to the First Annual General Service Conference held in April 20-
> 22, 1951. Not even the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous could
> be "Conference Approved" before that year.
>
> Today not all AA material distributed through AA has gone through the
> rather tedious conference approval processed, nor does it require
> approval of the General Service Conference in order to be considered
> by members as AA literature.
>
> All references to use of the term "Conference Approved" in the Report
> of the First Annual General Service Conference appears to point
> heavily toward the creation of a process by which we could officially
> distinguish which literature we hold publishing rights and therefor
> control over the proceeds that such literature generates. This also
> would establish a firm precedence in order to prevent non-AA entities
> from profiting out the sale of AA literature. No small issue.
>
> There is no written record, to which I am aware that would indicate
> that "Conference Approved" should construed by AA members as a "stamp
> of approval" for content.
>
> Peace,
>
> Danny S
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 1874. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 7:43:00 AM
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Hi
I don't
believe it's a stretch to suggest that when groups stress that they will allow
only
Conference-approved literature, they are likely trying to achieve three
things:
1. Keep out
the proliferation of 'recovery'' writings that are emanating from more and
more varied
sources (e.g. Barnes and Noble has a 'Recovery'' section in their book
stores).
2. Ensure
that there is no blurring of the distinction between AA and the proliferation
of other '12 Step Fellowships.''
3. Stay with
literature that has been reviewed by a Conference standing committee to ensure
that it conforms to AA principles.
It would likely
be better to use the term 'AA literature'' instead of 'Conference-approved
literature'' since a fairly substantial body of AA literature is not required
to
go through the Conference-approval process. Some examples:
1. Grapevine
(and its non-English counterparts).
2.
Box 459
3.
Guidelines (the "yellow
sheets")
4.
Workbooks (e.g. Archives, PI, CPC,
TF and CF service committees)
5.
Markings (the GSO Archives
newsletter)
9.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">
6.
About AA (PI releases)
7.
Directories
8.
Advisory Actions of the General
Service Conference of AA (M-39)
9.
Final reports of the General
Service Conference
10.
Literature published by GSOs other
than the US/Canada and AAWS
11.
Final reports of the World Service
Conference
9.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">
12.
Memento booklets from International
Conventions
9.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">
13.
Literature catalogs and flyers
(AAWS and Grapevine)
14. Non-English
interpretations of books/pamphlets
15. Various
and sundry GSO publications called 'service pieces.''
(And I've
probably missed others)
There is literature, published outside of AA, that is not
Conference-approved but which is certainly valuable and beneficial. There are
some wonderful historic and spiritual works. If you visit GSO in NY and go the
Archives exhibit, you'll see an entire wall of books that are not
Conference-approved
- which is fine for anyone engaging in serious research. On the other hand
there is an awful lot of nonsense, 'recovery psycho-babble'' and revisionist
history that gets published as well.
So how do you deal with all of this? I believe most groups draw a
line by adopting a guideline to only allow Conference-approved literature.
What does GSO have to say on the matter? The information below is
a transcription of a service piece (re 15 above) that is included in a packet
that is sent to a new group when it registers with GSO. It also appears in a
number of service committee kits.
Cheers
Arthur
*CONFERENCE-APPROVED
LITERATURE*
*Service Material
From G.S.O.*
*'Conference-approved''--What
It Means to You*
The term 'Conference-approved''
describes written or audiovisual material approved by the Conference for
publication by G.S.O. This process assures that everything in such literature
is in accord with A.A. principles. Conference-approved material always deals
with the recovery program of Alcoholics Anonymous or with information about
the
A.A. Fellowship.
The term has no relation to
material not published by G.S.O. It does not*
bold;"> *imply Conference disapproval of other material about
A.A. A great deal of literature helpful to alcoholics is published by others,
and A.A. does not try to tell any individual member what he or she may or may
not read.
Conference approval assures us that
a piece of literature represents solid A.A. experience. Any
Conference-approved
booklet or pamphlet goes through a lengthy and painstaking process, during
which a variety of A.A.s from all over the United States and Canada read and
express opinions at every stage of production.
*How To Tell What
Is and What Is Not Conference-approved*
Look for the statement on books,
pamphlets and films:
*'This is A.A.
General Service Conference-approved literature''*
*All 'A.A.
Literature'' Is Not Conference-approved*
Central offices and intergroups do
write and distribute pamphlets or booklets that are not Conference-approved.
If
such pieces meet the needs of the local membership, they may be legitimately
classified as 'A.A*. *literature.''
There is no conflict between A.A. World Services, Inc. (A.A.W.S. - publishers
of Conference-approved literature), and central offices or intergroups -
rather
they complement each other. The Conference does not disapprove of such
material.
G.S.O. does develop some literature
that does not have to be approved by the Conference, such as service material,
Guidelines and bulletins.
*Available at Most
A.A. Groups*
Most local A.A. groups purchase anddisplay a representative sampling of
Conference-approved pamphlets, and usually carry a supply of hardcover books.
Conference-approved literature may be available at central offices and
intergroups, or it may be ordered directly from G.S.O. Groups normally offer
pamphlets free of charge, and the books at cost.
*Copyright*
Conference-approved
literature is copyrighted with the Copyright Office, Library of Congress,
Washington, D.C., U.S.A. To insure the continued integrity of A.A. literature,
and to make sure the A.A. recovery programs will not be distorted or diluted,
permission to reprint must be obtained from A.A.W.S. in writing.
However, A.A.
newsletters, bulletins, or meeting lists have blanket permission to use the
material, providing proper credit is given to insure that the copyrights of
A.A. literature are protected.
The A.A.
Preamble is copyrighted by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc. (not by A.A. World
Services). Beneath it, these words should appear: Reprinted with permission
of the A.A. Grapevine, Inc. The Steps and Traditions should be followed by
these words: Reprinted with Permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
*10/93*
F-29 (handwritten)
-----
*From:* Susan Krieger
[mailto:susank@qis.net]
*Sent:* Friday, June 18, 2004 2:14
PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Re:
Conference Approved Literature
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;">In the 1977 conference actions report: It was suggested tha
A.A.groups
be
10.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";">
discouraged from selling literature not
distributed by the General Service
Office and the Grapevine. p44 A Summery:
Advisory Actions of the General
Service Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous
1951 - 1986
susan
baltimore
----- Original Message -----
From: "Danny S"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2004 2:35 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Conference Approved
Literature
> The term "Conference Approved" did
not even exist in our Fellowship
> prior to the First Annual General Service
Conference held in April 20-
> 22, 1951. Not even the Big Book, Alcoholics
Anonymous could
> be "Conference Approved" before
that year.
>
> Today not all AA material distributed through
AA has gone through the
> rather tedious conference approval processed,
nor does it require
> approval of the General Service Conference in
order to be considered
> by members as AA literature.
>
> All references to use of the term
"Conference Approved" in the Report
> of the First Annual General Service
Conference appears to point
> heavily toward the creation of a process by
which we could officially
> distinguish which literature we hold
publishing rights and therefor
> control over the proceeds that such
literature generates. This also
> would establish a firm precedence in order to
prevent non-AA entities
> from profiting out the sale of AA literature.
No small issue.
>
> There is no written record, to which I am
aware that would indicate
> that "Conference Approved" should
construed by AA members as a "stamp
> of approval" for content.
>
> Peace,
>
> Danny S
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 1875. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: jbackman1@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 5:19:00 AM
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In a message dated 6/15/2004 2:31:05 PM Central Daylight Time,
meggie1270@wideopenwest.com writes:
,
There is an unconscious movement to make the term "Conference Approved" mean
something that it does not mean. The simple summary of "Conference Approval"
is that it is literature written for AA that has been voted on in General
Service Conference meetings as representing the thinking of the majority of
(US and Canadian) AA groups. It is not a representation that the literature
is more right than other literature, only that it does not create
substantial disagreement within AA and represents the thinking of AA as a
whole.
There is other literature, equally revered either locally or
internationally, that cannot be "Conference Approved" because it was not
written for AA and is either public domain or the copyright is owned by some
private source.
A general statement that applies is that there is no such thing as
"Conference Dis-Approved" literature. All literature is fair grist for AA
groups. Within AA history we have the use of the Bible (cf., Anne's morning
readings with Bill and Bob), The Upper Room - a periodical meditation
pamphlet that I believe was put out by the Episcopal or some other church,
"24 Hours A Day" privately written and now owned by the Hazelton Foundation.
There is a pamphlet reputed to have been written in Akron and published
under the title "A Guide To the 12 Steps" that is not copyrighted and is
published by various sources that has seen much use in discussion meetings
but is not "Conference Approved" and probably will never be due to its
parochial nature.
All of these, and more, have at some time been part of various AA groups
format for meetings and/or been used by individuals to augment their
recovery from alcoholism. There is no point in using the term "Conference
Approved" to imply that some literature is acceptable and other literature
is not. The stamp just means that in gatherings and votes of our delegates,
substantial agreement has been reached about the content and that no
minority viewpoint has been trampled upon.
The most valuable part of "Conference Approved" on literature is in using it
as a source when expressing a viewpoint about AA to non-AAs. If the
viewpoint is not in the stamped literature, it is probably a personal
opinion and does not represent AA as a whole. That doesn't make personal
opinion wrong, only that it is not held in common and it would not be fair
to say that "AA says....."
Mary, In Michigan
Mary's explanation of Conference approval is interesting, but inconsistent
with what I have seen and heard at AA meetings around the country. In meetings
everywhere, I have heard "oldtimers" express the view that, during closed
meetings at least, readings should be limited to Conference approved
materials.
Though not an oldtimer, I like the oldtimers' approach. Time and again I have
heard newcomers, enthusiastic about having a revitalized (or wholly new)
spiritual experience, and viewing it as a religious experience, read paragraph
after paragraph from the Holy Bible. I love the Bible, but when I want to hear
what G-d or Jesus had to say, I go to church or synagogue.
When an AA reads a specific portion to me, I feel as though I am being
preached to. So I am grateful when oldtimers, as soon as the reading is done,
explain to the newcomer that, in meetings, we limit our readings to Conference
approved materials. And the newcomer understands that he/she is not being
criticized for his/her newfound religious beliefs, but merely being corrected
on AA protocol.
The one downside of the rule is that it does exclude the Hazelden publication
that Mary referenced and other excellent and spiritual writings. But there are
plenty of Conference approved meditation books and, as Mary notes, any AA is
free to read non-Conference approved materials in the sanctity of his or her
home, church, etc.
Is there any support in the archives or in other AA history for the approach
that I have witnessed being practiced today (in NY, Wisconsin, Chicago,
Bloomington and Florida, among other places)?
Jon B.
Bloomingtion, IL
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++++Message 1876. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Kimball Rowe . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 11:08:00 AM
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It is highly unlikely that such a rule ever existed, at any time. So much of
our literature in "non-conference" approved. Even our Grapevine, "Meeting in
Print" is "non-conference" approved literatrue, and yet it contains a section
providing suggested meeting topics which we use all the time.
Conference approved literature, like the Big Book, requires the collective
conscience of our fellowship, thus it must go before the groups, the districts
and areas before a conference decision is reached. In the case of the 4th
edition of the Big Book, it took 4 years to get the volume to print.
Now, can you imagine subjecting the Grapevine, a monthy magazine to that same
4 year process! We'd never have a meeting in print.
There is a huge difference between "Conference Approved Literature" and "AA
Literature." AA literature is anything that didn't go before the Conference,
but is pulished by AA to meet a specific AA need (i.e., Grapevine, service
materials, etc.)
I also remember reading that Bill had spoken about using the "AA literature"
as the basis for carrying the message so as not to dilute or otherwise muddle
the message. But I don't know where this would be.
The traditions seem to allow for the reading of non-AA literature, so long as
the group does not give any endorsement to the outside source. The decision to
use non-AA literature should be left up to the only authority that any group
has, a loving God, as he may express Himself in the group conscience. In the
early years of my sobriety (pre-"Daily Reflections"), the "24 hours a Day",
"Stools and Bottles" and "The Little Red Book" were frequently read from. Some
groups still use the "24 Hours a Day" book to this day.
Kim
----- Original Message -----
From: Roseanne Schofield
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2004 8:20 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Conference Approved Literature
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a little information and thought maybe one of you may be
able to help. The question arose in one of our groups recently as to whether
or not the use of non-conference approved literature by those in the Program
was acceptable, or if it constituted a violation of of AA principles. I seem
to recall having read something about the use of conference approved
literature by AA members--it may have been in a newsletter or at this site,
but I searched previous postings and didn't find anything. Did Bill W. speak
or write about this in his later years or do you know of any relevant
articles?
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Roseanne S.
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++++Message 1877. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Re: Conference Approved Literature
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 9:29:00 AM
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Hello all! I just wanted to mention that I just came back from spending
a week in Akron for the Founders' Day celebration there. The Intergroup
offices both in Akron & Cleveland have MORE non-conference approved
literature for sale than conference-approved literature. Most of these
pamphlets were written BEFORE there was conference approval. Thanks for
letting me share!
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
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++++Message 1878. . . . . . . . . . . . Results of the Sotheby''s Auction of
the Big Book Manuscript
From: JoAnne . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 11:38:00 AM
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> Just had to take a look at Sotheby's this morning to find out what the
> auction of the Big Book brought. USD $1,576,000
>
> Here's the url, if anyones interested: http://tinyurl.com/33ef4
>
> Jo Anne
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++++Message 1879. . . . . . . . . . . . auction results
From: ricktompkins . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/19/2004 12:52:00 PM
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In Brief
========
By FELICIA R. LEE
Published: June 19, 2004 copyright The New York Times
Big Price for Big Book
The master copy of the working draft of the book "Alcoholics Anonymous," which
belonged to William Wilson, a co-founder of A.A., was sold at auction
yesterday for $1.576 million. Sotheby's sold the 161-page manuscript,
considered the bible of A.A., to a classic book collector from La Jolla,
Calif., said Matthew Weigman, a spokesman.
The auction house had estimated the manuscript's price at $300,000 to
$500,000. It was offered for sale by an unidentified A.A. member who said he
received it from an aunt who knew Wilson.
Some collectors and scholars expressed concern that the manuscript's sale
would put it out of the reach of scholars interested in studying 12-step
programs like A.A., which some consider one of the most important movements of
the 20th century. They wanted the manuscript to go to A.A. or to an archive.
The typewritten manuscript has a multitude of annotations that showed how the
Big Book, as it is known, was very much a group project. Early drafts went to
dozens of people, from alcoholics to psychologists. In the manuscript's
margins they refined the language and hammered out their philosophy of how
only another alcoholic could help an alcoholic stop drinking. It was published
in 1939.
Wilson, better known as Bill W., founded A.A. with Robert Smith in 1935 and
became very much its public face. He died of emphysema in 1971.
A 1978 inscription on the manuscript is from Wilson's wife, Lois Wilson (who
died in 1988), to a "Barry." Some historians think that is the writer Barry
Leach, who wrote a biography of her.
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++++Message 1880. . . . . . . . . . . . God Calling and the Two Listeners
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/21/2004 3:49:00 PM
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Hi Friends:
We all know that Rich Walker's "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" has been, and still
is, a marvelous meditation book for AA members. Many of us also know that it
uses some of the devotional messages from "God Calling," edited by A.J.
Russell. Still in print and still popular, "God Calling" was a result of
meditations by two English women in the early 1930s (or perhaps the late
1920s). Both women had serious personal problems but found wonderful
improvements in their lives when they began to pray together and listen for
guidance. A.J. Russell, author of "For Sinners Only," edited these
meditations and had them published in their present form. The book was first
published by Arthur James in England, and since 1945 has been published in
the U.S. by Dodd, Mead and Company.
Does anybgody know the identity of the Two Listeners?
Mel Barger
melba@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1881. . . . . . . . . . . . Tex B. (Sober 2/6/47)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/22/2004 8:21:00 AM
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We celebrate the life and sobriety of Tex B., who sadly passed away after
this article was submitted for publication.
I came into A.A. February 6, 1947 in Skokie, Illinois. I made a telephone
call to a friend who I knew was in A.A. and she came to my apartment and
attempted to tell me about Alcoholics Anonymous. I was drinking and passed
out in the middle of the call. I don't remember taking my last drink.
When I woke up, Jo and her husband, Bill, were waiting. They were old
drinking companions of mine, but now were in A.A. We did not spend much time
on my qualifications as an alcoholic, as this was not in dispute. However,
Bill did talk about the nature of alcoholism, that there was no cure, and
that I might die an alcoholic. The question was...soon? Or sometime later,
sober. Was I willing to do anything to be able to stop my drinking? I
thought that this was a rhetorical question but he was insistent, "Are you
willing to do anything to stop drinking?" After I gave a shaky, "Yes," he
read the Twelve Steps to me.
Back in our drinking days Bill and I had had several boozy discussions of
our atheism. But now he was talking about a Higher Power and God. I
objected. He didn't give an inch, "This is what we talk about in A.A., and
we are not going to change it because you don't like hearing about God. You
said that you were willing to do anything to stop drinking...I am asking you
to keep an open mind about this. I am not asking you to believe in God, just
keep an open mind and respect the fact that some of us do believe. He was
willing to risk driving me away from A.A. rather than deny or conceal that
A.A. was a spiritual program.
We talked about the strength of the commitment I was willing to make to the
program. He reminded me how much I had put into my drinking, that after I
took the first drink my commitment was total (I went on long violent
sprees). The strength of my commitment to A.A. should equal or exceed the
strength of the insanity of starting to drink again. After I managed to eat
a bowl of soup, they left some pamphlets and went home. I read, "20
Questions" (19-yes, 1-no) and "So You Can't Stop Drinking?" (three times).
The next night they took me to the home of Bill W. in Mount Prospect and I
heard his story and we talked about working the program. I was loaned a copy
of the Big Book to read. I first read the book by laying face down on a
studio couch with the book on the floor. I shook too much to hold it.
Then we met at Bill and Jo's house, where we talked about the Steps. It was
decided that I should start working on the Fourth Step because I
couldn't/wouldn't work on Two and Three. On the third night, I was taken to
a meeting. This was done only after I was sober, had the program explained
to me, had made a commitment to a serious effort and they had made a
judgment that I really did intend to quit drinking. I think that they felt
that if I only had one chance to make it in A.A., they didn't want me to
waste it by coming in too soon.
At the meeting, they talked about me just like I was not there. "He can't
make it, he's too young (29)... You have to be at least 40. He can't have
suffered enough." And so on; they really believed that I was too young to
get sober in A.A. They wanted me to stay. They hoped I could stay sober but
didn't think it would work out. I got mad and this was a blessing. I stayed.
In the suburbs, the meetings were held in homes, usually on Thursday night.
Refreshments were served after the meeting. In some groups (i.e. Glenview)
the spread was lavish, often by those who could least afford it. A few
members got drunk over this. Skokie tended to be prudent.
On Tuesday night, I was taken downtown to the Chicago Open Meeting. This was
in the auditorium of the Olympic Building, 80 W. Randolph. We went early to
attend the beginners meeting. When we came out the auditorium was full,
1500-2000 people! It was exciting to see this many alcoholics all at once. I
had seen 20 at a group meeting...but 2000! It was a very emotional time for
me. I knew that I never had to be alone again. One reason that this meeting
was so large was that there were no other open meetings in the Chicago area.
I asked why and was told that it was not permitted. I didn't question this
for several years.
Home group meetings were usually eight to twelve people (what you could get
in a living room). The host was responsible for the topic and refreshments.
When a group got too big for a living room, the group was split. The group
secretary was the treasurer, kept contact with the Chicago Central Office
and assigned the Twelfth Step calls. Sometimes they assigned sponsors, who
were expected to know why someone had missed a meeting and so on.
Sponsorship was formal; the two members making the first call became the new
member's sponsors; if for some reason this wouldn't work, the secretary
assigned someone else.
Sponsorship was serious. The sponsor explained the Steps and gave advice on
how to work a Step. He was expected to know what Step the sponsoree was
working on, to know what problems he was having and to help if he could. The
sponsoree was expected to be honest and open, and to tell the sponsor what
was happening in his life.
Groups were fewer than now, so the members were closer and more dependent on
each other and the group. Often one member would call another just to see if
they were still there (of course, you didn't say so). Maybe we were not too
sure that this thing was really going to work. Two of the effects of this
were strong resentments between members (cabin fever), and the emergence
(sometimes) of the group strong man or group Fuhrer.
Resentment is the number one offender. It often seemed that the biggest
problem we had was resentment of other A.A.s. These resentments were very
intense, just why I am not sure. It had something to do with the closeness
of the group, relationships; we mirrored each other's faults. My foibles
were monstrous and gross in someone else. Because we were A.A.s I expected a
much higher standard of behavior from them (and myself), and I was angry. It
seemed that it was very important that we all have the same interpretation
of the program. We had heated arguments over minor points of doctrine.
Because we didn't know how A.A. was keeping people sober, we were, very
touchy about anybody with new or different ideas. I suppose we had a gut
feeling that they were messing around with the foundations of our sobriety.
Sometimes the group was like a pressure cooker. The same old stories and
attitudes, week after week. Group pride and loyalty were high. There was
fear of leaving the group just because you couldn't stand someone. You would
not be welcomed with open arms at another group if they suspected that you
were having trouble in your own group. We learned about resentments fast.
Emmet Fox's, Sermon on the Mount was as popular as the Big Book. Few people
drank over these resentments, the program was supposed to fix things. It
usually did. We prayed for each other - alot.
The group strong man was like a tribal chieftain who saw to the affairs of
"his group." Often he was the oldest member, was retired or could devote a
lot of time to his chosen task. If he was benign he was the Sponsor and told
everyone what to do and how to do it. If this included personal service the
job was a killer. One of these living saints worked tirelessly managing the
affairs of a large flock of pigeons. One night he died in his sleep. Fifteen
of them got drunk.
Another also worked tirelessly, but with A.A. women, always accompanied by
his nonalcoholic wife. This was thought to be a great thing until people
began to realize that none of the ladies were staying sober. It later
developed that he blamed his wife for the loss of a key promotion before he
retired. She spent too much money and ruined his credit (this was in
addition to his booze bills). He was angry and blamed all women. A different
kind of 13 Step work!
One man hung around the Chicago office contributing both time and money. "C"
did a lot of good work, but he also took most of the Twelfth Step calls west
of Oak Park for his group. "C" controlled this group absolutely. After a
couple of years sobriety in the Skokie Group, I attended a meeting of "C's"
group. "C" sat in state, with his lieutenants on each side, and the
attendance was taken. Someone gave a report on each missing member. One poor
wretch, a local barber, was banished because he had questioned "C's" wisdom
and authority. Members were forbidden to speak to him or have any contact of
any kind. It was a speaker meeting so I did not have much of a chance to
sample the quality of their brand of A.A., but I was not impressed. I never
went back.
There were two other groups in the area, "S's group" and "the Colonel's
group." Groups had the name of their leader. I went to "S's" group; they
invited me to join and would take a vote to see if my A.A. wife could join
too. Again, I never went back. The "Colonel's group" had two women, so we
went there. It was the best choice, several A.A.s with good sobriety moved
in and we had a good group after a few skirmishes to redefine the authority.
"C's and S's groups" did not acknowledge any other groups in the area.
Members of "C's group" were scattered throughout the area because of "C"
taking all of the Twelfth Step calls, and these people were not told that
there was a local A.A. group. When they did find out they were told not to
associate with any of us. For years after "C's" death they kept apart, until
the group just disappeared.
The most absolute of the A.A. "bosses" was "J," the founder of the A.A.
group in a nearby city. "J" started and nursed the A.A. group. It was
successful and as it grew rapidly someone would suggest a split. "J" would
assemble the group and give his "Fellows, you can't do this to me" speech;
then he would break down and cry .He earned the name of "Crying J." He was
successful in preventing any other groups from being established. "J" had
good relations with the local police. As a result, one group of dissidents
who held their first meeting in a church basement, came out and found
parking tickets on every car. Others were denounced as not "real A.A." and
meeting places were denied. Gossip was used as a weapon, one group was
described to me as "Black A.A., the women and slippers." Serious A.A's went
to meetings in nearby towns or moved. The founder and his friends hindered
the growth of A.A. in this city for two decades. "J" died a few years ago;
there are about 20 groups in his city now.
In the beginnings of A.A., these things were possible because we were few in
number, and had nobody of experience or tradition to guide us. People would
just go to another meeting if this occurred now. We were willing to accept
sobriety as evidence of the wisdom and the right to the authority of the
founder or old-timer. We now know that sobriety does not mean that the
alcoholic has learned how to control the ego and is now qualified as a
trusted servant of A.A.
In 1950, I attended the first International A.A. Convention in Cleveland.
This was a wonderful thing and a wonderful time. Everyone was excited about
everything - especially getting to see and hear Bill and Dr. Bob. I was
deeply affected by what was obviously Dr. Bob's last talk. I was scheduled
to speak at the Chicago open meeting the next week, so I attempted to
enhance my prestige by being the messenger to bring back the co-founder's
last words. I misquoted him as saying, "Keep It Simple!" I completely missed
what he was actually saying about "Love and Service." I sincerely and deeply
regret this. There is no solace in the fact that many others did the same
thing. The slogan, "Keep It Simple" has become a permanent A.A. cop-out. But
Dr. Bob did not say it.
What he did say was, "There are two or three things that flashed into my
mind on which it would be fitting to lay a little emphasis. One is the
simplicity of our Program. Let's not louse it all up with Freudian complexes
and things that are interesting to the scientific mind, but have very little
to do with our actual A.A. work. Our Twelve Steps, when simmered down to the
last, resolve themselves into the words 'Love and 'Service.' We understand
what love is, and we understand what service is. So let's bear those two
things in mind."
On Sunday morning the Spiritual Meeting was held. I was excited by the
prospect that I was going to rub elbows with the real heavy hitters in the
God department. I do not remember the name of the main speaker but his topic
dealt with the idea that the alcoholic was to be the instrument that God
would use to regenerate and save the world. He expounded on the idea that
alcoholics were God's Chosen People and was starting to talk about 'The
Third Covenant," when he was interrupted by shouted objections from the back
of the room.
The objector, who turned out to be a small Catholic priest, would not be
hushed up. There was chaos and embarrassment as the meeting was adjourned. I
was upset and was in full sympathy with the poor speaker. I did not realize
it at the time, but I had seen Father Pfau in action and Father Pfau was
right. I had heard the Group Conscience and I rejected it. The format for an
A.A. meeting was much simpler than it is now.
Most of the meetings were in homes. The host conducted the meeting, and
opened the meeting with a quiet time. Then the topic was introduced (usually
a Step), it was discussed and the meeting was closed with the Lord's Prayer.
There were no introductory readings and no identification (My name is Jack
S. and I am an alcoholic) whenever you spoke. If you had the meeting, you
were expected to have a prepared topic. You did not ask, "does anyone have a
problem?" hoping to fluff off the fat that you did not prepare-anything. The
quality of the program worked by those who were really trying was about the
same as it is now. But we had some extra things going for us. In the early
days we were closer to the source. I was fortunate enough to be able to talk
to the two people who had actually had a spiritual "experience." I think
that hearing a second-hand account of Bill's experience in Towns Hospital
was a turning point in my life. This was told to me by a close friend and
sponsoree of Bill's who had finally had an experience of his own. This kind
of contact was available to me. I was able to talk to Bill on the telephone
for over an hour. I went on one of Father Pfau's retreats. It was a time of
great opportunity. There was a special feeling in being part of something
important that was happening. A.A. was beginning its rapid growth and one
had the feeling of the Power that was behind the whole thing.
Our attitudes about the program were different and this was due to several
causes. We did not know just how the program would work for people who were
not sure they were alcoholic. It was often suggested to a prospect that they
do more drinking, to be sure that they were ready. The prospects were lower
bottom than they are now. They were handled differently, Twelfth Step calls
were to tell your stories, to explain the A.A. program, give the prospect a
chance to back out and finally to make a commitment. A prospect who regarded
their situation as a temporary embarrassment or that they were the innocent
victim of circumstance was discouraged. I think that there is a difference
in how many are really trying.
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++++Message 1882. . . . . . . . . . . . Bill'' Story
From: robert . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/23/2004 1:01:00 AM
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HI i'm Robert, theres a little poem in bills story maybe spmeone has
herd of it i'm sure poeple have
Here lies a Hampshire Grenadiar
who caught his death
drinking cold small beer.
A good soldier ne'er forgot
wheather he dieth by musket
or by pot
well what i'm wondering is what that last part means or what the
whole thing means i can understand most of it. just that last part
any info. on this would be helpful thanx Robert D
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++++Message 1883. . . . . . . . . . . . "God Calling" & Oxford group
From: gentle_bear . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/23/2004 7:46:00 AM
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http://www.equip.org/free/DG100.htm
"It would appear that even the book's title originated from the Oxford
Group. Walter Clark observes: "Expressions such as `God calling'....can be
found on nearly every page of the volume of his [i.e., Oxford Group founder
Frank Buchman's] collected speech-es" (p.108). We must also remember that
Russell edited God Calling for publication."
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++++Message 1884. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Bill'' Story
From: J. Lobdell . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/23/2004 6:36:00 AM
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"Or by pot" in this context means "or by drink" -- soldiers who got drunk to
fight were called "pot valiant" -- I believe the word refers to a "pot" of
punch and one XVIIth Century punch recipe is roughly (in modern form) "Take
two bottles of whiskey, a bottle of rum, half a pint of peach brandy, mix,
add sugar and the juice of fresh lemons, and leave to ferment to itself in a
dark place for a couple of weeks, bring out, and serve." (South River Club
punch 1695) A potent pot, I think. -- Jared Lobdell
>From: "robert"
>Reply-To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Bill' Story
>Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 06:01:09 -0000
>
>HI i'm Robert, theres a little poem in bills story maybe spmeone has
>herd of it i'm sure poeple have
> Here lies a Hampshire Grenadiar
> who caught his death
> drinking cold small beer.
> A good soldier ne'er forgot
> wheather he dieth by musket
> or by pot
>well what i'm wondering is what that last part means or what the
>whole thing means i can understand most of it. just that last part
>any info. on this would be helpful thanx Robert D
>
>
>
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++++Message 1885. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Tex B. (Sober 2/6/47)
From: Glenn Brown . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/23/2004 5:27:00 PM
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Dear Group...I don't know where Bill Lash got Tex's article...It's not
important...But to continue where his writings left off, Tex had a full and
fulfilling life before he passed on October 6, 2000. He was active in his
Tuesday Night Whiskey Creek Group in West
Chicago, Illinois for many years. Some time around 1970 he realized that he
was putting too much time in his AA activities and scaled back; he even
stopped going to meetings for a while, but found that his home life was
filled with problems which no amount of praying and counseling with his
minister could solve. He and his wife (a strong Al-Anon) finally divorced.
Like so many of us who go through stressful times in our lives, he turned
back to getting active in service work, which is where I met him. I was a
GSR at the time, and when our District decided to split he and I were on one
of the committees which traveled to a number of our groups to determine
their group conscience on the subject. Later (much later) after I was
divorced, our relationship was rekindled through a Saturday night open
meeting. We were married in 1984.
Since service work was so important to both of us, I continued to a position
in the Area. He went to the Committee meetings with me, and in 1989 he was
tapped to be Editor of our Area Newsletter Concepts. As you can see from the
article which you quoted, he was an excellent and exciting writer. Concepts
( I always disagreed with the name of our newsletter but lost every time it
was brought up for a vote to change it) was published quarterly. Each
quarter he would write at least two pretty good size articles on something
that was both pertinent to present day AA and always talking about the
spiritual nature of our program. He gave many slight digs to our trends
toward excessive psychiatric or (as he called it) "psychobabble" comments in
our meetings. His reliance on a Higher Power showed through in all his
writings and his humility was also in evidence.
We both continued in Area service, he as Editor for 12 years and I as
chairman of many committees. After he died I found that my friends in AA
were the backbone of my life. Since he dropped dead of a heart attack his
death was a great shock. My friends helped me through my grief by continuing
to elect me to Area service positions which, along with my regular group
meetings, keep my life full and fulfilling. I thank my Higher Power almost
daily that I had the privilege to be happily married to Tex for 17 years. He
was a wonderful man.
Barb Brown
P.S. Nancy, I don't know if you want to publish this or not, but I was
compelled to write after I saw Bill's use of Tex's article.
"Lash, William (Bill)" wrote:
We celebrate the life and sobriety of Tex B., who sadly passed away after
this article was submitted for publication.
I came into A.A. February 6, 1947 in Skokie, Illinois. I made a telephone
call to a friend who I knew was in A.A. and she came to my apartment and
attempted to tell me about Alcoholics Anonymous. I was drinking and passed
out in the middle of the call. I don't remember taking my last drink.
When I woke up, Jo and her husband, Bill, were waiting. They were old
drinking companions of mine, but now were in A.A. We did not spend much
time on my qualifications as an alcoholic, as this was not in dispute.
However, Bill did talk about the nature of alcoholism, that there was no
cure, and that I might die an alcoholic. The question was...soon? Or
sometime later, sober. Was I willing to do anything to be able to stop my
drinking? I thought that this was a rhetorical question but he was
insistent, "Are you willing to do anything to stop drinking?" After I gave
a shaky, "Yes," he read the Twelve Steps to me.
Back in our drinking days Bill and I had had several boozy discussions of
our atheism. But now he was talking about a Higher Power and God. I
objected. He didn't give an inch, "This is what we talk about in A.A., and
we are not going to change it because you don't like hearing about God.
You said that you were willing to do anything to stop drinking...I am
asking you to keep an open mind about this. I am not asking you to believe
in God, just keep an open mind and respect the fact that some of us do
believe. He was willing to risk driving me away from A.A. rather than deny
or conceal that A.A. was a spiritual program.
We talked about the strength of the commitment I was willing to make to
the program. He reminded me how much I had put into my drinking, that
after I took the first drink my commitment was total (I went on long
violent sprees). The strength of my commitment to A.A. should equal or
exceed the strength of the insanity of starting to drink again. After I
managed to eat a bowl of soup, they left some pamphlets and went home. I
read, "20 Questions" (19-yes, 1-no) and "So You Can't Stop Drinking?"
(three times).
The next night they took me to the home of Bill W. in Mount Prospect and I
heard his story and we talked about working the program. I was loaned a
copy of the Big Book to read. I first read the book by laying face down on
a studio couch with the book on the floor. I shook too much to hold it.
Then we met at Bill and Jo's house, where we talked about the Steps. It
was decided that I should start working on the Fourth Step because I
couldn't/wouldn't work on Two and Three. On the third night, I was taken
to a meeting. This was done only after I was sober, had the program
explained to me, had made a commitment to a serious effort and they had
made a judgment that I really did intend to quit drinking. I think that
they felt that if I only had one chance to make it in A.A., they didn't
want me to waste it by coming in too soon.
At the meeting, they talked about me just like I was not there. "He can't
make it, he's too young (29)... You have to be at least 40. He can't have
suffered enough." And so on; they really believed that I was too young to
get sober in A.A. They wanted me to stay. They hoped I could stay sober
but didn't think it would work out. I got mad and this was a blessing. I
stayed.
In the suburbs, the meetings were held in homes, usually on Thursday
night. Refreshments were served after the meeting. In some groups (i.e.
Glenview) the spread was lavish, often by those who could least afford it.
A few members got drunk over this. Skokie tended to be prudent.
On Tuesday night, I was taken downtown to the Chicago Open Meeting. This
was in the auditorium of the Olympic Building, 80 W. Randolph. We went
early to attend the beginners meeting. When we came out the auditorium was
full, 1500-2000 people! It was exciting to see this many alcoholics all at
once. I had seen 20 at a group meeting...but 2000! It was a very emotional
time for me. I knew that I never had to be alone again. One reason that
this meeting was so large was that there were no other open meetings in
the Chicago area. I asked why and was told that it was not permitted. I
didn't question this for several years.
Home group meetings were usually eight to twelve people (what you could
get in a living room). The host was responsible for the topic and
refreshments. When a group got too big for a living room, the group was
split. The group secretary was the treasurer, kept contact with the
Chicago Central Office and assigned the Twelfth Step calls. Sometimes they
assigned sponsors, who were expected to know why someone had missed a
meeting and so on. Sponsorship was formal; the two members making the
first call became the new member's sponsors; if for some reason this
wouldn't work, the secretary assigned someone else.
Sponsorship was serious. The sponsor explained the Steps and gave advice
on how to work a Step. He was expected to know what Step the sponsoree was
working on, to know what problems he was having and to help if he could.
The sponsoree was expected to be honest and open, and to tell the sponsor
what was happening in his life.
Groups were fewer than now, so the members were closer and more dependent
on each other and the group. Often one member would call another just to
see if they were still there (of course, you didn't say so). Maybe we were
not too sure that this thing was really going to work. Two of the effects
of this were strong resentments between members (cabin fever), and the
emergence (sometimes) of the group strong man or group Fuhrer.
Resentment is the number one offender. It often seemed that the biggest
problem we had was resentment of other A.A.s. These resentments were very
intense, just why I am not sure. It had something to do with the closeness
of the group, relationships; we mirrored each other's faults. My foibles
were monstrous and gross in someone else. Because we were A.A.s I expected
a much higher standard of behavior from them (and myself), and I was
angry. It seemed that it was very important that we all have the same
interpretation of the program. We had heated arguments over minor points
of doctrine. Because we didn't know how A.A. was keeping people sober, we
were, very touchy about anybody with new or different ideas. I suppose we
had a gut feeling that they were messing around with the foundations of
our sobriety.
Sometimes the group was like a pressure cooker. The same old stories and
attitudes, week after week. Group pride and loyalty were high. There was
fear of leaving the group just because you couldn't stand someone. You
would not be welcomed with open arms at another group if they suspected
that you were having trouble in your own group. We learned about
resentments fast. Emmet Fox's, Sermon on the Mount was as popular as the
Big Book. Few people drank over these resentments, the program was
supposed to fix things. It usually did. We prayed for each other - alot.
The group strong man was like a tribal chieftain who saw to the affairs of
"his group." Often he was the oldest member, was retired or could devote a
lot of time to his chosen task. If he was benign he was the Sponsor and
told everyone what to do and how to do it. If this included personal
service the job was a killer. One of these living saints worked tirelessly
managing the affairs of a large flock of pigeons. One night he died in his
sleep. Fifteen of them got drunk.
Another also worked tirelessly, but with A.A. women, always accompanied by
his nonalcoholic wife. This was thought to be a great thing until people
began to realize that none of the ladies were staying sober. It later
developed that he blamed his wife for the loss of a key promotion before
he retired. She spent too much money and ruined his credit (this was in
addition to his booze bills). He was angry and blamed all women. A
different kind of 13 Step work!
One man hung around the Chicago office contributing both time and money.
"C" did a lot of good work, but he also took most of the Twelfth Step
calls west of Oak Park for his group. "C" controlled this group
absolutely. After a couple of years sobriety in the Skokie Group, I
attended a meeting of "C's" group. "C" sat in state, with his lieutenants
on each side, and the attendance was taken. Someone gave a report on each
missing member. One poor wretch, a local barber, was banished because he
had questioned "C's" wisdom and authority. Members were forbidden to speak
to him or have any contact of any kind. It was a speaker meeting so I did
not have much of a chance to sample the quality of their brand of A.A.,
but I was not impressed. I never went back.
There were two other groups in the area, "S's group" and "the Colonel's
group." Groups had the name of their leader. I went to "S's" group; they
invited me to join and would take a vote to see if my A.A. wife could join
too. Again, I never went back. The "Colonel's group" had two women, so we
went there. It was the best choice, several A.A.s with good sobriety moved
in and we had a good group after a few skirmishes to redefine the
authority.
"C's and S's groups" did not acknowledge any other groups in the area.
Members of "C's group" were scattered throughout the area because of "C"
taking all of the Twelfth Step calls, and these people were not told that
there was a local A.A. group. When they did find out they were told not to
associate with any of us. For years after "C's" death they kept apart,
until the group just disappeared.
The most absolute of the A.A. "bosses" was "J," the founder of the A.A.
group in a nearby city. "J" started and nursed the A.A. group. It was
successful and as it grew rapidly someone would suggest a split. "J" would
assemble the group and give his "Fellows, you can't do this to me" speech;
then he would break down and cry .He earned the name of "Crying J." He was
successful in preventing any other groups from being established. "J" had
good relations with the local police. As a result, one group of dissidents
who held their first meeting in a church basement, came out and found
parking tickets on every car. Others were denounced as not "real A.A." and
meeting places were denied. Gossip was used as a weapon, one group was
described to me as "Black A.A., the women and slippers." Serious A.A's
went to meetings in nearby towns or moved. The founder and
his friends hindered the growth of A.A. in this city for two decades. "J"
died a few years ago; there are about 20 groups in his city now.
In the beginnings of A.A., these things were possible because we were few
in number, and had nobody of experience or tradition to guide us. People
would just go to another meeting if this occurred now. We were willing to
accept sobriety as evidence of the wisdom and the right to the authority
of the founder or old-timer. We now know that sobriety does not mean that
the alcoholic has learned how to control the ego and is now qualified as a
trusted servant of A.A.
In 1950, I attended the first International A.A. Convention in Cleveland.
This was a wonderful thing and a wonderful time. Everyone was excited
about everything - especially getting to see and hear Bill and Dr. Bob. I
was deeply affected by what was obviously Dr. Bob's last talk. I was
scheduled to speak at the Chicago open meeting the next week, so I
attempted to enhance my prestige by being the messenger to bring back the
co-founder's last words. I misquoted him as saying, "Keep It Simple!" I
completely missed what he was actually saying about "Love and Service." I
sincerely and deeply regret this. There is no solace in the fact that many
others did the same thing. The slogan, "Keep It Simple" has become a
permanent A.A. cop-out. But Dr. Bob did not say it.
What he did say was, "There are two or three things that flashed into my
mind on which it would be fitting to lay a little emphasis. One is the
simplicity of our Program. Let's not louse it all up with Freudian
complexes and things that are interesting to the scientific mind, but have
very little to do with our actual A.A. work. Our Twelve Steps, when
simmered down to the last, resolve themselves into the words 'Love and
'Service.' We understand what love is, and we understand what service is.
So let's bear those two things in mind."
On Sunday morning the Spiritual Meeting was held. I was excited by the
prospect that I was going to rub elbows with the real heavy hitters in the
God department. I do not remember the name of the main speaker but his
topic dealt with the idea that the alcoholic was to be the instrument that
God would use to regenerate and save the world. He expounded on the idea
that alcoholics were God's Chosen People and was starting to talk about
'The Third Covenant," when he was interrupted by shouted objections from
the back of the room.
The objector, who turned out to be a small Catholic priest, would not be
hushed up. There was chaos and embarrassment as the meeting was adjourned.
I was upset and was in full sympathy with the poor speaker. I did not
realize it at the time, but I had seen Father Pfau in action and Father
Pfau was right. I had heard the Group Conscience and I rejected it. The
format for an A.A. meeting was much simpler than it is now.
Most of the meetings were in homes. The host conducted the meeting, and
opened the meeting with a quiet time. Then the topic was introduced
(usually a Step), it was discussed and the meeting was closed with the
Lord's Prayer. There were no introductory readings and no identification
(My name is Jack S. and I am an alcoholic) whenever you spoke. If you had
the meeting, you were expected to have a prepared topic. You did not ask,
"does anyone have a problem?" hoping to fluff off the fat that you did not
prepare-anything. The quality of the program worked by those who were
really trying was about the same as it is now. But we had some extra
things going for us. In the early days we were closer to the source. I was
fortunate enough to be able to talk to the two people who had actually had
a spiritual "experience." I think that hearing a second-hand
account of Bill's experience in Towns Hospital was a turning point in my
life. This was told to me by a close friend and sponsoree of Bill's who
had finally had an experience of his own. This kind of contact was
available to me. I was able to talk to Bill on the telephone for over an
hour. I went on one of Father Pfau's retreats. It was a time of great
opportunity. There was a special feeling in being part of something
important that was happening. A.A. was beginning its rapid growth and one
had the feeling of the Power that was behind the whole thing.
Our attitudes about the program were different and this was due to several
causes. We did not know just how the program would work for people who
were not sure they were alcoholic. It was often suggested to a prospect
that they do more drinking, to be sure that they were ready. The prospects
were lower bottom than they are now. They were handled differently,
Twelfth Step calls were to tell your stories, to explain the A.A. program,
give the prospect a chance to back out and finally to make a commitment. A
prospect who regarded their situation as a temporary embarrassment or that
they were the innocent victim of circumstance was discouraged. I think
that there is a difference in how many are really trying.
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++++Message 1886. . . . . . . . . . . . History of AA in Chicago
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/24/2004 11:17:00 AM
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The following was written in 1949 by Luke H., who later served Chicago as
the elected Panel I Delegate to the 1951 General Service Conference.
A. A. in Chicago is a direct descendant of the original group in Akron. The
Chicago Group probably ranks fifth in among the larger groups, the earlier
ones being Akron, New York, Cleveland and Detroit. Since there are no
records to refer to, our place in line may be challenged by some group in
the northern Ohio seedbed, of whose history we are not aware of.
Nevertheless, Chicago was among the early strongholds of the movement. A
former resident of Akron, then living in Evanston, brought it from the
fountainhead in the summer of 1937, which may legitimately be regarded as
the birth date of A.A. in Chicago, although the first group meeting was then
two years in the future. Why did two years have to go by before a group was
formed? Looking back, Lonesome No. 1 realizes now that he was being taught
an important lesson in A.A. His idea was that a group would spring up at
once, as it had in Akron, but in spite of his best efforts at Twelfth Step
work, nothing happened. "I went back to Dr. Bob in Akron and asked him what
it was I was doing wrong or what I was failing to do. I went back more than
once, and each time he told me the same thing: 'When the time is ripe for a
group in Chicago, you'll have one.' That's the way it turned out. By
September 1939 there were five A.A.s in Chicago, four of whom had sobered up
and been indoctrinated in Akron, and the first meeting was held. All six
brand new A.A.s and three nonalcoholic spouses gathered at the home of No.1
on a Tuesday night in September. One of the first matters discussed was the
obligation to make A.A. available to all in the Chicago area, which meant
first establishing a meeting place in the Loop. This historic spot, A.A.'s
first home, was the top of two floors of the Medical and Dental Arts
Building at Lake and Wabash. The first meeting there was held on a Tuesday
night in October 1939. As a bonus for our mass patronage of the 65 cents
table d'hote on the topside, we were granted the freedom of the lounge on
the floor below. It was convenient and congenial and much good was
accomplished there. We gained our first 110 members at Lake and Wabash and
held our first New Year's Eve party, with a complete A.A. orchestra for
dancing on the restaurant floor. Tuesday night was established as the main
meeting night. The feeling that A.A. was an affair for the whole family was
fostered from the start, and the practice of inviting nonalcoholic wives and
husbands was founded. The system of Thursday group meetings, open only to
A.A.s, got its start during this period. Also started at this time was a
simple form of set-up committee that handled the few administrative details.
This has since developed into the rotating committee, with its appended
policy, public relations, finance, and program committees. The programs were
simple. Members took turns leading the meetings, and in early months a new
man was likely to be called on three weeks after he first showed up.
Following the Akron custom, the leader read a few verses of scripture and
then told his story.
Looking back to those days in the beginning, it is notable that there was
never any deviation from the spiritual essence of the program. At that time,
as now, the program was accepted as a divine gift beyond questioning. Unlike
some other places, Chicago had not suffered from improvements to improve on
its founders. The principle of "Easy Does It" became firmly rooted. As Dr.
Bob had promised No.1, it came to pass that a group was formed in Chicago,
and its subsequent sound growth seems to indicate that it was founded when
the time was ripe. Similarly, all of the branching out, the formation of
committees and other affairs of that sort have taken place when the need to
form them became evident. A.A. in Chicago has revealed its strength of
character by never organizing for the sake of organization and never
promoting any matters that might overshadow the fundamentals of the program.
These things are part of the history of the Chicago Group, and they are
impressive because they came to pass early and in a completely natural
fashion. Occupation of the Medical and Dental Arts Building ended suddenly
after eight months. We made a switch to a $20 private room in the LaSalle
Hotel and it was necessary to pass the hat. Up until then, A.A. got along
without receiving a nickel. The A.A. spirit burned bright that night. Nearly
three times the $20 was collected. Thus, a policy of generous giving came
into being. Later we moved to Madison Street. Then the LaSalle Hotel in the
old Hamilton Club, then a building on Lake and Wabash, and then back again
to the Medical and Dental Arts Building. It was there that the 1940 New
Years Eve party was held with a large assortment of sobered-up piano
players. By the following spring, a brisk rate of growth was evident.
Attendance at meetings ran about 250. The next move in summer, 1945, took us
to the YMCA, where we had the use of the auditorium for a small fee and
where the cafeteria served prime rib for 45cents. At the Y, the style of
program was changed from one or two speakers to a panel. The custom of
inviting comment from the floor died out. Another departure was the
beginners meeting. At first, this was only a pre-meeting conversation
between a sponsor and two of his new patients being helped in one corner of
the auditorium. The next week some other new ones asked to sit in and
listen, and presently a score or more were making it a weekly custom. A.A.
outgrew the YMCA, by the spring of 1944, and we moved to the engineering
building on Wacker Drive, a pleasant chamber with a normal capacity of 800.
We moved in May 1946, to the current meeting place at 32 West Randolph.
Counting all of the stop-offs, it is the eighth meeting place in the group's
history, which will end its first decade next September. In that time,
membership has grown to 4,000. By way of branching out, the city and the
suburban areas served by the Chicago Central Office have 175 neighborhood
groups. Each of them, at its Thursday or Friday night meetings, is more
equal in numbers to the whole group when it moved downtown. These milestones
tell of A.A.'s growth in terms of members, from the beginning to the
present.
Courtesy, Chicago Area 19 Archives Committee
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++++Message 1887. . . . . . . . . . . . Publication Listed in 1940 Akron
Manual
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/24/2004 2:38:00 PM
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Hi Friends,
Some time ago, Glenn Chesnut sent me information about a 1940 Akron Manual
which listed books helpful for alcoholics. They are:
A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous: THE AKRON MANUAL, 1940
"The following literature has helped many members of Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (Works Publishing Company).
The Holy Bible.
The Greatest Thing in the World, Henry Drummond.
The Unchanging Friend, a series (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee).
As a Man Thinketh, James Allen.
The Sermon on the Mount, Emmet Fox (Harper Bros.).
The Self You Have to Live With, Winfred Rhoades.
Psychology of Christian Personality, Ernest M. Ligon (Macmillan Co.).
Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones
The Man Nobody Knows, Bruce Barton."
I have tracked down all of the publications except "The Unchanging Friend,"
a series (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee). Bruce now seems to be out of
business, although there are a couple of smaller publishing firms listed
under that name. They published considerable Catholic-related material and
some of it can still be found in libraries. I'm assuming that "The
Unchanging Friend" may be a series of essays about Jesus, although that's
not certain. Whatever it was, the 1940 AA's in Akron apparently thought it
was helpful for alcoholics.
I have called the librarian at the Catholic Diocese in Toledo and also the
librarian at Lourdes College, a Catholic institution in our area. No luck so
far.
Any advice or help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
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++++Message 1888. . . . . . . . . . . . Joe McQ and Charlie Tapes
From: caseyosh . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/24/2004 5:47:00 PM
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Would appreciate anyone who can provide a brief history of the J
and C tapes on the Big Book... including when they were initially
formulated and first presented privately and/or publicly...
Thanks
KC
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++++Message 1889. . . . . . . . . . . . Joe and Charlie
From: jeffyour . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/25/2004 7:53:00 AM
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as quoted on http://rtfrog.tripod.com/Charlie.html
Joe McQ and Charlie P met in 1973 when Joe introduced Charlie as the
AA speaker at an ALAnon convention. Joe had wondered if Charlie P
might be the country singer Charlie Pride. "he wasn't even the right
color," Joe laments.
They instantly discovered their mutual fascinations with AA's basic
textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous commonly called "The Big Book". What
interested them mostly was that The Big Book was written a
particular sequence to convey certain ides. That interest became
close friendship, which has lasted over 20 years.
They would frequently meet to discuss The Big Book, often driving
225 miles to meet in each other's homes. Soon they were planning
meetings in hotel rooms at AA conventions in Oklahoma and Arkansas
and, within a few years, the meetings grew in popularity.
In 1977, some AA members met in a Tulsa, Oklahoma hotel room for a
discussion on The Big Book. One member asked Joe and Charlie to come
to his home group to present a program on The Big Book. A taping of
that presentation was made and called "The Big Book Study". Through
the circulation of these audio tapes throughout the Fellowship, Joe
and Charlie received invitations to present the Study at AA
conventions, roundups and special events. By 1980, there were about
eight studies offered each year.
At the AA International Convention in New Orleans in 1980, Wesley P,
an impassioned AA "Big Booker" from Pompano Beach, Florida,
organized a lunch for 1,500 AA members from all over the world and
gave away 100 Joe & Charlie tape sets as door prizes. Invitations
exploded, and within a couple of years Joe & Charlie were presenting
about 36 seminars a year worldwide.
These seminars struck a deep chord within the AA members ... for the
reaffirmation of "this message" as written April 1939 with the
publication of the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Big Book
Studies presented by Joe & Charlie have been given in all 50 states
as well as most Canadian provinces in addition to Australia, New
Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden
and Holland. Joe & Charlie have been invited to take the Big Book
Study to Iceland in August of 1998.
The original Joe, Joe McQ, has had to cut back his traveling in
recent years. Oddly enough, another Joe - Joe McC (who was active in
the study group since the beginning) has been able to pick up the
slack. "where God guides, God provides", as some members say.
Joe & Charlie are not paid for their services. In fact, the only
financial compensation they receive are their travel expenses,
meals, and lodging which are paid for by the independent host
committee sponsoring the Big Book Studies. Further, this is in
accordance with the AA Guidelines of Conferences & Conventions
(MG4), published by the General Service Office.
In the past 24 years, an estimated 200,000 members of various 12
step programs have experienced the spiritual benefits of these
collective seminars.
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++++Message 1890. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Joe and Charlie
From: denezmcd@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/25/2004 6:43:00 AM
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In May 1980 I heard the tapes of Joe McQ. & Charlie P. and there were only
two tapes at that time. Later they became 4 tapes, then 6 tapes, then 9
tapes and now there are 12 tapes. It would be interesting to know when all
the tapes were first made.
Thanks for any imput on this.
LOL,
Inez
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++++Message 1891. . . . . . . . . . . . A Teen Agers Decision
From: rebosjoey@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/25/2004 9:23:00 AM
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I would like to locate some Imfo. on the lady who wrote a Teen Agers
Decision in the
3rd Edition Big Book, Any tapes email address or anything.
Thank You
Joey in Tulsa rebosjoey@aol.com
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++++Message 1892. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Joe and Charlie
From: Jan Baldwin . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/25/2004 11:04:00 AM
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There is also a book that goes along with these tapes- "A Program For You"
I highly recommend getting it, as it is a complimentary piece of information
to the tapes.
JanB
----- Original Message -----
From: "jeffyour"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 7:53 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Joe and Charlie
> as quoted on http://rtfrog.tripod.com/Charlie.html
>
> Joe McQ and Charlie P met in 1973 when Joe introduced Charlie as the
> AA speaker at an ALAnon convention. Joe had wondered if Charlie P
> might be the country singer Charlie Pride. "he wasn't even the right
> color," Joe laments.
> They instantly discovered their mutual fascinations with AA's basic
> textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous commonly called "The Big Book". What
> interested them mostly was that The Big Book was written a
> particular sequence to convey certain ides. That interest became
> close friendship, which has lasted over 20 years.
>
> They would frequently meet to discuss The Big Book, often driving
> 225 miles to meet in each other's homes. Soon they were planning
> meetings in hotel rooms at AA conventions in Oklahoma and Arkansas
> and, within a few years, the meetings grew in popularity.
>
> In 1977, some AA members met in a Tulsa, Oklahoma hotel room for a
> discussion on The Big Book. One member asked Joe and Charlie to come
> to his home group to present a program on The Big Book. A taping of
> that presentation was made and called "The Big Book Study". Through
> the circulation of these audio tapes throughout the Fellowship, Joe
> and Charlie received invitations to present the Study at AA
> conventions, roundups and special events. By 1980, there were about
> eight studies offered each year.
>
> At the AA International Convention in New Orleans in 1980, Wesley P,
> an impassioned AA "Big Booker" from Pompano Beach, Florida,
> organized a lunch for 1,500 AA members from all over the world and
> gave away 100 Joe & Charlie tape sets as door prizes. Invitations
> exploded, and within a couple of years Joe & Charlie were presenting
> about 36 seminars a year worldwide.
>
> These seminars struck a deep chord within the AA members ... for the
> reaffirmation of "this message" as written April 1939 with the
> publication of the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous. Big Book
> Studies presented by Joe & Charlie have been given in all 50 states
> as well as most Canadian provinces in addition to Australia, New
> Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden
> and Holland. Joe & Charlie have been invited to take the Big Book
> Study to Iceland in August of 1998.
>
> The original Joe, Joe McQ, has had to cut back his traveling in
> recent years. Oddly enough, another Joe - Joe McC (who was active in
> the study group since the beginning) has been able to pick up the
> slack. "where God guides, God provides", as some members say.
>
> Joe & Charlie are not paid for their services. In fact, the only
> financial compensation they receive are their travel expenses,
> meals, and lodging which are paid for by the independent host
> committee sponsoring the Big Book Studies. Further, this is in
> accordance with the AA Guidelines of Conferences & Conventions
> (MG4), published by the General Service Office.
>
> In the past 24 years, an estimated 200,000 members of various 12
> step programs have experienced the spiritual benefits of these
> collective seminars.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 1893. . . . . . . . . . . . Join the Tribe
From: Ed Witte . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/25/2004 4:36:00 PM
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One of my favorite stories from the Third Edition was "Join the Tribe".
It was pure poetry. Someone in our local group said the author did not
remain sober & his story was therefore deleted from the 4th edition.
Does anyone know the story of this Canadian Maliseet Indian?
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you
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++++Message 1894. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Join the Tribe
From: Bruce Lallier . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28/2004 10:35:00 AM
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Hi Ed, he did remain sober, at least through the 70's when I saw him last.
He lived in the Bridgeport Ct. area and remained active volunteering at the
Bridgeport jail where I worked in the late 70's. I moved to western Pa. in
the 80's and have not seen him since. He was very dedicated and well liked
by all. Bruce Lallier Conneaut Lake Pa.----- Original Message -----
From: "Ed Witte"
To:
Sent: Friday, June 25, 2004 5:36 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Join the Tribe
> One of my favorite stories from the Third Edition was "Join the Tribe".
> It was pure poetry. Someone in our local group said the author did not
> remain sober & his story was therefore deleted from the 4th edition.
>
> Does anyone know the story of this Canadian Maliseet Indian?
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thank you
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 1895. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Join the Tribe
From: Jay Lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/27/2004 10:30:00 PM
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I had the privilege of hearing Maynard speak at the Purdy's group. I believe
that is in
Westchester County. That was back around 1990 or so. It was the Purdy groups
3rd
anniversary. Maynard lived up around Danbury, Connecticut. I have not heard
of the
whereabouts of Maynard for awhile. As for the reason of taking his story
from the 4th
edition I have no idea.
Jay
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Join the Tribe
One of my favorite stories from the Third Edition was "Join the Tribe".
It was pure poetry. Someone in our local group said the author did not
remain sober & his story was therefore deleted from the 4th edition.
Does anyone know the story of this Canadian Maliseet Indian?
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you
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++++Message 1896. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Join the Tribe
From: kopnor . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/27/2004 11:23:00 PM
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--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, Ed Witte wrote:
> One of my favorite stories from the Third Edition was "Join the
Tribe".
> It was pure poetry. Someone in our local group said the author did
not
> remain sober & his story was therefore deleted from the 4th edition.
>
> Does anyone know the story of this Canadian Maliseet Indian?
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thank you
His name is maynard. I don't know his last initial. He died
sober a few years back. I use to see him at the Maine area
Roundup. You can find out more about him by going to the biography
section of the History lover's messages. His biography is there.
Just look for join the tribe 2nd edition.
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++++Message 1897. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: "Join The Tribe"
From: Dennis Mardon . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/28/2004 7:26:00 AM
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I believe Maynard, the author of the 3rd edition Big Book story, "Join the
Tribe" stayed sober.
My understanding of the reason why "Join the Tribe" was removed from the 4th
Big Book edition was that a fair number of native North Americans expressed
the opinion to GSO that the language of the story was too stereotypical and
could therefore be offensive to some members and potential members.
I met Maynard in Kent, Connecticut in 1990 and recall the language of the
story reflected how he actually spoke and I was disappointed at what sounded
like 'political correctness' creeping into the AA committee work.
Dennis M.
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 16:36:56 -0500
> From: Ed Witte
> Subject: Join the Tribe
>
> One of my favorite stories from the Third Edition was "Join the Tribe".
> It was pure poetry. Someone in our local group said the author did not
> remain sober & his story was therefore deleted from the 4th edition.
>
> Does anyone know the story of this Canadian Maliseet Indian?
>
> Any help is appreciated.
>
> Thank you
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++++Message 1898. . . . . . . . . . . . Any info on blue card read at many
meetings?
From: victoria callaway . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/1/2004 9:01:00 PM
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The blue card, a service piece is read before our meetings, and I
would like if someone could back it up with some history to it?
Thnaks vicki
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++++Message 1899. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Any info on blue card read at
many meetings?
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/2/2004 10:56:00 AM
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Hi Vicki
The 'blue card'' definitions of open and
closed meetings are part of a series of Conference advisory actions
emphasizing
AA's primary purpose. The 'blue card'' is sometimes called the
'primary purpose'' card.'' It was first recommended by the 1986
Conference, adopted by the 1987 Conference and reaffirmed by the 1988
Conference.
Below, is a timeline history of Conference advisory
actions related to AA's primary purpose:
*1968 *It
was recommended that: AA groups in correctional facilities and hospitals
adhere
to AA's Fifth Tradition, on primary purpose of carrying the message to the
alcoholic. That anyone with problems other than alcohol be made welcome at
inside open meetings, but not participate in group activities.
*1969 *It
was recommended that: Guidelines be prepared outlining procedures for AA
members to follow in working with institutions and ways of informing the
nonalcoholic
staff about AA. The following committee recommendations are to be included
in
the guidelines:
a.
AAs attending meetings at
prisons or hospitals should be selected carefully so that relations with the
institution's staff remain harmonious.
b.
AA's position on membership
in institutional groups be defined as follows:
We
cannot give AA membership to nonalcoholic narcotic addicts and other
unrelated
groups or organizations. AA groups in institutions can welcome anyone with
problems other than alcohol to inside open meetings, but it is suggested
that
they do not speak or otherwise participate in these meetings.
*1970 *It
was recommended that: The wording of the 1969 Institutions Committee
recommendation concerning the definition of AA's position on membership in
institutions
groups be changed to read as follows:
Open meetings are traditionally open to all
interested in AA, but should be devoted exclusively to the alcoholic
problem.
Closed meetings should traditionally be restricted to alcoholics.
*1972 *It
was recommended that: The Conference reaffirm AA group policy that "Only
those with a desire to stop drinking may be members of AA groups; only AA
members are eligible to be officers of AA groups; nonalcoholics are welcome
at
open meetings of AA." And, it is suggested that the word
"family" not be used in the name of an AA group; if AA's and their
nonalcoholic mates wish to meet together on a regular basis, they consider
these gatherings "meetings" and not AA groups. (Floor Action)
*1985 *It
was recommended that: The following be inserted in the pamphlets "If You
Are a Professional" and "How AA Members Cooperate":
The only requirement for membership in AA is a
desire to stop drinking. If the person is not sure about this point, then he
or
she is most welcome to attend an open AA meeting. If the person is sure that
drinking is not his or her problem, then he or she may wish to seek help
elsewhere.
*1986 *It was recommended that: A
service item for use at AA meetings regarding AA's primary purpose be
developed
by the appropriate trustees' committee and proposed to the appropriate
Conference committee at the 1987 Conference.
*1987 *It
was recommended that: The following statement regarding AA's primary purpose
be
available as an AA service piece.
THIS IS A CLOSED MEETING OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
This is a closed meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.
In support of AA's singleness of purpose, attendance at closed meetings is
limited to persons who have a desire to stop drinking. If you think you have
a
problem with alcohol, you are welcome to attend this meeting. We ask that
when
discussing our problems, we confine ourselves to those problems, as they
relate
to alcoholism.
The following statement regarding AA's primary
purpose be available as an AA service piece.
THIS IS AN OPEN MEETING OF ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
This is an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. We
are glad you are all here--especially newcomers. In keeping with our
singleness
of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that "The only requirement
for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking," we ask that all who
participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol.
*1988 *It
was recommended that: The Primary Purpose Card continue as a service piece.
*1990 *It
was recommended that: "The AA Membership Survey" pamphlet, the
one-way display and the poster be updated to reflect the findings from the
1989
Membership Survey.
"The AA Membership Survey" pamphlet, the
one-way display and poster reflect all the findings of the 1989 Membership
Survey. The answer to Question #14 in the AA survey pertaining to drugs
should
be presented as follows:
"In addition to their alcoholism X% of members
indicated they were addicted to drugs," and include the disclaimer
"AA's primary purpose is recovery from alcoholism."
*1992 *It was recommended that:
The 1992 AA Membership Survey Questionnaire be changed as follows:
a.
Add item "f' to
Question #3: "this is my fist AA meeting."
b.
Revise item "1"
of Question #5 to read: "Newspaper, magazine, radio or TV."
c.
Change Question #9 to read:
"Do you belong to an AA Home Group?"
d.
Revise item "a"
of Question #10 to read: "Do you have a sponsor?"
e.
Change item "b"
of Question #10 to read: "Did you get a
sponsor within 90 days of coming to AA?"
That Question #14, "In addition to your
alcoholism, were you addicted to drugs?" be removed from the 1992 AA
Membership Survey Questionnaire because the question:
a.
emphasizes problems other
than alcohol;
b.
has a tendency to lead to
disunity;
c.
could be construed as
conflicting with our primary purpose.
*1997 *It
was recommended that: The following statement regarding Singleness of
Purpose
be added to the C.P.C. pamphlets: "Alcoholics Anonymous in Your
Community," "AA and Employees Assistance Programs," "AA as
a Resource for the Health Care Professional," "How AA Members
Cooperate With Professionals," "If You Are a Professional," and
"Members of the Clergy Ask About Alcoholics Anonymous" under the
title "Singleness of Purpose and Problems Other Than Alcohol" at the
next printing:
"Alcoholism and drug addiction are often
referred to as 'substance abuse' or 'chemical dependency.' Alcoholics and
nonalcoholics are, therefore, sometimes introduced to AA and encouraged to
attend AA meetings. Anyone may attend _open _AA
meetings. But only those with a _drinking _problem
may attend _closed _meetings or
become AA members. People with problems other than alcoholism are eligible
for
AA membership _only _if they have a
drinking problem."
Cheers
Arthur
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* victoria
callaway [mailto:vickicool2003@yahoo.com]
*Sent:* Thursday, July 01, 2004 9:01
PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Any
info on blue card read at many meetings?
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;">The blue card, a service piece is read before our meetings, and I
would like if someone could back it up with some
history to it?
Thnaks vicki
-----------------------------------------------
*Yahoo! Groups Links*
· To visit your group on
the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/
· To unsubscribe from
this group, send an email to:
AAHistoryLovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
· Your use of Yahoo!
Groups is subject to the Yahoo!
Terms of Service [1] .
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++++Message 1900. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Silkwork Birthday Celebration,
W.Long Branch NJ, 7/24/04
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/3/2004 3:37:00 PM
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You are cordially invited to the first annual Dr. Silkworth birthday
celebration!
Saturday, July 24, 2004 at 3:00PM
At his gravesite in Glenwood Cemetery, Route 71 (Monmouth Rd.), West Long
Branch NJ.
Speakers:
Barbara Silkworth (a family member) and Ruth O'N. (who got sober on April
14, 1948 & knew Silky).
Dr. William Duncan Silkworth is the author of the "Doctor's Opinion" in the
Big Book "Alcoholics Anonymous" and is known as a friend to millions of
alcoholics worldwide. He worked with Bill Wilson, AA's co-founder in N.Y.C.,
after Bill finally got sober in 1934. He gave deep understanding and great
encouragement to an infant society in the days when a lack of understanding
or a word of discouragement might easily have killed it. He freely risked
his professional reputation to champion an unprecedented spiritual answer to
the medical enigma and the human tragedy of alcoholism. Without his
blessing, our faith might well have died in its birth. He was a luminous
exception to the rule that only an alcoholic understands an alcoholic. He
knew us better than we knew ourselves, better than we know each other. Many
of us felt that his medical skill, great as that was, was not at all the
full measure of his stature. Dr. Silkworth was something that it is
difficult even to mention in these days. He was a saintly man. He stood in
an unusual relationship to truth. He was able to see the truth of a man,
when that truth was deeply hidden from the man himself and from everyone
else. He was able to save lives that were otherwise beyond help of any kind.
Such a man cannot really die. We wish to honor this man, a gentle doctor
with white hair and china blue eyes.
Dr. Silkworth lived on Chelsea Avenue in Long Branch, attended Long Branch
High School where he has been inducted in that school's Hall of Fame,
graduated from Princeton University, and lived for a while in Little Silver.
He was born on July 27, 1873 and died on March 22, 1951. His relatives that
still carry the Silkworth name live in Oceanport NJ.
PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING A LAWN CHAIR OR SOMETHING TO SIT ON.
If you have any questions please call Barefoot Bill at 201-232-8749 (cell).
Directions:
Take the Garden State Parkway (north or south) to Exit 105 (Route 36),
continue on Route 36 approximately 2.5 to 3 miles through 5 traffic lights
(passing Monmouth Mall, two more shopping plazas, and several automobile
dealerships). Watch for green road signs stating "Route 71 South, West Long
Branch and Asbury Park" (this is before the sixth light). Take this turnoff
to the right, past Carriage Square and bear right onto Route 71 (Monmouth
Road.) Glenwood Cemetery appears very quickly on the left. The entrance is
marked by two stone pillars and the name. Once inside the cemetery, bear
left, go up the hill and make the first right (a hard right). The gravesite
is near the first tree on the right.
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++++Message 1901. . . . . . . . . . . . Reel to Reel tape restoration
From: kopnor . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/6/2004 12:02:00 AM
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Hi I am Richard K. . I am a member of the Maine area archives
committee. We have a reel to reel tape of the 1955 St.Louis
convention. We would like to know if there is a lot of these tapes
in circulation.
this tape is over 50 years old. We are wondering if we will
run into any difficulties restoring this tape. Maybe someone has
some ideas they might have on this subject.
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++++Message 1902. . . . . . . . . . . . 4th Step Guides
From: lawrence . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/7/2004 10:27:00 PM
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Dear AA friends, I'm collecting 4th step guides. I have a xerox copy
of a lenthy one, about 28 full pages, starting with General
Instructions "Buy paper and pen and start writing." etc. Then there's
the main part called "Revised Fourth Step Guide" starting with 'Why
a "Revised edition"? The original Fourth Step Inventory, written over
10 years ago, needed revision for three reasons. 1. Two major areas
were not ncluded in the original inventory and are in this one:
military service (including Vietnam) and Alanon."' Then there are
lengthy sections on Family, Your Childhood, Religion, Kindergarten
and Early School, Your Sexual Life, Adolescence, etc. etc.
Is this lengthy and very detailed 4th Step Guide available online so
I could download it?
I do have a similar one which I found on a couple sites, starting with
the following:
"A Searching, Fearless, Moral, Inventory 4th Step Guide
The history of this 4th Step Guide is vague but it has been
attributed to anonymous members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Various
versions could be found on early recovery computer bulletin boards
(BBS). One version was dubbed "The California 4th Step Guide" as it
was believed that the originators were located in California. Another
version "suggested" that a person should have at least 5 years of
recovery before using this guide. In any event this guide has well
over 300 questions for a person to answer starting with your
childhood years, through adolescence, and into your adult life. The
guide works for all 12 step programs as the guide is not specific to
any particular program. The guide has a very good set of general
directions for doing a 4th step." Etc.
Perhaps the one I have a xerox of is an earlier version of this one,
one, but I'd love to find a copy of the first one I could download.
Thank you for any help on this, or suggestions of other 4th Step
guides I should know about.
Yours in sobriety, Larry G. in Placitas, NM.
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++++Message 1903. . . . . . . . . . . . Beginner''s Meeting Format
From: Linda . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/8/2004 8:20:00 AM
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I thought I had posted before but I don't see it so, I'll try again.
Does anyone have a good meeting format for Beginner's Meetings?
Thanks,
Linda D "Florida Keys"
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++++Message 1904. . . . . . . . . . . . two questions
From: john . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/10/2004 5:33:00 PM
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I have a 4x6 card which lists the first three books and has the price
of each
AA 4.50, 12&12 2.75 and AA Comes of Age 4.00
at the top it atates (You may wish to use this as a book mark)
Does anyone know when this card was pbulished by AA
I have a pamphlet This is AA in the burgandy cover. The only
reference to age is a note that states 11th printing. When was this
published?
John Wikelius
301 North Rawls Street
Enterprise, Alabama 36330
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++++Message 1905. . . . . . . . . . . . Loners International
From: kopnor . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/12/2004 3:04:00 AM
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I have heard that the loners international group is the largest
group in AA. Is this true. I would also like to know if Captain
Jack was the official founder of the loners international. I also
would appreciate it if someone could tell me if there is a biography
or story available on Captain Jack.
Richard K.
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++++Message 1906. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Loners International
From: Jim S. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/12/2004 1:10:00 PM
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From page 7, Box 459, Vol. 50, June-July 2004:
"Staff Report: Loners are A.A.s who are unable to attend meetings
because there are no groups nearby. There are about 210 Loners in 57
countries. Seagoing A.A.s, known as Internationalists, number about
73 as well as 55 Port Contacts. We now have 185 Homers, A. a
.s who are housebound due to illness or physical disability. Homers,
Loners, and Internationalists stay sober by sharing with each other
through letters, tapes, and e-mails. Each new Loner, Homer, and
Internationalist receives a directory of members, a subscription to
Box 459, and the Loners/Internationalists Meeting-By-Mail (LIM), a
confidential bi-monthly bulletin which shares excerpts of letters
received at G. S. O. from LIM members. There are also over 475 Loner
Sponsors, who share
A. A. activities and personal experience."
From LIM, Volume 13, No. 1, January/February 1988:
"...Note: for those who might not know, Capt. Jack is the founder of
A. A. Internationalists. ........"
From LIM, Volume 29, No. 2, March/April 2003:
"OVERVIEW OF LIM HISTORY"
"The first LIM bulletin, printed in 1949 as The Internationalists
Round Robin, was a few pages of excerpts from letters received at G.
S. O. and mailed to a small band of Internationalists determined to
stay sober no matter how isolated they were.
By 1963, the bulletin consisted of 5 or 6 one-sided pages,
mimeographed on blue paper. In 1976, an A. A. Loners meeting merged
with the original Internationalists meeting. Since the March-April
1980 issue, LIM has been printed on the familiar yellow pages.
Lim began through the efforts of Captain Jack S., a sailor who found
sobriety in A. A. and understood that to maintain sobriety he needed
to reach out to other members through correspondence.
Initially, Captain Jack was looking for A. A. contacts in port cities
when he wrote a letter to G. S. O. dated March 28, 1946. Captain Jack
requested information on A. A. contacts because he was "...still at
sea on oil tankers, on which I have served for ten years. I have few
contacts ashore with A. A., and have to rely on the Book and the guy
upstairs." A G. S.O. staff member provided Captain Jack with the names
of A. A. contacts in port cities, and encouraged him to write to other
seagoing members, which he did.
After the publication of a three-part article, "A `Loner' at Sea," by
Captain Jack in the October, November, and December 1948 issues of the
A. A. Grapevine, plans began to take shape to start an
Internationalists meeting-by-mail. Letters responding to that
Grapevine article prompted another G.S.O. staff member to suggest to
Captain Jack that he consider starting a "Round Robin Meeting" via
letters. Captain Jack responded positively and suggested the name be "The
Far East International Group." he said the name `...would leave it
open to members stationed ashore in the Far East and also to men who
sail these waters under flags of different nations."
Captain Jack died in December 1988 at age 91, a few months after
celebrating his 42nd A. A. anniversary. He had remained active in the
Fellowship, seeking newcomers in Portland, Maine, where he had
retired, while continuing to answer the many letters he received.
Some of A. A.'s phenomenal worldwide growth is attributed in part to
Captain Jack and hundreds of Internationalists like him who, sailing
the seven seas, carried the message wherever they dropped anchor."
It's my understanding that the Pacific Group in California has well
over 1000 members, which would make it larger than LIM.
Jim S.
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++++Message 1907. . . . . . . . . . . . AA on the Internet
From: Gary Becktell . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/12/2004 10:41:00 PM
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Does anyone have any info on the early days of AA on the Internet, and
the Bulletin Boards that preceded the Internet? Thank you.
G
gk@kitcarson.net
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++++Message 1908. . . . . . . . . . . . Older Grapevine Question
From: rrecovery1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/12/2004 8:08:00 AM
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I am area archivist and we are often donated older Grapevines. The
duplicate ones, I give to the Institution and jail reps to bring to
hospitals and jails but I just can't bring myself to donate thirty or
forty year old ones. Any other people have this problem? I would
rather trade for ones we are missing. Any suggestions?
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++++Message 1909. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Older Grapevine Question
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/13/2004 8:45:00 AM
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Instead of donating the old Grapevines, a better way would be to find the
articles on the new Digital Archive and print them out for institutions.
This will serve the same purpose and will allow you to save your old GVs as
treasures. I understand that there's no problem in making these printouts
as long as it's not for commercial purposes. And it can be done very
cheaply on your printer.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~ Mel Barger melb@accesst ~~~~~~~~ Mel Barger melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "rrecovery1984"
To:
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 9:08 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Older Grapevine Question
> I am area archivist and we are often donated older Grapevines. The
> duplicate ones, I give to the Institution and jail reps to bring to
> hospitals and jails but I just can't bring myself to donate thirty or
> forty year old ones. Any other people have this problem? I would
> rather trade for ones we are missing. Any suggestions?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________________
> This message was scanned by GatewayDefender
> 9:17:42 AM ET - 7/13/2004
>
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++++Message 1910. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: AA on the Internet
From: Martha Brummett . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/13/2004 9:20:00 AM
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Subject: AA on the Internet
> Does anyone have any info on the early days of AA on the Internet, and
the Bulletin Boards that preceded the Internet? Thank you.
G
There was a FidoNet forum called A.A. SiP (for Singleness in Purpose, s/h/b S
of
P) in the mid to late eighties. I vividly recall the exchange of messages as a
woman in Nashville got sober and got directed to her first meeting. I can't
recall any names really. I participated from around 1986 to 1992 or so.
Supposedly all the FidoNet stuff was archived, but that was a long time ago,
and
there was an effort in this forum to maintain anonymity.
Martha Brummett
Denver CO
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++++Message 1911. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Older Grapevine Question
From: ricktompkins . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/13/2004 7:10:00 PM
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You neglected to say what Delegate Area Archives you serve...
I would suggest that after your Grapevines are duplicated into two sets,
place the older extras with your Area's District archives.
Does your Area's largest Intergroup hold an archives collection? There's
another destination!
Make sure you get a stamp that will print "courtesy of Area xx Archives."
From my own past experience, our general service archives grows by giving,
not swapping..
Rick T., Illinois
past Area 20 Archivist
----- Original Message -----
From: "rrecovery1984" <>
To:
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 8:08 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Older Grapevine Question
> I am area archivist and we are often donated older Grapevines. The
> duplicate ones, I give to the Institution and jail reps to bring to
> hospitals and jails but I just can't bring myself to donate thirty or
> forty year old ones. Any other people have this problem? I would
> rather trade for ones we are missing. Any suggestions?
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++++Message 1912. . . . . . . . . . . . THE A.A. MESSAGE IN PRINT-SUMMARY OF
DISTRIBUTION
From: JOHN REID . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/14/2004 3:48:00 AM
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Below are the literature piece that are updated annually.
Service Material from the General Service Office
THE A.A. MESSAGE IN PRINT-SUMMARY OF DISTRIBUTION
First Printing through December 31, 2003
Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book)
English (First printing - 1939)
Hardcover (B-1) 15,845,956
Softcover (B-30) 6,713,109
Large Print (B-16) 241,712
Pocket/abridged (B-35) 1,163,732
Total: 23,964,509
Spanish (First Printing - 1962)
Hardcover (SB-1) 53,561
Softcover (SB-30) 495,032
Pocket/abridged (SB-35) 68,024
Total: 616,617
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
English (First Printing - 1952)
Hardcover (B-2) 7,842,858
Pocket Size (B-17) 412,778
Softcover (B-15) 2,254,309
Large Print (B-14) 120,208
Gift Edition (B-4) 1,386,176
Total: 12,016,329
Spanish (First Printing - 1985)
Softcover (SB-15) 357,325
Pocket Size (SB-17) 37,440
Total: 394,765
Other Formats
Audio Cassettes: Big Book (MB-1) 79,659
Big Book (MB-1A) 490
Twelve & Twelve (MB-2) 38,937
Big Book CD ROM (M-70) 517
Big Book Audio CD (M-81) 1,235
Spanish Big Book (SMB-1) 6,839
Spanish Twelve & Twelve (SMB-2) 11,320
Braille: Big Book (M-34) 2,766
Twelve & Twelve (M-35) 1,717
ASL Video: Big Book (VS-1) 1,910
Computer Disk: Big Book (M-53) 7,234
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++++Message 1913. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: AA on the Internet
From: Susan Krieger . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/14/2004 1:12:00 PM
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The West Baltimore site went up 6/26/94, about the time the WWW went up.
According to Archives at GSO we are the first and we have sent them a copy
of the first site as it went up and also a copy of the Baltimore Intergroup
as originally published.
Contact Al W. welsch@a-1associates.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gary Becktell"
To:
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2004 8:41 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] AA on the Internet
> Does anyone have any info on the early days of AA on the Internet, and
> the Bulletin Boards that preceded the Internet? Thank you.
> G
>
gk@kitcarson.net
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 1914. . . . . . . . . . . . Beginners'' Meeting Format
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/14/2004 4:35:00 PM
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For Linda D (Florida Keys),
You wrote in on July 8th asking, "Does anyone have a good meeting format for
Beginners' Meetings?"
Several early pamphlets for newcomers including material designed for
beginners' lessons can be found on the Hindsfoot Foundation website:
http://hindsfoot.org/archives.html
One pamphlet on that website comes from Detroit (1943) and four came from
Akron (the earliest published in late 1939 or early 1940, and the others only
a few years later at most). The four from Akron give us a very good and
detailed picture of what early Akron A.A. people believed and practiced.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Detroit Pamphlet is one which I do know will work very effectively for
beginners. On Monday night, June 14, 1943, the North-West Group at 10216
Plymouth Road in Detroit began holding a set of four beginners' meetings
(which were repeated over and over again for years). There were so many people
coming into A.A. by that point, that the old-timers could no longer give each
newcomer the same kind of individual, one-on-one instruction that they had
used in the beginning. So the most knowledgeable old-timers sat as a panel at
the front of the room, with the beginners gathered in front of them. The
introductory material for that particular class was read, and then the
newcomers were allowed to ask questions of the old-timers.
Like everything else in early A.A., anything that seemed to be working well
was rapidly circulated all over the country, and the first printed version was
actually produced in Washington D.C., so that some A.A. people still associate
these Beginners' Lessons with that city instead of Detroit. But Jack H. in
Scottsdale, Arizona, who has done the most careful study on the whole topic of
Beginners' Lessons and other early A.A. readers, says that Detroit published
its own printed version not long afterwards, probably only a few months later.
Just a few years ago I know, copies of The Detroit Pamphlet were still
obtainable from the Greater Detroit A.A. office Alcoholics Anonymous of
Greater Detroit in Ferndale, Michigan, for a modest cost.
In the early 1990's, The Detroit Pamphlet was used very successfully in
northern Indiana, so it still works just as well today. In Elkhart, they had a
Saturday morning Beginners' Meeting which was structured a little like the
original Detroit meetings. An old-timer would preside over the meeting and
give a short talk at the beginning on one of the steps. Submarine Bill in
particular found that a talk based on The Detroit Pamphlet worked better than
anything he had ever used over the years. Then (in Elkhart) the newcomers were
allowed to speak, going around the table in turn, much like an ordinary A.A.
discussion meeting. It did require a powerful personality like Submarine
Bill's (he was used to giving orders to a whole submarine full of sailors, and
having those orders obeyed!) for a single person to keep control of a group of
newcomers that large (usually thirty or forty people).
In South Bend, Indiana, what was called the Golden Key Group was set up in
1990, where each person was given a copy of the pamphlet, and then they went
around the huge table, with each person reading two or three paragraphs of
that Discussion (The Detroit Pamphlet divides the steps into Four Discussion
sessions). Then each person in turn was allowed to speak on something that had
been read that evening.
(The original Detroit printed version was filled with an awful lot of
typographical errors which made it hard to read, so the South Bend people
completely re-set the type, but without changing a single word, so it's the
same text as the original. The South Bend version is the one which is on the
Hindsfoot Foundation website.)
In its heyday, of the newcomers who went to the Golden Key Group every
Thursday evening without fail for an entire year, 90% remained sober for that
entire year. And even today, 90% of those who made it through that first year
without a slip are still sober. That's around an 80% success rate.
(The idea that only EARLY A.A. could ever have that kind of success rate is a
total myth. There are different kinds of strategies that work -- there is no
one single formula which must be used -- but there are still meetings in
northern Indiana today which achieve that kind of 75% to 80% success rate.
Nobody gets sober who doesn't keep on coming to A.A. meetings, but that is
hardly the program's fault! Modern medicine can control diabetes with insulin
shots and proper diet, but nobody blames the medical doctors when people who
refuse to follow these directions get sick and die horribly.)
But back to the Golden Key Group. It eventually ended up dying because of a
combination of (1) its enormous success and (2) lack of responsibility among
the South Bend people with some time in the program.
(1) Treatment centers and halfway houses began bringing in bus loads of
newcomers, literally, as word spread of how extraordinarily well this
Beginners' Meeting worked, and then (2) in response to these floods of
newcomers, the people with time in the program gradually began to quit coming
in the years that followed. It turned out that, because of its discussion
meeting format, it required at least four or five people with a little bit of
significant time in the program be present to keep the discussion on track. By
the end of the line, it was just me and maybe one other person trying to
manage thirty or forty people from halfway houses and treatment centers, many
of whom only wanted to wallow in self-pity and complain about "how badly" the
place they were in was treating them. And it just doesn't work effectively
that way -- you don't put the inmates in charge of the insane asylum! We were
all crazy people when we first came in, or I was, anyway --
ask anybody who knew me during my first year, and they will start laughing so
hysterically that's it really embarrassing for me even now! -- and when we
were newcomers, we needed the people who had a little bit of time in the
program to help us slowly find our way towards a little greater sanity.
So my advice here is that if you want to set up a Detroit Pamphlet Beginners'
Meeting of that sort, most of your work is going to be getting some of the
people with significant time in the program to show up and participate and
make some real long term commitment. The Twelfth Step says that this should be
a primary responsibility for everyone in the program who has worked through
the first eleven steps. When people shirk this responsibility, A.A. in their
community can no longer flourish and grow. I should say that, in my
experience, every one of the twelve steps is a marvelous learning experience.
And strangely enough, I have found myself that Twelfth Step work (in the sense
of working with newcomers and participating in Beginners' Meetings and things
of that sort) gives more insight and personal growth than any of the other
steps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Some people also think very highly of The Little Red Book: An Interpretation
of the Twelve Steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program for Beginners'
Meetings. In the 1940's, the Nicollet Group in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
required newcomers AND their spouses to attend Twelve Step Study Classes which
were conducted by Ed Webster and Barry Collins along with other members of the
group who had some time in the program. Mimeographed copies of the lecture
notes Ed Webster wrote up for these classes began circulating all around the
United States. Their lesson plans were used in Canada too: in 1946, for
example, the Nicollet Group received a letter from an A.A. group in Edmonton
(in Alberta) telling them how successful the mimeographed version had been
there.
The first printed version was published in Minneapolis in August 1946 as The
Little Red Book by the "Coll-Webb Company," which meant that Barry Collins and
Ed Webster had it printed themselves. Hazelden took over publishing and
distributing the book later on, and keeps a version of The Little Red Book in
print today.
Jack H. in Scottsdale, Arizona, has a copy of the original 1946 printed
edition, which he puts on display at A.A. conferences. The 50th Anniversary
Edition which Hazelden published in 1996 claims to be a reprint of that
original edition, but Jack says that it was actually a reprint of a slightly
later edition. The reason this is an issue, is because Jack (who has tracked
all the different versions down) says that Ed Webster himself kept on making
revisions in the little book all the way to the end of his life. So the
regular version which you can buy from Hazelden today is different in various
ways from the original printed edition which came out in 1946, and even that
50th Anniversary Edition isn't quite the same as the original 1946 version.
Here in my part of Indiana, I am told that there are groups in Fort Wayne for
example which still use The Little Red Book for meetings on a regular basis
(or this was certainly true only a few years ago), and I understand that it is
also still very much in use in various other places all over the United States
and Canada.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But then A.A. hit a crisis in the late 1980's and early 1990's, where some of
the younger leaders began insisting that no one was allowed to read ANYTHING
except "conference approved" literature. A.A. began being cut off from its
historical roots, and falling into greater and greater triviality, and
achieving lower and lower success rates.
The only opposing force has been the Archival Movement that arose during that
same period: Nancy O. and the AAHistoryLovers Group, and Gail LaC.'s role in
helping set up the first National Archives Workshop in Akron, and other
grassroots archival efforts which arose at that time all over the United
States, fortunately began to play a role as significant counter-forces.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But the understanding back in the early days, as far as I can tell, was that
any piece of printed material WHICH WAS SPONSORED BY AN A.A. GROUP (the
Nicollet Group in Minneapolis for The Little Red Book and the A.A. group in
Daytona Beach, Florida, for Twenty-Four Hours a Day) was automatically assumed
to be perfectly acceptable for reading in meetings by any other A.A. groups in
the world. That seemed to have been the key: if that pamphlet or little book
been sponsored by an A.A. group somewhere then it was perfectly O.K. for other
A.A. groups to use.
In early A.A. the New York office took this position too: something that is
written and printed by the members of one A.A. group is totally legitimate to
read in A.A. meetings anywhere else. Dr. Bob and Bill W. both put themselves
on record as supporting that principle. Jack H. in Scottsdale, Arizona, has a
copy of The Little Red Book which Dr. Bob had personally made notes on, making
suggestions to Ed Webster for changes or additions to be made in the next
edition. It is obvious that Dr. Bob gave his O.K. to the four Akron pamphlets
also. Bill W. wrote to Ed Webster in November 1950 and said "we are not
policemen" here at the New York headquarters, "AAs are free to read any book
they choose."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usually in early A.A. (though not necessarily, since each A.A. group is
completely autonomous and can read anything it wants to) books and pamphlets
which were not sponsored by a particular A.A. group were only read outside of
formal A.A. meetings. In early A.A. in South Bend, Indiana, for example,
little groups would gather in people's homes to read and talk about the latest
Golden Book, but they would not call these "A.A. meetings" in the formal
sense. They were just little private groups of A.A. members gathering on their
own. The Golden Books were printed and distributed by Ralph Pfau (Father John
Doe) on his own. They had marked on the title page that they were published by
the "SMT Guild," which meant the "Society of Matt Talbott," which in turn
meant Father Ralph himself and the three nuns who served as his secretaries
and helpers in the convent in Indianapolis where he lived as confessor to the
sisters. Ralph got along O.K. with the A.A.
groups in Indianapolis where he was based, but none of the Indianapolis groups
officially sponsored these Golden Books, and he basically had to do that on
his own.
Likewise, the books on the early Akron A.A. recommended reading list (Emmet
Fox's Sermon on the Mount, James Allen's As a Man Thinketh, Henry Drummond's
The Greatest Thing in the World, Ernest Ligon's Psychology of Christian
Personality, and so on) were not usually, to the best of my knowledge, read
from or used for providing meeting topics in formal A.A. meetings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the other hand, A.A. groups all around the country had books which were on
this Akron list for sale for A.A. members to purchase. Mel B. (sober 1950)
bought two books from this list in Detroit A.A. when he was first getting
sober. When I asked Brooklyn Bob here in South Bend whether there was any rule
in early A.A. about "only reading conference-approved literature," he snorted
and laughed and said, "We read anything we could get our hands on that might
get us sober!" Real early A.A. was like that, intensely pragmatic -- these
were not rule-bound uptight people who thought that you could get people sober
by repeating mechanical formula phrases and preventing the members from ever
reading or hearing anything that was not approved by the tiny circle of people
who led the organization -- all the really good old-timers whom I have
interviewed have had that same kind of marvelously free and flexible spirit as
Brooklyn Bob had, they're just wonderful
people.
So if A.A. people who had some sobriety under their belts in various parts of
the country said, "Yeah, that book by Emmet Fox, The Sermon on the Mount, sure
helped me and some of our other members when we first came in -- it doesn't
work for everybody, you know, but for some of us it really opened our eyes as
to what we were supposed to be doing when we were working the steps" -- then
A.A. people in other parts of the country would read it and see if it helped
them. And if it helped enough people there, then it would be made available
for sale at their A.A. group or their intergroup office, and newcomers would
be encouraged to read it if it seemed appropriate to that particular person's
central problems.
And contrariwise, I remember when one of John Bradshaw's later books was
literally driving some susceptible people over the edge into full-fledged
psychosis, where their attempts to use his methods to come into contact with
their "Inner Child" did so much psychological damage that they had to be
institutionalized for several years afterwards. I'm not kidding, they were
genuinely and literally driven insane by the traumatic stuff that started
coming out of their subconscious minds. It was only a few people who were
driven literally insane in this way, but the word nevertheless spread through
responsible A.A. circles in my part of northern Indiana: Do NOT give that book
to newcomers, or anybody else, it's too dangerous. Do NOT sell that book at
the intergroup offices. WARN people who start talking about reading that book
about how dangerous it is. We can't play games like that with people's lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
But the idea which sprang up in the late 1980's and early 1990's, that somehow
or other it wasn't "proper" for an A.A. group or intergroup to sell helpful
books that weren't published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services in New
York is another thing that is threatening to cut A.A. off from its historical
roots. The New York office never ever had the money to publish all the useful
books that could help a recovering alcoholic, and still doesn't today. The
traditions forbid A.A. itself from having the kind of wealthy publishing
houses that some of the larger religious denominations have (Abingdon Press,
Fortress Press, Augsburg Press, Westminster Press, Loyola University Press,
Ave Maria Press, and so on, for the Methodists, Lutherans, Roman Catholics,
and the other large church organizations).
Therefore we MUST to a certain extent rely on individuals to publish some of
the literature which A.A. needs in order to be successful. The important thing
is to make it clear at all times that several people who get together to
publish some books on A.A. cannot claim any official A.A. connection in
anything that shows up in public, even if all of them are A.A. members.
Likewise, an A.A. group itself cannot get involved in the enormous monetary
expense of publishing a full sized book -- this can sometimes require
thousands of dollars for the initial investment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Also, just for myself, I would prefer that A.A. books of this sort be
published on a totally nonprofit basis if at all possible, just as Richmond
Walker did when he was printing and distributing his Twenty-Four Hour book. I
have a rule for myself that I will not be involved in publication ventures
involving any kind of program-related material, unless the group publishing it
is a genuine nonprofit organization which exists only to help alcoholics.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At any rate, Linda, I hope that some of these materials may give you some
useful ideas. Having a set of Beginners' Meetings for newcomers is an old A.A.
tradition that goes back to the early 1940's in many parts of the United
States and Canada.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
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++++Message 1915. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: THE A.A. MESSAGE IN PRINT-SUMMARY
OF DISTRIBUTION
From: Rob Childs . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/14/2004 8:21:00 PM
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10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">Do you know how to get an ascii version
of the big book? Is that the computer disk or CD version? If so, how does one
order a copy?
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----Original Message-----
*From:* JOHN REID
[mailto:johnyr1@iprimus.com.au]
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 14, 2004
3:49 AM
*To:*
aaHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] THE
A.A. MESSAGE IN PRINT-SUMMARY OF DISTRIBUTION
12.0pt;">
Below are the
literature piece that are updated annually.
Service Material from the General Service
Office
THE A.A. MESSAGE IN PRINT-SUMMARY OF
DISTRIBUTION
First Printing through December 31, 2003
*Alcoholics
Anonymous (Big Book)*
English (First printing - 1939)
Hardcover (B-1) 15,845,956
Softcover (B-30) 6,713,109
Large Print (B-16) 241,712
Pocket/abridged (B-35) 1,163,732
Total: 23,964,509
Spanish (First Printing - 1962)
Hardcover (SB-1) 53,561
Softcover (SB-30) 495,032
Pocket/abridged (SB-35) 68,024
Total: 616,617
*Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions**
*
English (First Printing - 1952)
Hardcover (B-2) 7,842,858
Pocket Size (B-17) 412,778
Softcover (B-15) 2,254,309
Large Print (B-14) 120,208
Gift Edition (B-4) 1,386,176
Total: 12,016,329
Spanish (First Printing - 1985)
Softcover (SB-15) 357,325
Pocket Size (SB-17) 37,440
Total: 394,765
Other Formats
Audio Cassettes: Big Book (MB-1) 79,659
Big Book (MB-1A) 490
Twelve & Twelve (MB-2) 38,937
Big Book CD ROM (M-70) 517
Big Book Audio CD (M-81) 1,235
Spanish Big Book (SMB-1) 6,839
Spanish Twelve & Twelve (SMB-2) 11,320
Braille: Big Book (M-34) 2,766
Twelve & Twelve (M-35) 1,717
ASL Video: Big Book (VS-1) 1,910
Computer Disk: Big Book (M-53) 7,234
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1916. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: AA on the Internet
From: soul . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/15/2004 6:43:00 AM
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The Online Service Conference has a nice page on AA History on the
Internet Here is the link http://www.aa-
onlineserviceconference.org/history_online_aa.htm#AA%20on%20the%
20Internet .
soul
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Gary Becktell"
wrote:
> Does anyone have any info on the early days of AA on the
Internet, and
> the Bulletin Boards that preceded the Internet? Thank you.
> G
> gk@k...
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++++Message 1917. . . . . . . . . . . . 4th Edition Big Book
From: chillydog012001 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/13/2004 5:34:00 PM
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I am interested in the years and General Service Conference votes
that took place in order to publish the 4th Edition of the Big Book.
How many votes took place and what was the general consensus at the
group level.
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++++Message 1918. . . . . . . . . . . . principles before personalities...
From: Stanley . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/15/2004 2:04:00 PM
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I'm new to this mailing list; but certainly not new to A.A. (16 years
sobriety) and I have a question that I hope someone familiar to A.A. history
could help me with. I've read most of the books sanctioned by A.A.; but
can't remember how the last part of the 12th Tradition came into being. The
"...principles before personalities" part.
I am really excited about this mailing list!
Stan
**********************************************************************
Stanley Koehler In the heart of the Ozarks
stanley4756@mchsi.com Springfield, MO
**********************************************************************
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++++Message 1919. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: AA on the Internet
From: Mark Warner . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/15/2004 12:29:00 PM
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soul wrote:
> The Online Service Conference has a nice page on AA History on the
> Internet Here is the link http://www.aa-
> onlineserviceconference.org/history_online_aa.htm#AA%20on%20the%
> 20Internet .
http://www.aa-onlineserviceconference.org/history_online_aa.htm#AA%20on%20the%
20\
Internet [85]
http://tinyurl.com/3qk69
--
Mark Warner
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++++Message 1920. . . . . . . . . . . . Report from the Moderator
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/16/2004 2:37:00 AM
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Friends,
A few items:
1. As of tomorrow, July 17, I will be out of town for a few days and the AA
history lovers will be inactive. I will be at Shreveport, LA for a talk to the
Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors and Trainers, Inc. If any
members of the list will be present I would be delighted to meet you.
2. I have been doing a post every month of significant dates in AA history. I
have been unwell for the last several week and have not had the energy to
finish the July list. Is anyone willing to take this over for me? As my
sources I use the 2004 Sobriety Calendar PLUS this website:
Sobriety Anniversaries [86]
BTW, July 21, 1980, Marry Mann suffered her fatal stroke. She died the next
day. I sorely miss her.
3. I may also have to turn the AA history list over to someone else in the
near future -- at least temporarily. At least temporarily. I warn that it is
very time consuming so a single, retired person might be the ideal.
4. As of today there are 901 members of the list. Each day it seems to advance
by one or two members, then suddenly ten members will disappear. The mysteries
of the Internet. I think it has something to do with "bouncing," whatever the
devil that means. If anyone can explain it, this ol' gal would be
appreciative.
I hope you are all having a good summer and that I will meet some of you in
Louisiana over the next few days.
Fondly,
Nancy Olson
Moderator
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++++Message 1921. . . . . . . . . . . . Principles before personalities
From: marathonmanric . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/16/2004 8:57:00 AM
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Hello AAHistory Lovers,
My understanding of that phrase in the 12th tradition (...ever
reminding us to place principles before personalities.) has always
been the realization that there are no expert personalities or
occupations in AA. No Doctors or clergy which many have a "hand up"
on the recovery process.
If you are a member of Alcoholics Anonymous and, in turn, have a
desire to stop and stay stopped drinking, you are also just another
recovering alcoholic, and we all learn from each other. We learn the
same principles and our recovery is not based on any type of
personality.
Ric the GratefulCamel in Miami
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++++Message 1922. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: principles before personalities...
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/16/2004 10:58:00 AM
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Hi Stanley and welcome on board. What follows is a bit of long answer to your
short question. A useful place to get a sense of the context of the Traditions
is their long form. Tradition 12's long form is:
And finally, we of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the principle of
Anonymity has an immense spiritual significance. It reminds us that we are to
place principles before personalities; that we are actually to practice a
genuine humility. This to the end that our great blessings may never spoil us;
that we shall forever live in thankful contemplation of Him who presides over
us all.
Below is a timeline of some milestones in the evolution of the Traditions.
SOURCE REFERENCES:
AACOA - AA Comes of Age, AAWS
GTBT - Grateful to Have Been There by Nell Wing (soft cover)
LOH - The Language of the Heart, AA Grapevine Inc
PIO - Pass It On, AAWS
SM - AA Service Manual and Twelve Concepts for World Service, AAWS
1942
Correspondence from groups gave early signals of a need to develop guidelines
to help with group problems that occurred repeatedly. The basic ideas for the
Twelve Traditions emerged from this correspondence and the principles defined
in the Foreword to the first Ed. of the Big Book. (AACOA 187, 192-193, 198,
204, PIO 305-306, LOH 154)
1945
April, Earl Treat, founder of AA in Chicago (Big Book Story: He Sold Himself
Short) suggested to Bill W that he codify the Traditions and write essays on
them in the Grapevine. (AACOA 22, 203, GTBT 54-55, 77, SM S8, PIO 306, LOH
20-24)
August, the Grapevine carried Bill W's first article (Modesty One Plank for
Good Public Relations) and set the groundwork for Bill's 5-year campaign for
the Traditions. The July Grapevine edition had an article by member CHK of
Lansing, MI about the Washingtonians. Bill used this article to begin his
essay commentaries.
1946
April, the Grapevine carried Bill W's article Twelve Suggested Points for AA
Tradition. They would later be called the long form of the Twelve Traditions.
(AACOA viii, 96, 203, LOH 20, 154)
1949
As plans for the first Int'l Convention were under way, Earl T suggested to
Bill W that the Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition would benefit from
revision and shortening. (AACOA 213 says it occurred in 1947) Bill, with
Earl's help, set out to develop the short form of the Twelve Traditions.
(AACOA 213, GTBT 55, 77, PIO 334)
November, the short form of the Twelve Traditions was first printed in the AA
Grapevine. The entire issue was dedicated to the Traditions in preparation for
the forthcoming Cleveland Convention. Two wording changes were subsequently
made to the initial version: "primary spiritual aim" was changed to "primary
purpose" in Tradition Six, and "principles above personalities" was changed to
"principles before personalities" in Tradition Twelve. (LOH 96 and copy of Nov
1949 Grapevine)
1950
Jul 28-30, AA's 15th anniversary and first International Convention at
Cleveland, OH. An estimated 3,000 attendees adopted the Twelve Traditions
unanimously. (AACOA 43, LOH 121, PIO 338)
----- Original Message -----
From: Stanley
To: A.A. History
Sent: Thursday, July 15, 2004 2:04 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] principles before personalities...
I'm new to this mailing list; but certainly not new to A.A. (16 years
sobriety) and I have a question that I hope someone familiar to A.A. history
could help me with. I've read most of the books sanctioned by A.A.; but
can't remember how the last part of the 12th Tradition came into being. The
"...principles before personalities" part.
I am really excited about this mailing list!
Stan
**********************************************************************
Stanley Koehler In the heart of the Ozarks
stanley4756@mchsi.com Springfield, MO
**********************************************************************
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++++Message 1923. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Principles before personalities
From: Danny S . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/16/2004 2:39:00 PM
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In Tradition 12, is about "anonymity". In the long form, "principal
before personalities" is in reference back to the word "anonymity".
It describes a reminder which anonymity gives us. The other reminder
born out of anonymity is humility.
The subject of "nonprofessional" versus "professional" is addressed
in Tradition 8, not 12.
Hope this is helpful
Peace,
Danny S
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++++Message 1924. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob''s Tattoos
From: Roger Dowdy . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/19/2004 12:47:00 PM
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I'm looking for additional information regarding Dr. Bob's tattoos (i.e.
location, where he got them, etc.). Here's all I've been able to find thus
far (thanks to Silkworth.net):
A tattoo he wore the rest of his life was probably from those days at
Dartmouth: a dragon and a compass tattoo. The dragon wound around his left
arm from the shoulder to the wrist. It was blue with red fire. His son
thinks "he had to have been drunk to have it put there, and you didn't do
something that complicated in a day. When I asked him how he got it, he
said, 'Boy, that was a dandy!' And it must have been, too."
Many thanks, in advance!
-Roger
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++++Message 1925. . . . . . . . . . . . The Upper Room and its influence on
early A.A.
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/20/2004 12:28:00 PM
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After some years of searching, I have just found some copies of The Upper Room
from 1938 and 1939. This was the meditational book which most A.A. people used
to read every morning during the early period (1935-1948). Reading through
them proved to be even more insightful than I had dreamed. You can get a real
feel for the simple but incredibly deep Christian piety of Anne Smith, and you
find meditation after meditation where it almost seems as through you are
sitting in a very good modern A.A. meeting.
I have made some excerpts of typical readings which illustrate the kind of
influence which The Upper Room had on early A.A. In order to format it in a
way that will be readable, I have had to organize it in a way that cannot be
set up in an e-mail. So I apologize for having to do it this way, but you will
be able to read these passages by clicking here:
http://hindsfoot.org/UpRm1.html (it is also listed if you click on "A.A.
Historical Materials" over on the left hand side in the general Hindsfoot
website at http://hindsfoot.org ).
The Oxford Group of course had the largest single influence on early A.A. Many
of the twelve steps were simply developments of Oxford Group teachings.
However, the second most important influence may well have come from The Upper
Room. For the first thirteen years, A.A. members studiously read it every
morning and thoroughly internalized its values, and its conception of the
spiritual life. These ideas became so totally ingrained in the spirit and
traditional teaching of A.A. that they survive even now, well over half a
century after A.A. people stopped using these little meditational books.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
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++++Message 1926. . . . . . . . . . . . The Early Akron A.A. Reading List,
Part 1 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/20/2004 11:56:00 PM
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================================
The Early Akron Recommended Reading List:
The Works It Contained and their Significance for Understanding Early Akron
A.A.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
================================
PART ONE:
A pamphlet entitled A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous, often referred to as
the Akron Manual, was written and published by early Akron A.A. at a very
early period, as an introductory booklet to hand to newcomers when they began
the detoxification process. [Note 1] Based on things that are mentioned in the
Manual, it was most probably put together during the summer or fall of 1939,
and certainly no later than 1940. A copy of it can be found at
http://hindsfoot.org/AkrMan1.html (the first half) and
http://hindsfoot.org/AkrMan2.html (the second half) on the Hindsfoot
Foundation website ( http://hindsfoot.org ). So this small pamphlet is an
extraordinarily valuable document. It is a little window opening into the
world of early Akron A.A. shortly after the Big Book first started coming off
the press.
~~~~~~~~~~
At the very end of the Akron Manual it says "the following literature has
helped many members of Alcoholics Anonymous," and then it gives a list of ten
works as a kind of recommended reading list:
Alcoholics Anonymous (Works Publishing Company).
The Holy Bible
The Greatest Thing in the World, Henry Drummond.
The Unchanging Friend, a series (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee).
As a Man Thinketh, James Allen.
The Sermon on the Mount, Emmet Fox (Harper Bros.).
The Self You Have to Live With, Winfred Rhoades.
Psychology of Christian Personality, Ernest M. Ligon (Macmillan Co.).
Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones.
The Man Nobody Knows, Bruce Barton."
~~~~~~~~~~
THE BIBLE was the second item on the list, right behind the Big Book. But
earlier in the pamphlet it was made clear that there were certain places in
the Bible that they wanted the newcomers to especially focus on: the Sermon on
the Mount in Matthew 5-7, the letter of James, 1 Corinthians 13, and Psalms 23
and 91. This was a typical early twentieth-century Protestant liberal
selection of passages to emphasize, but they were also especially useful for
A.A. purposes because none of them required the newcomer to believe in the
divinity of Christ or that salvation could only be found by praying to Jesus.
~~~~~~~~~~
EMMET FOX, The Sermon on the Mount, is still well known to A.A. people today.
He was a major representative of an American religious movement called New
Thought, which was connected to, but also different from, Mary Baker Eddy's
Christian Science movement. Among present-day American religious
denominations, Unity Church is the largest group using that basic kind of
approach. Emmet Fox's position was strongly Christian in its orientation,
although the kind of Protestantism he represented was clearly in the liberal
camp.
Please note that nineteenth and early twentieth-century New Thought was most
definitely NOT the same as "New Age," which was a late twentieth-century
movement involving claims that its practitioners were able to do spirit
channeling and use the mystical properties of crystals, and things of that
sort. New Age sometimes include beliefs drawn from Wicca -- that is, ancient
witchcraft -- and other unconventional religious ideas. Or to put it another
way, New Thought was fundamentally Christian in its orientation, whereas New
Age is for the most part extremely hostile to Christianity.
~~~~~~~~~~
JAMES ALLEN, As a Man Thinketh (34 pages long). He published his book in 1908
or a little before. I would also put his ideas in the same general category as
New Thought, even though he was English. He may or may not have read any of
the American authors in the general New Thought genre, which is why I hesitate
to call him "New Thought" in the narrow sense of the term.
~~~~~~~~~~
HENRY DRUMMOND, The Greatest Thing in the World (45 pages long). His book was
a beautiful commentary on 1 Corinthians 13. He was closely associated with
Dwight L. Moody in the 1870's, so we might describe him as one of the best
examples of the richness and depth of thought which we can find in some parts
of the nineteenth century evangelistic movement.
Drummond was a Scotsman, who was Professor of Natural Science at the College
of the Free Church of Scotland, and had written a book (famous in his lifetime
but forgotten today) called Natural Law in the Spiritual World, which was an
attempt to make peace between science and religion. This is important, because
early A.A. had no sympathy whatsoever with religious people who were
completely anti-scientific in their attitudes and who tried to deal with
modern science by rejecting its findings. Early A.A. realized that there was a
spiritual dimension of reality which went beyond anything which the scientific
method could investigate, but they also realized that the profound discoveries
of modern science could neither be denied nor neglected.
The modern evangelical movement, at its beginnings in the 1730's and 40's, had
an enormously respectful attitude toward the new science. Both Jonathan
Edwards and John Wesley, the movement's two greatest theologians, were deeply
interested in Newtonian physics, the new biological discoveries, modern
medicine, electricity, and modern psychology. The evangelical movement
remained positive in its attitude to modern science down through most of the
nineteenth century, as we see in Henry Drummond. But then the Fundamentalist
movement, with its often negative attitude toward modern science, began
developing in a series of events which took place in 1895-1919. [Note 2]
~~~~~~~~~~
E. STANLEY JONES, Abundant Living (first came out in 1942, 156 pages long).
Chapter 6-10 is one of the best discussions of prayer that I have ever read.
He ends up that section with a discussion of guidance and entering the Divine
Silence. If Richmond Walker did not read this book, he read something in that
tradition (there were similar kinds of material in The Upper Room for
example). At any rate, this book helps enormously in understanding more of
what Walker was doing in his selection and modification, in the fine print
sections of Twenty-Four Hours a Day, of various passages from God Calling by
Two Listeners.
Chapter 6 of E. Stanley Jones' book begins with a section on "Prayer is
Surrender," and Chapter 8 is entitled "The Morning Quiet Time." Jones gives a
good deal of detail on what we are supposed to be doing during this Morning
Quiet Time, including talking about the role of the subconscious in the
process, how to deal with the problem of "wandering thoughts," and what to do
when we are confronted with what the medieval tradition called aridity (where
it doesn't "feel" like we are in real contact with God, and where we have
extraordinary difficulty forcing ourselves to pray at all). On both of these
latter issues, I suspect that he as a Methodist had read John Wesley's
Standard Sermons, including especially Wesley's sermons on "Wandering
Thoughts" and "Heaviness through Manifold Temptations."
John Wesley in the 1740's was one of the two major theoreticians of the modern
evangelical movement during its beginning years. He was an Anglican priest who
taught theology and classics at Oxford University in England for a number of
years, but ended up becoming a traveling revival preacher who founded the
Methodist movement. His work was thoroughly scripturally grounded - - he knew
the New Testament by heart in the original Greek, and knew not only Old
Testament Hebrew, but also several other ancient Semitic languages. Yet he and
Jonathan Edwards (the other major formative evangelical thinker of the 1730's
and 40's) both made skillful use of the work of the seventeenth-century
British empiricist John Locke, who invented modern psychology, and both of
them knew that a knowledge of psychology was necessary for understanding how
to preach the gospel effectively and produce real moral change in people's
lives. It is totally incorrect to believe
that good evangelical theology and modern psychology are opposed to one
another. What gave the evangelical movement so much power during its early
period was its use of the best psychology of its period.
John Locke had discovered not only the basic principles of behavioral
psychology and operant conditioning, but had also discovered the way early
childhood traumas could continue to influence adult behavior in negative ways.
And he also made the first serious studies of the profoundly psychologically
disturbed who were confined in insane asylums and discovered "the inner logic
of insanity" which affected these people.
Wesley, who knew Locke's work forwards and backwards, was the first person I
have read in the modern period who used the term "psychotherapy" - - though of
course as a teacher of classics at Oxford University, it was used by him in
the original Greek form as psyches therapeia (!!!) Wesley said that good
psychotherapy (which meant "the healing of the soul") was what true scriptural
Christianity was actually about. And although he did not use the word
subconscious, he anticipated Sigmund Freud by over a century in his
understanding of the distinction between conscious thought and the
subconscious layer underneath which creates so many of our spiritual problems.
And like Freud he realized that this subconscious material came out in both
free association and dreams.
Around fifty years ago, Protestant seminaries all over the country began
putting people on their faculties with professional degrees in psychology and
psychotherapy to teach counseling techniques to their students. I had to pass
an exam in psychotherapy and counseling to obtain my degree from the seminary
at Southern Methodist University, and that was back in 1964. The best books
and articles on practical psychology today are being published by conservative
evangelical theologians, who seem to have a better understanding of what is
important. But most Christian pastors in the United States today know that
there is no conflict between good spirituality and good psychotherapy.
~~~~~~~~~~
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++++Message 1927. . . . . . . . . . . . The Akron Reading List Part 3 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/21/2004 12:06:00 AM
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[The Akron Reading List Part 3 of 5]
================================
PART TWO:
But simply on the basis of what has been learned from this Akron reading list
so far, and from other things we know about the period, we can definitely
state that early Akron A.A. was influenced by all the following six strands of
thought:
1. VIA THE OXFORD Group and we know not what other sources, it was strongly
influenced by the Augustinian tradition of salvation sola gratia (by grace
alone) and the concept of Original Sin. The latter implied the necessary
imperfectibility of human beings after Adam and Eve's fall from grace, and
also the horrendous potential for evil which lay in the human heart. This
could have come from good Roman Catholic theology and spiritual literature, or
works involving a good sixteenth-century Protestant understanding of salvation
(Luther's Bondage of the Will, etc.) mediated through a Methodist synergistic
understanding of the relationship between God and man in the work of
salvation. But it is very strong Augustinianism which we see in the Big Book:
pride is the central sin, and so on and so forth. It was this which saved A.A.
from the central weakness of classical Protestant liberalism.
The Protestant Neo-Orthodox movement had in fact already begun, and Reinhold
Niebuhr (its greatest American representative) taught at Union Theological
Seminary in New York from 1928 till his retirement in 1960. Protestant
Neo-Orthodox thinkers put the Augustinian doctrine of salvation by grace
alone, the doctrine of Original Sin, and the concept of human pride as the
root of all evil, at the heart of their theology and stressed the importance
of these three concepts in everything that they wrote. Father Sam Shoemaker,
Bill Wilson's early spiritual supporter and guide, would have certainly known
about what was going on at Union, which was after all right there in the same
city, because of its extraordinary importance within American theological
studies. The five top doctoral degree granting schools in the field of
theology at the national level were Yale, Union in New York City (which was
associated with Columbia University), Chicago, Harvard,
and Princeton. I am increasingly beginning to think that some sort of contact
with the Protestant Neo-Orthodox movement via first or second-hand contact
with Union Theological Seminary in New York would have been a very likely way
that early A.A. could have developed some of the ideas that A.A. historian
Ernie Kurtz has written about: the strong emphasis upon (a) our human
imperfectibility and (b) that we human beings are Not-God but simply finite
and limited members of the created realm, which means that as long as we keep
on trying to play God we will continue to sink into ever greater evil. As Karl
Barth put it in the Romsbriefe (his famous commentary on the Apostle Paul's
Letter to the Romans, published in 1919, which began the twentieth-century
Neo-Orthodox movement), we will never be able to hear God's "Yes" until we
first hear God's "No" to all our human presumption and arrogant claims to be
the masters of the universe ourselves.
2. CLASSICAL Protestant liberalism: see the article I have written which is on
the Hindsfoot Foundation website at http://hindsfoot.org/ProtLib.html And
behind these nineteenth and early twentieth-century Protestant liberals lay
the thinkers of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment: authors and philosophers
like Voltaire, Kant, and Jonathan Swift in Europe and the British Isles, and
in America major leaders like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George
Washington. A.A. people were very much children of the Enlightenment from the
very beginning, and even more so by the late 1940's and 50's, when a good many
of the remaining connecting links to Christianity began rapidly to be broken.
A.A. is committed to the basic Enlightenment philosophy down at the visceral
level. This is what they will instinctively fight for above all else. There is
no way that a historian who is not deeply familiar
with the principles of the Enlightenment can understand A.A. at all.
3. NEW THOUGHT: this is very important, and has to be studied in order to
understand a good deal of what was going on in early A.A. And one of the
influences lying behind the New Thought movement was New England
Transcendentalism, so that the study of figures like Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry Thoreau and Louisa M. Alcott can also help in understanding some of the
ideas that many early A.A. people took for granted. [Note 5]
4. THE OLD EIGHTEENTH and nineteenth century evangelical movement (including
in the United States the Great Awakening and Frontier Revivalism), which was
NOT the same as the ideas of the Fundamentalist movement which arose in the
twentieth century. It was also NOT the same as most of what one sees among the
televangelists who are preaching on various television channels at the present
time. The old classical evangelical movement meant people like Dwight Moody
(originally a Congregationalist) and General William Booth (originally a
Methodist), and so on. It was Mel B.'s New Wine which first started me looking
at their importance. Their influence, and the books they wrote, were still
around during the early twentieth century.
5. MODERN PSYCHOLOGY and psychiatry. Although the names of Carl Jung and
William James were frequently bandied about in early A.A. circles, it was the
American Neo-Freudians who seem to have had the greatest influence. We see
this in Akron A.A.'s recommendation of Ligon's book on personality
development, and we see the same kind of influences affecting the work of Sgt.
Bill S., who got sober on Long Island in 1948, and was closely associated with
Marty Mann and early New York A.A. In other words, there was no real
difference between Akron and New York A.A. on this issue - - this is another
modern myth that has developed - - because in both places they realized that
some knowledge of modern psychology could be useful in better understanding
A.A., and in both places it was the Neo-Freudians whom they looked to as the
kind of modern psychology which was most compatible with A.A.
In both the midwest and on the east coast, some A.A. people put greater stress
on the spiritual aspects of the program, and some put greater emphasis on the
psychological aspects of the program. There could sometimes be real tension in
early A.A. over this issue, but it was not one region of the United States
pitted against another - - the issues affected A.A. almost everywhere.
Sgt. Bill S. is especially important because he was the early A.A. figure who
is our best representative of the kind of early A.A. which stressed psychology
more than spirituality. In fact he was the ONLY early A.A. figure who wrote
about this at length. See his book with Hindsfoot:
http://hindsfoot.org/kBS1.html
Also see http://hindsfoot.org/kBS4.html and http://hindsfoot.org/kBS5.html on
the Lackland Model of alcoholism treatment which he and Dr. Louis Jolyon
"Jolly" West devised in the early 1950's, a strongly A.A. related treatment
method which achieved a fifty percent success rate even in the rather hostile
environment of a major military base, where military people at that time
fiercely denied that they had any alcoholics at all in the U.S. armed
services, and did everything they could to discourage any kind of real
treatment of suffering alcoholics.
On the general issue of psychological vs. spiritual emphases in early A.A.,
see http://hindsfoot.org/PsySpir.html
The chapter in Sgt. Bill's book entitled "The Effects of Alcohol on Our
Emotional Development" has been praised to the skies by every surviving good
old-timer who has read it. Bill, they say, managed to get into that chapter
the heart of the way we understood the psychological dimension of the program
back in the old days. In fact, I would recommend that the modern A.A. reader
should spend more time studying that little chapter than reading Ligon's book,
because Bill translates all the psychological terminology into A.A. language
that is easy to read and understand, and gives concrete examples from his own
drinking years to illustrate all his points.
Neo-Freudian psychiatry therefore seems to have been the kind of psychological
theory which most influenced early A.A. There were nevertheless exceptions, in
particular Ralph Pfau in Indianapolis (who wrote the Golden Books under the
pen name of Father John Doe and was the third most widely read early A.A.
author). Father Ralph made use of an interesting new psychiatric approach,
developed by a psychiatrist in Chicago named Abraham A. Low. Dr. Low had also
rebelled against the orthodox Freudian psychoanalysts, but unlike the
Neo-Freudians, Low had developed one of the earliest cognitive-behavioral
theories as his own alternative. [Note 6]
6. THERE WAS A STRONG Roman Catholic (and Episcopalian Anglo-Catholic)
influence on early A.A. The Akron List mentions The Unchanging Friend, which
Mel B. tells us came from a Roman Catholic press. We are searching hard to see
if we can find some copies.
We also know from Mary Darrah's work that Sister Ignatia was handing out to
each person who came through St. Thomas Hospital either Thomas a Kempis'
Imitation of Christ (a work which came out of the late medieval devotio
moderna, with its scepticism about the scholastic theologians at the
universities and all their minute theological distinctions in their
discussions of doctrines and dogmas) and (even more significantly) a little
meditational book composed of excerpts from St. Ignatius Loyola's Spiritual
Exercises, which had an important influence on the way early A.A. regarded the
tenth step, among other things. Although Roman Catholics only made up about
one sixth of the general American population at that time, let us not forget
that as early A.A. spread, it tended to center on large American cities, many
of which had large Roman Catholic immigrant populations which made the
percentage far higher. At Father Ralph Pfau's
weekend A.A. spiritual retreats, it often tended to be around 60% Protestant
and 40% Roman Catholic.
We also must not forget that the Episcopalians (the Anglo-Catholics or
Anglicans) regarded themselves as Catholics, not Protestants. They usually
celebrated a sung mass every Sunday morning as their regular Sunday morning
service, which was basically just an English translation of the Roman Catholic
mass. They had the Stations of the Cross on the walls of the sanctuary, a holy
water font beside the door, kneeling benches on the backs of the pews,
medieval vestments and incense, and so on. Father Sam Shoemaker was an
Episcopal priest (who wore the priestly black suit and clerical collar if you
notice the old photos), and Henrietta Seiberling and Dr. Bob and his wife Anne
were Episcopalians, along with Marty Mann's right-hand man Yev Gardner, who
was an ordained Episcopal deacon. Mel B. tells me that when he once asked Dr.
Bob and Anne's son Smitty what it meant that they had all gone to the
Episcopal Church in Akron when he was child, Smitty gave
the standard Episcopalian quip, mimicking the light beer commercials touting
their product as containing "all the flavor but only half the calories."
Smitty said that the Episcopalians were "kind of 'Catholic Light,' all the
ritual but only half the guilt."
The Episcopalians read a lot of traditional Roman Catholic theology and
spirituality, but also read a lot of the Protestant literature on theology and
especially biblical studies, although they tended to be conservative about
taking up radical German Protestant theological fads, of which they were
inherently suspicious.
~~~~~~~~~~
Out of this extremely complex mix we see early A.A. being born: (1) a strong
Augustinian theology, perhaps mediated partly through the influence of
Reinhold Niebuhr, (2) classical Protestant liberalism, (3) New Thought and
perhaps also New England Transcendentalism, (4) the old eighteenth and
nineteenth-century evangelical movement, (5) modern psychology and psychiatry,
particularly the Neo-Freudians, and (6) a strong Roman Catholic (and
Episcopalian Anglo-Catholic) influence.
The Akron List is especially important, I believe, because it does such a good
job of pointing us towards some of these major ingredients which went into the
A.A. synthesis.
It was a fascinating world out of which early A.A. emerged, but it requires
some knowledge of the history of ideas, including especially American
religious history and the history of twentieth-century psychology and
psychiatry, to appreciate the full richness and depth of the ideas which
informed this little handful of inspired men and women, who remade American
life at any number of significant levels over the sixty years that followed.
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++++Message 1928. . . . . . . . . . . . The Akron Reading List Part 4 of 5
(notes #1-3)
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/21/2004 12:11:00 AM
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NOTES TO THE ARTICLE:
NOTE 1. Barefoot Bob told me that he was sure that this Akron pamphlet was
produced within a year of the time when the Big Book was published, which
would mean at some point in late 1939 or early 1940. Since the Akron Manual
tells alcoholics to use the Big Book as their basic text, this means that it
has to have written after that book was published, which means at some point
after April 1939.
We can be further aided in dating the pamphlet by investigating what was going
on in Akron A.A. and in St. Thomas Hospital in Akron during this period. Mary
C. Darrah, Sister Ignatia: Angel of Alcoholics Anonymous (Chicago: Loyola
University Press, 1992), Chapter 3, "The Spiritual Connection," gives the
fullest account.
In August 16, 1939, Dr. Bob approached Sister Ignatia for the first time about
admitting an alcoholic to St. Thomas Hospital. In the late summer of 1939, she
started arranging to have alcoholics admitted on a regular basis and put two
at a time into private rooms. But St. Thomas was a Roman Catholic hospital,
and before anything further could be done in setting up a formal program of
alcoholism treatment, A.A. had to separate itself from the Oxford Group, which
was Protestant. When A.A. made its separation from the Oxford Group in
November 1939 and then started meeting at King's School in January 1940,
Sister Ignatia was able to take the next steps. She said later that "It was
not until, probably, January, 1940 that a definite working agreement was
achieved with the knowledge of my superior, Sister Clementine, Dr. Bob, and
probably, the Chief of Staff. Had we proposed it to the whole staff, at that
time, you may be sure that we could not have
gotten a foothold."
By 1941, there were so many alcoholics who needed admission that Room 228, a
four-bed ward, was assigned for permanent use by Dr. Bob's alcoholic patients.
Not long after, Sister Ignatia was also able to gain the additional use of a
two-bed hospital room right across the hall, giving them six beds they could
employ. Then she was eventually able to trade these two rooms (across the hall
from one another) for an isolated place in the hospital where there was a
seven-bed ward, a utility room with plumbing connections, and a door leading
into the balcony at the back of the hospital's chapel. This new ward opened
its doors on April 19, 1944.
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. viii, agrees with this basic time
framework, that is, that Dr. Bob and Sister Ignatia first began working
together extensively at St. Thomas Hospital in August 1939. And Dr. Bob and
the Good Oldtimers, pp. 187-8, gives us additional information, and tells us
that in August 1939, the problem facing the A.A. people was that Dr. Bob had
been told by the other hospital in the area which he had been using for drying
out alcoholics, that they would no longer admit these drunks, ever again. So
he came to Sister Ignatia and pleaded with her for the use of a private room
for an alcoholic they were currently working with. She finally thought of a
little room which the nurses used for preparing flowers which had been sent to
patients, and they discovered that it was just barely possible to push a
hospital bed through its door.
How does this information help us in dating the manual? The little pamphlet
assumes that the alcoholic will usually be put in a hospital room for several
days in order to dry out, and also that A.A. visitors will be coming into the
room and talking with the patient continually throughout the day. But the
pamphlet does not state that the hospital would be St. Thomas Hospital, which
means that it could have been written even before August 1939. But since it
could also have been written later than that, we need to ask further
questions.
On internal grounds from within the text of the manual, how much later than
that could it have been written? The pamphlet seems to assume that the
alcoholic patient is going to be in that hospital room completely alone except
for the A.A. visitors who call on him. By 1941, Room 228 at St. Thomas
Hospital, a four-bed ward, had been assigned for the A.A.-sponsored patients.
The Akron Manual certainly seems to have been written before that point, when
it was only one alcoholic in a private room. And in April 19, 1944, a large
ward was opened at St. Thomas where a group of alcoholics could be housed
during the initial treatment phase. I think we can say quite conclusively that
what is described in the Akron Manual does not match up at all with the
treatment program at the Alcoholic Ward which was established at St. Thomas
Hospital in 1944.
So I believe that Barefoot Bob's dating has to be basically correct: the Akron
Manual definitely has to have been written after April 1939, but it likewise
was fairly certainly written before 1941. And the assumption that the
alcoholic is going to be all by himself in a private room, as opposed to the
system of having two or more alcoholics sharing a room, actually makes the
date of composition look to me like the summer of 1939, and no later than the
fall of 1939.
~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE 2. FUNDAMENTALISM: The modern evangelical movement which began in the
1730's and 40's had a positive attitude toward science until the debate over
the theory of evolution began to heat up a century and a half later. When
Charles Darwin published The Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man
in 1871, public controversy over the idea that human beings were descended
from apes continued to mount in the United States. Most of the evangelical
churches began to fall into bitter disputes and split apart into fiercely
opposed factions.
The Fundamentalist movement, which was a reaction against the Darwinian
doctrine of evolution and also the spread of classical Protestant liberalism,
was born when the Niagra Conference in 1895 issued its statement of the "Five
Points of Fundamentalism": (1) the verbal inerrancy of scripture, (2) the
divinity of Jesus Christ, (3) the Virgin Birth, (4) the physical resurrection
of Christ and his bodily return at the end of the world, and (5) the
substitutionary doctrine of the Atonement, that is, adherence to the medieval
doctrine which was first introduced by St. Anselm in 1098 in his Cur Deus
Homo. (This was the new theological theory that we were saved by Christ's
death on the cross because it paid the penalty due to God for the sins we
human beings had committed. For the first thousand years, Christianity had
understood the work of Christ in other kinds of ways, and tended to place the
power of salvation in the Incarnation rather than
in the Crucifixion, often expressed in the kind of way which we see in the
vision of the Divine Light at the very end of Dante's Divine Comedy.)
It is important to note that being a Fundamentalist meant adherence to certain
specific theological doctrines. It was not the same thing as simply reading
the Bible regularly, praying daily, and singing the traditional hymns to Jesus
at church on Sunday. The classical Protestant liberals did all that, and any
Fundamentalist whom you asked about it would make it clear these things did
not count unless you agreed with all five of those "fundamental" dogmas at a
bare minimum.
Around 1909, a series of twelve tracts called The Fundamentals began being
published in the United States and distributed in other parts of the
English-speaking world with American money. In 1919 the World's Christian
Fundamentals Association was formed, which began sponsoring rallies in many
American cities. Then came the event that really put the new Fundamentalist
movement out in the public eye: In 1925 William Jennings Bryan helped
prosecute a Tennessee school teacher named J. T. Scopes for teaching the
doctrine of evolution to his students, in a court case widely reported by the
newspapers, which came to be called the Scopes Monkey Trial.
Ten years later Bill W. met Dr. Bob and the A.A. movement began. The two of
them, along with all the other early A.A. writers and leaders whom I know
about, seem basically to have tried to stay out of the new Fundamentalist vs.
Modernist controversy as much as they could. But they also were very careful
indeed to make sure that A.A. members knew that A.A. people were not required
to believe in any of the Five Points of Fundamentalism. It is my own belief
that there were relatively few genuine Fundamentalists in A.A. during its
first five or ten years, and that the largest single group in A.A. during that
period held more what we would call classical Protestant liberal beliefs.
By 1939 the A.A. leaders were increasingly recommending that newcomers only
read a small selection of biblical passages deliberately chosen because they
did not speak about the divinity of Christ or contain any notion that people
had to pray to Jesus or rely upon his death and resurrection to save them. In
the Sermon on the Mount, prayer is to God the Father, and in the Letter of
James, it is to God the Father of Lights. In chapter 13 of First Corinthians
(unlike the chapters that come before it and after it), the higher power is
spoken of only as the one who already knows us fully, whom we shall at last
see face to face.
When Richmond Walker published his Twenty-Four Hours a Day in 1948, it swept
the country rapidly, and put an end to A.A. use of the classical Protestant
liberal meditational book called The Upper Room. This means that by that
point, the center of gravity in American A.A. had clearly moved from the
classical Protestant liberal position to something much more radical, that is
a desire among many members for a kind of spirituality which made little or no
mention of Christianity at all. Individual members were free to be
Fundamentalists or conservative Baltimore Catechism Roman Catholics or
anything else they wanted in their private prayers, but in most parts of the
United States, it was made clear that Christian references were to be kept out
of A.A. meetings, with very few exceptions to that rule.
Several months ago, I conducted a memorial service for an A.A. member who had
just died. He was a Roman Catholic and the overwhelming majority of the two
hundred or so people present were from Christian backgrounds. There was one
Jew, and a few who were hostile to organized religion in almost any form. But
I wore my black suit and clerical collar and used the traditional words of the
Christian funeral service, even though some A.A. readings and prayers were
also included, and everyone seemed to feel comfortable. On the other hand,
this was not an A.A. meeting in the formal sense and, as is always the case,
those A.A. members who were not Christians came to do honor to the memory of
the A.A. member who had just died, and recognized that he would have wanted
the Christian liturgical material. I have attended both Fundamentalist
Protestant funeral services for A.A. members and Roman Catholic funeral
masses. I am sure that if the A.A. member who had
just died were Jewish, everyone would have come to a Jewish funeral service in
order to pay their last respects, and so on with other religions.
NOTE 3. Adolf Harnack (1851-1930) was Germany's leading scholar in the history
of Christian dogma at the beginning of the twentieth century, especially in
the area called patristics, that is, the history of Christian ideas and
practices in the first five to seven centuries of the Christian era. One of
his other major works was his seven volume History of Dogma (original German
edition 1886-9 as three volumes, English translation 1894-9), which was still
being used well into the twentieth century. In other words, Harnack's
criticism of traditional Christian doctrine was not that of an ignorant man
who knew nothing about that which he criticized!
~~~~~~~~~~
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++++Message 1929. . . . . . . . . . . . The Akron Reading List Part 5 of 5
(notes #4-6)
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/21/2004 12:19:00 AM
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[The Akron Reading List Part 5 of 5 (notes #4-6)]
NOTE 4. Beginning in the eighteenth century, before the American Revolution,
it had been noted that the same sayings of Jesus are frequently given in
slightly different words when they appear in more than one gospel. In the
United States, Thomas Jefferson was already aware of this, and had attempted
to write an account of Jesus's words and actions involving a synthesis of the
different gospel accounts. There were also German scholars who were aware of
this problem.
By the early twentieth century, when liberal Protestant scholars taught
courses on the New Testament, they would frequently have the students purchase
a kind of book which had a title like "Harmony of the Gospels" or "Gospel
Parallels." This book would put the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke in
parallel columns, so that the students could see the slight variants that
occurred in the different accounts of what Jesus had said.
It had become clear by that time that the gospels were not written until after
the great Jewish War that had ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the
Second Temple in 70 A.D., and in fact Matthew, Mark and Luke were probably not
written until somewhere between 80 and 90 A.D. Jesus had been executed by an
Italian businessman who was the Roman governor of Judaea in 30 A.D. (or no
more than a year or two later at most). The letter of James said that it was
the wealthy Italian, Greek, Syrian, and Judaean business community in
Jerusalem which was basically responsible, because they regarded Jesus'
attacks on materialism as "bad for business." During the fifty to sixty years
that passed between Jesus' death and the writing of the gospel accounts, the
information about what he had said on various occasions was passed down mostly
by oral tradition. This made the differences in wording between the three
gospels make perfect sense.
Protestant liberals were therefore aware that we could not know the exact
words that Jesus said on many occasions, at least not down to the precise
letter, but they also believed very strongly that anyone with a modicum of
simple common sense could easily work out what the main points were in his
message. So they rejected the Fundamentalist belief in the literal inerrancy
of the scriptures (anyone who could pick up a Harmony of Gospels and read what
was right before his eyes could see that this was impossible) but they
nevertheless regarded Jesus as their inspired Lord and Teacher. One can see in
Ligon at all times the incredible respect he had for the teaching of Jesus,
which he regarded as the truth about the nature of human life and the correct
relationship between God and the human race.
~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE 5. The New England Transcendentalists need to be studied in order to
understand certain ideas contained in both New Thought and in some A.A.
circles. Two useful websites are:
http://jackhdavid.thehouseofdavid.com/papers/4334_1.html
http://www.westminster.edu/staff/brennie/wisdoms/transcen.htm
In 1836, a group of young Unitarians, led by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederic
Hedge, and George Ripley, rebelled against the staid teachings of Harvard
Divinity School, and formed the Transcendental Club of America. Henry D.
Thoreau and Louisa M. Alcott were other famous names associated with the
movement. They believed in the divinity of nature, that mind was more
important than matter, and that there is an inner light within the human soul
which can perceive divine truth. There is something of the Absolute and
Eternal in every human soul. There was an immortal mind residing within every
human being which was distinct from the outer Self. Time and space are not
external realities, but ways in which the mind constructs its sense world.
God, freedom, and immortality are transcendental ideas which the mind intuits
via a special kind of knowledge which is not the same as ordinary sense
perception. God is immanent in the world, and because of this
indwelling of divinity within the realm of nature, the individual soul can
apprehend the beauty, truth, and goodness incarnate in the natural world, and
appropriate for itself the spirit and being of God.
Their ideas came out of the Kantian philosophical tradition, particularly as
that tradition was expressed in England by the great poets Samuel Coleridge
and William Wordsworth, and they were strongly influenced by Plato's
philosophy too. They also knew just a little bit about Asian religions, such
as the Hindu tradition, and some of them were willing to embrace ideas like
the transmigration of souls. This may have been one of the sources of the
occasional Buddhist and Hindu ideas which sometimes appear in early A.A.
writings, such as advising people to act without being over-concerned about
the results of their actions, and some sort of awareness of the dangers
represented by what Buddhism called the chains of karma, and how one can free
oneself from them.
In this regard, the early Akron pamphlet called Spiritual Milestones in
Alcoholics Anonymous - - see http://hindsfoot.org/AkrSpir.pdf Adobe Acrobat
file - - assumes throughout that the members of their A.A. group have come
from Christian backgrounds, which was fairly close to 100% true at that time.
But the little booklet also says, "The modern Jewish family is one of our
finest examples of helping one another . . . . Followers of Mohammed are
taught to help the poor, give shelter to the homeless and the traveler, and
conduct themselves with personal dignity. Consider the eight-part program laid
down in Buddhism: Right view, right aim, right speech, right action, right
living, right effort, right mindedness and right contemplation. The Buddhist
philosophy, as exemplified by these eight points, could be literally
adopted by AA as a substitute for or addition to the Twelve Steps. Generosity,
universal love and welfare of others rather than considerations of self are
basic to Buddhism."
The people in early Akron A.A. had no difficulty with someone bringing in
Hindu or Buddhist ideas to help them develop a better spiritual program, and
Buddhism clearly was the non-Christian religion which fascinated them the
most. The influence on American thought of the New England Transcendentalists
-- some of them quite famous authors regularly read by American school
children -- may have been one of the background factors which made them open
to the world of Asian religious ideas.
Richmond Walker, an A.A. member who got sober in Boston, developed some of
these New England Transcendentalist ideas in the little meditational book
which he wrote in 1948, Twenty-Four Hours a Day, the book that took the A.A.
world by storm. He put a quotation from the Hindu religious tradition at the
beginning of the little volume to make sure that his readers understood that
one did not need to be a Christian at all in order to practice the spiritual
life. He also took the Oxford Group work God Calling by Two Listeners and
inserted ideas like the concept of the little spark of the divine in every
human soul, and the idea that mind (and the world of ideas) is more basic than
matter. His references to the Kantian concept that our minds are locked within
a box of space and time when it comes to observing the physical world, may
have partially been mediated to him through New England Transcendentalist
influences, although he probably
had been exposed to Kant himself in his college courses - - he certainly
understood what Kant's philosophy was about, and what the philosophical
problems were which were raised by that system for any attempt to talk about
God. And he also understood the world of Platonic philosophy which lay behind
Kant and the Transcendentalists.
~~~~~~~~~~
NOTE 6. Dr. Abraham A. Low established his own movement, called Recovery Inc.,
in 1937, which began spreading all across the United States and is still a
very strong movement today. One may consult their website at
http://www.recovery_inc.com/ for current information on where and when
meetings are held in various cities. One well-known writer on this movement is
Professor Linda Farris Kurtz, who believes (as do many other of the best
modern mental health professionals) that Recovery Inc. is an extremely useful
group to which they can send patients with certain types of emotional problems
such as anxiety attacks, phobias, and inability to handle even relatively
minor everyday social conflicts. Among her publications one could read Linda
Farris Kurtz, DPA, Self-Help and Support Groups: A Handbook for Practitioners,
Sage Sourcebook for the Human Services, vol. 34 (Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage
Publications, 1997). This work deals prominently with Recovery, Inc., among
other organizations. She also co-authored another work, Linda Farris Kurtz and
Adrienne Chambon, Ph.D., "Comparison of Self-Help Groups for Mental Health,"
Health and Social Work, Vol 12 (1987): 275-283, which compares Recovery, Inc.,
Emotions Anonymous, and GROW International.
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++++Message 1930. . . . . . . . . . . . The Akron Reading List Part 2 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/21/2004
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[The Akron Reading List Part 2 of 5]
BRUCE BARTON, The Man Nobody Knows: A Discovery of the Real Jesus (235 pages
long, copyright 1924, 1925). Some of his images -- Jesus as successful modern
American businessman and corporate executive taking charge of the situation!!
-- are amusing, and would be easy to ridicule and make fun of, but the
presence of this book on the Akron List is nevertheless important. It helps to
establish something I have already argued in earlier pieces that I have
written, namely that the "center of gravity" within A.A. in its earliest
stages (the center of the bell-shaped distribution curve) lay for the most
part with the kind of classical Protestant liberalism which we see in Adolf
Harnack's What Is Christianity?, Horace Bushnell's Christian Nurture (he was a
New England Congregationalist), and the meditational book (produced by the
Southern Methodists) called the Upper Room.
Barton was particularly following the spirit of the enormously influential
Harnack [Note 3] in tossing aside most of the traditional complex doctrines of
the Trinity, the Chalcedonian Definition of the union of the divine and human
in Christ, the substitutionary doctrine of the atonement, and so on, and
concentrating on producing a very human picture of Jesus as a real live human
being with a teaching which was very simple but which also provided the key to
living a truly good life. If Barton mentions a traditional Christian doctrine
about Christ's person and work -- for example, the "divinity" of his mission
-- he tries to explain it, not in terms of ancient Greek and medieval Catholic
philosophy and metaphysics, but as a kind of extension of rather commonplace
things that would make sense to an everyday American (in this case, total
conviction about the sacredness of his mission). In other words, Barton was
enthusiastically doing (from his own
businessman's perspective) exactly what Harnack said that we should do.
And Barton also helped to make it clear to early A.A.'s that they were not to
seek an other-worldly spirituality where they walked around two feet off the
ground with their hands folded piously in front of them and tried to achieve
the perfection of a plaster saint gazing soulfully upwards towards heaven.
They were to seek a kind of spirituality which gave them to ability to take
action, even forceful action if necessary, and learn how to deal with the real
world on real world terms -- but nevertheless not falling prey to petty
vengefulness, trying to over-control, exploding in out-of-control rage, or
other counterproductive kinds of responses. A good A.A. sponsor sometimes
bluntly gives orders to his or her pigeon, and Barton's book explains the
spiritual foundation of this.
~~~~~~~~~~
ERNEST M. LIGON, The Psychology of Christian Personality (1935, in its 18th
printing by 1950, 407 pages long). In this book, Ligon analyzed the Sermon on
the Mount and its relationship to modern psychology. Ligon was deeply
influenced by the Neo-Freudians: the goal was to fully "integrate" the
personality, and deal with problems in the individual's socialization, and so
on. In the bibliography at the back of his book, he mentioned two books by the
Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler (1870-1937), but one can see the influence
of other Neo-Freudian psychiatrists as well. F. H. Allport's Social Psychology
was also listed in his bibliography (he was the brother of the psychologist
Gordon W. Allport). The citing of this fundamental work on social psychology
indicated the special importance of social factors in Ligon's psychological
thought.
The term Neo-Freudian refers to a group of psychiatrists including Alfred
Adler, Karen Horney, Harry Stack Sullivan, Eric Fromm, and Erik Erikson. Carl
Jung is sometimes also included in this group, but his ideas had no role in
Ligon's thought. The Neo-Freudians whom we are talking about here modified
orthodox Freudian doctrine by talking about the importance of other issues
such as social factors, interpersonal relations, and cultural influences in
personality development and in the development of psychological illnesses and
disorders. They believed that social relationships were fundamental to the
formation and development of personality. They tended to reject Freud's
emphasis on sexual problems as the cause of neurosis, and were more apt to
regard fundamental human pscyhological problems as psychosocial rather than
psychosexual.
The two great dangers to spiritual and psychological health, Ligon said, were
inappropriate (1) anger and (2) fear - - the same basic position as the Big
Book. He defined what was meant by the "natural instincts" in ways closely
similar to the chapter on the Fourth Step in Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions. My feeling here is that Bill W. must have either read this book,
or read somebody closely similar, or picked up some of Ligon's ideas from
talking to people who had read this book.
Ligon came from Texas and did his B.A. and M.A. at Texas Christian University,
which is connected with the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church). He did
both a graduate seminary degree (a B.D., normally a three-year program) and a
Ph.D. in psychology at Yale, so he had an excellent grounding in both theology
and psychology. At the time he was writing this book, he had links to
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Albany, New York. But he knew things about
John Wesley which normally only a Methodist would know about, so it is not
totally clear what his religious background was: Disciples of Christ?
Presbyterian? Methodist? It was clearly a Protestant background of some sort.
The crucial thing at any rate is that he had his graduate theological training
at Yale, so that he would have been trained in the best Protestant theology
and biblical studies of that period. So Ligon accepts modern biblical
criticism to some degree -- not all the sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the
Mount were genuine words of Jesus, he says, or may not have originally been
stated verbatim in those exact words -- but as far as I can see so far, Ligon
went no further than most classical Protestant liberals of that period,
including Harnack. [Note 4]
Like Emmet Fox, he was most definitely NOT part of what is called the
Fundamentalist movement. This is important, because the Fundamentalist
movement had gotten started in the United States at the beginning of the early
twentieth century, and even though it still had relatively little influence
during the 1930's, it could in theory have been an influence on early A.A.,
just in terms of the time frame. Nevertheless, Fundamentalism seems to have
had little if any effect on early A.A. as far as I can see from my own
researches. I have found no A.A. writings from the early period arguing for
the verbal inerrancy of scripture or defending the doctrine of the Virgin
Birth or the physical resurrection of Jesus, or any other of the "Christian
Fundamentals" which this movement was dedicated to defending.
On the other hand, Ligon was NOT a representative of the sometimes almost
insane world of the later radical Bultmannian form critics who began
"demythologizing" the New Testament and ultimately denying that Jesus said
much of anything at all that he is credited with having said. By the 1960's,
this kind of radical scholarship began taking over many of the Protestant
seminaries, and some of their more notoriety-seeking leaders still enjoy
getting their names and ideas into the newspapers and magazines so they can
scandalize the pious. To repeat, this kind of silliness is not what Ligon was
doing at all.
Probably the most important thing to note about the inclusion of Ligon's book
on The Psychology of Christian Personality in the Akron list of recommended
books, is that the notion that early Akron A.A. was totally hostile to talking
about the psychological aspects of the twelve step program is simply a myth.
When Dr. Bob spoke to the A.A. First International Convention in Cleveland in
1950, just a few months before he died, what he actually said was:
"There are two or three things that flashed into my mind . . . . One is the
simplicity of our program. Let's not louse it all up with Freudian complexes
and things that are interesting to the scientific mind, but have very little
to do with our actual A.A. work. Our Twelve Steps, when simmered down to the
last, resolve themselves into the words 'love' and 'service.' We understand
what love is, and we understand what service is."
Let us put Dr. Bob's words in historical context. He was warning about the
dangers of getting too much complex psychological theory into A.A., like
Sigmund Freud's insistence that the Oedipus complex lay at the bottom of every
male's subconscious mind, so that he subconsciously wants to kill his father
(and all other authority figures) and force himself sexually on his mother
(and all the other females whom he encounters).
Or let us give another example. The psychiatrist Eric Berne gave an orthodox
Freudian psychoanalytical interpretation of alcoholism in a book he wrote in
1964, in which he stated that its dynamics were based on oral deprivation (not
getting enough time at the mother's breast when an infant), and that its
internal psychological advantages lay in rebellion and in self-castigation in
an attempt to relieve the inner guilt complex. Its external psychological
pay-offs came in the form of avoidance of sexual and other forms of intimacy.
No psychiatrist was ever able to have much if any success at all in getting
alcoholics to stop drinking using this kind of approach. Berne defends his
theory in that book and then blames the alcoholics for not getting well under
his care! This was not uncommon among psychiatrists at that time: it was
somehow the alcoholics' fault that their psychiatric theories did not work.
This is the kind of thing that Dr. Bob was warning A.A. people to stay away
from. But to see how psychiatry and psychology could be used in the proper
kind of way, the Akron List suggested reading Ernest Ligon's book The
Psychology of Christian Personality instead. Both Ligon and Sgt. Bill S. (the
early A.A. member who wrote the most about the psychological aspects of
alcoholism) were Neo-Freudians who rejected that kind of esoteric talk about
Freudian sexual complexes and breast deprivation and so on, and talked about
psychological issues that made a good deal more common sense in language that
could usually be understood by anyone who read books regularly.
It is also probably true that quoting this off-the-cuff remark by Dr. Bob,
made when he was dying and barely able to stand up in front of the audience,
points us in the wrong direction anyway. The real issue for A.A. was that most
psychologists and psychiatrists of that time were staunch atheists who tried
to get their patients to toss away all that superstitious guilt-inducing
nonsense (as they regarded it) that religious teachers had loaded them down
with. But A.A. people eagerly praised psychologist William James and
psychiatrist Carl Jung, two respectable professionals who both acknowledged
the importance of the spiritual dimension. They praised Yale-trained
psychologist Ernest Ligon who argued that Jesus' spiritual teaching in the
Sermon on the Mount was in fact good psychology of the best sort. That is what
I believe was the real issue: A.A. could not make use of any psychological or
psychiatric theory which attacked the necessary
spiritual dimension of recovery.
~~~~~~~~~~
WINFRED RHOADES, The Self You Have to Live With, seems to still be available,
even though it has not been studied by us yet.
~~~~~~~~~~
So far, no one has been come up with much information on the series called The
Unchanging Friend which was published by the Bruce Publishing Co. in
Milwaukee. Mel B. says "Bruce now seems to be out of business, although there
are a couple of smaller publishing firms listed under that name. They
published considerable Catholic-related material and some of it can still be
found in libraries."
~~~~~~~~~~
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++++Message 1931. . . . . . . . . . . . N.M.Olson is in the hospital
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/24/2004 2:10:00 AM
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Dear AAHistoryLovers,
I am very sorry to have to pass on this news, but N.M.Olson, the moderator of
our group, is in the hospital and is very ill. I talked with her over the
phone Friday morning, and she is very weak but says to tell everyone, "I am
O.K. with this."
She gave a speech to a standing ovation Monday in Louisiana. She went out on
stage, she said, like the "ol' show horse that I am," and in spite of how weak
she was, summoned up the energy somehow to get through it successfully. Then
Friday morning I got a phone call from one of her friends and got the news
that she had had to be hospitalized, and a request to call her there.
I have fielded e-mails and things for her before for short periods, such as
the time she went to Bristol in England to speak to the people at their fine
conference on AA history. So when she asked, I immediately agreed to try to
take care of things in the present situation as best I could.
She may be able to return to doing some small part of the moderator's duties
for a while after she gets out of the hospital, but I could tell that she was
so very tired this past week and found even simple things very difficult.
I hope everyone will bear with me while I try to figure out how to do what
needs to be done at this point to take care of the group account at Yahoo and
get messages posted and so on. Some of these things I did not have to do on
previous occasions, when she was only away from the computer for a few days,
so I am still trying to thread my way through the maze of computer commands
involved. It may be slow going for a while, so I apologize in advance. It took
me most of this past day to figure out how to log in to one part of the
system, because I have a different kind of browser and internet connection
than she has.
Please pray for her to God who loves us. Her soul is walking in the Light.
Glenn Chesnut, South Bend, Indiana
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++++Message 1932. . . . . . . . . . . . ***IMPORTANT***Dr. Silkworth Birthday
Celebration, postponed until 7/31/04
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/23/2004 2:22:00 PM
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Due to storms coming through, the following event will be delayed one week.
Please help spread the word so that people don't go there on the wrong day.
Thanks!
Just Love,
Barefoot Bill
You are cordially invited to the first annual Dr. Silkworth birthday
celebration!
Postponed from July 24, 2004, and changed to Saturday, July 31, 2004 at 3:00PM
At his gravesite in Glenwood Cemetery, Route 71 (Monmouth Rd.), West Long
Branch NJ.
Speakers:
Barbara Silkworth (a family member) and Ruth O'N. (who got sober on April 14,
1948 & knew Silky).
Dr. William Duncan Silkworth is the author of the "Doctor's Opinion" in the
Big Book "Alcoholics Anonymous" and is known as a friend to millions of
alcoholics worldwide. He worked with Bill Wilson, AA's co-founder in N.Y.C.,
after Bill finally got sober in 1934. He gave deep understanding and great
encouragement to an infant society in the days when a lack of understanding or
a word of discouragement might easily have killed it. He freely risked his
professional reputation to champion an unprecedented spiritual answer to the
medical enigma and the human tragedy of alcoholism. Without his blessing, our
faith might well have died in its birth. He was a luminous exception to the
rule that only an alcoholic understands an alcoholic. He knew us better than
we knew ourselves, better than we know each other. Many of us felt that his
medical skill, great as that was, was not at all the full measure of his
stature. Dr. Silkworth was something that it is difficult even to mention in
these days. He was a saintly man. He stood in an unusual relationship to
truth. He was able to see the truth of a man, when that truth was deeply
hidden from the man himself and from everyone else. He was able to save lives
that were otherwise beyond help of any kind. Such a man cannot really die. We
wish to honor this man, a gentle doctor with white hair and china blue eyes.
Dr. Silkworth lived on Chelsea Avenue in Long Branch, attended Long Branch
High School where he has been inducted in that school's Hall of Fame,
graduated from Princeton University, and lived for a while in Little Silver.
He was born on July 27, 1873 and died on March 22, 1951.
PLEASE BE SURE TO BRING A LAWN CHAIR OR SOMETHING TO SIT ON.
If you have any questions please call Barefoot Bill at 201-232-8749 (cell).
Directions:
Take the Garden State Parkway (north or south) to Exit 105 (Route 36),
continue on Route 36 approximately 2.5 to 3 miles through 5 traffic lights
(passing Monmouth Mall, two more shopping plazas, and several automobile
dealerships). Watch for green road signs stating "Route 71 South, West Long
Branch and Asbury Park" (this is before the sixth light). Take this turnoff to
the right, past Carriage Square and bear right onto Route 71 (Monmouth Road.)
Glenwood Cemetery appears very quickly on the left. The entrance is marked by
two stone pillars and the name. Once inside the cemetery, bear left, go up the
hill and make the first right (a hard right). The gravesite is near the first
tree on the right.
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++++Message 1934. . . . . . . . . . . . old preamble
From: Lee Nickerson . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/24/2004 7:15:00 AM
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Does anyone know the origin of this?
"We are gathered here because we are faced with the fact that we are
powerless over alcohol and unable to do anything about it without
the help of a Power greater than ourselves. We feel that each
person's religious views, if any are his own affair. The simple
purpose of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is to show what may
be done to enlist the aid of a Power greater than ourselves
regardless of what our individual conception of that Power may be.
In order to form a habit of depending upon and referring all we do
to that Power, we must at first apply ourselves with some diligence.
By often repeating these acts, they become habitual and the help
rendered becomes natural to us.
We have all come to know that as alcoholics we are suffering from a
serious illness for which medicine has no cure. Our condition may be
the result of an allergy which makes us different from other people.
It has never been by any treatment with which we are familiar,
permanently cured. The only relief we have to offer is absolute
abstinence, the second meaning of A. A.
There are no dues or fees. The only requirement for membership is a
desire to stop drinking. Each member squares his debt by helping
others to recover.
An Alcohoiics Anonymous is an alcoholic who through application and
adherence to the A. A. program has forsworn the use of any and all
alcoholic beverage in any form. The moment he takes so much as one
drop of beer, wine, spirits or any other alcoholic beverage he
automatically loses all status as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous
A.A. is not interested In sobering up drunks who are not sincere in
their desire to remain sober for all time. Not being reformers. we
offer our experience only to those who want it.
We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree and on which we
can join in harmonious action. Rarely have we seen a person fail who
has thoroughly followed our program. Those who do not recover are
people who will not or simply cannot give themselves to this simple
program. Now you may like this program or you may not, but the fact
remains, it works. It is our only chance to recover.
There is a vast amount of fun in the A.A. fellowship. Some people
might be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity but just
underneath there lies a deadly earnestness and a full realization
that we must put first things first and with each of us the first
thing is our alcoholic problem. To drink is to die. Faith must work
twenty-four hours a day in and through us or we perish.
In order to set our tone for this meeting I ask that we bow our
heads in a few moments of silent prayer and meditation.
I wish to remind you that whatever is said at this meeting expresses
our own individual opinion as of today and as of up to this moment.
We do not speak for A.A. as a whole and you are free to agree or
disagree as you see fit, in fact. it is suggested that you pay no
attention to anything which might not he reconcilied with what is in
the A. A. Big Book.
If vou dont have a Big Book. it's time you bought you one. Read it.
study it, live with it, loan it, scatter it, and then learn from it
what it means to be an A.A."
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++++Message 1935. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Early Akron A.A. Reading List,
Part 1 of 5
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/23/2004 8:00:00 AM
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With reference to Glenn Chesnut's information about the early Akron Manual, I
would like to add that this publication is still available from the Akron
Central Office. I picked it up yesterday while in Akron. They also offer a
"Spiritual Milestones in Alcoholics Anonymous," a "Second Reader for
Alcoholics Anonymous," and "A Guide to the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous," all for fifty cents a copy. Should you wish to purchase copies,
the office is: AA of Akron, 775 N. Main St., Akron, OH 44310. The phone number
is 330-253-8181, the toll-free is 800-897-6737, and the email address is:
info@akronaa.org.
Incidentally, the Akron Manual no longer lists the additional publications
reading list which caught my attention. I was given this manual at my first
meetings in the Ventura, Calif., area in October, 1948, and I definitely
remember the list. I assume it was deleted in later editions when some members
may have objected to their inclusion in the manual. But the manual still
retains its original, no-nonsense flavor and really lays it on the line for
the newcomer, demanding that he must decide to get sober and do what's
necessary for real sobriety.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Glenn Chesnut
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 12:56 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] The Early Akron A.A. Reading List, Part 1 of 5
================================
The Early Akron Recommended Reading List:
The Works It Contained and their Significance for Understanding Early Akron
A.A.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
================================
PART ONE:
A pamphlet entitled A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous, often referred to as
the Akron Manual, was written and published by early Akron A.A. at a very
early period, as an introductory booklet to hand to newcomers when they
began the detoxification process. [Note 1] Based on things that are
mentioned in the Manual, it was most probably put together during the summer
or fall of 1939, and certainly no later than 1940. A copy of it can be found
at http://hindsfoot.org/AkrMan1.html (the first half) and
http://hindsfoot.org/AkrMan2.html (the second half) on the Hindsfoot
Foundation website ( http://hindsfoot.org ). So this small pamphlet is an
extraordinarily valuable document. It is a little window opening into the
world of early Akron A.A. shortly after the Big Book first started coming
off the press.
~~~~~~~~~~
At the very end of the Akron Manual it says "the following literature has
helped many members of Alcoholics Anonymous," and then it gives a list of
ten works as a kind of recommended reading list:
Alcoholics Anonymous (Works Publishing Company).
The Holy Bible
The Greatest Thing in the World, Henry Drummond.
The Unchanging Friend, a series (Bruce Publishing Co., Milwaukee).
As a Man Thinketh, James Allen.
The Sermon on the Mount, Emmet Fox (Harper Bros.).
The Self You Have to Live With, Winfred Rhoades.
Psychology of Christian Personality, Ernest M. Ligon (Macmillan Co.).
Abundant Living, E. Stanley Jones.
The Man Nobody Knows, Bruce Barton."
~~~~~~~~~~
THE BIBLE was the second item on the list, right behind the Big Book. But
earlier in the pamphlet it was made clear that there were certain places in
the Bible that they wanted the newcomers to especially focus on: the Sermon
on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, the letter of James, 1 Corinthians 13, and
Psalms 23 and 91. This was a typical early twentieth-century Protestant
liberal selection of passages to emphasize, but they were also especially
useful for A.A. purposes because none of them required the newcomer to
believe in the divinity of Christ or that salvation could only be found by
praying to Jesus.
~~~~~~~~~~
EMMET FOX, The Sermon on the Mount, is still well known to A.A. people
today. He was a major representative of an American religious movement
called New Thought, which was connected to, but also different from, Mary
Baker Eddy's Christian Science movement. Among present-day American
religious denominations, Unity Church is the largest group using that basic
kind of approach. Emmet Fox's position was strongly Christian in its
orientation, although the kind of Protestantism he represented was clearly
in the liberal camp.
Please note that nineteenth and early twentieth-century New Thought was most
definitely NOT the same as "New Age," which was a late twentieth-century
movement involving claims that its practitioners were able to do spirit
channeling and use the mystical properties of crystals, and things of that
sort. New Age sometimes include beliefs drawn from Wicca -- that is, ancient
witchcraft -- and other unconventional religious ideas. Or to put it another
way, New Thought was fundamentally Christian in its orientation, whereas New
Age is for the most part extremely hostile to Christianity.
~~~~~~~~~~
JAMES ALLEN, As a Man Thinketh (34 pages long). He published his book in
1908 or a little before. I would also put his ideas in the same general
category as New Thought, even though he was English. He may or may not have
read any of the American authors in the general New Thought genre, which is
why I hesitate to call him "New Thought" in the narrow sense of the term.
~~~~~~~~~~
HENRY DRUMMOND, The Greatest Thing in the World (45 pages long). His book
was a beautiful commentary on 1 Corinthians 13. He was closely associated
with Dwight L. Moody in the 1870's, so we might describe him as one of the
best examples of the richness and depth of thought which we can find in some
parts of the nineteenth century evangelistic movement.
Drummond was a Scotsman, who was Professor of Natural Science at the College
of the Free Church of Scotland, and had written a book (famous in his
lifetime but forgotten today) called Natural Law in the Spiritual World,
which was an attempt to make peace between science and religion. This is
important, because early A.A. had no sympathy whatsoever with religious
people who were completely anti-scientific in their attitudes and who tried
to deal with modern science by rejecting its findings. Early A.A. realized
that there was a spiritual dimension of reality which went beyond anything
which the scientific method could investigate, but they also realized that
the profound discoveries of modern science could neither be denied nor
neglected.
The modern evangelical movement, at its beginnings in the 1730's and 40's,
had an enormously respectful attitude toward the new science. Both Jonathan
Edwards and John Wesley, the movement's two greatest theologians, were
deeply interested in Newtonian physics, the new biological discoveries,
modern medicine, electricity, and modern psychology. The evangelical
movement remained positive in its attitude to modern science down through
most of the nineteenth century, as we see in Henry Drummond. But then the
Fundamentalist movement, with its often negative attitude toward modern
science, began developing in a series of events which took place in
1895-1919. [Note 2]
~~~~~~~~~~
E. STANLEY JONES, Abundant Living (first came out in 1942, 156 pages long).
Chapter 6-10 is one of the best discussions of prayer that I have ever read.
He ends up that section with a discussion of guidance and entering the
Divine Silence. If Richmond Walker did not read this book, he read something
in that tradition (there were similar kinds of material in The Upper Room
for example). At any rate, this book helps enormously in understanding more
of what Walker was doing in his selection and modification, in the fine
print sections of Twenty-Four Hours a Day, of various passages from God
Calling by Two Listeners.
Chapter 6 of E. Stanley Jones' book begins with a section on "Prayer is
Surrender," and Chapter 8 is entitled "The Morning Quiet Time." Jones gives
a good deal of detail on what we are supposed to be doing during this
Morning Quiet Time, including talking about the role of the subconscious in
the process, how to deal with the problem of "wandering thoughts," and what
to do when we are confronted with what the medieval tradition called aridity
(where it doesn't "feel" like we are in real contact with God, and where we
have extraordinary difficulty forcing ourselves to pray at all). On both of
these latter issues, I suspect that he as a Methodist had read John Wesley's
Standard Sermons, including especially Wesley's sermons on "Wandering
Thoughts" and "Heaviness through Manifold Temptations."
John Wesley in the 1740's was one of the two major theoreticians of the
modern evangelical movement during its beginning years. He was an Anglican
priest who taught theology and classics at Oxford University in England for
a number of years, but ended up becoming a traveling revival preacher who
founded the Methodist movement. His work was thoroughly scripturally
grounded - - he knew the New Testament by heart in the original Greek, and
knew not only Old Testament Hebrew, but also several other ancient Semitic
languages. Yet he and Jonathan Edwards (the other major formative
evangelical thinker of the 1730's and 40's) both made skillful use of the
work of the seventeenth-century British empiricist John Locke, who invented
modern psychology, and both of them knew that a knowledge of psychology was
necessary for understanding how to preach the gospel effectively and produce
real moral change in people's lives. It is totally incorrect to believe that
good evangelical theology and modern psychology are opposed to one another.
What gave the evangelical movement so much power during its early period was
its use of the best psychology of its period.
John Locke had discovered not only the basic principles of behavioral
psychology and operant conditioning, but had also discovered the way early
childhood traumas could continue to influence adult behavior in negative
ways. And he also made the first serious studies of the profoundly
psychologically disturbed who were confined in insane asylums and discovered
"the inner logic of insanity" which affected these people.
Wesley, who knew Locke's work forwards and backwards, was the first person I
have read in the modern period who used the term "psychotherapy" - - though
of course as a teacher of classics at Oxford University, it was used by him
in the original Greek form as psyches therapeia (!!!) Wesley said that good
psychotherapy (which meant "the healing of the soul") was what true
scriptural Christianity was actually about. And although he did not use the
word subconscious, he anticipated Sigmund Freud by over a century in his
understanding of the distinction between conscious thought and the
subconscious layer underneath which creates so many of our spiritual
problems. And like Freud he realized that this subconscious material came
out in both free association and dreams.
Around fifty years ago, Protestant seminaries all over the country began
putting people on their faculties with professional degrees in psychology
and psychotherapy to teach counseling techniques to their students. I had to
pass an exam in psychotherapy and counseling to obtain my degree from the
seminary at Southern Methodist University, and that was back in 1964. The
best books and articles on practical psychology today are being published by
conservative evangelical theologians, who seem to have a better
understanding of what is important. But most Christian pastors in the United
States today know that there is no conflict between good spirituality and
good psychotherapy.
~~~~~~~~~~
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
4:20:52 AM ET - 7/21/2004
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++++Message 1939. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: old preamble
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/24/2004 10:38:00 PM
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There are at least a dozen copies of that particular "Old Preamble"
around the internet. For example:
http://www.aabibliography.com/old_1940_AA-preamble.htm.
Most identify it as 1940. Some point out that it "was never official."
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++++Message 1941. . . . . . . . . . . . Question from Gilbert G. on Ebby T.
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/25/2004 11:34:00 PM
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Gilbert G. has written in asking
"does anybody have any info on Ebby T's life (like the times he spent sober,
where he sobered up at, with whom, etc.) any and all info will be greatly
appreciated."
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++++Message 1942. . . . . . . . . . . . NY-AA@att.net on the Old Preamble
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 12:14:00 AM
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Lee N. (Woodstock, Maine) dcm19@megalink.net wrote on Sun, 25 Jul 2004:
An elder member who was a great friend of our Archives during my tenure, and
another member also, were close to Captain Jack near the end of his life. When
he passed from us both these folks donated a very large amount of Captain
Jack's memorabilia to the Archives, including this old Preamble which I
described in my previous post to the group. We were able to fill a display
case 4' long with his memorabilia at the Central Office where our Archives is
located. Anyway, she has passed this question to me and I would very much like
to give her an answer. How do we describe this old Preamble which we have on
display? What kind of tag or information should we put on it?
Tom E. NY_AA@att.net responded:
Hi, Folks:
Variations of that preamble were discussed in AAHistoryLovers and the earlier
AAHistoryBuffs forums. Here are some of the posts:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/247
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/271
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/826
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/827
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/828
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/829
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/836
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/841
Article 828 quotes a GrapeVine article with Searcy W taking partial credit. In
Message 841, Art Sheehan is saying that it was a Preamble from Texas but it
predated Searcy's sobriety. Lacking physical evidence, I'm not going to
attempt to validate any attribution of the source.
This Google search gets you thirty-four examples of the same or similar
preambles on web sites.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22We+are+gathered+here+because+we+are+faced+wi
th%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF_8&c2coff=1&filter=0 [87]
Most of these sites have no attribution or are vague. I believe they got their
information when it was argued out without agreement in the Usenet news group
alt.recovery.aa in the mid 1990s.
______________________
En2joy! Tom En2ger
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++++Message 1943. . . . . . . . . . . . How to post messages on
AAHistoryLovers
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 1:02:00 AM
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To post messages for the AAHistoryLovers webgroup, all you need to do is write
an email to:
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
And then all the moderator needs to do is push a button and the message will
automatically go out to everybody in the group.
If you have a question or comment you want to make to me privately, my home
email address is glennccc@sbcglobal.net . But I can't transfer stuff directly
from that email address to the AAHistoryLovers webgroup.
Glenn C. (South Bend)
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++++Message 1944. . . . . . . . . . . . on Ebby T.
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 1:08:00 AM
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Gilbert G. text164@yahoo.com has written in asking "does anybody have any info
on Ebby T's life (like the times he spent sober, where he sobered up at, with
whom, etc.) any and all info will be greatly appreciated."
karlbateman2000@yahoo.com writes:
The piece by Walter L. in http://www.barefootsworld.net/aaebbyt.html is a
great article on Bill's "sponsor." He was the one that carried the message to
Bill from the Oxford groups. Ebby had various relapses until 1964.
Ebby had carried the message of the Oxford Group to Bill with great care and
dedication -- that recovery from alcoholism was possible using spiritual
principles, but only if it was combined with practical actions. Bill Wilson
never took another drink, and left Towns Hospital to dedicate the rest of his
life to carrying the message to other alcoholics.
Ebby, however, took a different path, one that caused him to have a series of
relapses. The man whom Bill Wilson called his sponsor could not stay sober
himself, and became an embarrassment. There were periods of sobriety, some
long, some short, but eventually Ebby would, "fall off the wagon," as he
called it.
Ebby drifted in and out of sobriety, and in and out of AA, with many AA
members trying to help him regain a more stable sobriety. The person who was
ultimately successful was Searcy W., who had established a hospital for
alcoholics in Texas. Early in 1953, Searcy had asked Bill what he would like
to see happen in AA, and Bill said, "I would like for Ebby to have a chance to
sober up in your clinic." Several months later, it came to pass, and after a
short slip in 1954, Ebby remained sober for seven years.
In 1961, Ebby's girlfriend died and the next day Ebby got drunk. He apparently
still believed that his sobriety was conditional on having the right woman,
and now she was gone. Ebby moved back to New York and lived at several places
for the next two years, one of which was at his brother Ken's home in Delmar,
a suburb of Albany. He had emphysema, the same disease that caused Bill's
death, and was in poor health, his weight having dropped from 170 to 122
pounds.
Ebby eventually came to Margaret and Micky McPike's farm outside Ballston Spa,
New York, in May, 1964 and it was under their loving care that he finished the
final two years of his life, dying sober on March 21, 1966.
FROM: karlbateman2000@yahoo.com
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++++Message 1945. . . . . . . . . . . . keep coming back, it works if you work
it
From: David Ingram . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 4:31:00 PM
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Greetings;
I have inadequately searched the archives trying to answer this question and
thought I would try a broad appeal.
In my home group we close our meetings holding hands and reciting the Lords
Prayer, but before breaking the chain we say "keep coming back, it works if
you work it". We're trying to learn anything about the origin & introduction
of the latter statement.
Many grateful Thank You's in advance - David
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail [88] - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
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++++Message 1946. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: NY-AA@att.net on the Old Preamble
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 4:42:00 PM
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10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">I have a very similar preamble that was
used by the first group in Fort Worth,
Texas in 1946 (perhps earlier).
Parts of the preamble were taken (near verbatim) from the 1940 Akron
Manual.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">Cheers
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">Arthur
*ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS OF FORT WORTH, TEXAS, INC.*
*GROUP ONE*
*REGULAR PREFACE TO MEETINGS *
We are all gathered here because we are faced with the fact that
we are powerless over alcohol and are unable to do anything about it without
the help of a Power greater than ourselves.
We feel that each person's religious views, if any, are their own
affair, and the simple purpose of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is to
show each of us what we can do to enlist the aid of a Power Greater than
Ourselves, regardless of what our individual conception of that Power may be.
That in order to form a habit of depending upon and referring all we do to
that
Power, we must at first apply ourselves with some diligence, but by often
repeating these acts, they become habitual, and the help rendered becomes
natural to us.
We have all come to know that as alcoholics we are suffering from
a serious disease for which medicine has no cure. Our condition may be the
result of an allergy, which makes us different from other people. It has never
been, by any treatment with which we are familiar, permanently cured. The only
relief we have to suggest is absolute abstinence - the second meaning of AA.
There are no dues nor fees. The only requirement for AA membership
is an honest desire to stop drinking. Each member squares his debt by helping
others to recovery.
An Alcoholic Anonymous is an alcoholic who, through an application
of an adherence to the AA program, has completely foresworn the use of any and
all alcoholic beverages or narcotics in any form. The moment he drinks so much
as one drop of beer, wine, spirits or any other alcoholic beverage, he
automatically loses working status as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. He
cannot attend a meeting if he has had a drink on any meeting day. He is barred
from making contact calls on any new or prospective member until he has had
thirty days sobriety, unless accompanied by an eligible member or directed to
do so by the Dispatcher. He cannot hold office or be a candidate for office
until he has had three months sobriety and must submit his resignation as an
officer if a slip occurs during his tenure in office.[i][i]
AA is not interested in sobering up drunks who are not sincere in
their desire to remain completely sober for all time. Not being reformers, we
offer our experience only to those who want it.
We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which
we can join in harmonious action. Rarely have we seen a person fail who has
thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who will not
completely give themselves to this simple program.
You may like this program or you may not. But the fact remains
that it works and it is our only chance of recovery.
There is, however, a vast amount of fun about it all. Some people
might be shocked at our seeming worldliness and levity. But just underneath
there is a deadly earnestness and a full realization that we must put First
Things First.
With each of us the First Thing is our alcohol problem, to drink
is to die. Faith has to work 24 hours a day in and through us - or we perish.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Glenn Chesnut
[mailto:glennccc@sbcglobal.net]
*Sent:* Monday, July 26, 2004 12:15
AM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
NY-AA@att.net on the Old Preamble
12.0pt;">
Lee N. (Woodstock, Maine)
dcm19@megalink.net wrote on
Sun, 25 Jul 2004:
An elder
member who was a great friend of our Archives during my tenure, and another
member also, were close to Captain Jack near the end of his life. When he
passed from us both these folks donated a very large amount of Captain Jack's
memorabilia to the Archives, including this old Preamble which I described in
my previous post to the group. We were able to fill a display case 4' long
with
his memorabilia at the Central Office where our Archives is located. Anyway,
she has passed this question to me and I would very much like to give her an
answer. How do we describe this old Preamble which we have on display? What
kind of tag or information should we put on it?
Tom E.
NY_AA@att.net responded:
Hi,
Folks:
Variations
of that preamble were discussed in AAHistoryLovers and the earlier
AAHistoryBuffs forums. Here are some of the posts:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/247
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/271
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/826
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/827
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/828
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/829
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/836
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/841
Article
828 quotes a GrapeVine article with Searcy W taking partial credit. In Message
841, Art Sheehan is saying that it was a Preamble from Texas but it predated
Searcy's sobriety.
Lacking physical evidence, I'm not going to attempt to validate any
attribution
of the source.
This
Google search gets you thirty-four examples of the same or similar preambles
on
web sites.
http://www.google.com/search?q=%22We+are+gathered+here+because+we+are+faced+wi
th%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF_8&c2coff=1&filter=0 [87]
Most of
these sites have no attribution or are vague. I believe they got their
information when it was argued out without agreement in the Usenet news group
alt.recovery.aa in the mid 1990s.
______________________
En2joy!
Tom En2ger
12.0pt;">
-
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++++Message 1947. . . . . . . . . . . . A Pint of Dignity, a Sip of Humour
(2004)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 4:03:00 PM
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This is from the Toronto Star
Jul. 20, 2004.
A pint of dignity, a sip of humour
JIM COYLE
Tonight, in a Toronto church basement that's bright and cheerful as such
places go but is still a church basement, a man I know will receive a
medallion marking 20 years of sobriety.
To say the least, 7,305 days is a long time between drinks. To illustrate just
how long, the year the last one was taken Wayne Gretzky and his Edmonton
Oilers won their first Stanley Cup, the Soviet Union boycotted the Los Angeles
summer Olympics and Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" was a
top single.
If it's a long time, it's also a long way from a life of self-centredness,
irresponsibility and despair to one of generosity, duty and contentment. To
some, such a transformation is a miracle. At the very least, it is
astonishing. And this one happened, as such things frequently do, in the rooms
of Alcoholics Anonymous.
If tonight's medallion is a celebration of the power of AA, so too is a new
biography by Susan Cheever of Bill Wilson, co-founder of what's come to be
regarded as one of the more important social breakthroughs of the 20th
century.
In My Name is Bill, Cheever says the method Wilson devised for addressing
alcoholism "didn't work perfectly. It didn't work all the time. But it worked
often and fairly well, which was worlds ahead of anything else that has been
thought of to combat addiction before or since."
Some regard Wilson as having been divinely inspired in drafting AA's 12 Steps.
Whatever one's view on that, there can be little argument that his fusing of
ideas from medicine, psychology, philosophy, religion and the power of
storytelling into a program of recovery was no small act of genius.
As it happens, the writer Christopher Hitchens has a bash at AA in the current
issue of Vanity Fair in an entertaining but facile review of U.S. Preside nt
George W. Bush's battle with alcohol. Hitchens calls it "a quasi-cult that
demands surrender to a higher power." He dismisses what goes on there as
"church-basement babble."
In truth, far from acting as a proselytizing cult, AA has resisted even much
in the way of advertising since its founding in 1935, believing in attraction,
rather than promotion. In his day, Wilson even turned down honorary degrees
and other public tributes in order to avoid the cult of personality.
In reality, AA demands nothing. Those who arrive at its doors - and nobody
does by accident or without having made rather a botch of things - are free to
take it or leave it, their misery cheerfully refunded.
But should they wish to try a different way, they are shown what has worked
for millions of others like them around the world. And considering the toll
untreated alcoholism takes on families, highways, in workplaces, the health
and justice systems, anything that transforms so many of the perpetrators of
such mayhem into responsible citizens must be doing a lot more than talking
babble.
Actually, you'd think AA and its founder, who was a lifelong conservative and
staunch Republican, might appeal to Hitchens. As Cheever notes, AA is a
society with no laws, one that is fully self-supporting. Its leaders "are but
trusted servants, they do not govern."
To be sure, it is a program often perplexing for being so counter-intuitive
and rooted so much in paradox. It is about personal responsibility and mutual
support, surrender as a means to freedom, concern for others as the route to
understanding the self, and selfless service as a path to personal gain.
For all it accomplishes, Hitchens might be pleased to know he would still
probably run into as many practicing rogues as holy rollers at most AA
meetings. Wilson himself dabbled in spiritualism, psychedelic drugs and
regular adulteries after sobering up. AA doesn't get you saintly. It gets you
sober. What you do after that is pretty much up to you.
If nothing else, it will probably involve some laughter. Given the horror
stories told at AA meetings, newcomers and outsiders often find that odd. But
there was probably no greater expert on humour than E.B. White, and perhaps he
said it best. "There is often a rather fine line between laughing and crying,"
he once wrote. "(Humour) plays close to the big hot fire which is truth." And,
as has been famously said, the truth will set you free.
On the back of the medallion my friend will receive tonight is engraved his
first name and last initial, his group, his dry date - July 20, 1984 - and the
word "merci."
In any language, gratitude is hard to miss. It gives warmth and light and hope
and example. One day at a time.
And sometimes for a good long time, indeed.
Jim Coyle usually appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
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++++Message 1948. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: on Ebby T.
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 4:25:00 PM
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I'd strongly recommend a very enjoyable and informative book from a member of
AAHistoryLovers - it's Mel B's book "Ebby The Man Who Sponsored Bill W." You
can order it on-line from Hazelden.
Searcy W (now deceased) was one of several members who tried to help Ebby stay
sober when he lived in Texas. Another important name was Olin L who also
served as the Northeast Texas Area's Panel 1 Delegate to the General Service
Conference. I have a graphic of Olin and Ebby together if you'd like a copy.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Glenn Chesnut
To: AA History Lovers
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 1:08 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] on Ebby T.
Gilbert G. text164@yahoo.com has written in asking "does anybody have any
info on Ebby T's life (like the times he spent sober, where he sobered up
at, with whom, etc.) any and all info will be greatly appreciated."
karlbateman2000@yahoo.com writes:
The piece by Walter L. in http://www.barefootsworld.net/aaebbyt.html is a
great article on Bill's "sponsor." He was the one that carried the message
to Bill from the Oxford groups. Ebby had various relapses until 1964.
Ebby had carried the message of the Oxford Group to Bill with great care and
dedication -- that recovery from alcoholism was possible using spiritual
principles, but only if it was combined with practical actions. Bill Wilson
never took another drink, and left Towns Hospital to dedicate the rest of
his life to carrying the message to other alcoholics.
Ebby, however, took a different path, one that caused him to have a series
of relapses. The man whom Bill Wilson called his sponsor could not stay
sober himself, and became an embarrassment. There were periods of sobriety,
some long, some short, but eventually Ebby would, "fall off the wagon," as
he called it.
Ebby drifted in and out of sobriety, and in and out of AA, with many AA
members trying to help him regain a more stable sobriety. The person who was
ultimately successful was Searcy W., who had established a hospital for
alcoholics in Texas. Early in 1953, Searcy had asked Bill what he would like
to see happen in AA, and Bill said, "I would like for Ebby to have a chance
to sober up in your clinic." Several months later, it came to pass, and
after a
short slip in 1954, Ebby remained sober for seven years.
In 1961, Ebby's girlfriend died and the next day Ebby got drunk. He
apparently still believed that his sobriety was conditional on having the
right woman, and now she was gone. Ebby moved back to New York and lived at
several places for the next two years, one of which was at his brother Ken's
home in Delmar, a suburb of Albany. He had emphysema, the same disease that
caused Bill's death, and was in poor health, his weight having dropped from
170 to 122 pounds.
Ebby eventually came to Margaret and Micky McPike's farm outside Ballston
Spa, New York, in May, 1964 and it was under their loving care that he
finished the final two years of his life, dying sober on March 21, 1966.
FROM: karlbateman2000@yahoo.com
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++++Message 1949. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Question from Gilbert G. on Ebby
T.
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 1:15:00 AM
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Dear Gilbert and Group,
I found a book by Mel B., _'Ebby The Man Who Sponsored Bill W.''
_ to be a fascinating
read. (153 pages) Published by Hazelden.
Another book is by Nell Wing, _'Grateful To Have Been There'' _tells many
interesting
stories about Ebby in New York. (187 pages) Also published by Hazelden.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;">Bob S.
_
Arial;font-style:italic;"> _
-----Original
Message-----
*From:* Glenn Chesnut [mailto:glennccc@sbcglobal.net]
*Sent:* Sunday, July 25, 2004 11:35
PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
Question from Gilbert G. on Ebby T.
Gilbert G. has
written in asking
"does anybody have any info on Ebby
T's life (like the times he spent sober, where he sobered up at, with whom,
etc.) any and all info will be greatly appreciated."
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++++Message 1950. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: keep coming back, it works if you
work it
From: Al Welch . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/26/2004 5:42:00 PM
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We have been told that this is one of the "mantras" supplied by recovery
institutions to stamp their identity on the program.
There are so many of these "worthy additions" that if you were to chant them
all, the meeting would last an hour and a half instead of an hour.
----- Original Message -----
From: David Ingram
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 26, 2004 5:31 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] keep coming back, it works if you work it
Greetings;
I have inadequately searched the archives trying to answer this question and
thought I would try a broad appeal.
In my home group we close our meetings holding hands and reciting the Lords
Prayer, but before breaking the chain we say "keep coming back, it works if
you work it". We're trying to learn anything about the origin & introduction
of the latter statement.
Many grateful Thank You's in advance - David
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail [88] - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
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++++Message 1951. . . . . . . . . . . . The Lord''s Prayer (1944)
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/27/2004 1:33:00 PM
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This is from a series of eight editorial articles on 'The Lord's Prayer'' in
the Cleveland Central Bulletin, an AA newsletter that began before the AA
Grapevine.
February 1944
"Our Father..."
These are crucial words. Of all the words of the most universal of all
prayers, these two words are of greatest importance to us.
In uttering them, we turn to a Power greater than our own. We turn from
complete reliance upon our own egotistical natures, from exaggerated self love
and self exaltation. We confess that our efforts to run our entire lives in
our own willful way have led to error, frustration, defeat, failure. We admit
that the self justification that resulted from our errors has only deepened
our defeat.
Even when we have seen the depth of our failure, the folly of self
justification and the pitfalls of egotism, we have discovered that our efforts
to re-establish ourselves solely through will power have led to more
stumbling. Our wills, as one writer has observed, are where we are sickest.
So we, out of desperation turn to the sure Power that has always existed and
make that Power the rock upon which we will rebuild our lives.
Many of us had long since lapsed in belief in any Supreme Power. Most of us
had not addressed ourselves to that Power for many years, except, perhaps, in
an occasional desperate moment.
In the realization of the position in which we have found ourselves, we come
to a crossroads. We may continue to rely upon our sick wills and our erring
judgements, which so often speak the words of justification. Our experience
should show us what the result of following along that path may be.
Most of us find it better to choose the other path. Certainly all who have
succeeded in application of the AA program have found this other path better.
We turn from our selves to anchor our lives on something outside. Preferably,
we anchor our lives to that something outside that we consider greater than
ourselves, and eventually, we recognize that something as being the Supreme
Power.
We bring that Supreme Power into our lives, and by so doing, we lift ourselves
up. We think of that Supreme Power in our own terms, but we know that the
realm of that Power is of realm of the Good, where the spirit may find peace.
With these words, Our Father, we address ourselves to the Supreme Power. In
the morning when we get up to prepare for the day's work; in the evening when
we retire and think for a few moments about our actions during the day that
has just past, we place ourselves in the presence of that Supreme Power with
the words, Our Father.
When occasion arises during the day, when we are sorely tempted, when we are
angry, when we are resentful, when we pity ourselves, when we feel frustrated
or worried, we can shift gears and connect ourselves with the Supreme Power by
uttering the words, Our Father. There we will find help.
March 1944
'Hallowed Be Thy Name''
'Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name…''
When we discovered ourselves powerless over alcohol and unable to manage our
own lives, we turned to a Power greater than our own.
When we have denied that Power, or ignored it, or when we have turned to that
Power only mechanically, we have failed in our efforts to meet our problems.
When we have turned to that Power and have done so sincerely, we have
succeeded in regaining control over our lives and have progressed in the
solution of our problems.
So other test of the existence of that Power, or our dependence upon it, is
necessary.
That Power we recognize as being the supreme power in the universe. It has,
and has had throughout history, many names. To most of us today, the name of
the Supreme Power is simply God.
In our prayer, we say, 'hallowed be thy Name.'' That means that the name of
God is to be set aside as being holy; it is consecrated for sacred uses. It is
revered, held in profound respect and at the same time regarded with love.
However, these are attitudes that are not limited merely to the name of God,
as if the name were magical (as the ancients believed). These are attitudes
that we take in our approach to God. We regard God as being apart from the
profane world even though concerned with it. And in our approach to God, we
are to put off all that is profane. We approach God with reverence, with
profound respect, with love, and perhaps with fear. We acknowledge God's power
over the universe. We acknowledge that the realm of God is the realm of the
good. And we recognize that if we are to receive the help of God, we must
strive consciously to separate ourselves from those things that are
antagonistic to the good.
It is good for us to use restraint in the use of the name of God (the name
being. for most of us, God), simply be-cause the profanation of the name tends
to weaken and then destroy the meaning of the word in our minds. The name of
God should call God into our minds, and should cause us to think of God's
power, God's goodness, God's help to us. Through it, we should be able to
shift gears from the profane world.
But again, 'Hallowed be Thy Name'' must mean something more to us than respect
for God's name. It must be the supreme acknowledgment of God himself, and of
our entire dependence upon God.
April 1944
'Thy Kingdom Come''
In our thoughts on the Lord's Prayer. we are inclined to pass over the words,
Thy kingdom come. The words seem to us to refer either to life beyond the
grave, or to the age-old hope of the prophets and the religious for the day
when God's kingdom shall be set up on earth and swords shall be beaten into
plowshares.
But the Lord's Prayer is essentially a prayer for our daily needs, one through
which we strive to place ourselves within the sphere of God's works. While the
world at large still does not conduct itself as the Kingdom of God, the
Kingdom exists today for all those who will turn to it.
For those of us who have found our lives unmanageable, the Kingdom of God is
our sure refuge. By acknowledging ourselves as the subjects of a Power greater
than our own, as obedient to the laws of life that have grown out of the
experience of mankind throughout the ages, we can restore ourselves. We place
ourselves in the Kingdom of God within us.
What is the Kingdom of God? The Apostle Paul ssaid it is not meat or drink.
That means it is not the material side of lift. Those whose interests lie
alone in bread, in wealth , in the comforts of life, do not find the Kingdom
of God. They are more likely to find themselves victims of lust and greet, to
find themselves selfish and intolerant, to find themselves where we found
ourselves as the result of our one-sided interest in material things.
The Kingdom of God, said Paul, is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit.
Some of us shy away from words like 'righteousness,'' which have a
'goody-goodv'' sound. But what is a righteous man but one who is upright and
honest and fair and free from the will to do wrong.
The Kingdom of God. we might say, is the realm of honesty and unselfishness
and purity and love, the four principles that guide our efforts to remake our
lives. Some of our members call them the Four Absolutes.
The Kingdom of God is peace: the peace from the tortures of the mind and the
flesh that we have suffered so many years. With honesty and unselfishness and
purity and love, by being upright and fair and free from the will to do wrong,
by casting from us the errors that have troubled us, we can relax and find
peace in the Kingdom of God.
The Kingdom of God is joy in the Holy Spirit. Perhaps Paul meant to suggest
that it is the joy that comes to us through acceptance of the Holy Spirit. And
so it is. But many of us, who have spent so many years in error and have been
inclined to look with contempt upon those persons who followed the way of God,
tend to keep the Holy
Spirit at arm's length. Many are inclined to think that it is not quite 'grown
up'' to find joy in the Holy Spirit. Thus we persist in error, and deprive
ourselves of the opportunity to find peace. We have to let ourselves find joy
in the Holy Spirit.
It is well to recall the first three of the Twelve Steps. We confessed that we
were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. We
decided that a Power greater than our own could restore us to sanity. We
undertook to place our lives and our wills in the hands of that Power.
So now we acknowledge the Supreme Power, 'Our Father.'' We regard that Power
reverently. And we ask that we live today in the realm of that Power, when we
are upright, where we find peace, where we find joy in the Holy Spirit.
Thy Kingdom come.
May 1944
'Thy Will Be Done''
So words that we can utter are as vital to us as these words in the Lord's
Prayer, 'Thy will be done.'' In uttering these words we surrender to the will
of a Power greater than our own. This is the essential act in the third of the
Twelve Steps, the step that is the very heart of our program.
The instincts that rule our material selves are largeIy instincts of
self-preservation. They make Self our first concern and they are the causes of
most of the troubles that we can fall into. Self-concern leads to egotism, to
self-assertion, to vanity, to lack of concern for the feelings of others: It
leads to things that destroy us: lust, greed, and similar excesses of body
passions.
A sane view of lift is that all things are good in their right use. But we
have devoted ourselves to the misuse of a number of things and have regarded
ourselves accountable to no man. Now that the bill for our misconduct has been
presented, we find ourselves thoroughly rooted in misuse and thoroughly the
victims of our impulses.
Now that we are in AA, most of us have recognized our chief errors. Most of us
see the need for control, for responsible action, for curbs on selfish acts.
We have seen how some of the results of our habits of thought, in resentment,
in self-pity, in jealousy, in other aspects of self-love, return again and
again to harass us.
Our head strong tendencies demand surrender, demand a yielding of ourselves to
the will of an external power. To place ourselves in the hands of that Power,
we have to create new habits of action to keep us out of old ruts.
We may continue to do all the things that nature intended us to do, bur it is
important that we do those things under control. We must control impulses,
particularly those associated with our excesses.
Most difficult, perhaps, are those times when there is an urge that we cannot
define, just a general tension under the skin and a hazy hut strong impulsive
feeling in the mind. These are times when it is particularly necessary to call
on the aid of the Supreme Power.
We must develop the habit of turning to the Supreme Power at all times, at
regular daily intervals, at times when we are under stress. Impulses should be
discharged by addressing ourselves directly to the Supreme Power and asking
for guidance. We must learn to see the signs of headstrong and self-willed
action and remember the troubles that such action has brought in the past. Our
watchword here is, 'Easy does it.''
It is the will of the Supreme Power that we love our neighbors, that we be
merciful and just in all our action. Perhaps we should be especially mindful
of the warning that we should not judge others. We have to learn to be
tolerant and to improve our own ways of living.
These things are hard at first because they run so contrary to the habits we
have developed. Our task is to develop new habits in which we place the
direction of our lives in the hands of a Power greater than our own. We have
to do it first by conscious effort. Eventually we find that when we turn to
the Supreme Power and accept the guidance of that power, the painful shackles
fall away and the driving impulses lose their force and we find a measure of
peace.
June 1944
'Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread''
This is the 21-Hour Plan of life in the Lord's Prayer, and as such it is far
from being the simple petition for the gift of food that it seems. This
petition is worthy of our particular consideration, since it has special
meanings for us in AA.
'Bread'' in the Lord's Prayer means all the things that man needs to sustain
life. The petition is concerned wholly with material things. Every material
thing, whether it is food, clothing, shelter, a convenience of life or a means
of pleasure, is solely the product of the labor of man applied to the gifts of
nature. We get nothing without labor, but our labor would not be fruitful were
it not for the gifts of nature, which are the fruits of the labor of God. It
is a fundamental law that man must work if he is to live. It is a fundamental
truth that life depends on God's bounty.
'Give us this day our daily bread'' is first of all an acknowledgment that we
are dependent upon God's bounty. But those who will take the trouble to read
the Sermon on the Mount, in which the Lord's Prayer appears, will discover
ample evidence that the word 'daily'' in this petition is of greatest
importance.
'Give us today bread for today,'' the petition means tomorrow's bread we will
seek tomorrow. Thus, this is a renunciation, one that grows out of the last of
the Ten Commandments (covetousness). It is linked spiritually with the
declaration that 'Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceedeth out of the mouth of God.'' Granted that man must have bread, he
must not make the pursuit of material things the ruling passion of his life.
Now this is of particular interest to us. For most of us in AA became
alcoholics largely because of our concern over material things. A few of our
younger alcoholics are simply undisciplined children who have devoted
themselves to the pursuit of pleasure and escape from the responsibilities of
life. But most of our older alcoholics are men and women who have suffered
frustration and disappointment, who have discovered that the aims they had in
youth never are to be realized. We have had to cut our patterns to fit our
opportunities, to walk when we had hoped to soar aloft. Moreover, the
depression that preceded the present war made alcoholics of many men who
ordinarily would have escaped.
Devotion to material things made tragedy out of disappointment.
No one would suggest that we turn away from the material entirely. We must
care for our needs and our family's needs. And in our present economic order,
a prudent man will save something if he can.
But if we are to have health, economic pursuits must not be our ruling
passion. Ambition and pride and covetousness, the desire for wealth and the
demand for power must be curbed, and with them, the resentment and jealousy
that come in the wake of frustration. We have to learn to be satisfied with
what we can achieve, and in learning to be satisfied, it is well to renounce
something of our aims. We may start by being practical. We may
go on by finding interest in higher things. The man who has given up greed is
on the way to happiness.
July 1944
'Forgive Us Our Trespasses''
'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.''
No one who has completed his moral inventory can pass over this petition
lightly.
First, what are trespasses? Any act contrary to the moral law, a neglect of
duty, an injury or wrong to another person, is a trespass. 'Moral'' is used
here in its proper sense as pertaining to action with reference to right and
wrong and obligation of duty. It refers not only to things we have done but
also to things we have neglected to do.
Some of our trespasses are easy to recognize. We have no difficulty in seeing
our guilt in them. Others may be more difficult, partly because we have spent
so much time in justifying and excusing our acts or neglects that we have come
to think of justification as answering the accusation. It is precisely at this
point that our moral inventories must become fearless. Every excuse or
justification must be challenged as being in itself evidence of guilt.
We should examine our conduct in detail and specify each trespass. This is
important. The Lord's Prayer does not excuse us from responsibility for our
acts. Nor is it a license for repetition of wrongful acts. We are bound to
make reparation for harm that we have done, and we are bound to cease doing
harm.
Our prayer is made daily. So should our inventories be made daily. In our
prayer, we should keep in mind the things the inventories have revealed, so
that we may make progress in correcting our faults.
'Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.'' This
petition is conditional. No one who is not willing to forgive can expect to be
forgiven. No one who harbors hatred, malice and resentment in his heart can
expect to find peace.
This condition is of particular concern to us, since so many of us suffer
through resentment, self pity, jealousy, self love. It has been the experience
of all of us who try to control resentment that most of the causes of our
resentments are found to be either imaginary or petty, and that they actually
have done us no real harm. When we can rid ourselves of these resentments, we
shall make progress.
Honest inventory often will reveal that in those cases in which we have
suffered in our dealings with others, some of the fault, much of the fault, or
even most of the fault has been ours. But even in those few instances in which
we have suffered genuine injury at the hands of others, we are bound to
forgive. Certainly we gain nothing but harm to ourselves when we allow
resentment to fill our minds and consume our energies. When we forgive, we
heal our minds.
August 1944
'Lead Us Not Into Temptation''
These words of the last petition of the Lord's Prayer come from our lips with
greatest fervor. We have turned to prayer in a desperate hour to plead for
deliverance and we ask that we may be taken out of the path of temptation.
There is no doubt in the mind of any one who is in trouble what the words of
this petition mean, and there is rather little doubt, at least at first, what
we wished to be saved from.
Temptation has sly ways, however. After we have all the gaps plugged.
Temptation begins to whisper fairy tales into our ears, trying to get us to
open up at least one of the gaps. Temptation hints that the diagnosis we made
when we took the first of the Twelve Steps was not quite right. Why not take
just one now and then? And why not ask to be delivered from the temptation of
taking more than one? But then, three would be better, why not never more than
three?
Or, Temptation may make a more direct assault. We're as big as God is: we can
step off that cliff!
Well, maybe not quite; but we are capable of handling ourselves, and there is
no reason why we cannot go down to the water's edge and wade around abit! We
forget that for us there is no shallow water.
Temptation stays with us, trying to build up our confidence, trying to make us
believe that we have been cured, scoffing at the old troubles. Temptation
slips in at the side door when we become proud and satisfied. It is the
greatest to those who have persisted in remaining at the threshold of evil by
always having that 'Some day!'' in the back of the mind. The most persistent
temptation we have is the temptation to change the diagnosis. When we turn our
backs firmly against that temptation we are likely to stay out of trouble.
Self love is a great pitfall, and the source of the great sins. Many of the
temptations here seem rather innocent. But they lead, step by step to denial
of the Supreme Power, to exaltation of the self.
For us, deliverance and temptation go together, and one of the most important
evils that we seek to be freed from is temptation. Drink has become so much a
part of our lives that we associate virtually every act with it. The result is
that the idea of drink, the urge to take a drink or to go to get a drink
constantly pops into the mind for no apparent reason. The Devil here is
experience.
As our sins may be forgiven if we are truly contrite, so may we be delivered
from the evils we have created for ourselves, by being sorry for our misdeeds,
by undertaking to make good for any injury we have done to others, and by
striving not to offend again. We are bound to take positive action for the
right and the good, and we are bound not to allow ourselves drift with our
inclinations. We place ourselves in the hands of the Supreme Power and follow
the lead we receive from that power, away from temptation, away from evil.
September 1944
'For Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory Forever.''
Thus the Lord's Prayer ends, with words of surrender. The kingdom of God is
God's kingdom. The power in the kingdom is God's power. And the glory for the
works in the kingdom is God's glory.
The kingdom is not ours, though we are part of it. The power is not ours,
though God gives us a little of his power for our own use. The glory is not
ours, but God's
We should do well not to mumble these words when we say the Lord's Prayer, and
not to hurry through them. We should do well to think as we say them. The
kingdom and the power and the glory are God's, not ours.
Many of us thought the whole kingdom ours, or thought it should be. Many of us
thought the power ours, and abused such power as we had. Or we thought the
power should be ours, and WE kicked at everything when we found it was not. We
finally kicked ourselves down. And many of us, all too may of us, thought the
glory ours. Big shots. Important guys. Bigger than our neighbors. Bigger than
God. Spoiled children when no one else agreed with our notions.
Now, the sin that the Bible talks about is the sin of imagining ourselves
bigger than God. We start by imagining ourselves bigger than any other person.
We insist on running everything our own way, regardless of the rules that men
have found necessary throughout civilized life. We went from the great sin to
the deadly sins and thence to the gutter. We fount it hard to learn, and some
of us find it is easy to unlearn.
When the bad days are gone and good days come again, some of us forget the
lessons of those evil days. Old yearnings stir up in us. Pride awakens, with
perhaps an extra urge to wipe out the memory of the bad days and to show the
world that we are great. Some want power in business, some in politics, some
in AA, some elsewhere. Some of us want others to bow to us, to admit our power
and our glory. Some of us go so far as to act on these urges. The result is
trouble. Eventually, it is the same old trouble. We have seen it happen many
times, sometimes with men quite old in AA.
The kingdom and the power and the glory are God's not ours. The wise man
yields first place to God. The wise man avoids seeking advantage over others,
or even seeking equal place with others. The wise man keeps himself on a leash
and thus gains peace. The wise man is humble.
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++++Message 1952. . . . . . . . . . . . Bare Witness
From: marywb . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/27/2004 10:58:00 AM
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Does anyone know where the phrase "may bear witness" came from in the
3rd Step Prayer?
I have a newcomer who is having lots of trouble with that phrase.
Thanks.
God, I offer myself to Thee--to build with me and to do with me as
Thou wilt.Relieve me from the bondage of self, that I may better do
Thy will. Take away my difficulties, that victory over them may bear
witness to those I would help of Thy Power, Thy Love and Thy Way of
life. May I do Thy will always!
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++++Message 1953. . . . . . . . . . . . Characters in the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions.
From: Byron Bateman . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/27/2004 2:29:00 AM
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I have been trying to find the identities of two individuals that Bill W.
wrote about in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
I have always been curious about the identity of the "Tough Irishman"
mentioned on pp.152-153, (Tradition Five) of the 12x12.
Also, the well-loved clergyman referred to on p. 63, (Step Six) of the 12x12,
who said; "This is the step that separates the men form the boys"
I would appreciate any help that anyone might supply on these two individuals.
Byron Bateman
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++++Message 1954. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Characters in the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions.
From: Bruce Lallier . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/27/2004 6:19:00 PM
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I believe the well loved clergyman was Father Dowling.
----- Original Message -----
From: Byron Bateman
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 3:29 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Characters in the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions.
I have been trying to find the identities of two individuals that Bill W.
wrote about in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
I have always been curious about the identity of the "Tough Irishman"
mentioned on pp.152-153, (Tradition Five) of the 12x12.
Also, the well-loved clergyman referred to on p. 63, (Step Six) of the
12x12, who said; "This is the step that separates the men form the boys"
I would appreciate any help that anyone might supply on these two
individuals.
Byron Bateman
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++++Message 1955. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Characters in the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions.
From: lee . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/27/2004 6:23:00 PM
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I would say that the tough Irishman was Ryan M. of the Gabriel Heatter
interview fame and the clergyman was Father Dowling, Bill's spiritual sponsor.
A good and entertaining source for a talk on Morgan is a tape that Bill made
on 1954 in San Antonio on the making of the Big Book.
lee
"This is my simple religion.
There is no need for temples;
no need for complicated philosophy.
Our own brain, our own heart is our temple;
the philosophy is kindness."
-Dalai Lama
----- Original Message -----
From: Byron Bateman
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 3:29 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Characters in the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions.
I have been trying to find the identities of two individuals that Bill W.
wrote about in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
I have always been curious about the identity of the "Tough Irishman"
mentioned on pp.152-153, (Tradition Five) of the 12x12.
Also, the well-loved clergyman referred to on p. 63, (Step Six) of the
12x12, who said; "This is the step that separates the men form the boys"
I would appreciate any help that anyone might supply on these two
individuals.
Byron Bateman
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++++Message 1956. . . . . . . . . . . . Ancient origins of the Serenity Prayer
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28/2004 12:15:00 PM
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In terms of the ancient background of the Serenity Prayer, the distinction
between "the things we do not have the power to change" and "the things we do
have the power to change" is a fundamental and central part of ancient
Greco-Roman Stoic philosophy. In ancient Greek (in the Stoic literature), it
is called the distinction between ta ouk eph' hemin and ta eph' hemin, that
is, read literally, "things not up to us" vs. "things up to us."
And the goal of the good life in Stoic philosophy is always described as the
attainment of "serenity," which in ancient Greek was apatheia, which meant
freedom from overwhelming emotional storms (what were called the pathe in
Greek, that is, the fierce passions like the furious and insane rage which
drove Medea to kill her own children and Clytemnestra to murder her husband,
King Agamemnon, by chopping him up with an ax as he lay soaking in his
bathtub).
To see what they meant by the pathe, the overwhelming "passions" which led us
to our destruction, see the Roman tragedies written by Seneca. His plays
usually focus on the destructive power of ira (out of control anger) and furor
(which is out of control anger carried to truly insane lengths). But the
Stoics knew that there were a lot of other passions which could destroy you
when they got out of control, such as desire, grief, fear, and even joy
(modern drug addicts can assure you that this is so). And the ancients knew
about sexual lust of course! They had felt its power too.
At any rate, any ancient Greek philosopher who looked at the Serenity Prayer
would note these two items - - the distinction between the things we cannot
change and the things we can, and the idea of serenity as the goal of the good
life - - and nod his head and say, "Yes, this must be by a Stoic." These were
technical terms which these ancient philosophers argued over, and everybody
knew that this was the Stoic position on those issues.
St. Augustine, who knew his ancient philosophy thoroughly, later on attacked
the idea of serenity as the goal of the good life in his City of God, which he
wrote at the beginning of the fifth century A.D., specifically identifying
this as a Stoic idea.
The Discourses of Epictetus is the best Stoic work to look at to see how the
ancient Stoics understood these terms. Epictetus had once been a slave in the
mad emperor Nero's palace, and knew whereof he spoke when he talked about
being in situations where we had no control over people, places, or things.
(This observation was a standard part of ancient Stoic belief also. The only
thing we ultimately have real control over, they taught, is what is going on
inside us, inside our own heads.)
How did these ideas get down to the twentieth century? By the end of the
Greco-Roman period, most philosophers were teaching mixtures of Stoic and
Platonic (and sometimes Aristotelian) philosophy. They were called Late Stoics
or Middle Platonists or Neo-Pythagorians or other technical terms like that,
but all of them had mixed a lot of Stoic ideas into their thought. Even the
writings of an Academic Sceptic like Cicero were filled with references to
Stoic ideas.
And by the second century, Christian theologians were using a mixture of Stoic
and Middle Platonic philosophy to explain their own Christian ideas. In the
eastern end of the Mediterranean most early Christian theologians taught that
serenity in the Stoic sense was the goal of the Christian life, and Eastern
Orthodox Christianity still teaches that to this day.
And the revival of the Greek and Roman classics in the Renaissance, beginning
in the 1300's A.D., meant that you can find Stoic ideas coming out in all
sorts of Renaissance and Early Modern literature from western Europe for a
number of centuries afterward.
Reinhold Niebuhr was probably the greatest American-born theologian of the
twentieth century, and had a deep and profound knowledge of ancient philosophy
as well as the history of Christian theology.
There is a little bit of the Stoic approach in the early medieval philosopher
Boethius (who is sometimes cited as the source), but he really doesn't use the
Stoic technical terminology, and he was also not very apt to have been on
Reinhold Niebuhr's reading list. Boethius just did not show up on the standard
reading lists at either Protestant or Roman Catholic seminaries in the early
twentieth century. They might mention his name in a general history course,
but would not go into any detail about his ideas, or require the students to
actually read anything Boethius wrote.
But Reinhold Niebuhr could have picked up these ideas from so many different
Late Ancient and Medieval sources, that I think tracking down the particular
one that suggested the prayer to him is impossible. There were just too many
places he could have found the basic ideas.
Originally though, if we take the ideas in the Serenity Prayer back to their
beginnings, it was a very distinctive and easily identifiable Stoic
philosophical position. It wasn't just vague talk about men and women
sometimes being at the mercy of forces they cannot control, which was
something which thoughtful human beings in all cultures at all periods of
history have talked about (Egyptians, Persians, Buddhists, Hindus, the
classical Greek tragedians, and so on).
Glenn Chesnut, Professor Emeritus of Ancient History, Indiana University
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++++Message 1957. . . . . . . . . . . . Report from the moderatpr
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/29/2004 8:46:00 PM
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The group keeps growing. Today there are more than 910 members from all over
the world.
Lately I have not responded to new members with welcoming messages. So this is
for the new members, and a reminder to the others:
Welcome to AA History Lovers.
We are not an AA group: The list is open to anyone interested in AA history
whether AA members or not.
We are not a chat room: Please do not use the list to comment on other
people's posts. Comment on the post ONLY if your message has additional
history on the subject.
Personal Opinions Are to be Avoided:
No personal opinions, or posts based just on rumor or vague memory of what
someone told you will be posted. To the extent possible please list the
sources for any information you send.
Messages that repeat history already on the list will not be posted: Please
use the search box to make sure the information is not already on the list.
Also please search the list before posting a question which may already have
been answered.
Subject Lines: Please identify the subject in any post that you send. Those
that say "A question" are not helpful.
Are you getting too much mail?: You can always change your setting to get a
daily digest or to receive no e-mails but only read the messages on the
website.
Read old posts by going to: Yahoo! Groups : AAHistoryLovers Messages : 1-31 of
853 [89]
Also, I do not always post questions about how a particular local custom got
started. There are far too many of them and they would crowd the list with
nothing but local customs.
Please do not argue when your post is not approved. I do not have time to
respond to such complaints.
As some of you know, I have not been well lately and considered turning the
group over to someone else. But now I have decided I want to keep control of
it until it is absolutely necessary to turn it over. But I may not be as
efficient as I have tried to be in the past.
Please be patient with me.
Nancy Olson
Moderator
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++++Message 1958. . . . . . . . . . . . Serenity Prayer and New York Herald
Tribune
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28/2004 12:11:00 PM
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Cora F. seems to have discovered what may be yet a new problem in tracking
down the origins of the Serenity Prayer. So far, everyone has taken as a
starting point the tradition that the prayer came from a newspaper clipping
described as follows: Nell Wing for example, in Appendix B to Grateful to Have
Been There (p. 167), says that the prayer was discovered in 1941 in the "In
Memoriam" obituary column of an early June edition of the New York Herald
Tribune.
Cora F., whom I already know to be a very careful researcher with really sharp
eyes, says "I copied down the relevant dates, went to the library at the big
university, and spent several hours over two afternoons with a diabolical
microfilm viewer. No luck."
Has anyone else in our web group tried to verify that the copy of the prayer
which came into the New York AA office in fact came from an obituary in the
New York Herald Tribune in 1941? If it cannot be found in that newspaper
during that time period, was the person who brought it in to the AA office
mistaken in saying that it came from the Herald Tribune? There were a lot of
newspapers in New York in those days. Or did the date perhaps get remembered
incorrectly? Or was the newspaper clipping which was brought into the office
in June 1941 a memento which the person had kept from a much earlier time?
Cora F. says that she was looking at the obituaries in and around early June
1941.
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++++Message 1959. . . . . . . . . . . . CHARACTERS IN TWELVE AND TWELVE
From: jacqueline belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28/2004 1:42:00 PM
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One of a good reference to AA history is the Bill W.'s biography published
by A.A. i.e. «PASS IT ON» where a lot of names is mentioned together with
the role they played in A.A. first days of AA history. just for your
information, the French-speaking European countries (i.e France, Switzerland
and Belgium) translated, a few years ago, the only existing French version
known up to now.
Regards.
Jacqueline - Brussels - Belgium
_________________________________________________________________
Ne cherchez plus. Trouvez. http://search.fr.msn.be/
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++++Message 1960. . . . . . . . . . . . Price of the Big Book
From: Susan Krieger . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/28/2004 5:57:00 PM
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Starting in 1939 when the book was published is there any way of finding out
the original price and a history of GSO's price changes throughout the past 65
years?
trudgetheroad
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++++Message 1961. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: Tim Sheehy . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 7:43:00 AM
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There is a grapevine article in the January 1950 edition describing the
origins of the serenity prayer as we know it.
-----Original Message-----
From: Glenn Chesnut [mailto:glennccc@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, July 28, 2004 10:12 AM
To: AA History Lovers
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Serenity Prayer and New York Herald Tribune
Cora F. seems to have discovered what may be yet a new problem in tracking
down the origins of the Serenity Prayer. So far, everyone has taken as a
starting point the tradition that the prayer came from a newspaper clipping
described as follows: Nell Wing for example, in Appendix B to Grateful to
Have Been There (p. 167), says that the prayer was discovered in 1941 in the
"In Memoriam" obituary column of an early June edition of the New York
Herald Tribune.
Cora F., whom I already know to be a very careful researcher with really
sharp eyes, says "I copied down the relevant dates, went to the library at
the big university, and spent several hours over two afternoons with a
diabolical microfilm viewer. No luck."
Has anyone else in our web group tried to verify that the copy of the prayer
which came into the New York AA office in fact came from an obituary in the
New York Herald Tribune in 1941? If it cannot be found in that newspaper
during that time period, was the person who brought it in to the AA office
mistaken in saying that it came from the Herald Tribune? There were a lot of
newspapers in New York in those days. Or did the date perhaps get remembered
incorrectly? Or was the newspaper clipping which was brought into the office
in June 1941 a memento which the person had kept from a much earlier time?
Cora F. says that she was looking at the obituaries in and around early June
1941.
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++++Message 1962. . . . . . . . . . . . Another "Original" Preamble
From: Lee Nickerson . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/31/2004 6:59:00 AM
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Can anyone identify the source of the following. Its language
appears to be close to Oxford Group principles?
"Alcoholics Anonymous is a group of people for whom alcohol has
become a major problem and who have banded together in a sincere
effort to help themselves and other problem drinkers recover their
healthy and maintain sobriety.
Definitions of alcoholics are many and varied. For brevity we think
of an alcoholic as one whose life has become unmanageable, to any
degree, due to the use of alcohol.
We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the alcoholic is suffering
from a disease for which no cure has yet been found. We profess no
curative powers but have formulated a plan to arrest alcoholism.
The only requirement for A.A membership is a desire to stop drinking.
There are no dues or fees in A.A.
Activities are supported by the voluntary contributions of the
members.
Alcoholics Anonymous does not perform miracles, believing that such
power rests only in God.
We adhere to no particular creed or religion. We do believe,
however, that an appeal for help to one's own interpretation of a
Higher Power, or God, is indispensable to a satisfactory adjustment
to life's problems.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a prohibition or temperance movement in
any sense of the word. Neither have we any criticism of the
controlled drinker. We are concerned ONLY with the alcoholic.
From the vast experience of our many members we have learned that
successful membership demands total abstinence. Attempts at
controlled drinking for the alcoholic inevitable fail.
We attempt to follow a program of Recovery which has for its chief
objectives, sobriety for ourselves; help for other alcoholics who
desire it; amends for past wrongs; humility; honesty; tolerance; and
spiritual growth.
We welcome and appreciate the cooperation of the medical profession -
the clergy, and the public in general." unknown
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++++Message 1963. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: Cloydg . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 10:58:00 AM
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Here's a selected contribution I found on the net, hope it will help? Clyde
The Origin of our Serenity Prayer
As published in August/September 1992 BOX-459
(Reprinted with permission)
AA History.com [90]
For many years, long after the Serenity Prayer became attached
to the very fabric of the Fellowship's life and thought, its
exact origin, its actual author, have played a tantalizing game
of hide and seek with researchers, both in and out of A.A. The
facts of how it came to be used by A.A. a half century ago are
much easier to pinpoint.
Early in 1942, writes Bill W., in A.A. Comes of Age, a New York
member, Jack, brought to everyone's attention a caption in a
routine New York Herald Tribune obituary that read:
[91] "God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot
change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference."
Everyone in A.A.'s burgeoning office on Manhattan's Vesey Street
was struck by the power and wisdom contained in the prayer's
thoughts. "Never had we seen so much A.A. in so few words," Bill
writes. Someone suggested that the prayer be printed on a small,
wallet-sized card, to be included in every piece of outgoing
mail. Ruth Hock, the Fellowship's first (and nonalcoholic)
secretary, contacted Henry S., a Washington D.C. member, and a
professional printer, asking him what it would cost to order a
bulk printing.
Henry's enthusiastic response was to print 500 copies of the
prayer, with the remark: "Incidentally, I am only a heel when
I'm drunk .. . so naturally, there could be no charge for
anything of this nature."
"With amazing speed," writes Bill, "the Serenity Prayer came
into general use and took its place alongside our two other
favorites, the Lord's Prayer and the Prayer of St. Francis [92]
.
Thus did the "accidental" noticing of an unattributed prayer,
printed alongside a simple obituary of an unknown individual,
open the way toward the prayer's daily use by thousands upon
thousands of A.A.s worldwide.
But despite years of research by numerous individuals, the exact
origin of the prayer is shrouded in overlays of history, even
mystery. Moreover, every time a researcher appears to uncover
the definitive source, another one crops up to refute the
former's claim, at the same time that it raises new, intriguing
facts. What is undisputed is the claim of authorship by the
theologian Dr. Rheinhold Niebuhr, who recounted to interviewers
on several occasions that he had written the prayer as a "tag
line" to a sermon he had delivered on Practical Christianity.
Yet even Dr. Niebuhr added at least a touch of doubt to his
claim, when he told one interviewer, "Of course, it may have
been spooking around for years, even centuries, but I don't
think so. I honestly do believe that I wrote it myself."
Early in World War II, with Dr. Niebuhr's permission, the prayer
was printed on cards and distributed to the troops by the U.S.O.
By then it had also been reprinted by the National Council of
Churches, as well as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Dr. Niebuhr was quite accurate in suggesting that the prayer may
have been "spooking around" for centuries. "No one can tell for
sure who first wrote the Serenity Prayer," writes Bill in A.A.
Comes of Age. "Some say it came from the early Greeks; others
think it was from the pen of an anonymous English poet; still
others claim it was written by an American Naval officer... ."
Other attributions have gone as far afield as ancient Sanskrit
texts, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and Spinoza.
One A.A. member came across the Roman philosopher Cicero's Six
Mistakes of Man, one of which reads: "The tendency to worry
about things that cannot be changed or corrected."
No one has actually found the prayer's text among the writings
of these alleged, original sources. What are probably truly
ancient, as with the above quote from Cicero, are the prayer's
themes of acceptance, courage to change what can be changed and
the free letting go of what is out of one's ability to change.
The search for pinpointing origins of the prayer has been like
the peeling of an onion. For example, in July 1964, the A.A.
Grapevine received a clipping of an article that had appeared in
the Paris Herald Tribune, by the paper's correspondent in
Koblenz, then in West Germany. "In a rather dreary hall of a
converted hotel, overlooking the Rhine at Koblenz," the
correspondent wrote, is a tablet inscribed with the following
words:
"God give me the detachment to accept those things I cannot
alter;
the courage to alter those things I can alter;
and the wisdom to distinguish the one thing from the other."
These words were attributed, the correspondent wrote, to an 18th
century pietist, Friedrich Oetinger (1702-1782). Moreover, the
plaque was affixed to a wall in a hall where modern day troops
and company com-manders of the new German army were trained "in
the principles of management and . . . behavior of the soldier
citizen in a democratic state."
Here, at last, thought A.A. researchers, was concrete
evidence-quote, author, date-of the Serenity Prayer's original
source. That conviction went unchallenged for fifteen years.
Then in 1979 came material, shared with G.S.O.'s Beth K., by
Peter T., of Berlin. Peter's research threw the authenticity of
18th century authorship out the window. But it also added more
tantalizing facts about the plaque's origin.
"The first form of the prayer," Beth wrote back, originated with
Boethius, the Roman philosopher (480-524 A.D.), and author of
the book, Consolations of Philosophy. The prayer's thoughts were
used from then on by "religious-like people who had to suffer
first by the English, later the Prussian puritans . . . then the
Pietists from southwest Germany . . . then A.A.s . . . and
through them, the West Germans after the Second World War."
Moreover, Beth continued, after the war, a north German
University professor, Dr. Theodor Wilhelm, who had started a
revival of spiritual life in West Germany, had acquired the
"little prayer" from Canadian soldiers. He had written a book in
which he had included the prayer, without attribution, but which
resulted in the prayer's appearance in many different places,
such as army officer's halls, schools and other institutions.
The professor's nom de plume? Friedrich Oetinger, the 18th
century pietist! Wilhelm had apparently selected the pseudonym
Oetinger out of admiration of his south German forebears.
Back in 1957, another G.S.O. staff member, Anita R., browsing in
a New York bookstore, came upon a beautifully bordered card, on
which was printed:
"Almighty God, our Heavenly Father,
give us Serenity to accept what cannot be changed,
Courage to change what should be changed,
and Wisdom to know the one from the other;
through Jesus Christ, our Lord."
The card, which came from a bookshop in England, called it the
"General's Prayer," dating it back to the fourteenth century!
There are still other claims, and no doubt more unearthings will
continue for years to come. In any event, Mrs. Reinhold Niebuhr
told an interviewer that her husband was definitely the prayer's
author, that she had seen the piece of paper on which he had
written it, and that her husband-now that there were numerous
variations of wording -"used and preferred" the following form:
"God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things which should be changed,
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other."
While all of these searchings are intriguing, challenging, even
mysterious, they pale in significance when compared to the fact
that, for fifty years, the prayer has become so deeply imbedded
into the heart and soul of A.A. thinking, living, as well as its
philosophy, that one could almost believe that the prayer
originated in the A.A. experience itself.
Bill made this very point years ago, in thanking an A.A. friend
for the plaque upon which the prayer was inscribed: "In creating
A.A., the Serenity Prayer has been a most valuable building
block-indeed a corner-stone."
And speaking of cornerstones, and mysteries and
"coincidences"-the building where G.S.O. is now located borders
on a stretch of New York City's 120th St., between Riverside
Drive and Broadway (where the Union Theological Seminary is
situated). It's called Reinhold Niebuhr Place.
--
(end of article)
(A long version of the Prayer)
God grant me the SERENITY to
accept the things I cannot change;
COURAGE to change the things I can;
and WISDOM to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it:
Trusting that He will make all things
right if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen
(Another long version of the Prayer from Ireland)
God take and receive my liberty,
my memory, my understanding and will,
All that I am and have He has given me
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference
Living one day at a time
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it
Trusting that He will make all things right
If I surrender to his will
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy in the next. AMEN
(thanks to Noel D. from Ireland for the long version)
Read the Serenity Prayer in your own native language
Finnish [93] Danish [94] French [95] German [96] Hebrew [97] Icelandic [98]
Italian [99] Japanese [100] Norweigen [101] Polish [102] Portuguese [103]
Spanish [104] Swedish [105]
(Special thanks to Sunil K. from Mumbai, India for the whole idea)
and Anna B. from Sweden and Jorge L. from Portugal for numerous contributions!
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++++Message 1964. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Price of the Big Book
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 3:00:00 PM
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Hi Susan
Big Book price changes over the years should have their amounts
converted to today's dollar values. Otherwise it's not an "apples to
apples" comparison. Your simple question turned out to be a fairly
challenging piece of research. I relied principally on the final reports of
the
General Service Conferences and some issues of Box 459 as source references.
The
Conference Reports were difficult to use in that they stated that prices would
go up/down but wouldn't always state by what amount or when.
The initial price of the Big Book was $3.50 in April 1939. It will
return to $6.00 in 2004. A special (and temporary) $5.00 introductory price
was
set for the 4th edition. First impression might be that the price today
is nearly double that of 1939. Far from it. The price value today is actually
just a fraction of what it was in 1939. The $3.50 selling price in 1939 would
be equivalent to around $47
today.
As a result of the high price of the book, the printer, Edward
Blackwell of Cornwall Press, was told to use the thickest paper in his shop.
The large, bulky volume became known as the 'Big Book.'' The idea
was to convince the alcoholic he was getting his money's worth (the name
'Big Book'' has stuck ever since).
Bill W reported that the cost of printing the first edition Big
Book was 35˘ per copy ($4.73 today). That provided a return of $3.15 per book
sold ($42.57 today). The intent of the book from day 1 was to generate funds
to
cover essential services provided by the NY office (GSO today). Also, both Dr
Bob and Bill received royalties on the book for life. The '$47 today''
amount was derived using Consumer Price Index conversion factors published by
Robert C Sahr of the Political Science Dept. of Oregon State University.
The history of Big Book price changes over the years is difficult
to pin down with precision. Many past adjustments were made to literature
prices. In the latter 1980's literature prices were lowered over concerns
whether AAWS (and AA) were being self-supporting due to the return received on
the large quantity of literature sold to institutions like Hazelden. In the
1990's, price adjustments were used as the primary tool to manage the
level of the [prudent] Reserve Fund. Here's what I was able to cull from
the source references:
*Year* *Price* *2004
Value*
1939 $3.50 $47.30
1955 $4.50 $31.47
1975 $5.75 $20.00
1977 $5.15 $15.90
1980 $4.65 $10.54
1986 $5.30 $9.03
1990 $4.60 $6.57
1994 $5.00 $6.31
1997 $6.00 $6.99
2002 $5.00 $5.19
Soon $6.00
Price-wise, the Big Book is a truly
remarkable value. It's even better in the soft cover version. Content-wise
- how does that TV commercial go? - Priceless!
Cheers
Arthur
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Susan Krieger
[mailto:susank@qis.net]
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2004
5:57 PM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Price
of the Big Book
12.0pt;">
Starting in 1939 when the book was published is there any
way of finding out the original price and a history of GSO's price changes
throughout the past 65 years?
12.0pt;">
trudgetheroad
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1965. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 3:07:00 PM
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From 1957 to 1999, different
pieces of literature have varying accounts of the story (sometimes
contradictory):
*
bold;">AA Comes of Age from AAWS (pg 196) 1957*
_
italic;">Has it occurring in 1942. Wording of prayer is slightly different
using
the pronouns 'us'' and 'we.''_
In early 1942,
nonalcoholic Secretary Ruth Hock left us to be married…. Just before Ruth
left, a news clipping whose content was to become famous was called to our
attention by a New York
member, newsman Jack. It was an obituary notice from a New York paper
Underneath
a routine account of the one who had died, there appeared these words: 'God
grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change
the things we can and wisdom to know the difference.'' .. Howard walked
into the office. Confirming our own ideas, he exclaimed, 'We ought to
print this on cards and drop one into every piece of mail that goes out of
here. I'll pay for the first printing.''
*
bold;">Bill W by Robert Thomsen (pgs 261-262) 1975*
_
italic;">Has it occurring in Newark,
NJ - which places it in early
1940_
One morning Ruth
found in the mail a newspaper clipping containing a three-line prayer. It had
been torn from an unidentified newspaper and sent in by an anonymous member.
She read it and was instantly struck by how much AA thinking could be
compressed
into three short lines. On her own, Ruth had the prayer printed on cards, and
without asking anyone, she began slipping a card into each piece of mail that
went out from the Newark
office. … And in this way the Serenity Prayer became part of the AA canon,
its phrases part of the alcoholic lingo.
*
bold;">Pass It On from AAWS (pg 252) 1984*
_
italic;">No date is given for the letter used as a point of reference but the
news article is placed in 1941_
… The prayer
had found its way into the Vesey
Street office shortly before that letter was
written … It was discovered in the 'In Memorium'' column of an
early June 1941 edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The exact wording was
'Mother - God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot
change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Goodbye.'' Said Ruth 'Jack C appeared at the office one morning, and
he showed me the obituary notice with the `Serenity Prayer.' I was
as much impressed with it as he was and asked him to leave it with me so that
I
could copy and use it in our letters to the groups and loners. Horace C had
the
idea of printing it on cards and paid for the first printing.''
*
bold;">Grateful to Have Been There by Nell Wing (pg 167-168) 1992*
_
italic;">Seems to be taken from Pass It On - has Ruth writing to a member
in Washington DC on June 12, 1941_
The prayer entered
unobtrusively in 1941. It was discovered in the 'In Memorium'' obituary
column of an early June edition of the New York Herald Tribune. The exact
wording
was 'God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Goodbye.'' Some fifteen years later, reminiscing about this event, Ruth
Hock Crecelius, our first non-alcoholic Secretary said: 'It is a fact
that Jack C appeared at the office [30 Vesey Street, Manhattan] one morning
for
a chat, during the course of which he showed me the obituary notice with the
'Serenity Prayer.'' I was as much impressed with it as he was and
asked him to leave it with me so that I could copy it and use it in our
letters
to the groups and loners… At this time, Bobbie B [who became Secretary
when Ruth married in February 1942] who was also terrifically impressed with
it, undoubtedly used it in her work with the many she contacted daily at the
24th St
Clubhouse… Horace C had the idea of printing it on cards and paid for the
first printing. … On June 12, 1941, Ruth wrote Henry S, a Washington DC
member and printer … [she asked Henry what it would cost to print it on a
small card].
*
bold;">Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery by C Hunter, B Jones and J Zieger
(pgs
79-80) 1999*
_
italic;">No mention of dates_
Ruth played a major
part in introducing the serenity Prayer to the Fellowship. Jack C, a New York
newspaperman
and recovering drunk, brought a newspaper clipping to the office. It was an
obituary that closed with the words: 'God grant us the serenity to accept
the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can and wisdom to
know the difference.'' Bill and Ruth agreed with Jack that 'never
had we seen so much AA in so few words.'' And Ruth began at once to tuck
the prayer into the letters she was sending out. Not long afterward, Horace C,
an older member and friend of Bill came in with the suggestion to print the
prayer on cards that could be included with all the outgoing letters. Everyone
thought it was a wonderful idea but they had no money to implement it -
so Horace personally paid to have the cards printed.
I think there is a
fair chance that the obituary may have been printed prior to June 1941 and it
may also be from a newspaper other than the NY Herald Tribune.
Cheers
Arthur
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Tim Sheehy
[mailto:tsirish1@yahoo.com]
*Sent:* Friday, July 30, 2004 7:43
AM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* RE: [AAHistoryLovers]
Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">There is a grapevine article in the
January 1950 edition describing the origins of the serenity prayer as we know
it.
-----Original Message-----
*From:* Glenn Chesnut
[mailto:glennccc@sbcglobal.net]
*Sent:* Wednesday, July 28, 2004
10:12 AM
*To:* AA History Lovers
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
Cora F.
seems to have discovered what may be yet a new problem in tracking down the
origins of the Serenity Prayer. So far, everyone has taken as a starting
point
the tradition that the prayer came from a newspaper clipping described as
follows: Nell Wing for example, in Appendix B to _
italic;">Grateful to Have Been There_ (p. 167), says that the prayer
was discovered in 1941 in the "In Memoriam" obituary column of an
early June edition of the _New York Herald
Tribune_.
Cora F.,
whom I already know to be a very careful researcher with really sharp eyes,
says "I copied down the relevant dates, went to the library at the big
university, and spent several hours over two afternoons with a diabolical
microfilm viewer. No luck."
Has
anyone else in our web group tried to verify that the copy of the prayer
which
came into the New York AA office in fact came from an obituary in the _New
York Herald Tribune_ in 1941? If it
cannot be found in that newspaper during that time period, was the person
who
brought it in to the AA office mistaken in saying that it came from the
_Herald Tribune_? There were a lot of
newspapers in New York
in those days. Or did the date perhaps get remembered incorrectly? Or was
the
newspaper clipping which was brought into the office in June 1941 a memento
which the person had kept from a much earlier time? Cora F. says that she
was
looking at the obituaries in and around early June 1941.
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1966. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Serenity Prayer and New York
Herald Tribune
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/30/2004 10:27:00 PM
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--Grapevine, July 1950
ORIGINAL CLIPPING
Reprinted below is the original clipping of The Serenity Prayer which
appeared in the New York Times obituary columns. An early AA member
saw it and thinking, it particularly fitting for AAs, brought it to the old
Vesey Street office. Soon it began to appear on cards and in AA literature
until it became an integral part of the AA way of life.
Mother--God grant me the serenity to accept
things I cannot change, courage to
change things I can, and wisdom to know
the difference. Goodby.
----------------------
The above short Grapevine piece credits it to having been found in the NY
Times,
rather than the NY Herald Tribune. Could be why you are having a hard time
finding
it. Unfortunately, no date is given for when it was published.
In the article, the second paragraph [starting with "Mother"] has lines above
and
below it, and looks like an enlarged photostatic copy from the newspaper
column.
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++++Message 1967. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Another "Original" Preamble
From: Rickydotcom . . . . . . . . . . . . 7/31/2004 11:21:00 AM
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Greetings,
The other "original preamble" you refer to is called
the "Old Baltimore Prologue." Long time AA members in
Maryland date its use back to 1946. In fact at most
AA meetings in Baltimore today, the officially
recognized "AA Preamble" is called "the Prologue."
I attempted to search online for the origins of the
"Old Baltimore Prologue" without success. I would be
grateful to anyone who could shed some light on its
origins.
Thank you.
Rick B.
Hagerstown, Maryland
Link to "Old Baltimore Prologue"
http://www.recoveryemporium.com/Articles/OldPreamble.htm
Can anyone identify the source of the following. Its
language appears to be close to Oxford Group
principles?
"Alcoholics Anonymous is a group of people for whom
alcohol has become a major problem and who have banded
together in a sincere effort to help themselves and
other problem drinkers recover their
healthy and maintain sobriety.
Definitions of alcoholics are many and varied. For
brevity we think of an alcoholic as one whose life has
become unmanageable, to any degree, due to the use of
alcohol.
We of Alcoholics Anonymous believe that the alcoholic
is suffering from a disease for which no cure has yet
been found. We profess no curative powers but have
formulated a plan to arrest alcoholism.
The only requirement for A.A membership is a desire to
stop drinking.
There are no dues or fees in A.A.
Activities are supported by the voluntary
contributions of the members.
Alcoholics Anonymous does not perform miracles,
believing that such power rests only in God.
We adhere to no particular creed or religion. We do
believe, however, that an appeal for help to one's own
interpretation of a Higher Power, or God, is
indispensable to a satisfactory adjustment
to life's problems.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a prohibition or
temperance movement in any sense of the word. Neither
have we any criticism of the controlled drinker. We
are concerned ONLY with the alcoholic.
From the vast experience of our many members we have
learned that successful membership demands total
abstinence. Attempts at controlled drinking for the
alcoholic inevitable fail.
We attempt to follow a program of Recovery which has
for its chief objectives, sobriety for ourselves; help
for other alcoholics who desire it; amends for past
wrongs; humility; honesty; tolerance; and
spiritual growth.
We welcome and appreciate the cooperation of the
medical profession - the clergy, and the public in
general." unknown
=====
"He who has so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by
changing anything but his own disposition will waste his life away in
fruitless efforts. (Samuel Johnson) "
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++++Message 1968. . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth''s Prayer
From: Lash, William (Bill) . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/2/2004 9:36:00 AM
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Ruth O'N. got sober on 4/14/48. Within a few months, at a meeting in Brooklyn
NY,
she was given a business card by another AA member. On one side of the card
was
the Four Absolutes of the Oxford Group (Absolute Honesty, Absolute
Unselfishness,
Absolute Love, and Absolute Purity) and on the other side of the card was the
following prayer. She still recites it daily and shares it when she speaks (as
she did
this past Saturday). It has come to be know as 'Ruth's Prayer'':
Thank You, dear God, for another day,
The chance to live in a decent way,
To feel again the joy of living
and happiness that comes from giving.
Thank You for friends who can understand
and the peace that flows from Your loving hand.
Help me to wake with the morning sun,
With the prayer today, 'Thy will be done.''
For with Your help I will find the way.
Thank You again, dear God, for AA.
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++++Message 1969. . . . . . . . . . . . Wilmington Baltimore Preamble Prologue
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/3/2004 2:51:00 PM
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Hi, Group:
I have seen the old Alcoholics Anonymous Preamble that Lee asked about
referred
to as "The Old Baltimore Prologue" and as "The Wilmington AA Preamble" with
various explanations. Most of those are people saying that they remember it
or their sponsor remembers it from a long time ago.
One source includes more details. Article 247 here in AAHistoryLovers forwards
some research by Bill Lash which explains the dual Wilmington and Baltimore
origin. Bill says it was by sportswriter Mickey M who wrote it for the
Wilmington (Delaware) Group in June or July 1944. That was long before the
Grapevine's AA Preamble. While covering horseraces at Pimlico, Mickey gave
it to the Baltimore Group as well.
---------------
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/247
THE HISTORY OF THE WILMINGTON PREAMBLE
From: "Lash, William (Bill)"
The Wilmington Preamble has long been surrounded by controversy and discussion
of such has sparked many a debate almost from its inception in the early years
of Alcoholics Anonymous. The history of our fellowship has mostly been passed
from member to member over the expanse of many years; member whose very
disease
has a tendency to distort one's memory. Inaccuracies may prevail. The
following is in no way an attempt to dispel those controversies, but an effort
to establish an accurate history of the birth of the Wilmington Preamble and
to
keep it's true history alive for the enlightenment of future generations.
Documentable corrections are welcomed.
The Wilmington Preamble's birth ties in with one of Wilmington's earliest
members, Shoes L. Shoes joined the Wilmington Group and got sober in May of
1944. The following month in June, Shoes was Chairman of the group and in
charge
of getting speakers for their meetings. There was at this time a sportswriter
in town covering the horseraces at Delaware Park. His name was Mickey M. and
Shoes asked him to speak at the group's meeting. Mickey replied that he wasn't
much of a speaker but that he would write something appropriate. He reportedly
went back to his room at the Hotel Dupont and wrote the Wilmington Preamble as
we know it and it was read the following Friday night.
Being a sportswriter, Mickey M. covered events in other towns, and while in
Baltimore covering the races at Pimlico gave the same preamble to the
Baltimore
Group which they also adopted as their own. Where it was actually read first
is
the subject of many debates but one fact remains clear, that this "Preamble"
was
widely accepted in Maryland and Delaware long before World Service sanctioned
the shorter A.A. Preamble that is more universally accepted today.
THE WILMINGTON AA PREAMBLE
We of Alcoholics Anonymous are a group of persons for whom alcohol has become
a
major problem. We have banded together in a sincere effort to help ourselves
and other problem drinkers recover health and maintain sobriety.
Definitions of alcoholics are many and varied. For brevity we think of an
alcoholic as one whose life has become unmanageable to any degree due to the
use
of alcohol.
We believe that the alcoholic is suffering from a disease for which no cure
has
yet been found. We profess no curative powers but have formulated a plan to
arrest alcoholism.
From the vast experience of our many members we have learned that successful
membership demands total abstinence. Attempts at controlled drinking by the
alcoholic inevitably fail.
Membership requirements demand only a sincere desire on the part of the
applicant to maintain total abstinence.
There are no dues of fees in A.A.; no salaried officers. Money necessary for
operating expenses is secured by voluntary contributions.
Alcoholics Anonymous does not perform miracles, believing that such powers
rests
only in God.
We adhere to no particular creed or religion. We do believe, however, that an
appeal for help to one's own interpretation of a higher power, or God, is
indispensable to a satisfactory adjustment to life's problems.
Alcoholics Anonymous is not a prohibition or temperance movement in any sense
of
the word. We have no criticism of the controlled drinker. We are concerned
only with the alcoholic.
We attempt to follow a program of recovery which has for its chief objectives:
Sobriety for ourselves; help for other alcoholics who desire it; amends for
past
wrongs; humility; honesty; tolerance; and spiritual growth.
We welcome and appreciate the cooperation of the medical profession and the
help
of the clergy.
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++++Message 1970. . . . . . . . . . . . Rostrum.
From: Jaime Maliachi . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/6/2004 12:23:00 PM
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*
bold;">Good day, everybody. My name is Jimbo and I am
an alcoholic.*
"Courier New";">
"Courier New";">Does anybody know in which year in the
early groups, the fellows started to speak from the 'rostrum''. In
México we take a place to participate in our meetings from this one
'rostrum''.
We take 15 minutes, and after that, other fellow take his turn. And so on. In
Other groups the fellows speak from a chair.
*
bold;"> *
*
bold;">I will thank you for any information. *
*
bold;"> *
*Jimbo**. *
* *
* *
* *
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">Jaime F. Maliachi Pedrote.*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">servidor y amigo.*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">57 85 68 00 57 85 68
26*
*
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">fax 57 85 68 44*
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1971. . . . . . . . . . . . Principles Behind Steps and Traditions
From: michael oates . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/12/2004 2:27:00 PM
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We at the Kansas City Ofice have a request about the orgin of the
principles associated with the steps and the traditions.
Please Help
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++++Message 1972. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Principles Behind Steps and
Traditions
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/13/2004 4:41:00 PM
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This topic has been run around the yard a few times in
the past. Nancy recently summarized one such discussion
in post 1802 of this forum:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/1802
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++++Message 1973. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Principles Behind Steps and
Traditions
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/13/2004 7:28:00 PM
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Hi Michael
Each Step, Tradition and Concept is, of itself, a
'principle'' (i.e. a rule of personal conduct).
When you see wall charts or wallet cards that convey the notion of
a single-word descriptor as a so-called "principle" behind each Step,
Tradition or Concept, it is far more a contemporary editorial invention of
individual AA members rather than an historic cause and effect association.
Bill W published essays (in the Grapevine, 12&12, AA Comes of
Age and Twelve Concepts for World Service) defining the context, origin and
basis of each of the 36 principles embodied in our Steps, Traditions and
Concepts. Bill's original Grapevine essays on the Traditions can be found
in the book The Language of the Heart.
Last month (7/16/04) I posted a timeline history of the Traditions
in message # 1922 which is archived on the AAHistoryLovers web site. An
amended
version of the message is shown below.
Cheers
Arthur
*SOURCE REFERENCES:*
12&12 *Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions*, AAWS
AACOA *AA Comes of Age*, AAWS
BW-FH
*Bill W* by Francis Hartigan (hard
cover)
BW-RT *Bill W* by Robert Thompson (soft cover)
DBGO *Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers*, AAWS
GTBT *Grateful to Have Been There* by Nell Wing
(soft cover)
LOH *The Language of the Heart*, AA Grapevine Inc
NG *Not God*, by Ernest Kurtz (expanded edition,
soft cover)
NW *New Wine*, by Mel B (soft cover)
PIO *Pass It On*, AAWS
SM *AA Service Manual and Twelve Concepts for World
Service*, AAWS
*1937*
On the AA calendar of 'year two'' the spirit of
Tradition 3 emerged. A member asked to be admitted who frankly described
himself to the 'oldest'' member as 'the victim of another
addiction even worse stigmatized than alcoholism.'' The
'addiction'' was 'sex deviate.'' [*] Guidance came from
Dr Bob (the oldest member in Akron,
OH) asking, 'What would the
Master do?'' The member was admitted and plunged into 12th Step
work. (DBGO 240-241 12&12 141-142) Note: this story is often erroneously
intermingled with an incident that occurred 8 years later in 1945 at the 41st
St
clubhouse in NYC. (PIO 318).
[*] Information on this
revelation was provided by David S from an audiotape of Bill W at an open
meeting of the 1968 General Service Conference. See also the pamphlet The
Co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. (publication number P-53, pg 30).
*1939*
Principles defined in the Foreword to the First Edition Big Book
provided the seeds for many of the Traditions that Bill later published in the
April 1946 Grapevine. These same principles were also incorporated into the AA
Preamble which was first published in the June 1947 Grapevine.
*1942*
Correspondence from groups gave early signals of a need to develop
guidelines to help with group problems that occurred repeatedly. The basic
ideas for the Twelve Traditions emerged from this correspondence and the
principles defined in the Foreword to the first Edition of the Big Book.
(AACOA
187, 192-193, 198, 204, PIO 305-306, LOH 154).
October, Clarence S (whose Big Book story is The Home Brewmeister)
stirred up a controversy in Cleveland after discovering that Dr Bob and Bill W
were receiving royalties from Big Book sales. (DBGO 267-269, BW-FH 153-154,
AACOA 193-194) Bill and Dr Bob re-examined the problem of their financial
status and concluded that royalties from the Big Book seemed to be the only
answer to the problem. Bill sought counsel from Father Ed Dowling (Bill's
spiritual sponsor) who suggested that Bill and Dr Bob could not accept money
for 12th Step work, but should accept royalties as compensation for
special services. (AACOA 194-195, PIO 322-324). This later formed the basis
for
Tradition 8.
*1945*
April, Earl T, founder of AA in Chicago (whose Big Book Story is He Sold
Himself Short) suggested to Bill W that he codify the Traditions and write
essays on them in the Grapevine. (AACOA 22, 203, GTBT 54-55, 77, SM S8, PIO
306, LOH 20-24). Earl T played a prominent role in the development of both the
long and short form of the Traditions.
Bill W was called by Barry L (who would later author Living Sober)
from the 41st St
clubhouse. Bill persuaded the group to take in a black man who was an
ex-convict with bleach-blond hair, wearing women's clothing and makeup.
The man also admitted to being a 'dope fiend.'' When asked what to
do about it, Bill posed the question, 'did you say he was a drunk?''
When answered, 'yes'' Bill replied, 'well I think that's
all we can ask.'' The man was reported to have disappeared shortly after.
(BW-FH 8, PIO 317-318) Anecdotal accounts erroneously say that this individual
went on to become one of the best 12th Steppers in NY. This story is often
erroneously intermingled with that of a 1937
incident ('year two'' on the AA calendar) involving an Akron member
that is discussed in the Tradition Three essay in the 12&12 (pgs 141-142).
August, the Grapevine carried Bill W's first article (titled
Modesty One Plank for Good Public Relations) setting the groundwork for his
5-year campaign for the Traditions. The July Grapevine edition had an article
by member CHK of Lansing, MI about the Washingtonians. Bill used this article
to begin his essay commentaries.
The Alcoholic Foundation wrote to John D Rockefeller, Jr. and the
1940 dinner guests that AA no longer needed their financial help. Big Book
royalties could look after Dr Bob and Bill W and Group contributions could pay
the general office expenses. This ended all 'outside contributions''
to AA. (AACOA 203-204). It formed the basis of Tradition 7. All loans received
from Rockefeller and the dinner guests from 1941 to 1945 were repaid in 1945
out of Big Book income.
*1946 Grapevine*
April, the Grapevine carried Bill W's article Twelve
Suggested Points for AA Tradition. They would later be called the long form of
the Twelve Traditions. (AACOA viii, 96, 203, LOH 20, 154)
*1947 Grapevine*
December, the Grapevine carried a notice that an important new
48-page pamphlet titled AA Traditions was sent to each group and that enough
copies were available for each member to have one free of charge.
*1949*
As plans for the first Int'l Convention were under way, Earl
T suggested to Bill W that the Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition would
benefit from revision and shortening. (AACOA 213 says it occurred in 1947)
Bill, with Earl's help, set out to develop the short form of the Twelve
Traditions. (AACOA 213, GTBT 55, 77, PIO 334)
November, the short form of the Twelve Traditions was first
printed in the AA Grapevine. The entire issue was dedicated to the Traditions
in preparation for the forthcoming Cleveland Convention. Two wording changes
were subsequently made to the initial version of the short form of the
Traditions: 'primary spiritual aim'' was changed to 'primary
purpose'' in Tradition 6, and 'principles above personalities''
was changed to 'principles before personalities'' in Tradition 12.
(LOH 96)
July 28-30, AA's 15th anniversary and first International Convention at
Cleveland,
OH with an estimated 3,000
attendees. The attendees adopted the Twelve Traditions unanimously by standing
vote. (AACOA 43, LOH 121, PIO 338)
*1953*
June, the book Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions was published. (GTBT 37) Bill W described the work
as 'This small volume is strictly a textbook which explains AA's 24
basic principles and their application, in detail and with great
care.'' Betty L and Tom Powers helped Bill in its writing. Jack Alexander
also helped with editing. It was published in two editions: one for $2.25
($15.50 today) for distribution through AA groups, and a $2.75 ($19 today)
edition distributed through Harper and Brothers for sale in commercial
bookstores. (AACOA ix, 219, PIO 354-356)
*1955*
July 1-3, AA's 20th
anniversary and second Int'l Convention at St Louis, MO.
Theme: Coming of Age. (BW-RT 311, AACOA viii, GTBT 42-51, NG 131, SM S2) Bill
W
claimed attendance of 5,000. Nell Wing (GTBT 105) was told by Dennis, who
handled registrations that attendance was 3,100 plus a few hundred walk-ins.
On
July 3, by resolution, Bill W and its old-timers turned over the stewardship
of
the AA society to the movement. The Conference became the Guardian of the
Traditions and voice of the group conscience of the entire Fellowship. The
resolution was unanimously adopted by the Convention by acclamation and by the
General Service Conference by formal resolution and vote. (AACOA ix, 47-48,
223-228)
*1957 Conference Advisory Action*
No change in Article 12 of the [Conference] Charter or in AA
tradition or in the Twelve Steps of AA may be made with less than the written
consent of three-quarters of the AA groups. (SM S87)
*1958 Conference Advisory Action*
The 1958 General Service Conference approved removing the word
'honest'' from the term 'honest desire to stop drinking''
in the AA Preamble. It also changed the term 'AA has no dues or
fees'' to 'There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are
self-supporting through our own contributions.'' The wording of the
Conference advisory action can give the misleading impression that the
Traditions were changed. The advisory action reads: 'The General Service
Conference recognize the original use of the word `honest' before
`desire to stop drinking' and its deletion from the Traditions as
part of the evolution of the AA movement. Any change to be left to the
discretion of AA Publishing, Inc.'' The advisory action did not change the
Traditions nor did it change the Foreword to the first Edition Big Book.
*1976 Conference Advisory Action*
It is resolved by the 1976 General Service Conference that those
instruments requiring consent of three-quarters of the responding groups for
change or amendment would include the Twelve Steps of AA should any such
change
or amendment ever be proposed.
In case a change is needed in the Twelve Traditions, the Twelve
Steps, or the Six Warranties of Article 12, wherever the words
'registered AA groups of the world'', 'registered
groups'' or 'directory-listed groups'' appear in the AA Service
Manual and Twelve Concepts for World Service, a bracketed sentence be inserted
to state, 'This would include all AA groups known to the General Service
Offices
around the world.''
-----
*From:* ny-aa@att.net [mailto:ny-aa@att.net]
*Sent:* Friday, August 13, 2004 4:42
PM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers]
Principles Behind Steps and Traditions
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;">This topic has been run around the yard a few times in
the past. Nancy
recently summarized one such discussion
in post 1802 of this forum:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/message/1802
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++++Message 1974. . . . . . . . . . . . Looking for info regarding publication
Date of "AA and the Woman"
From: Audrey Borden . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/17/2004 5:48:00 PM
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Greetings AA Historians,
I'm hoping you can help me track down the first publication date of the AA
pamphlet "AA and the Woman."
The copyright on the version I have (picked up recently at my home group) is
1976. My sense is that this pamphlet (or a version of it) would have been
available before that, and I recently came across evidence that suggests this
is true.
On page 51 of "Advisory Actions of the General Service Conference of
Alcoholics Anonymous, 1951-2000," in the list of Actions based upon reports
from the Conference Literature Committee, I note that in 1967 the Literature
Committee
"voiced high hopes for the Newcomers' Meetings Kit; and expressed interest
in upcoming revisions of 'A.A. for the Woman, 'Young People in A.A.," and
'Questions and Answers on Sponsorship.'"
This seems to indicate that A.A. did publish a pre-1976 version of "A.A. for
the Woman."
Can anyone verify this and give me the publication date? Your help is much
appreciated!
Sincerely, -- Audrey B.
Marin County, California
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++++Message 1975. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Looking for info regarding
publication Date of "AA and the Woman"
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/17/2004 8:53:00 PM
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Audry wrote
Can anyone verify this and give me the publication date? Your help is much
appreciated.
The unpublished history manuscript by Bob P (1985) contains the following
note.
"A.A. and The Woman" was probanly written in the late 1940's by Ralph B.,
was being reprinted in 51'. It was revised and updated in 1961-62 abd again
after 1985."
Jim
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++++Message 1976. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Looking for info regarding
publication Date of "AA and the Woman"
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/17/2004 9:29:00 PM
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Hi
Audrey
The
pamphlet 'AA for the woman'' is one of the oldest pieces of
literature in AA. It was Conference-approved in 1952 by Panel 2 (the first
Conference with all Delegates attending).
Below
are extracts from Conference Advisory Actions. I only checked up to 2002 and
don't know if there were any related advisory actions last year or this
year.
Cheers
Arthur
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">Advisory Actions relevant to the*
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">CONFERENCE LITERATURE COMMITTEE*
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">1952 *It was recommended that:
The
report of the Foundation's Committee on Literature, together with Bill's
report
of his proposed program of activity be approved.
Note:
Ten projects carried out by the Foundations Committee on Literature included
production of the new pamphlet "A.A. for the Woman," the pictorial
script for film strips on headquarters services, the 1951 Conference report,
Interim reports from the Trustees to the delegates, preparation of the
manuscript for a new pamphlet on "The Alcoholic Employee," material on
the Traditions prepared by Bill, two recordings and two reproductions of the
A.A. prayer.
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">1961*
The
Committee noted with sympathy the recommendation that stories of a more
personal
nature be included when the pamphlet "A.A. for the Woman" is due for
revision.
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">1967 *The committee:
Expressed
interest in upcoming revisions of "A.A. for the Woman," "Young
People in A.A.," and "Questions and Answers on Sponsorship."
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">1986 *It was recommended that:
The
updated draft for "A.A. for the Woman" be accepted with the exception
of the story "I Hated Monday Mornings. . . ," and that production
proceed under the direction of the trustees' Literature Committee.
*
Arial;font-weight:bold;">2002*
The first sentence,
first paragraph on page 36 in the pamphlet 'A.A. for the Woman'' be changed
from 'Yes, A.A. is a spiritual program, providing no material aid, but it
is not a religious program in any sectarian sense,'' to 'Yes, A.A.
is a spiritual program, not a religious program.''
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Audrey Borden
[mailto:audreyborden@earthlink.net]
*Sent:* Tuesday, August 17, 2004
5:48 PM
*To:*
aahistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] Looking
for info regarding publication Date of "AA and the Woman"
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">Greetings AA Historians,
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">I'm hoping you can help me track down
the first publication date of the AA pamphlet "AA and the
Woman."
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">The copyright on the version I have (picked up recently at my home
group) is 1976. My sense is that this pamphlet (or a version of it)
would have been available before that, and I recently came across evidence
that suggests this is true.
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">On page 51 of "Advisory Actions of the General Service
Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous, 1951-2000," in the list
of Actions based upon reports
from the Conference Literature Committee, I note that in
1967 the Literature Committee
12.0pt;">"voiced high hopes for the Newcomers' Meetings Kit; and expressed
interest in upcoming revisions of 'A.A. for the Woman, 'Young People in
A.A.," and 'Questions and Answers on Sponsorship.'"
12.0pt;">This seems to indicate that A.A. did publish a pre-1976
version of "A.A. for the Woman."
12.0pt;">Can anyone verify this and give me the publication date? Your help
is much appreciated!
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">Sincerely, -- Audrey B.
Marin County,
California
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">
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++++Message 1977. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Looking for info regarding
publication Date of "AA and ...
From: dbennitt@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/17/2004 6:46:00 PM
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In a message dated 8/17/2004 8:12:51 PM Central Standard Time,
audreyborden@earthlink.net writes:
I'm hoping you can help me track down the first publication date of the AA
pamphlet "AA and the Woman."
I have a pamphlet titled AA FOR WOMEN, published by THE ALCOHOLIC FOUNDATION,
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PUBLISHING INC. 1952......it looks like the pamphlet you
are talking about was published by AA WORLD SERVICES 1968.....
There was also a conference approved pamphlet THE ALCOHOLIC WIFE, published by
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PUBLISHING INC. JANUARY 1954
dbennitt@aol.com
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++++Message 1978. . . . . . . . . . . . sauerkraut, tomatoes and syrup
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/18/2004 3:20:00 PM
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Arial;">For many years I believed that the idea of serving drunks a diet of
sauerkraut, tomatoes and syrup originated with Dr. Bob at St. Thomas Hospital
in
the mid 1930s. But recently I have
read where this menu (at least the sauerkraut & tomatoes part) originated with
Bill W. when he came to Akron from NY. However, I have forgotten where I read
it.
Arial;">
Arial;">I would appreciate a bibliographical sort of reference to this?
Arial;">
Arial;">Thank you,
Arial;">
Arial;">Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 1979. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: sauerkraut, tomatoes and syrup
From: Stef Donev . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/18/2004 10:48:00 PM
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12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">I found the following at::
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">http://www.wemac.com/info/adm_hist.html
*The Changing Role of the Physician in
the Treatment of Chemical Dependence*
******************************************************************************
***
Thomas L.
Haynes, M.D.
Presented in Minneapolis, MN
October, 1988
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">
*C. Robert H. Smith*
Robert Holbrook Smith was the first
alcoholic to whom Bill Wilson carried the message who eventually remained
sober. In the early days of A.A. in Akron,
Ohio, Dr. Bob, as he is
affectionately known to A.A.'s everywhere, carried the message of recovery to
hundreds of suffering alcoholics. Many of these he hospitalized at St. Thomas
Hospital,
formerly Akron City Hospital.
This fact is often forgotten by those who feel that in-hospital treatment is
not ever necessary for the induction of recovery. They didn't have fancy drugs
like Librium or Tranxene at that time, and detoxification was carried out by
administering measured doses of _Spiritu
Frumenti_, or common whiskey. This was still the practice when I
worked as a resident physician at St.
Thomas Hospital
in 1976, though the use of benzodiazepines has now become commonplace. An
adjunct to Dr. Bob's treatment was the
administration of a mixture of stewed tomatoes, sauerkraut, and Karo syrup. I
often wonder how many of the patients we treat today would tolerate this
mixture without leaving against medical advice. But then, maybe Dr. Bob's
patients really wanted to
get well. Another fact about Dr. Bob that is often understated or ignored is
the fact that he was addicted to pills as well as to alcohol. This should help
cross-addicted alcoholics feel more at home in A.A.
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">I hope this helps.
Stef
Donev
12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue;">~ ~ ~
-----
*From:* Robert Stonebraker [mailto:rstonebraker212@insightbb.com]
*Sent:* Wednesday, August 18, 2004
1:21 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
sauerkraut, tomatoes and syrup
For many years I believed that the
idea of serving drunks a diet of sauerkraut, tomatoes and syrup originated
with
Dr. Bob at St. Thomas
Hospital in the mid
1930s. But recently I have read where this menu (at least the sauerkraut
& tomatoes part) originated with Bill W. when he came to Akron from NY.
However, I have forgotten
where I read it.
I would appreciate a bibliographical
sort of reference to this?
Thank you,
Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 1980. . . . . . . . . . . . date of Alcoholic Anonymous Comes of
Age
From: wilfried antheunis . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/18/2004 12:23:00 PM
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I have two copies of "Alcoholic Anonymous Comes of Age."
The newest says on spine "A.A. World Services" and inside says: "Twelfth
Printing 1986"
The older copy says on spine: "A.A. Publishing Inc".
Inside the older copy says
Alcoholics Anonymous comes of Age
Copyright ©1957 by alcoholics Anonymous Publishing Inc.
Printed in the United States of America
All rights in this book are reserved.
First Edition
H-G
I am curious if anyone knows anything about the publishing of the older copy.
I know it is a first edition of the book, but what does the "H-G" mean?
thanks
wil
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++++Message 1981. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Looking for info regarding
publication Date of "AA and the Woman"
From: Roger Wheatley . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/19/2004 1:12:00 PM
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Terrific reference, thanks! The answer causes another question. Does anyone
know if the prayer refered to by Panel 2 as the "AA prayer" was the Serenity
Prayer? Any prayer claimed as the "AA prayer" by such a group would seem of
some significance.
Roger
Arthur wrote:
Hi Audrey
The pamphlet "AA for the woman" is one of the oldest pieces of literature in
AA. It was Conference-approved in 1952 by Panel 2 (the first Conference with
all Delegates attending).
Below are extracts from Conference Advisory Actions. I only checked up to
2002 and don't know if there were any related advisory actions last year or
this year.
Cheers
Arthur
Advisory Actions relevant to the
CONFERENCE LITERATURE COMMITTEE
1952 It was recommended that:
The report of the Foundation's Committee on Literature, together with Bill's
report of his proposed program of activity be approved.
Note: Ten projects carried out by the Foundations Committee on Literature
included production of the new pamphlet "A.A. for the Woman," the pictorial
script for film strips on headquarters services, the 1951 Conference report,
Interim reports from the Trustees to the delegates, preparation of the
manuscript for a new pamphlet on "The Alcoholic Employee," material on the
Traditions prepared by Bill, two recordings and two reproductions of the
A.A. prayer.
1961
The Committee noted with sympathy the recommendation that stories of a more
personal nature be included when the pamphlet "A.A. for the Woman" is due
for revision.
1967 The committee:
Expressed interest in upcoming revisions of "A.A. for the Woman," "Young
People in A.A.," and "Questions and Answers on Sponsorship."
1986 It was recommended that:
The updated draft for "A.A. for the Woman" be accepted with the exception of
the story "I Hated Monday Mornings. . . ," and that production proceed under
the direction of the trustees' Literature Committee.
2002
The first sentence, first paragraph on page 36 in the pamphlet "A.A. for the
Woman" be changed from "Yes, A.A. is a spiritual program, providing no
material aid, but it is not a religious program in any sectarian sense," to
"Yes, A.A. is a spiritual program, not a religious program."
-----
From: Audrey Borden [mailto:audreyborden@earthlink.net]
Sent: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 5:48 PM
To: aahistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Looking for info regarding publication Date of
"AA and the Woman"
Greetings AA Historians,
I'm hoping you can help me track down the first publication date of the AA
pamphlet "AA and the Woman."
The copyright on the version I have (picked up recently at my home group) is
1976. My sense is that this pamphlet (or a version of it) would have been
available before that, and I recently came across evidence that suggests
this is true.
On page 51 of "Advisory Actions of the General Service Conference of
Alcoholics Anonymous, 1951-2000," in the list of Actions based upon reports
from the Conference Literature Committee, I note that in 1967 the Literature
Committee
"voiced high hopes for the Newcomers' Meetings Kit; and expressed interest
in upcoming revisions of 'A.A. for the Woman, 'Young People in A.A.," and
'Questions and Answers on Sponsorship.'"
This seems to indicate that A.A. did publish a pre-1976 version of "A.A. for
the Woman."
Can anyone verify this and give me the publication date? Your help is much
appreciated!
Sincerely, -- Audrey B.
Marin County, California
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now [106] .
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++++Message 1982. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Saurkraut, tomatoes, and syrup
From: Jim S. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/19/2004 5:25:00 PM
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"Another fact about Dr. Bob that is often understated or ignored
is the fact that he was addicted to pills as well as to alcohol."
Thomas L. Haynes, M. D.
Can anyone tell me where he found that information? In his story in
the Big Book, he tells of taking large doses of sedatives to quiet
the morning jitters, and in "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers."
pp21,22. it mentions his `patent throat,' saying, "In his sober
years, he would take a days supply of vitamins or medicines and toss
them down his open throat all at one time, without water." While I
don't claim to be a student of AA history I have read quite a bit
without coming across anything which would hint that he was anything
but an alcoholic.
Perhaps this is another rumor along the lines of , "Bill W.
dropped acid for five years and didn't change his sobriety date." A
fact or two twisted to mean something entirely different.
Jim S.
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++++Message 1983. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: Saurkraut, tomatoes, and syrup
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/20/2004 12:31:00 AM
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Re "Dr Bob and the Good Oldtimers" pgs 32 & 33 - Dr Bob did barbiturates by
day and booze by night. At the bottom of pg 32 it states "He contracted what
in later years would be called a pill problem, or dual addiction."
Re "Pass It On" pgs 368 to 377 - Bill's LSD experiments are fairly well
documented. At the time (1956) LSD was undergoing serious medical research in
the treatment of alcoholism. Other who also experimented with LSD were Father
Dowling, the Rev Sam Shoemaker and Lois Wilson. Marty Mann, Bill's mistress,
Helen W, and Nell wing also joined the experimentation in NY (re "Bill W" by
Francis Hartigan pgs 9 and 177 - 179 and "Grateful to Have Been There" by Nell
Wing pgs 81 - 82).
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim S.
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 5:25 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Saurkraut, tomatoes, and syrup
"Another fact about Dr. Bob that is often understated or ignored
is the fact that he was addicted to pills as well as to alcohol."
Thomas L. Haynes, M. D.
Can anyone tell me where he found that information? In his story in
the Big Book, he tells of taking large doses of sedatives to quiet
the morning jitters, and in "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers."
pp21,22. it mentions his `patent throat,' saying, "In his sober
years, he would take a days supply of vitamins or medicines and toss
them down his open throat all at one time, without water." While I
don't claim to be a student of AA history I have read quite a bit
without coming across anything which would hint that he was anything
but an alcoholic.
Perhaps this is another rumor along the lines of , "Bill W.
dropped acid for five years and didn't change his sobriety date." A
fact or two twisted to mean something entirely different.
Jim S.
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++++Message 1984. . . . . . . . . . . . Recovery rate.
From: Johnny Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/22/2004 9:55:00 PM
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Hello all you history lovers....
Somewhere I read an article about someone doing research on the present
recovery rate and they had secured information from a large intergroup
source concerning the number of white chips purchased by local groups
and the number of blue chips purchased by local groups which gave some
indication.
Does anyone know of this article or any other source concerning the
present recovery rate experienced by AA?
Thanks....
In His Service
Johnny H.
Fayetteville, NC
"Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it
simple"
Dr. Bob's last words to Bill.
[107] has notified the sender that this message has been
received.
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++++Message 1985. . . . . . . . . . . . Earliest Printings of Twenty-Four
Hours a Day
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/23/2004 12:11:00 PM
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The Earliest Printings of Richmond
Walker's Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
Jack H. (Scottsdale, Arizona), who has one of the best private collections of
A.A. archival material in the United States, has copies of some of the first
printings of Richmond Walker's Twenty-Four Hours a Day, running from the
earliest printed version down to the later Hazelden printings. This article is
based in large part on information and photocopies which he kindly provided.
(A version of this article with photos of various pages of these books may be
seen at http://hindsfoot.org/RWcvPhot.html)
Rich (who had gotten sober in May 1942) first assembled the material on small
cards which he carried around with him to use in his own prayer and
meditation. But in 1948, members of the A.A. groups in Daytona Beach, Florida,
persuaded him to have this material printed in book form, so the rest of them
could use it too. He had some copies printed, and demand for the book quickly
began to spread outside of the Daytona Beach area. Rich distributed them from
his basement: A.A. members would write him asking for copies, and he would
wrap them and mail them out. Past Delegate Bob P. (Goshen, Indiana) told me
that Wesley Parrish, an A.A. member in Daytona Beach, was a County
Commissioner and obtained the use of the county printing press to run these
copies off. The county was paid for the printing, but this arrangement may
have made it easier to print small batches relatively inexpensively. I was
told that Parrish (whom Bob P. had met in the course of
his A.A. activities) had come from Georgia down into Florida as a housing
contractor.
A photocopy of the title page of this earliest version may be seen at
http://hindsfoot.org/RW1prnt1.html. The pages are about 2-7/8 inches wide and
5-1/2 inches high (7.3 cm x 14 cm). The title page reads as follows:
==============================
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY
Price $1.50
Twenty-Four Hours A Day
P. O. Box 2170
Daytona Beach, Florida
==============================
Following Jack's chronology (which makes sense), Rich at first gave no
indication of authorship. Everyone in that part of Florida knew that he was
the one who had put the book together.
So the back page of this earliest version (for photo see
http://hindsfoot.org/RW1prnt2.html) gives only the price and the address for
ordering copies of the book:
==============================
FURTHER COPIES OF THIS BOOK MAY
BE HAD AT $1.50 APIECE
BY WRITING TO:
TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY
P.O. BOX 2170
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA
==============================
In later printings (following Jack's chronology) Rich added, at the end of the
book, "Compiled by a member of the Group at Daytona Beach, Fla." As use of the
little book began to spread rapidly across the United States, people in other
parts of the country wanted to know where it came from. Rich, who always acted
with the greatest humility, refused even to put his first name and last
initial on the book, but simply indicated what A.A. group he belonged to. He
wanted absolutely no personal fame, glory, or personal profit from the book.
David W., the Florida A.A. archivist, says that if at some points the book
distribution earned a slight profit, Rich immediately donated all of it to
A.A.
But putting the name of the group on the book was important, because the rule
in old-time A.A. was that a pamphlet or book which was sponsored by any one
A.A. group was automatically considered appropriate for use by other A.A.
groups -- any other group which chose to do so could read from it in meetings
and employ it for beginners lessons and so on, simply on the grounds that it
had been officially supported by the A.A. group where it was originally
written. So the simple statement that the publication of this meditational
book had been backed by the Daytona Beach A.A. groups was extremely important.
A.A. groups started using Twenty-Four Hours a Day to read from in their
meetings all over the United States, and individual members began buying
copies of the little book to carry with them throughout the day in a pocket or
a purse. At least half of the A.A. members in the United States owned a copy
before very long. Any number of good old-timers have told me that they got
sober off of two books: the Big Book and the Twenty-Four Hour book. In fact,
one of the best A.A. historians has estimated that there was a period when
more A.A. members owned a copy of Rich's book than owned their own personal
copy of the Big Book.
As demand for the little book continued to increase, Rich (who was not getting
any younger) found that he was not able to keep up with packaging and mailing
the thousands of copies that were now being distributed. In 1954, the year
Rich turned 62, Patrick Butler at Hazelden, who had heard of the problems Rich
was now having keeping up with the demand, offered to take over the printing
and distribution of the book.
It is important to realize that Hazelden was not even started until 1949, the
year after Rich had published Twenty-Four Hours a Day. Rich had had no
connection with Hazelden or Minnesota at all, and his little book of
meditations was definitely not a statement of the Minnesota Model of
alcoholism treatment. And even here in 1954, Hazelden was still not much more
than a large farmhouse on a Minnesota farm.
As William L. White notes in Slaying the Dragon: The History of Addiction
Treatment and Recovery in America, pp. 201-2 and 207-8, the psychiatrists and
psychotherapists did not really take over the Hazelden operation until later,
in the 1960's -- their people basically won control of its administration in
1966 -- at which point their program began referring to "chemical dependency"
and treating alcoholism and drug addiction as simply two forms of the same
addictive tendency, and so on, in ways that so often infuriate so many of the
A.A. old-timers. Richmond Walker was already dead by then (he died in 1965) --
his book is most definitely NOT a statement of that later "treatment center
mentality."
The first Hazelden printing of Twenty-Four Hours a Day in 1954 showed that
they were nevertheless already showing a tendency at times to blur the
distinction between A.A. principles and commercialism. Instead of the original
title page at the front of the book, the first Hazelden printing (see the
enlarged photocopy at http://hindsfoot.org/RWhaz1.html) put a long
advertisement for the Hazelden treatment program. There is a line drawing of
the farmhouse on the Hazelden farm, and the following text:
==============================
Hazelden
FOR THE
PROBLEM DRINKER
at Center City, Minnesota
The management at "Hazelden" has had six years experience in helping men with
drinking problems. Its Directors have been "through the mill" themselves, and
have developed a program of reading, meditation, audio-visual education,
consultation and discussion, which enables the convalescent guest to
understand the whys and wherefores of his problem, and how to get on top of
it.
The serving of appetizing meals is given special attention, as physical
well-being is recognized as one of the important steps along the road to
recovery. Rest and freedom from responsibility are also important, and
visitors are permitted only at the request of the guest.
Fishing, boating, pool, and shuffleboard are some of the possible diversions.
Doctors and registered nurses are available at all hours, and psychiatric
consultation is provided upon request.
Reasonable Rates . . . For particulars write to
Hazelden
341 North Dale Street Saint Paul 3, Minn.
(or) Center City, Minnesota
A Non-Profit Organization
==============================
This first Hazelden printing which came out in 1954 had a dark green cover. At
the back of the book, the last page (page 372) followed the format set in
Rich's later printings by not giving Rich's name in any form (not even first
name and last initial, or a pseudonym), but by instead simply saying that the
book was sponsored by the A.A. groups in Daytona Beach, Florida:
==============================
ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS BOOK
AVAILABLE AT $1.50
WRITE TO:
HAZELDEN
341 No. Dale St.
St. Paul 3, Minn.
Compiled by a member
of the Group at
Daytona Beach, Fla.
==============================
Rich was outraged at the way Hazelden had commercialized his book by putting
the lengthy advertisement for their treatment center as the first page in the
book. He told them to quit, and subsequent Hazelden printings removed the ad
and put the simple title "Twenty-Four Hours a Day" at the beginning as Rich
had intended.
Rich died on March 25, 1965, with 22 years of sobriety. His humble desire for
anonymity meant that A.A. people soon forgot who had written Twenty-Four Hours
a Day, but he left behind for the A.A. people whom he wished to serve, the
greatest classic of early A.A. spirituality. Step 11 said "Sought through
prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we
understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to
carry that out," but the Big Book gave no detailed information about how
prayer and meditation of this sort needed to be done. Rich supplied that need,
and grateful A.A. people everywhere seized upon his little book as their guide
to living sober and remaining in constant contact with the source of healing
grace on a day-by-day basis.
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++++Message 1986. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Recovery rate.
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/23/2004 12:22:00 PM
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Hi
This topic has been addressed previously and I'd like to resubmit most of the
same reply I did last time.
-----
Pinning down success rates is not a trivial proposition.
My concerns relate to the statistical validity of the sampling method that
goes into the construction of quoted rates and whether it rises to a level
that yields statistical confidence in the numbers produced. Even today with
the membership surveys that are conducted by AA, I have concerns with the
sampling method used.
The deadly characteristic of alcoholism is the inclination of the alcoholic to
repeatedly return to drinking even in the face of compelling evidence that
shows they have no business taking a drink (the jay walker analogy in the
literature is right on). A fair number of alcoholics will fall into the
"unsuccessful" tally a number of times, hit bottom, and then move into the
"success" tally.
All too often an underlying presumption exists that if somebody doesn't
participate in AA any longer then they are likely to have returned to
drinking. That is just flat out wrong. There are many paths to spiritual
living and being helpful to others. I think the Achilles heel of quoted rates
lies not in the determination of the number of folks who are around and sober,
but in pinning down the number of folks who are not around and have returned
to drinking.
Those who stay sober in AA are clearly 100% successful and that population can
be approximately determined. As for the determination of the number of those
who have come to check out AA and then departed to drink again, each member
will have their anecdotal account but in terms of coming up with a
statistically valid census, I really have my doubts if it can be done.
Other things that increasingly cloud today's figures are "chemical dependency"
folks that enter AA with no drinking history who undergo a metamorphosis into
an alcoholic (usually because that don't want to attend NA and want to go to
AA instead).
On the plus side, this subject always provides a really good discussion item.
Cheers
Arthur
PS - I'm struggling to understand what white and blue chips have to do with
recovery rates.
----- Original Message -----
From: Johnny Hughes
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 9:55 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hello all you history lovers....
Somewhere I read an article about someone doing research on the present
recovery rate and they had secured information from a large intergroup
source concerning the number of white chips purchased by local groups and
the number of blue chips purchased by local groups which gave some
indication.
Does anyone know of this article or any other source concerning the present
recovery rate experienced by AA?
Thanks....
In His Service
Johnny H.
Fayetteville, NC
"Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple"
Dr. Bob's last words to Bill.
[107] has notified the sender that this message has been
received.
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++++Message 1987. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Recovery rate.
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/24/2004 5:01:00 AM
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Hi All,
I appreciate Arthur's thoughts on this subject of determining recovery rates.
For some time now, various people have insisted that AA's success rate is very
low. I don't think it was ever very high if you just use the numbers of those
who drift in temporarily for various reasons but do not have that burning
desire to change their lives. I'd like to see success rates determined from a
population of members who have at least stayed sober a year. I think the
percentage of recoveries would be much higher.
And it is true that many people stop attending AA meetings but continue to
stay sober and relatively happy. I have known some of them, and they continue
to credit AA for their sobriety. They should be counted in the success
category.
Mel Barger.
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Arthur Sheehan
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 1:22 PM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hi
This topic has been addressed previously and I'd like to resubmit most of
the same reply I did last time.
-----
Pinning down success rates is not a trivial proposition.
My concerns relate to the statistical validity of the sampling method that
goes into the construction of quoted rates and whether it rises to a level
that yields statistical confidence in the numbers produced. Even today with
the membership surveys that are conducted by AA, I have concerns with the
sampling method used.
The deadly characteristic of alcoholism is the inclination of the alcoholic
to repeatedly return to drinking even in the face of compelling evidence
that shows they have no business taking a drink (the jay walker analogy in
the literature is right on). A fair number of alcoholics will fall into the
"unsuccessful" tally a number of times, hit bottom, and then move into the
"success" tally.
All too often an underlying presumption exists that if somebody doesn't
participate in AA any longer then they are likely to have returned to
drinking. That is just flat out wrong. There are many paths to spiritual
living and being helpful to others. I think the Achilles heel of quoted
rates lies not in the determination of the number of folks who are around
and sober, but in pinning down the number of folks who are not around and
have returned to drinking.
Those who stay sober in AA are clearly 100% successful and that population
can be approximately determined. As for the determination of the number of
those who have come to check out AA and then departed to drink again, each
member will have their anecdotal account but in terms of coming up with a
statistically valid census, I really have my doubts if it can be done.
Other things that increasingly cloud today's figures are "chemical
dependency" folks that enter AA with no drinking history who undergo a
metamorphosis into an alcoholic (usually because that don't want to attend
NA and want to go to AA instead).
On the plus side, this subject always provides a really good discussion
item.
Cheers
Arthur
PS - I'm struggling to understand what white and blue chips have to do with
recovery rates.
----- Original Message -----
From: Johnny Hughes
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 9:55 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hello all you history lovers....
Somewhere I read an article about someone doing research on the present
recovery rate and they had secured information from a large intergroup
source concerning the number of white chips purchased by local groups and
the number of blue chips purchased by local groups which gave some
indication.
Does anyone know of this article or any other source concerning the
present recovery rate experienced by AA?
Thanks....
In His Service
Johnny H.
Fayetteville, NC
"Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple"
Dr. Bob's last words to Bill.
[107] has notified the sender that this message has been
received.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
6:48:24 PM ET - 8/23/2004
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++++Message 1988. . . . . . . . . . . . Clarification of Post 1983
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/24/2004 6:03:00 AM
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Post 1983 says in part:
"Others who also experimented with LSD were Father Dowling, the Rev Sam
Shoemaker and Lois Wilson. Marty Mann, Bill's mistress, Helen W, and Nell wing
also joined the experimentation in NY (re "Bill W" by Francis Hartigan pgs 9
and 177 - 179 and "Grateful to Have Been There" by Nell Wing pgs 81 - 82)."
This has been misread by at least one member of the list to mean that Marty
Mann was Bill's mistress. "Bill's mistress" refers to Helen W., not Marty
Mann.
I apologize for letting this slip by.
Nancy Olson
Moderator
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++++Message 1989. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Recovery rate.
From: Klaus Mäkelä . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/24/2004 11:07:00 AM
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What follows are excerpts from the abstract and discussion of the following
article:
Mäkelä, Klaus. (1994). Rates of attrition among the membership of Alcoholics
Anonymous in Finland. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 55(1), 91-95.
Klaus Mäkelä
ABSTRACT
Anniversary announcements published in the national AA newsletter are used to
analyze membership turnover in Finnish AA. Of the total membership with at
least one year of sobriety, close to 90 per cent continue as sober members for
another year. Of those having one year of sobriety, about two thirds survive
to the next year. The survival rate of members with between two and five years
of sobriety is about 85 %. Among members with more than five years of
sobriety, the survival rate is above 90 per cent. There are no gender
differences in survival rates.
DISCUSSION
Our data shed no light on the attrition occurring before the first full year
of sobriety. Those who reach one year of continuous abstinence are of course a
highly selected group compared to the clinical populations for which success
rates usually are presented. If we look at the turnover from a mutual-help
movement perspective, however, we can conclude that the sober membership of AA
is exceptionally stable.
It should be pointed out that dropping out of AA does not necessarily mean a
relapse in drinking. Former members may continue to be sober, and natural
death takes its toll among the oldest cohorts. On the other side, continued
membership does not always mean frequent meeting attendance. Many among the
older members go to meetings very infrequently.
Although the risk of dropping out is quite low among members with at least a
few years of sobriety, it nevertheless is large enough to be experienced as a
real threat and to provide support to the conviction that meeting attendance
should continue for the whole lifetime. The threat is strengthened by the fact
that relapses of AA oldtimers provide dramatic material for gossiping.
----- Original Message ----- From: Mel Barger
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 1:01 PM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hi All,
I appreciate Arthur's thoughts on this subject of determining recovery rates.
For some time now, various people have insisted that AA's success rate is very
low. I don't think it was ever very high if you just use the numbers of those
who drift in temporarily for various reasons but do not have that burning
desire to change their lives. I'd like to see success rates determined from a
population of members who have at least stayed sober a year. I think the
percentage of recoveries would be much higher.
And it is true that many people stop attending AA meetings but continue to
stay sober and relatively happy. I have known some of them, and they continue
to credit AA for their sobriety. They should be counted in the success
category.
Mel Barger.
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++++Message 1990. . . . . . . . . . . . Dates on the 20 questions
From: butterfly2479 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/23/2004 4:35:00 PM
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The 20 questions are often sited and used
in various re-written forms...I am aware
that AA has Its' use of them copyrighted now,
and contained in one of its' pamphlets.
But it appears to have been used by varying
sources for many years before this.
Can anyone verify the ORIGINAL date on the
JOHN HOPKINS TEST FOR ALCOHOLISM.
And what are your sources please?
thanks JP
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++++Message 1991. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Earliest Printing of Twenty-Four
Hours a Day
From: Dennis Mardon . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/24/2004 6:29:00 AM
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Thanks to Glenn C. for posting that history of the early writing, printing
and distribution of the Twenty-Four Hours a Day book by Richard W.
I seem to remember that prior to or maybe concurrent with the Hazelden
opportunity there was consideration given to the book becoming the property
of AA publishing. In fact, I believe it may have been considered more than
once by the General Service Conference in the early 1950's. I don't have a
copy of Advisory Actions handy. Can anyone shed more light on this?
Dennis M.
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++++Message 1992. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Recovery rate.
From: R. Peter Nixon . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/24/2004 5:32:00 PM
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Hello,
In response to Johnny's
question, the following is an excerpt from an article entitled, *'Don't Drink
and Go to Meetings''. *The entire article may be
found on the Primary Purpose Group of Dallas, Texas' website:
*http://www.ppgaadallas.org/aa_articles.htm*
* *
*
bold;"> *
In love and service,
Peter N.
Vancouver, BC
…''Let's take a look at what appears to be happening as is reported in one
of our major cities in the Southwest (Houston).
NUMBER OF CHIPS SOLD BY THE INTERGROUP OFFICE IN 1996
Desire---------------------24,
246-----------------100%
30
days---------------------8,839-------------------36%
60
days---------------------5,960-------------------25%
90
days---------------------5,019-------------------21%
6
mos.-----------------------3,370-------------------15%
1
yr.--------------------------2,102---------------------9%
2
yr..-------------------------1,170---------------------5%
5
yr..----------------------------707---------------------3%
10
yrs.--------------------------560---------------------2%
20
yrs.--------------------------143-------------------0.6%
30
yrs.---------------------------26--------------------0.1%
For the year 1997, the number of 'desire chips'' sold was reduced to
22,191. For 1998, the number
dropped to 19,504. For 1999,
16,285 Desire Chips were sold. The
other statistics remained the same.
So how well is your group doing?
A very disturbing observation from the 1998 statistics is that 592
medallions were purchased for AA's celebrating 10 years of sobriety. The total
number of folks taking
'desire chips'' in 1988 was in excess of 40,000. Did only about 1.5% apply our
Program?''
*
bold;"> *
-----Original
Message-----
*From:* Johnny Hughes
[mailto:drofjoy@nc.rr.com]
*Sent:* Sunday, August 22, 2004 7:56
PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
Recovery rate.
Hello all you history
lovers....
Somewhere I read an article about someone doing research on the present
recovery rate and they had secured information from a large intergroup source
concerning the number of white chips purchased by local groups and the number
of blue chips purchased by local groups which gave some indication.
Does anyone know of this article or any other source concerning the present
recovery rate experienced by AA?
Thanks....
In His Service
Johnny H.
Fayetteville, NC
"Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up.
Let's keep it simple"
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++++Message 1993. . . . . . . . . . . . Keep It Simple
From: Danny S . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/25/2004 7:59:00 AM
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Dr. Bob has long been credited with saying "Remember, Bill, let's
not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple," as his last words to
Bill Wilson.
While Dr Bob is widely quoted as referring to AA as a whole and the
AA Program of recovery (12 Steps), he may have been referring to
Bill's work in helping form the Conference.
Can anyone verify the actual conversation within context, as to what
the actual "it" to which he was referring was? What was it that Dr
Bob thought Bill should keep simple?
Thanks
Peace,
Danny S
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++++Message 1994. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Recovery rate.
From: AC . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/25/2004 9:50:00 AM
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At 03:32 PM 8/24/2004, you wrote:
>
>A very disturbing observation from the 1998 statistics is that 592
>medallions were purchased for AA's celebrating 10 years of sobriety. The
>total number of folks taking "desire chips" in 1988 was in excess of
>40,000. Did only about 1.5% apply our Program?"
>
I'm no math whiz but, with respect, there is a huge logical flaw in this
question.
The implied assumption is that each "desire chip" represents a unique
individual. Thus, that out of 40 thousand plus who "tried out" AA, less
than 600 stuck around for a decade.
In practice, I suspect the ratio is far smaller. If you live in an area
where "desire chips" are distributed, how many folks do you know who
accumulated a drawer full of those "white chips" before they ever managed
to achieve 30 days? And how many "30 day wonders" bounced in and out of
this program for two or three years, picking up 90 here, 30 there and
there, maybe even six months once before they finally "got" that part about
not taking the First Drink?
Best,
Ace
Santa Cruz
"There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."
--Benjamin
Disraeli
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++++Message 1995. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Recovery Rates & chips
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/25/2004 12:58:00 PM
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Peter,
To those unfamiliar with actual membership in AA, I think it may well have
made
sense
to compare number of chips sold as a elementary attempt to compare numbers of
those
who start the program to numbers who achieve sobriety ... unfortunately, in
real
AA
life there are complications inherent in that ...
How many 'desire chips' are picked up by any one individual? How many members
claim
to have collected a 'drawer full' before achieving sobriety? How many pick up
a
'desire chip' each day/meeting for first week/month or more? ...And that
doesn't
even
address the question of how many replacement desire chips sober members may
pick
up.
[How many desire chips have I taken during my time in the program? Many more
than the
number of yearly chips. I can quickly count at least three that I have right
now. To
me personally, a desire chips mean so much more than any other I might have no
matter
how many X's, V's or I's it might have] ...
How many folks stay sober but have quit picking up yearly/birthday chips? How
many
pick up multiple 'birthday chips' -celebrating at different groups? How many
yearly
celebrants receive an old chip from their sponsor and group doesn't have to
buy
them
a new one? There's also the question of whether to count all yearly chips or
just the
1-year chips?
The underlying assumption that a one-to-one correspondence between chips
-- members starting the program, or achieving a year's sobriety-- just is not
there
in practice in our groups [at least not anywhere I've attended meetings]. And
I'm not
sure how one could come up with quantifying just what sort of number
relationship
there might be between those two chips.
There's an added problem of comparing desire chips to yearly chips --the
growth
factor of the fellowship.
... [if we could really compare them] you would not compare desires chips
given
this
year with yearly chips given this year. You would need to somehow go back and
compare
desire chips given last year to yearly chips given this year, or desire chips
given
in 1974 to 30-year chips given this year.
As far as the decline in numbers of desire chips ... how much of that is based
on
folks not qualified for the program being referred, or going 'on their own',
to
more
appropriate sources for help? How much is based on the push in the 90's to
quit
the
practice of offering them to sober members for 'a little extra emotional
support'?
[remember when groups did that?]
Probably not all the decline is due to those or other similar reasons, but I
personally believe that a rather large part are.
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++++Message 1996. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Re: Earliest Printing of
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/25/2004 6:33:00 PM
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Hi Dennis
I found 3 references in the listings of Conference Advisory Actions.
1953:
Delegates weigh this question for submission to the 1954 Conference: Does the
Conference feel it should depart from its purely textbook program by printing
non-textbook literature such as the "24 Hour Book of Meditation"? (Literature
Committee)
1954:
The publication rights of Twenty-Four Hours a Day not be accepted. (Floor
Action)
1972:
The Twenty-Four Hour Book not be confirmed as Conference-approved literature.
(Literature Committee)
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Dennis Mardon
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 6:29 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Earliest Printing of Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Thanks to Glenn C. for posting that history of the early writing, printing
and distribution of the Twenty-Four Hours a Day book by Richard W.
I seem to remember that prior to or maybe concurrent with the Hazelden
opportunity there was consideration given to the book becoming the property
of AA publishing. In fact, I believe it may have been considered more than
once by the General Service Conference in the early 1950's. I don't have a
copy of Advisory Actions handy. Can anyone shed more light on this?
Dennis M.
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++++Message 1997. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Recovery rate.
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/25/2004 6:38:00 PM
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This doesn't make sense and it comes across a lot more as mythology rather
than history. We are supposed to be a history group. The data circulated are
not even subjected to the barest minimum of analysis and scrutiny. The mere
fact that a Group puts something on a web site, or that an Intergroup Office
publishes a paper, does not automatically endow the data with accuracy and
relevance.
Flawed data gathering techniques, and flawed assertions of cause and effect,
remain flawed regardless of where they reside or who constructed them.
Historical analysis is supposed to consist of some measure of scholastic
scrutiny coupled with some minimal attempt at verification or refutation of
the accuracy of the data observed.
The example cited for the Houston data illustrates its own flaws. Desire chips
sold in 1996 are used to represent the number of members coming into the
Fellowship that year. Ten year chips are used to represent the number of
members who have stayed in the Fellowship for ten years. This then is used in
a formula where the number of 24 hour desire chips sold that year are divided
into the number of ten year medallions sold that year and that somehow
produces a "success rate" for Houston, TX for that year.
Aside from a dubious premise, the rounding of the results of the arithmetic
performed is flawed. 707 divided by 24,246 yields .029 (which would
approximate 3% not 2%). Also 707 divided by 40,000 yields .0176 (which would
approximate 2% as opposed to 1.5%). It seems that the numbers are rounded down
to exaggerate failure.
Other considerations that make what the data are purported to reflect quite
suspect are:
1. Members picking up desire chips are presumed to pick up one and only one.
This serves to exaggerate the presumed number of people coming in (perhaps
exponentially). How many AA folks have you heard say "I have drawer full of
desire chips."
2. The number of members presumed to be celebrating ten years is likely
substantially understated. If someone who stayed sober for a decade moved away
from the Houston area, and didn't purchase a ten year medallion in Houston, it
would be inferred as a failure even though they may be quite happily sober
wherever they moved to.
3. Likewise, if someone stayed sober without attending AA any longer it would
also be inferred as failure. There are other little factors such as mortality
rates where over the ten year period someone dies (sober) of natural causes it
too would be inferred as failure. In addition, if someone who started ten
years ago slipped and sobered up again, and is counted in one of the other
annual groups, it would also reflect as a failure for the 10 year group.
Many of the postings of "success rates" in AAHistoryLovers seem to have a
flair for the dramatic and notions of impending doom. A number of people seem
hell-bent on knocking down the success achieved by AA by using flawed data,
flawed arithmetic and flawed presumptions and conclusions.
When AA started in 1935 it did so with two members. Today, after almost 70
years, world-wide membership is conservatively projected at 104,589 groups and
2,066,851 members (per the 2004 Conference report). Instead of celebrating the
obvious (i.e. a rather remarkable demonstrated track record over seven
decades) there seems to be a fixation of pursuing both the morbid and obscure
(i.e. using the sale of chips and medallions to infer how many people are
failing to stay sober).
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: R. Peter Nixon
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2004 5:32 PM
Subject: RE: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hello,
In response to Johnny's question, the following is an excerpt from an
article entitled, "Don't Drink and Go to Meetings". The entire article may
be found on the Primary Purpose Group of Dallas, Texas' website:
http://www.ppgaadallas.org/aa_articles.htm
In love and service,
Peter N.
Vancouver, BC
..."Let's take a look at what appears to be happening as is reported in one
of our major cities in the Southwest (Houston).
NUMBER OF CHIPS SOLD BY THE INTERGROUP OFFICE IN 1996
Desire---------------------24, 246-----------------100%
30 days---------------------8,839-------------------36%
60 days---------------------5,960-------------------25%
90 days---------------------5,019-------------------21%
6 mos.-----------------------3,370-------------------15%
1 yr.--------------------------2,102---------------------9%
2 yr..-------------------------1,170---------------------5%
5 yr..----------------------------707---------------------3%
10 yrs.--------------------------560---------------------2%
20 yrs.--------------------------143-------------------0.6%
30 yrs.---------------------------26--------------------0.1%
For the year 1997, the number of "desire chips" sold was reduced to 22,191.
For 1998, the number dropped to 19,504. For 1999, 16,285 Desire Chips were
sold. The other statistics remained the same. So how well is your group
doing?
A very disturbing observation from the 1998 statistics is that 592
medallions were purchased for AA's celebrating 10 years of sobriety. The
total number of folks taking "desire chips" in 1988 was in excess of 40,000.
Did only about 1.5% apply our Program?"
-----Original Message-----
From: Johnny Hughes [mailto:drofjoy@nc.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2004 7:56 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Recovery rate.
Hello all you history lovers....
Somewhere I read an article about someone doing research on the present
recovery rate and they had secured information from a large intergroup
source concerning the number of white chips purchased by local groups and
the number of blue chips purchased by local groups which gave some
indication.
Does anyone know of this article or any other source concerning the present
recovery rate experienced by AA?
Thanks....
In His Service
Johnny H.
Fayetteville, NC
"Remember, Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple"
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++++Message 1998. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Dates on the 20 questions
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/27/2004 12:21:00 AM
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Dear JP,
I don't think A.A. ever copyrighted those questions, nor could they have if
they came from the medical faculty at Johns Hopkins. I don't know when the
earliest version was drawn up at Johns Hopkins, but the Test Questions began
appearing in A.A. literature at a very early date.
In terms of the dates when they first began to be used in A.A., these Test
Questions, which were always credited to Johns Hopkins University Hospital to
the best of my knowledge, appeared for example in the Detroit Pamphlet
entitled Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps, also
known as the Washington D.C. Pamphlet (editions were also published in
Oklahoma and on the west coast of the U.S.). See
http://hindsfoot.org/Detr0.html and especially http://hindsfoot.org/Detr1.html
The Detroit/Washington Pamphlet gives 35 Test Questions, a longer version than
the 20 Test Questions that you have discovered.
This pamphlet was clearly not used in Detroit until after they began holding
their first beginners meetings on June 14, 1943. Bobby Burger at the New York
A.A. office refers to the pamphlet in its Washington D.C. version in a letter
to Barry Collins in Minneapolis dated November 11, 1944. See pages xiii-xiv of
Bill Pittman's Foreward to Hazelden's 50th Anniversary Edition of The Little
Red Book for the full text of her letter.
I believe on the basis of my own research so far that the Detroit A.A. people
originally wrote the pamphlet (presumably using it at first in a mimeographed
version) but it seems fairly clear that Washington D.C. published the first
printed version. If this is so, the Detroit/Washington Pamphlet was written
somewhere in the year and a half period between June 1943 and November 1944,
although closer to the beginning of that period than to the end.
Jack H. (Scottsdale, Arizona) emphatically disagrees with me on this. He
believes that pamphlet originally came out of Minneapolis, just like The
Little Red Book.
Jack does have a mimeographed Instructor's Manual from the Nicollet Group in
Minneapolis which gives one of the short versions of these Test Questions, and
he believes strongly that this version went back almost to the very beginning
of A.A. in Minneapolis, since beginners meetings were conducted there, he
says, even before the Nicollet Group was formed. The first group in
Minneapolis was formed in November 1940, and the Nicollet Group was not
founded until December 1943.
So in terms of the dates you asked for, we have one A.A. version which I know
of which probably went back to the second half of 1943 (or not much later) and
another A.A. version which may have been used as early as 1941.
Other members of the AAHistoryLovers may be able to come up with earlier
examples of these Test Questions being used in A.A. writings prior to that
time. Hopefully someone could come up with some sort of date for when someone
at Johns Hopkins first drew up these questions.
Modern mental health professionals scoff at these Test Questions and do not
regard them as scientifically valid. At the practical level though, it is
quite amusing to see a newcomer who is still in partial denial about being an
alcoholic take this test, noting the expression on the person's face when the
person comes to the end of the test and realizes how it is scored. Many A.A.
people like the test because they take a kind of humorous pleasure in having a
test where they can point proudly to a score of 100% without even having to
study for it.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
butterfly2479 wrote:
The 20 questions are often sited and used
in various re-written forms...I am aware
that AA has Its' use of them copyrighted now,
and contained in one of its' pamphlets.
But it appears to have been used by varying
sources for many years before this.
Can anyone verify the ORIGINAL date on the
JOHN HOPKINS TEST FOR ALCOHOLISM.
And what are your sources please?
thanks JP
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++++Message 1999. . . . . . . . . . . . Richmond Walker and New York 1953-1954
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/26/2004 11:30:00 PM
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Dennis M. and Art S. have both written about the decision in New York in
1953-4 not to help Richmond Walker publish and distribute Twenty-Four Hours a
Day, and Art cited the Conference Advisory Actions involved, which was the
ultimate outcome of Rich's request. In fact it was never even seriously
considered in New York at that time for financial reasons. It was an
impossibility.
New York was so desperate to come up with the money to publish the Twelve
Steps and Twelve Traditions in 1953, as we remember, that they had to make a
deal where a commercial publisher published some of the books on the
commercial market in return for printing other copies for the New York A.A.
office.
I have heard people try to explain why this did not really violate the Twelve
Traditions, which forbid ANY kind of entanglement between A.A. and outside
interests, particularly outside commercial interests, but I have never found
it truly convincing. At any rate, the New York office was absolutely desperate
to somehow get Bill Wilson's book out in print. They certainly didn't have the
money to take on any additional books even if they had wished to do so.
I'm sure the feeling in New York at that point was that Richmond Walker was
doing a whole lot better than they were, by far, because he had managed to
keep Twenty-Four Hours a Day in print since 1948. Not only had he not gone
into serious debt, he was sometimes making a slight profit (which he of course
promptly figured out how to send to the New York office to help keep it
going). Why was he asking them, of all people, for help?
If I understand correctly, there is speculation that Bill Wilson called the
First International Convention to meet in Cleveland in 1950, in part to
preempt plans which were being laid elsewhere (in Texas, if I remember
correctly) to hold an international AA convention there.
At any rate, it is clear that in the early 1950's, Bill W. was working very
hard to try to establish New York as the international A.A. center. Dr. Bob's
death in 1950 meant that Akron A.A. could no longer claim to be headed by one
of the two co-founders. It seems pretty clear that, by the early 1950's, Bill
W. was not interested in being too helpful to anyone who might appear to be
competition to New York's primacy.
In fairness to Bill, there were in fact forces at that point, when the A.A.
organizational structure was still almost wholly anarchic, which were
threatening to fragment A.A. into numerous rival recovery groups by a kind of
centrifugal force. It was in fact necessary to pick somewhere to be the
central office, and to fight (if necessary) to keep A.A. unified around some
viable center. The one surviving co-founder was in New York City, so that
seemed the obvious choice at that time.
Things did change though in all sorts of ways once past the year 1950. In the
late 1940's, for example, the New York A.A. office regularly bought numbers of
copies of The Little Red Book from Ed Webster in Minneapolis (according to
Jack H. in Scottsdale, Arizona, who found the invoices among Ed Webster's
papers). We must assume that these were then sold from the New York A.A.
office. The Little Red Book of course was Dr. Bob's baby -- he gave Ed Webster
lots of help in phrasing parts of the book, sent copies of it various places
(e.g. a number of copies to Florida A.A. people at one point) -- and otherwise
tried to promote it everywhere. And as Bill Pittman discovered, we also have
letters from the New York office all the way down to November 1950 saying that
The Little Red Book was a very good and helpful book for A.A. people
everywhere.
Ed Webster had also figured out ways to print and distribute copies of The
Little Red Book all over the United States and Canada without going in the
red. It was the New York A.A. office at that point which couldn't figure out
the financial side of how to get a book published.
After the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions was finally published in 1953,
Bill Wilson still had to worry about selling enough copies to break even. So I
don't think he was in any kind of mood to do anything to help "the
competition" at that point, such as Twenty-Four Hours a Day, and particularly
The Little Red Book, which was a straight rival to Bill's new book. Did Bill
Wilson go a little bit overboard at that point in trying to squeeze out any
possible competition to his own book? Opinions among modern A.A. historians
seem to vary greatly on that question. Those A.A. historians who identify
themselves with Akron A.A., or Cleveland A.A., frequently feel that Bill was
going to great and sometimes unfair lengths to squeeze out any competition and
to minimize the contributions of anyone who had not been part of his own
narrow circle in New York.
If this were so, it would be a great shame, for this was totally unnecessary.
I don't see how anyone who has worked the Twelve Steps could deny that the Big
Book and the Twelve and Twelve represent the inspired core of A.A. thought. If
we don't read those two books over and over again, all our lives, we will
never be able to truly grasp the really profound depths of the program. In my
own estimation, the other twelve-step groups (N.A., O.A., Emotions Anonymous,
and so on) are greatly weakened by not having anything truly equivalent to the
Big Book and the Twelve and Twelve. But this doesn't mean that nobody in A.A.
is allowed to read anything other than those two books.
The important thing to remember is that the traditional understanding in
genuine old-time A.A. was that any book which was sponsored by one A.A. group
(the Daytona Beach groups sponsored Twenty-Four Hours a Day and the Nicollet
Group in Minneapolis sponsored The Little Red Book) was automatically
considered O.K. for any other A.A. groups to read from and use in their
meetings, if they chose to do so. The question of exactly why New York refused
to take over the responsibility for keeping the former book in print in 1953-4
is not in fact an important issue. People today who want us to stop reading
these books are trying to cut A.A. off from its historical roots in a way
which will ultimately be very dangerous to the program -- like trying to go to
sea on a sailing ship without enough ballast in the bottom -- the first high
wind will capsize the vessel for it has no weight of tradition to keep it
upright in the face of the stormy
blasts.
That is what is important about the Archival Movement which sprang up in the
1990's -- a grassroots realization among A.A. people all over the world --
which saw that it was necessary to keep the traditions of good old-time A.A.
alive if we were to be a vital force in the present. The AAHistoryLovers, the
National Archives Workshops (the ninth one is going to be held in
Murfreesboro, Tennessee, next month), the annual conference in Bristol,
England, and so on, were the product of this new awareness which began
developing all over the world, an awareness that we have to keep A.A. firmly
grounded in its foundational period, the era of the Good Old-Timers, in order
to keep it healthy in our own period.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana)
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++++Message 2000. . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Questions
From: Jim Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/27/2004 9:02:00 AM
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Here is an email posted some time ago by an archivist in Northern CA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--
Juliet from our local Intergroup has come up with some interesting facts about
the 20 questions.
Below is a snippet from an e-mail I received from a contact from Johns
Hopkins' media relations department:
This is from a faculty member in our Psychiatry dept.
"The Johns Hopkins Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed in
the 1930s by Dr. Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty member in the
Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was intended for
use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine the extent of one's
alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by professionals as a screening
tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of alcoholism in their patients. We do
not use this questionnaire at any of the Johns Hopkins substance abuse
treatment programs. To the best of my knowledge, there have never been any
reliable or validated studies conducted using the Hopkins Twenty Questions. I
advise you to consider using other instruments such as the Michigan Alcoholism
Screening Test or the CAGE -- both of which have proven reliability and
validity as reported in the scientific literature."
So, the questions should be attributed to Dr.Robert Seliger of Johns Hopkins
(in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer advocate their
use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all earlier from the
Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had requested that GSO not
attribute those questions to their institution in the pamphlet "Memo to an
Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."
If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I have a
contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in contact with
the faculty member who knew the history of this document and who recommended
that we not use it. She was very adamant about it--in a second e-mail to me,
she said that she'd grant permission to any AA group who wanted to use it, but
that she really recommended that we don't.
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++++Message 2001. . . . . . . . . . . . Rule 62
From: Jack Frost . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/27/2004 7:10:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Anyone know in what literature are there references to Rule 62, and
when it was originally used? Thanx!
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++++Message 2002. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Dates on the 20 questions
From: Dean @ e-AA . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/27/2004 10:18:00 AM
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butterfly2479 wrote: "The 20 questions are often
sited and used ... Can anyone verify the ORIGINAL date on the JOHN HOPKINS
TEST FOR ALCOHOLISM. And what are your sources please?
Somewhere, and I can't put my finger on it now, there was a post about this.
It could have been on another list. However, the substance was that there
was correspondence between GSO and Johns Hopkins University about this
questionnaire. The university replied that a faculty member had developed
the questionnaire but it was not approved or used by the university -- and
the university doesn't/didn't use it. (Additionally, they suggested using
something other than the questionnaire.)
I'll try to find that email. I know I still have it ... somewhere.
-- Dean Collins
Monterey Peninsula, California
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++++Message 2003. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Rule 62
From: Russ S . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/28/2004 9:31:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"When A.A. was still young, lots of eager groups were forming. In a town we'll
call Middleton, a real crackerjack had started up. The townspeople were as hot
as firecrackers about it. Stargazing, the elders dreamed of innovations. They
figured the town needed a great big alcoholic center, a kind of pilot plant
A.A. groups could duplicate everywhere. Beginning on the ground floor there
would be a club; in the second story they would sober up drunks and hand them
currency for their back debts; the third deck would house an educational
project - quite noncontroversial, of course. In imagination the gleaming
center was to go up several stories more, but three would do for a start. This
would all take a lot of money - other people's money. Believe it or not,
wealthy townsfolk bought the idea.
There were, though, a few conservative dissenters among the alcoholics. They
wrote the Foundation * , A.A.'s headquarters in New York, wanting to know
about this sort of streamlining. They understood that the elders, just to nail
things down good, were about to apply to the Foundation for a charter. These
few were disturbed and skeptical.
Of course, there was a promoter in the deal - a super-promoter. By his
eloquence he allayed all fears, despite advice from the Foundation that it
could issue no charter, and that ventures which mixed an A.A. group with
medication and education had come to sticky ends elsewhere. To make things
safer, the promoter organized three corporations and became president of them
all. Freshly painted, the new center shone. The warmth of it all spread
through the town. Soon things began to hum. To insure foolproof, continuous
operation, sixty-one rules and regulations were adopted.
But alas, this bright scene was not long in darkening. Confusion replaced
serenity. It was found that some drunks yearned for education, but doubted if
they were alcoholics. The personality defects of others could be cured maybe
with a loan. Some were club-minded, but it was just a question of taking care
of the lonely heart. Sometimes the swarming applicants would go for all three
floors. Some would start at the top and come through to the bottom, becoming
club members; others started in the club, pitched a binge, were hospitalized,
then graduated to education on the third floor.
It was a beehive of activity, all right, but unlike a beehive, it was
confusion compounded. An A.A. group, as such, simply couldn't handle this sort
of project. All too late that was discovered. Then came the inevitable
explosion - something like that day the boiler burst in Wombley's Clapboard
Factory. A chill chokedamp of fear and frustration fell over the group.
When that lifted, a wonderful thing had happened. The head promoter wrote the
Foundation office. He said he wished he'd paid some attention to A.A.
experience. Then he did something else that was to become an A.A. classic. It
all went on a little card about golf-score size. The cover read: "Middleton
Group #1. Rule #62." Once the card was unfolded, a single pungent sentence
leaped to the eye: "Don't take yourself too damn seriously."
Thus it was that under Tradition Four an A.A. group had exercised its right to
be wrong. Moreover, it had performed a great service for Alcoholics Anonymous,
because it had been humbly willing to apply the lessons it learned. It had
picked itself up with a laugh and gone on to better things. Even the chief
architect, standing in the ruins of his dream, could laugh at himself - and
that is the very acme of humility."
* In 1954, the name of the Alcoholic Foundation, Inc., was
changed to the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Inc., and the Foundation office is now the General Service Office.
pgs 147-149 Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Jack Frost [mailto:jfrostburien@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 8:11 AM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Rule 62
Anyone know in what literature are there references to Rule 62, and
when it was originally used? Thanx!
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2004. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 20 Questions
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/28/2004 8:11:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Since the 20 questions were used for years and atrributed to Johns Hopkins,
it's rather embarrassing to learnh that they didn't really have backing from
the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
But we no longer need them. AA has 12 questions in the pamphlet "Is AA for
You?" which should suffice very well. Just walk a newcomer through those 12
questions and it should be immediately clear whether there's a serious
drinking problem there.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Blair
To: AA History Lovers
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] 20 Questions
Here is an email posted some time ago by an archivist in Northern CA.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Juliet from our local Intergroup has come up with some interesting facts
about the 20 questions.
Below is a snippet from an e-mail I received from a contact from Johns
Hopkins' media relations department:
This is from a faculty member in our Psychiatry dept.
"The Johns Hopkins Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed in
the 1930s by Dr. Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty member in
the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was intended
for use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine the extent of one's
alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by professionals as a screening
tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of alcoholism in their patients. We
do not use this questionnaire at any of the Johns Hopkins substance abuse
treatment programs. To the best of my knowledge, there have never been any
reliable or validated studies conducted using the Hopkins Twenty Questions.
I advise you to consider using other instruments such as the Michigan
Alcoholism Screening Test or the CAGE -- both of which have proven
reliability and validity as reported in the scientific literature."
So, the questions should be attributed to Dr.Robert Seliger of Johns Hopkins
(in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer advocate their
use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all earlier from the
Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had requested that GSO not
attribute those questions to their institution in the pamphlet "Memo to an
Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."
If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I have a
contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in contact
with the faculty member who knew the history of this document and who
recommended that we not use it. She was very adamant about it--in a second
e-mail to me, she said that she'd grant permission to any AA group who
wanted to use it, but that she really recommended that we don't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
9:55:16 AM ET - 8/28/2004
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++++Message 2005. . . . . . . . . . . . 1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
From: Gilbert Gamboa . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/29/2004 9:04:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
This question is for anyone who can direct me in the direction of info on Dick
P the
mexican AA member who joined in 1940 in Cleveland I believe..Mel B you might
recall all this,but I believe him to be the key figure in the translation of
the Big Book into spanish words???..all info on this would be greatly
appreciated,and although the hard work has been done in translating this book
to spanish,there is yet a harder piece Ive encountered and that is to
pronounce the words correctly and put an exact definition to the meaning in
spanish....
seek,Trust,and serve
Gilbert G.-Dallas,TX.
Mel Barger wrote:
Since the 20 questions were used for years and atrributed to Johns Hopkins,
it's rather embarrassing to learnh that they didn't really have backing from
the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
But we no longer need them. AA has 12 questions in the pamphlet "Is AA for
You?" which should suffice very well. Just walk a newcomer through those 12
questions and it should be immediately clear whether there's a serious
drinking problem there.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Blair
To: AA History Lovers
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] 20 Questions
Here is an email posted some time ago by an archivist in Northern CA.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
Juliet from our local Intergroup has come up with some interesting facts
about the 20 questions.
Below is a snippet from an e-mail I received from a contact from Johns
Hopkins' media relations department:
This is from a faculty member in our Psychiatry dept.
"The Johns Hopkins Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed
in the 1930s by Dr. Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty member
in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It was
intended for use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine the
extent of one's alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by
professionals as a screening tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of
alcoholism in their patients. We do not use this questionnaire at any of
the Johns Hopkins substance abuse treatment programs. To the best of my
knowledge, there have never been any reliable or validated studies
conducted using the Hopkins
Twenty Questions. I advise you to consider using other instruments such as
the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or the CAGE -- both of which have
proven reliability and validity as reported in the scientific literature."
So, the questions should be attributed to Dr.Robert Seliger of Johns
Hopkins (in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer
advocate their use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all
earlier from the Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had
requested that GSO not attribute those questions to their institution in
the pamphlet "Memo to an Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."
If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I have
a contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in
contact with the faculty member who knew the history of this document and
who recommended that we not use it. She was very adamant about it--in a
second e-mail to me, she said that she'd
grant permission to any AA group who wanted to use it, but that she really
recommended that we don't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [108]
9:55:16 AM ET - 8/28/2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now [106] .
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2006. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/30/2004 1:16:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Hi Gilbert,
I called the Cleveland Central Office re your request. The gentleman was Dick
Perez and he and his wife both translated materials into Spanish. Dick passed
away in 1988, about seven years after retiring from the Central Office. His
wife is also deceased. My source for this information is Elvira A., who has
worked at the central office in Cleveland for 28 years. She is getting
together information about Dick. You may call her at (216) 241-7387.
I do recall talking by phone with Dick in 1980, a short time before he
retired. I was trying to interview Cleveland oldtimers for "Pass It On," and
he gave me some leads.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Gilbert Gamboa
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, August 29, 2004 10:04 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] 1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
This question is for anyone who can direct me in the direction of info on
Dick P the
mexican AA member who joined in 1940 in Cleveland I believe..Mel B you might
recall all this,but I believe him to be the key figure in the translation of
the Big Book into spanish words???..all info on this would be greatly
appreciated,and although the hard work has been done in translating this
book to spanish,there is yet a harder piece Ive encountered and that is to
pronounce the words correctly and put an exact definition to the meaning in
spanish....
seek,Trust,and serve
Gilbert G.-Dallas,TX.
Mel Barger wrote:
Since the 20 questions were used for years and atrributed to Johns
Hopkins, it's rather embarrassing to learnh that they didn't really have
backing from the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
But we no longer need them. AA has 12 questions in the pamphlet "Is AA for
You?" which should suffice very well. Just walk a newcomer through those
12 questions and it should be immediately clear whether there's a serious
drinking problem there.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Blair
To: AA History Lovers
Sent: Friday, August 27, 2004 10:02 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] 20 Questions
Here is an email posted some time ago by an archivist in Northern CA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
Juliet from our local Intergroup has come up with some interesting facts
about the 20 questions.
Below is a snippet from an e-mail I received from a contact from Johns
Hopkins' media relations department:
This is from a faculty member in our Psychiatry dept.
"The Johns Hopkins Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed
in the 1930s by Dr. Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty
member in the Department of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. It
was intended for use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine the
extent of one's alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by
professionals as a screening tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of
alcoholism in their patients. We do not use this questionnaire at any of
the Johns Hopkins substance abuse treatment programs. To the best of my
knowledge, there have never been any reliable or validated studies
conducted using the Hopkins Twenty Questions. I advise you to consider
using other instruments such as the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test
or the CAGE -- both of which have proven reliability and validity as
reported in the scientific literature."
So, the questions should be attributed to Dr.Robert Seliger of Johns
Hopkins (in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer
advocate their use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all
earlier from the Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had
requested that GSO not attribute those questions to their institution in
the pamphlet "Memo to an Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."
If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I
have a contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in
contact with the faculty member who knew the history of this document
and who recommended that we not use it. She was very adamant about
it--in a second e-mail to me, she said that she'd grant permission to
any AA group who wanted to use it, but that she really recommended that
we don't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [108]
9:55:16 AM ET - 8/28/2004
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Win 1 of 4,000 free domain names from Yahoo! Enter now [106] .
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This message was scanned by GatewayDefender [4]
9:32:02 AM ET - 8/30/2004
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2007. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: 1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
From: Bob McK . . . . . . . . . . . . 8/31/2004 6:24:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">The March 1946 Cleveland _Central
Bulletin _had this article on pg. 4:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">THE BOOK IS TRANSLATED
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;"> Ricardo P. of the Mexican
Consullate[sic] in Cleveland,
and
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">tremendously impressed with the work of
AA, has trans-
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">lated the entire AA book in the Spanish
language, and it
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">will soon be printed in Mexico for the
benefit of its people.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">Ric is to be commended for this fine
demonstration of
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">The 12th step.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy;">
-----
*From:* Mel Barger
[mailto:melb@accesstoledo.com]
*Sent:* Monday, August 30, 2004 2:16 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers]
1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
12.0pt;">
Hi Gilbert,
I called the Cleveland Central Office re your
request. The gentleman was Dick Perez and he and his wife both translated
materials into Spanish. Dick passed away in 1988, about seven years after
retiring from the Central Office. His wife is also deceased. My
source for this information is Elvira A., who has worked at the central office
in Cleveland
for 28 years. She is getting together information about Dick. You
may call her at (216) 241-7387.
I do recall talking by phone with Dick in 1980, a
short time before he retired. I was trying to interview Cleveland oldtimers
for "Pass It
On," and he gave me some leads.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
13.5pt;">melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Gilbert Gamboa
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:* Sunday, August 29, 2004 10:04 PM
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
1940 AA/mexicanMemberCleveland
12.0pt;">
12.0pt;">This question is for anyone who can direct me in the direction of
info
on Dick P the
12.0pt;">mexican AA member who joined in 1940 in Cleveland I believe..Mel B
you might
12.0pt;">recall all this,but I believe him to be the key figure in the
translation of the Big Book into spanish words???..all info on this would be
greatly appreciated,and although the hard work has been done in translating
this book to spanish,there is yet a harder piece Ive encountered and that
is to pronounce the words correctly and put an exact definition to the
meaning
in spanish....
12.0pt;">
seek,Trust,and serve
12.0pt;"> Gilbert
G.-Dallas,TX.
12.0pt;">
_Mel Barger
_ wrote:
Since the 20 questions were used for years and
atrributed to Johns Hopkins, it's rather embarrassing to learnh that they
didn't really have backing from the Johns
Hopkins Hospital.
But we no longer need them. AA has 12
questions in the pamphlet "Is AA for You?" which should suffice very
well. Just walk a newcomer through those 12 questions and it should be
immediately clear whether there's a serious drinking problem there.
Mel Barger
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
13.5pt;">melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Jim Blair
*To:* AA History Lovers
*Sent:* Friday, August 27, 2004 10:02 AM
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers]
20 Questions
12.0pt;">
Here is an email posted some time ago by an archivist in Northern CA.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
12.0pt;">
Juliet from our local Intergroup has
come up with some interesting facts about the 20 questions.
Below is a snippet from an e-mail I received from a contact from Johns
Hopkins'
media relations department:
This is from a faculty member in our Psychiatry dept.
"The Johns Hopkins
Twenty Questions: Are You An Alcoholic? was developed in the 1930s by
Dr.
Robert Seliger, who at that time was a faculty member in the Department
of
Psychiatry at the Johns
Hopkins Hospital.
It was intended for use as a self-assessment questionnaire to determine
the
extent of one's alcohol use. It was not intended to be used by
professionals as
a screening tool to help them formulate a diagnosis of alcoholism in
their
patients. We do not use this questionnaire at any of the Johns
Hopkins substance abuse treatment programs. To the best of my knowledge,
there have never been any reliable or validated studies conducted using
the
Hopkins Twenty Questions. I advise you to consider using other
instruments such as the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test or the CAGE
--
both of which have proven reliability and validity as reported in the
scientific
literature."
So, the questions should be attributed to Dr.Robert Seliger of Johns
Hopkins
(in the 1930s), not to Johns Hopkins itself as they no longer advocate
their
use. I note as well that the e-mail I sent to you all earlier from the
Literature Desk at GSO stated that the hospital had requested that GSO
not
attribute those questions to their institution in the pamphlet "Memo to
an
Inmate Who May Be an Alcoholic."
If you know anyone who would like permission to reprint this piece, I
have a
contact at Johns Hopkins to whom I can refer them. I have been in
contact
with the faculty member who knew the history of this document and who
recommended that we not use it. She was very adamant about it--in a
second e-mail to me, she said that she'd grant permission to any AA
group who
wanted to use it, but that she really recommended that we don't.
12.0pt;">
------------------------
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12.0pt;">
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++++Message 2008. . . . . . . . . . . . How It Works.
From: WCompWdsUnl@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/2/2004 2:30:00 AM
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Would anyone who has any information on the sequence of events that led to the
changing of the manuscript for How It Works, provide this information. I am
interested in knowing what sources of AA History, besides AA Comes of Age
provide information as to the actual events that led to the "flying back and
forth between New York and Akron consultation during the book writing process"
and decisions to revise the original submission by Bill Wilson. Why was the
edited version approved by the first 100, instead of the original submission?
I am mainly concerned with what the reasons were for the consultation and
editing? Why was the original submission edited during consultation?
Sincerely
Larry W.
Atlanta, Georgia
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++++Message 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: How It Works.
From: Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/2/2004 10:41:00 AM
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Hi
Larry
The
progressive development of the Big Book is mapped out in a number of
historical
writings. The book 'Not God'' is a valuable companion reading to AA Comes of
Age.
However, when it comes to outlining many of the underlying reasons 'why'' the
Big Book developed as it did, AA Comes of Age is hard to beat in answering
those questions. Below is a timeline sequence extracted from the reference
sources noted. I'll also send you a separate e-mail that contains a transcript
of a 1954 talk in Fort Worth,
TX by Bill W on how the Big Book
was developed.
Cheers
Arthur
*Reference Sources:*
AACOA _AA Comes of Age_, AAWS
AGAA _The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics
Anonymous_, by Dick B (soft cover)
BW-RT _Bill W_ by Robert
Thompson (soft cover)
BW-FH _Bill W_ by Francis
Hartigan (hard cover)
DBGO _Dr Bob and the Good Old-timers_,
AAWS
GB _Getting Better Inside Alcoholics
Anonymous_ by Nan Robertson (soft cover)
GTBT _Grateful to Have Been There_by Nell Wing (soft cover)
LOH _The Language of the Heart_,
AA Grapevine Inc
LR _Lois Remembers_, by
Lois Wilson
NG _Not God_, by Ernest
Kurtz (expanded edition, soft cover)
PIO _Pass It On_, AAWS
SM _AA Service Manual and Twelve
Concepts for World Service__,_
AAWS
SW _Silkworth - the Little Doctor Who
Loved Drunks_, by Dale Mitchell (hard cover)
WPR _Women Pioneers in 12 Step Recovery_,
by Charlotte Hunter, Billye Jones and Joan Ziegler (soft cover)
www *Internet
Sources* (e.g. Google, Microsoft Encarta, US National Archives &
Records Administration NARA)
*1937*
Nov,
Bill W and Dr Bob met in Akron and compared notes. 40 cases were sober
(more than 20 for over a year). All once diagnosed as hopeless. In a meeting
at
T Henry Williams' home, Bill's ideas, for a book, hospitals and how to expand
the movement with paid missionaries, narrowly passed by 2 votes among 18
members.
The NY group was more enthusiastic. (AACOA vii, 76-77, 144-146, BW-RT 239-243,
DBGO 123-124, NG 56-57, PIO 180, LOH 142)
*1938*
May
20, (PIO 193 and AACOA 153 say Mar/Apr) beginning of the writing of the Big
Book at Hank P's office (Honors Dealers, 17 William St in Newark, NJ).
Bill W wrote, edited and rewrote manuscripts at home on legal pads then
dictated chapters to Ruth Hock (nicknamed 'Dutch'' - short for 'Duchess'').
Most
of the early hand-written Big Book manuscript documents were lost during a
later
move from Newark
to NYC. (AACOA vii, 159, BW-RT 248-250, LR 197, BW-FH 115, PIO 193, 235, GB
55,
LOH 106-107, WPR 79)
Jun,
Bill W wrote to Dr Bob 'By the way, you might all be thinking up a good title.
Nearly everyone agrees that we should sign the volume _Alcoholics Anonymous_.
Titles such as _Haven, One Hundred Men, Comes the Dawn_,
etc. have been suggested.'' (NG 74-75, 333)
Jun
15, Lois' recollection of the first use of the term _
italic;">Alcoholics Anonymous_. (LR 197)
Jul
18, Dr Esther L Richards (of Johns Hopkins) stated in a letter that Bill W, at
that time, was using the name _Alcoholics
Anonymous_ both as the working title of the book and as the name of
the Fellowship. (PIO 202)
Jul
27, Dr William Duncan Silkworth wrote a letter of support for AA for use in
fundraising for the book. The letter was incorporated into the chapter _The
Doctor's Opinion_. (SW center-fold
photo exhibits, AACOA 168) Dr Esther L Richards of Baltimore had suggested to
Bill W to get a
'Number one physician'' in the alcoholism field to write an introduction. (NG
332)
Sep,
Board Trustee Frank Amos arranged a meeting between Bill W and Eugene Exman
(Religious Editor of Harper Brothers publishers). Exman offered Bill a $1,500
advance ($19,400 today) on the rights to the book. The Alcoholic Foundation
Board urged acceptance of the offer. Instead, Hank P and Bill formed Works
Publishing Co. and sold stock at $25 par value ($325 today). 600 shares were
issued: Hank and Bill received 200 shares each, 200 shares were sold to
others.
Later, 30 shares of preferred stock, at $100 par value ($1,300 today) were
sold
as well. To mollify the board, it was decided that the author's royalty (which
would ordinarily be Bill's) could go to the Alcoholic Foundation. (LR 197,
BW-FH 116-119, SM S6, PIO 193-195, AACOA 157, 188) Encouraged by Dr Silkworth,
Charles Towns loaned Hank and Bill $2,500 for
the book. It was later increased to $4,000. ($52,000 today). (PIO 196, SM S7,
LOH 176, AACOA 13-14, 153-159)
Oct,
Bill W's recollection of the first use of the term _
italic;">Alcoholics Anonymous_. (AACOA 165, PIO 202)
Dec,
the Twelve Steps were written at 182 Clinton St (in about 30 minutes).
Much argument (sometimes heated) ensued over their wording. (LOH 200, AACOA
vii, 160-163, BW-RT 253, PIO 197-199, GB 55-57, AGAA 260)
*1939*
Jan,
The draft book text and personal stories were completed. (AACOA 164, BW-RT
255)
Jan,
400 multilith copies of the book were distributed for evaluation. Each copy
was
stamped 'Loan Copy'' to protect the coming copyright. (AACOA 165, LR 197, NG
74,
319, PIO 200) NY member Jim B (_Vicious Cycle_)
suggested the phrases '_God as we understand
Him''_ and '_Power greater than
ourselves_'' be added to the Steps and basic text. Bill W later wrote
'Those expressions, as we so well know today, have proved lifesavers for many
an alcoholic.'' (LOH 201) Note: Jim B later moved to Philadelphia, PA
in Feb 1940 and started AA there. He also helped start AA in Baltimore, MD.
(AACOA 17, BW-FH 140, GTBT 137, WPR 81)
Feb/Mar
(?), The distributed multilith copies were returned, but reader's comments
produced few alterations in the final text. A major change did occur at the
suggestion of a Montclair, NJ psychiatrist, Dr Howard, who recommended
toning down the use of 'musts'' and changing them to 'we ought'' or 'we
should.''
Dr Silkworth and Dr Tiebout offered similar advice. (AACOA 167-168 NG 67-77)
Mar
(?), The much changed book manuscript was turned over to Tom Uzzell. He was a
friend of Hank P, an editor at _Collier's_
and a member of the NYU faculty. The manuscript was variously estimated as 600
to
1,200 pages (including personal stories). Uzzell reduced it to approximately
400 pages. Most cuts came from the personal stories, which had also been
edited
by Jim S (_The News Hawk_)a journalist from Akron, OH.
(AACOA 164, BW-FH 126, PIO 203)
Mar,
(?), Bill W, Hank P, Ruth Hock and Dorothy S (wife of Cleveland pioneer
Clarence S) drove to Cornwall, NY and presented a much altered manuscript to
the printing plant of Cornwall Press. When the plant manager saw the condition
of the manuscript, he almost sent them back to type a clean copy. Hank P
persuaded the manager to accept the manuscript on condition that the group
would examine and correct galley proofs as they came off the press. The group
checked in to a local hotel and spent the next several days proofreading
galleys. (AACOA 170-171, WPR 81-82)
Apr,
4,730 copies of the first Ed. of _Alcoholics Anonymous_ were published at a
selling price of $3.50 ($46 today). The printer, Edward Blackwell of Cornwall
Press, was told to use the thickest paper in his shop. The large, bulky volume
became known as the 'Big Book.'' The idea was to convince the alcoholic he was
getting his money's worth. (AACOA viii, 170, NG 76, PIO 204-205, GB 59) Ray
(_An Artist's Concept_) designed the 'circus
color'' dust jacket. The book had 8 roman and 400 Arabic numbered pages. _The
Doctor's Opinion_ started as page 1 and
the basic text ended at page 174. The manuscript story of an Akron member, _
italic;">Ace Full - Seven - Eleven,_ was dropped (reputedly, because
he was not too pleased with changes made to the first drafts of the Steps and
text). 29 stories were included (10 from the east coast, 18 from the mid-west
and 1 from the west coast - which was ghost written by Ruth Hock and later
removed from the book) (www)
-----
*From:*
WCompWdsUnl@aol.com [mailto:WCompWdsUnl@aol.com]
*Sent:* Thursday, September 02, 2004
6:31 AM
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* [AAHistoryLovers] How It
Works.
12.0pt;">
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">Would anyone who has any information on
the *sequence of
events* that led to the changing of the
manuscript for How It Works, provide this information. I am interested in
knowing what sources of AA History, besides *AA Comes of Age** *provide
information as to the actual events that led to the "flying back and
forth between New York and Akron consultation during the book writing process"
and decisions to revise the original submission by Bill Wilson. Why
was the edited version approved by the first 100, instead of the
original submission? I am mainly concerned with what the reasons
were for the consultation and editing? Why was the original submission
edited during consultation?
Sincerely
Larry W.
Atlanta, Georgia
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black;">
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++++Message 2010. . . . . . . . . . . . Steps done quickly?
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/7/2004 3:08:00 PM
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Arial;">Dear History Lovers,
Arial;">
Arial;">There is an example of the "Six Step Process" being completed in
"three
or four hours" in Earl Treat's Story "He
sold Himself Short."
Arial;">(p.292 - 3rd edition of the Big Book). I believe this event took place
in the
summer of 1937. My question is this: Is there documentation of the Step
process
being done that quickly in later years after we had 12 Steps? I am referring
mostly to the years of the early
1940s.
Arial;">
Arial;">Thank you for documented response.
Arial;">
Arial;">Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 2011. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Steps done quickly?
From: recoveredbygrace . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/9/2004 4:12:00 PM
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Bob,One example I know of is Clarence S.`s story,Home Brewmiester.
If you can get a tape of his talk,he describes the process Dr. Bob
took him thru and how he did it untill he passed away.
Another example is to research the " Little Red Book`s " history and
you will see it came from beginners meetings from the 1940`s.The
beginners were put thru 4 one hour classes where they took the 12
steps ,if at all possible.Some people took a little longer.After
completing the classes and steps,they were invited to a official AA
meeting.
Hope this helps,Tom
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Stonebraker"
wrote:
> Dear History Lovers,
>
> There is an example of the "Six Step Process" being completed in
"three or
> four hours" in Earl Treat's Story "He sold Himself Short."
> (p.292 - 3rd edition of the Big Book). I believe this event took
place in
> the summer of 1937. My question is this: Is there documentation
of the
> Step process being done that quickly in later years after we had 12
Steps?
> I am referring mostly to the years of the early 1940s.
>
> Thank you for documented response.
>
> Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 2012. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Re: Steps done quickly? and
history of the little red book
From: big book lover . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/10/2004 6:21:00 PM
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The Little Red Book comes out of Nicolette group and was published two years
prior to the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
It was edited by Dr. Bob.
Further documentation of the Little Red Book is in a discontinued published
book by the same author called Our Devilish Alcoholic Personalities. I have
a Xeroxed copy of that book.
There are letters from Bill Wilson regarding the Little Red Book and his
opinion on it.
There are pictures of the primary author in Dr. Bob and the Good Old Timers.
The Little Red Book was originally published by ? Merriam Cobb in
Minneapolis in 1948.
Hope this is of assistance.
Stephanie Burgess
Caledonia, Michigan
-----Original Message-----
From: recoveredbygrace [mailto:recoveredbygrace@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 09, 2004 5:12 PM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Steps done quickly?
Bob,One example I know of is Clarence S.`s story,Home Brewmiester.
If you can get a tape of his talk,he describes the process Dr. Bob
took him thru and how he did it untill he passed away.
Another example is to research the " Little Red Book`s " history and
you will see it came from beginners meetings from the 1940`s.The
beginners were put thru 4 one hour classes where they took the 12
steps ,if at all possible.Some people took a little longer.After
completing the classes and steps,they were invited to a official AA
meeting.
Hope this helps,Tom
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.759 / Virus Database: 508 - Release Date: 9/9/2004
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++++Message 2013. . . . . . . . . . . . Sister Ignatia and St. Thomas
Hospital, Akron
From: caseyosh . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/17/2004 8:39:00 AM
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Dear History Lovers,
Some time in the past I saw, in an unremembered text, a picture
of a medallion or article that Sister Ignatia is reported as having
given to alcoholics who passed through St. Thomas Hospital, Akron,
during her activities thereat.
I'd appreciate any information you could provide that would
reconnect me with the source of that picture and the text wherein it
is contained.
Thanks much,
Casey (7/19/75)
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++++Message 2014. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Sister Ignatia and St. Thomas
Hospital, Akron
From: James Bliss . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/18/2004 11:03:00 PM
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I am not certain this is what you are looking for, but there is a picture
of Sister Ignatia on page 186 of _DR. Bob and the Good Oldtimers_ and on
page 195 it states:
'Sister Ignatia gave each of her newly released patients a Sacred Heart
medallion, which she asked them to return before they took the first
drink. She would occasionally give out St. Christopher medals as well,
but she would tell the recipient not to drive too fast. "He gets out
after 50 miles an hour," she warned'
Hope that helps.
Jim
On Friday 17 September 2004 8:39 am, caseyosh wrote:
> Dear History Lovers,
> Some time in the past I saw, in an unremembered text, a picture
> of a medallion or article that Sister Ignatia is reported as having
> given to alcoholics who passed through St. Thomas Hospital, Akron,
> during her activities thereat.
> I'd appreciate any information you could provide that would
> reconnect me with the source of that picture and the text wherein it
> is contained.
> Thanks much,
> Casey (7/19/75)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
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++++Message 2015. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Steps done quickly?
From: unclebearboy@yahoo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/19/2004 8:38:00 AM
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This is how Sister Ignatia did it:
Day 1 - Admit to hospital, Detox
2 - Day of Recognition (Steps 1-3)
3 - Day of Moral Inventory
4 - Day of Resolution
5 - Plans for the future
________________________________
The article is copied here, but better to view
here ==> http://www.midlandaa.org/AAhistory/care_of_alcoholics.html
________________________________
THE CARE OF ALCOHOLICS
St. Thomas Hospital And A.A. Started
A Movement Which Swept The Country
By Sister M. Ignatia, C.S.A. St. Thomas Hospital, Akron, Ohio
From the October 1951 issue of "Hospital Progress" (the official
journal of the Catholic Hospital)
Nearly 12 years ago, one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous
(Dr. Bob) was on our staff. He was a skilled proctologist, and was
on our staff five years before we knew that he had a drinking
problem. We would not have known it then had he not volunteered the
information.
Dr. Bob often discussed the problem of alcoholism with us, with
regard to auto accidents and other tragedies caused by excessive
drinking. Many of these cases had to be admitted to the hospital
even though they were intoxicated. After talking with members of the
families of these compulsive drinkers and realizing the suffering
brought into the homes of these afflicted people because of drink, we
became deeply interested in the plan which Dr. Bob unfolded to use.
This was in 1939, just about the time we were trying to pull out of
the depression. Hospital beds were at a premium, without any
prospect of adding to our bed capacity. There was very little
enthusiasm around the hospital about admitting who were imbibing too
freely in those days.
However, prompted by the grace of God, we very cautiously admitted
one patient, with the diagnosis of acute gastritis, under the care of
Dr. Bob. The patient was placed in a two-bed room. The next morning
Dr Bob came to the admitting office and very timidly requested that
the patient be moved to a spot where the men who came to visit him
might talk with him privately. The only available space we could
think of was a small room across the hall called the "flower room",
where patients' flowers were changed and arranged. We pushed the
alcoholic's bed into this room. It was there that he received his
first A.A. visitors. The men who came to visit him were such
respectable, dignified-appearing men that we could hardly believe
they had ever been addicted to alcohol.
We then set aside a two-bed room, then a four and later a six-bed
room ward. Today our A.A. ward has eight beds, adjourning a corridor
which serves as a lounge. The corridor opens the gallery of our
chapel.
Our alcoholic ward is not a great problem. It is simply a large room
with accommodations in one end for eight beds. The other end of the
room is a small lounge with comfortable chairs, a davenport, a "bar",
a coffee urn, and an ice-box. To the rear of this ward-lounge is a
room with a lavatory and shower into which the new man is brought for
admission to the ward.
An important point is that he is helped out of his street clothes and
into hospital attire BY OTHER PATIENTS IN THE WARD. The advantage
for the new patient is that, from the first, he is in the care of
understanding friends. The advantage for the older patients who
perform this duty is that they are thus able to see themselves again
as they were upon admission. Administratively, an economy is
effected by thus eliminating the need for hard-to-get employees.
Directly across the hall from our ward-lounge is the choir-loft of
our chapel, which permits A.A. patients to hear Mass every day if
they wish and to make visits in hospital attire when they so desire -
all in complete seclusion. Bearing in mind always that the alcoholic
is a person who is sick spiritually as well as physically. The ready
access he is thus given to the source of spiritual healing is a
powerful factor in his recovery.
To return to the mechanical operation of the ward, it can be stated
that it is almost wholly self-operating. A nurses' aide comes in to
make beds and an A.A. employee does the heavier cleaning. The
cleaning of ashtrays, the making of coffee - the coffee urn is in
operation 24 hours each day - the washing of coffee cups, all of this
is done by the patients themselves. Usually they welcome these small
opportunities to busy themselves and thus keep their minds off their
problems. Activity eliminates brooding, and the volume of such work
is never great at any time.
The function of the lounge is to provide a place where the patient
can chat with A.A. visitors and listen to informal talks. A
secondary value, but a most important one to the former patient is
that by visiting current A.A. patients the former patient helps to
perpetuate his own sobriety. It is axiomatic that the alcoholic is
never "cured"; his ailment is simply arrested but it is positively
arrested if he perseveres in the program. The visitors' lounge
(which is supplemented by chairs in the hallway that divides the ward
from the choir-loft) helps not only to aid the current patient to
sobriety but also to preserve and perpetuate the sobriety of former
patients.
The ice-box is kept stocked with food and particularly with milk and
citrus juice, for the alcoholic is frequently an undernourished
person. The patients are encouraged to eat at will. The coffee urn
and bar are the A.A. equivalent for the brass rail and bottles of the
drinking days.
The A.A. visitors perform a multitude of chores for the current
patients. Sometimes they secure a job or effect a family
reconciliation or pacify a creditor pressing for payment of a bill.
These and other services are done by A.A.'s for the dual purpose of
showing true Christian brotherhood and as a means of perpetuating and
insuring their own sobriety.
HOSPITAL PROCEDURE
We begin where reality begins for the alcoholic. Reality for the
alcoholic is drinking. It is most important that the approach be
made through another alcoholic - a sponsor. The sponsor speaks the
language of the alcoholic. He knows "all the tricks of the trade",
because of personal experience.
Those of us who have anything to do with admitting these patients
would do well to have the humility to rely upon the judgment of the
sponsor. Let him decide when the patient is ready for the program.
We do not accept repeaters! Sponsors know this, hence they are very
careful to qualify the person before bringing him into the hospital.
Above all, he must have a sincere desire to stop drinking. Wives,
relatives, friends, and well-meaning employers may try to high-
pressure the alcoholic into accepting the program. Someone may even
persuade the family doctor to use his influence with the hospital, so
that the prospect may be admitted into the alcoholic ward.
The role of the sponsor is not an easy one. He leaves nothing undone
to clear away all the ill felling , indignation, and resentment that
have accumulated in the path of his patient. The sponsor acts as a
catalytic agent in combating all adverse forces. He tries to appease
an exasperated wife, talks with the employer, landlord, creditors,
and others. He explains the program, tells them that this is not
simply another "sobering up process". This time he is being treated
not only physically but morally and mentally as well. The sponsor
assures them that with God's grace, their cooperation and the help of
his fellow A.A.'s, his charge will be given a real opportunity to
make a complete recovery.
THE PATIENT ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL
After registration the sponsor escorts his patient to the A.A. ward.
The ward is virtually self-governing. Two or three of the senior
patients in the ward take over and welcome the new patient. They
check his clothes and prepare him for bed. (Many of these patients
are in such good condition that they sit in the lounge and join in
the conversation). Nothing is left undone to make the new man feel
at home. This reception inspires hope in his heart. It also gives
the A.A. patients a splendid opportunity of doing twelfth-step work,
namely, helping others.
The alcoholic is ill, in body, mind, and soul; hence we begin with
the physical care.
SECOND DAY - THE DAY OF RECOGNITION
The physical condition of the patient is usually much improved on the
second day. His mind is beginning to clear. He feels encouraged
because everyone seems interested in him. Visitors call on him,
telling him "This is how I made it". Some of the visitors may be men
with whom he used to drink. The power of example is a great
incentive to the patient. He begins to say to himself, "If he can do
it - so can I. But how am I going to make it?" At this point he
generally has a "heart to heart talk" with his sponsor. He
acknowledges his utter powerlessness over alcohol. He honestly
admits that he has tried innumerable times to drink normally and has
always failed. He is finally ready, honestly and humbly, to admit
defeat. His sponsor is delighted to know that his patient is really
honest about his drinking. The sponsor says, "Good! We can help you
since you are humble and honest".
This is the grace of God at work in the soul of the patient - to
admit helplessness and to seek help outside of self. This may be the
first time the patient has admitted the fact that he is powerless to
help himself.
The next step is humbly to turn to God: "Ask and you shall receive."
Patients have often said that is the first time they sincerely
prayed. The "Our Father" takes on a new meaning at this point. They
feel that they really belong.
THE DAY OF MORAL INVENTORY
The patient makes a searching and fearless moral inventory. He faces
the past and honestly admits to God, to himself, and to another human
being the exact nature of his wrongs. He is finished with alibis and
reservations. "I am an alcoholic, what a joy to be honest! The
truth will make me free." Now he is sincerely asking God's help and
the help of his fellow man.
FOURTH DAY - THE DAY OF RESOLUTION
"Give us this day our daily bread." This is interpreted by the
alcoholics to mean, "I surely can stay sober today." This is usually
followed by an act of complete surrender to God. The past is
finished. "I am heartily sorry." "I'll try to make amends." This
means confession, repentance and firm purpose of amendment. Many
Catholics return to the Sacraments after years of negligence.
Scripture says, "There is more joy in heaven over one sinner doing
penance than 99 just who need not penance." He used to drink because
he felt like it. He permitted his emotions to run away with him.
Now, with God's help and the help of his fellow A.A.'s, with his
clear thinking, he can control his feelings and emotions. Reason now
governs his life. Strong convictions are given him as to why he
cannot take that first drink. He has learned from his fellow
alcoholics that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and that
it is a privilege to help others. What a joy, too! He is kept so
busy helping others that he does not have time to even think about a
drink. What a transformation takes place in the lives of these men
and women!
FIFTH DAY - PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
As he leaves the hospital he must now face him problems. The way has
been paved by the sponsor. The future is in God's hands. He has
learned to say, "O God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know
the difference." He is urged to guard against pride, self-pity,
resentment, intolerance, and criticism; to attend meetings, to do
twelfth-step work, and to visit the hospital. Before leaving the
hospital the patient is given a FOLLOWING OF CHRIST by Thomas A.
Kempis. During his stay in the hospital he learns the significance
of the Little Sacred Heart Badge. He requests one, with a thorough
understanding of conditions implied: that it must be returned before
he takes the first drink.
PATIENTS FROM ALL OVER THE NATION
We have hospitalized well over 4,000 A.A. patients at St. Thomas
Hospital. They have come to Akron from Alabama, South Carolina,
Michigan, Maryland, Texas, and many other distant parts. They would
not have had to travel so far if their local hospitals made it
possible for them to receive the program nearer home.
Time and finances prohibit many from making such a long trip. Many
may be forced to accept treatment under less favorable
circumstances. Our Policy is not to accept alcoholics for re-
hospitalization. We've learned from experience that in institutions
where the majority of the inmates are repeaters the program is
defeated for the new man, because it creates an atmosphere of
pessimism and discouragement. The patient often gives up in
despair. It might have been quite different had he been given the
proper exposure to the program in a spiritual atmosphere as provided
in a local Catholic hospital.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a tremendous movement. According to figures
from the New York office, new members are registered at the rate of
about 1,500 per month. At present there are about 112,000 active
members and some 4,000 chapters scattered throughout the United
States, Canada, Latin America, and 36 other countries.
A priest once told me that the AA program is the most fruitful source
of conversions. It is perhaps the best means by which the work of
the hospital can be interpreted to the community. It gives the
hospital a good name not only with the reformed drunkard, his family,
friends and neighbors; but the whole community can point to something
constructive which the hospital has done. These people are seeking
truth, in other words, they are thirsting for God.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ALCOHOLICS CARE IN ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL
QUESTION: Does admission of inebriated patients cause interference
with hospital routine?
ANSWER: While patients are admitted under the influence of alcohol,
they must be clear enough to acknowledge the fact that alcohol has
become a problem in their lives which they cannot solve without
help. Patients may be noisy for a short time but they usually
respond to treatment and therapy; A.A. patients are frequently less
disturbing than the average patient admitted to the hospital.
QUESTION: How is medical and nursing service provided for the patient?
ANSWER: Patients are taken care of by one of the staff men who
formerly worked with Doctor Bob and took over during the doctor's
illness. He continued the work after Doctor Bob died. The ward is
so located that the general duty nurse on the floor takes care of
patients and carries out the doctor's orders. The nurses' aide stays
about an hour each morning making beds. A member of A.A. is employed
in the ward eight hours a day, where his services are invaluable.
QUESTION: How is psychiatric care provided for these patients?
ANSWER: If a patient requires the services of a psychiatrist the
family and sponsor are notified and are asked to call a psychiatrist
of their own choice or one on the hospital staff. The patient is
moved from the A.A. ward and placed according to the advice of the
psychiatrist.
QUESTION: What are the charges to the patient for hospitalization?
ANSWER: The approximate charge for a period of five days is $75. All
hospital plans accept A.A.'s since we admit them but once for
treatment.
QUESTION: What does the medical treatment consist of?
ANSWER: There is no absolute routine treatment. Each patient is
evaluated according to his needs. An attempt is made to obtain from
the family or sponsor a medical and personal history concerning the
patient. Ideally, it is best for a patient to be admitted after
abstinence from alcohol for several days so that he may be given five
days of the A.A. program. Most of the time it is necessary to give
some medical treatment so that the patient may regain all his
faculties and be responsive to the A.A. treatment.
The following methods, here briefly summarized, have been used and
have been found successful, almost routinely:
1. Spirits of frumenti two ounces; Chloral Hydrate two drams -
every four hours for 24 hours if necessary. A definite attempt is
made to withdraw alcohol completely within 48 hours.
2. Fluids - intravenously.
3. Vitamin B complex - 2 cc daily.
4. Sedation: Sodium Luminol grains two may be given every six
hours the first day and sometimes on the second day. It is given hypo-
dermically so that the patient does not know that he is receiving a
barbiturate. N.B. Barbiturates Are Dangerous to the Alcoholic.
A. HMC No. 1 - We have used HMC several times when the patient
becomes quite unruly and craves alcohol constantly. Usually one
administration is sufficient.
5. Tolserol: Tolserol is used mostly when there are severe
nervous symptoms and the patient complains of inward tension
following adequate fluid intake, abstinence from alcohol and adequate
diet.
6. Adrenal Cordex: We have had some degree of success with
adrenal cortex. We have used the lipotropic cortex - 1 cc every
eight hours - first and second day; once daily thereafter during the
hospital stay, Cortalex in tablet form may be used after leaving the
hospital - two tablets three times daily. The patients state that
they have a sense of well-being, following administration of the
above, but the cost prohibits routine use when the patient responds
to other forms of treatment.
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Stonebraker"
wrote:
> Dear History Lovers,
>
> There is an example of the "Six Step Process" being completed
in "three or
> four hours" in Earl Treat's Story "He sold Himself Short."
> (p.292 - 3rd edition of the Big Book). I believe this event took
place in
> the summer of 1937. My question is this: Is there documentation
of the
> Step process being done that quickly in later years after we had 12
Steps?
> I am referring mostly to the years of the early 1940s.
>
> Thank you for documented response.
>
> Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 2016. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Steps done quickly? WHAT''S THE
HURRY? lol!
From: unclebearboy@yahoo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/19/2004 8:37:00 AM
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This is how Sister Ignatia did it:
Day 1 - Admit to hospital, Detox
2 - Day of Recognition (Steps 1-3)
3 - Day of Moral Inventory
4 - Day of Resolution
5 - Plans for the future
________________________________
The article is copied here, but better to view
here ==> http://www.midlandaa.org/AAhistory/care_of_alcoholics.html
________________________________
THE CARE OF ALCOHOLICS
St. Thomas Hospital And A.A. Started
A Movement Which Swept The Country
By Sister M. Ignatia, C.S.A. St. Thomas Hospital, Akron, Ohio
From the October 1951 issue of "Hospital Progress" (the official
journal of the Catholic Hospital)
Nearly 12 years ago, one of the co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous
(Dr. Bob) was on our staff. He was a skilled proctologist, and was
on our staff five years before we knew that he had a drinking
problem. We would not have known it then had he not volunteered the
information.
Dr. Bob often discussed the problem of alcoholism with us, with
regard to auto accidents and other tragedies caused by excessive
drinking. Many of these cases had to be admitted to the hospital
even though they were intoxicated. After talking with members of the
families of these compulsive drinkers and realizing the suffering
brought into the homes of these afflicted people because of drink, we
became deeply interested in the plan which Dr. Bob unfolded to use.
This was in 1939, just about the time we were trying to pull out of
the depression. Hospital beds were at a premium, without any
prospect of adding to our bed capacity. There was very little
enthusiasm around the hospital about admitting who were imbibing too
freely in those days.
However, prompted by the grace of God, we very cautiously admitted
one patient, with the diagnosis of acute gastritis, under the care of
Dr. Bob. The patient was placed in a two-bed room. The next morning
Dr Bob came to the admitting office and very timidly requested that
the patient be moved to a spot where the men who came to visit him
might talk with him privately. The only available space we could
think of was a small room across the hall called the "flower room",
where patients' flowers were changed and arranged. We pushed the
alcoholic's bed into this room. It was there that he received his
first A.A. visitors. The men who came to visit him were such
respectable, dignified-appearing men that we could hardly believe
they had ever been addicted to alcohol.
We then set aside a two-bed room, then a four and later a six-bed
room ward. Today our A.A. ward has eight beds, adjourning a corridor
which serves as a lounge. The corridor opens the gallery of our
chapel.
Our alcoholic ward is not a great problem. It is simply a large room
with accommodations in one end for eight beds. The other end of the
room is a small lounge with comfortable chairs, a davenport, a "bar",
a coffee urn, and an ice-box. To the rear of this ward-lounge is a
room with a lavatory and shower into which the new man is brought for
admission to the ward.
An important point is that he is helped out of his street clothes and
into hospital attire BY OTHER PATIENTS IN THE WARD. The advantage
for the new patient is that, from the first, he is in the care of
understanding friends. The advantage for the older patients who
perform this duty is that they are thus able to see themselves again
as they were upon admission. Administratively, an economy is
effected by thus eliminating the need for hard-to-get employees.
Directly across the hall from our ward-lounge is the choir-loft of
our chapel, which permits A.A. patients to hear Mass every day if
they wish and to make visits in hospital attire when they so desire -
all in complete seclusion. Bearing in mind always that the alcoholic
is a person who is sick spiritually as well as physically. The ready
access he is thus given to the source of spiritual healing is a
powerful factor in his recovery.
To return to the mechanical operation of the ward, it can be stated
that it is almost wholly self-operating. A nurses' aide comes in to
make beds and an A.A. employee does the heavier cleaning. The
cleaning of ashtrays, the making of coffee - the coffee urn is in
operation 24 hours each day - the washing of coffee cups, all of this
is done by the patients themselves. Usually they welcome these small
opportunities to busy themselves and thus keep their minds off their
problems. Activity eliminates brooding, and the volume of such work
is never great at any time.
The function of the lounge is to provide a place where the patient
can chat with A.A. visitors and listen to informal talks. A
secondary value, but a most important one to the former patient is
that by visiting current A.A. patients the former patient helps to
perpetuate his own sobriety. It is axiomatic that the alcoholic is
never "cured"; his ailment is simply arrested but it is positively
arrested if he perseveres in the program. The visitors' lounge
(which is supplemented by chairs in the hallway that divides the ward
from the choir-loft) helps not only to aid the current patient to
sobriety but also to preserve and perpetuate the sobriety of former
patients.
The ice-box is kept stocked with food and particularly with milk and
citrus juice, for the alcoholic is frequently an undernourished
person. The patients are encouraged to eat at will. The coffee urn
and bar are the A.A. equivalent for the brass rail and bottles of the
drinking days.
The A.A. visitors perform a multitude of chores for the current
patients. Sometimes they secure a job or effect a family
reconciliation or pacify a creditor pressing for payment of a bill.
These and other services are done by A.A.'s for the dual purpose of
showing true Christian brotherhood and as a means of perpetuating and
insuring their own sobriety.
HOSPITAL PROCEDURE
We begin where reality begins for the alcoholic. Reality for the
alcoholic is drinking. It is most important that the approach be
made through another alcoholic - a sponsor. The sponsor speaks the
language of the alcoholic. He knows "all the tricks of the trade",
because of personal experience.
Those of us who have anything to do with admitting these patients
would do well to have the humility to rely upon the judgment of the
sponsor. Let him decide when the patient is ready for the program.
We do not accept repeaters! Sponsors know this, hence they are very
careful to qualify the person before bringing him into the hospital.
Above all, he must have a sincere desire to stop drinking. Wives,
relatives, friends, and well-meaning employers may try to high-
pressure the alcoholic into accepting the program. Someone may even
persuade the family doctor to use his influence with the hospital, so
that the prospect may be admitted into the alcoholic ward.
The role of the sponsor is not an easy one. He leaves nothing undone
to clear away all the ill felling , indignation, and resentment that
have accumulated in the path of his patient. The sponsor acts as a
catalytic agent in combating all adverse forces. He tries to appease
an exasperated wife, talks with the employer, landlord, creditors,
and others. He explains the program, tells them that this is not
simply another "sobering up process". This time he is being treated
not only physically but morally and mentally as well. The sponsor
assures them that with God's grace, their cooperation and the help of
his fellow A.A.'s, his charge will be given a real opportunity to
make a complete recovery.
THE PATIENT ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL
After registration the sponsor escorts his patient to the A.A. ward.
The ward is virtually self-governing. Two or three of the senior
patients in the ward take over and welcome the new patient. They
check his clothes and prepare him for bed. (Many of these patients
are in such good condition that they sit in the lounge and join in
the conversation). Nothing is left undone to make the new man feel
at home. This reception inspires hope in his heart. It also gives
the A.A. patients a splendid opportunity of doing twelfth-step work,
namely, helping others.
The alcoholic is ill, in body, mind, and soul; hence we begin with
the physical care.
SECOND DAY - THE DAY OF RECOGNITION
The physical condition of the patient is usually much improved on the
second day. His mind is beginning to clear. He feels encouraged
because everyone seems interested in him. Visitors call on him,
telling him "This is how I made it". Some of the visitors may be men
with whom he used to drink. The power of example is a great
incentive to the patient. He begins to say to himself, "If he can do
it - so can I. But how am I going to make it?" At this point he
generally has a "heart to heart talk" with his sponsor. He
acknowledges his utter powerlessness over alcohol. He honestly
admits that he has tried innumerable times to drink normally and has
always failed. He is finally ready, honestly and humbly, to admit
defeat. His sponsor is delighted to know that his patient is really
honest about his drinking. The sponsor says, "Good! We can help you
since you are humble and honest".
This is the grace of God at work in the soul of the patient - to
admit helplessness and to seek help outside of self. This may be the
first time the patient has admitted the fact that he is powerless to
help himself.
The next step is humbly to turn to God: "Ask and you shall receive."
Patients have often said that is the first time they sincerely
prayed. The "Our Father" takes on a new meaning at this point. They
feel that they really belong.
THE DAY OF MORAL INVENTORY
The patient makes a searching and fearless moral inventory. He faces
the past and honestly admits to God, to himself, and to another human
being the exact nature of his wrongs. He is finished with alibis and
reservations. "I am an alcoholic, what a joy to be honest! The
truth will make me free." Now he is sincerely asking God's help and
the help of his fellow man.
FOURTH DAY - THE DAY OF RESOLUTION
"Give us this day our daily bread." This is interpreted by the
alcoholics to mean, "I surely can stay sober today." This is usually
followed by an act of complete surrender to God. The past is
finished. "I am heartily sorry." "I'll try to make amends." This
means confession, repentance and firm purpose of amendment. Many
Catholics return to the Sacraments after years of negligence.
Scripture says, "There is more joy in heaven over one sinner doing
penance than 99 just who need not penance." He used to drink because
he felt like it. He permitted his emotions to run away with him.
Now, with God's help and the help of his fellow A.A.'s, with his
clear thinking, he can control his feelings and emotions. Reason now
governs his life. Strong convictions are given him as to why he
cannot take that first drink. He has learned from his fellow
alcoholics that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and that
it is a privilege to help others. What a joy, too! He is kept so
busy helping others that he does not have time to even think about a
drink. What a transformation takes place in the lives of these men
and women!
FIFTH DAY - PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
As he leaves the hospital he must now face him problems. The way has
been paved by the sponsor. The future is in God's hands. He has
learned to say, "O God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I
cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know
the difference." He is urged to guard against pride, self-pity,
resentment, intolerance, and criticism; to attend meetings, to do
twelfth-step work, and to visit the hospital. Before leaving the
hospital the patient is given a FOLLOWING OF CHRIST by Thomas A.
Kempis. During his stay in the hospital he learns the significance
of the Little Sacred Heart Badge. He requests one, with a thorough
understanding of conditions implied: that it must be returned before
he takes the first drink.
PATIENTS FROM ALL OVER THE NATION
We have hospitalized well over 4,000 A.A. patients at St. Thomas
Hospital. They have come to Akron from Alabama, South Carolina,
Michigan, Maryland, Texas, and many other distant parts. They would
not have had to travel so far if their local hospitals made it
possible for them to receive the program nearer home.
Time and finances prohibit many from making such a long trip. Many
may be forced to accept treatment under less favorable
circumstances. Our Policy is not to accept alcoholics for re-
hospitalization. We've learned from experience that in institutions
where the majority of the inmates are repeaters the program is
defeated for the new man, because it creates an atmosphere of
pessimism and discouragement. The patient often gives up in
despair. It might have been quite different had he been given the
proper exposure to the program in a spiritual atmosphere as provided
in a local Catholic hospital.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a tremendous movement. According to figures
from the New York office, new members are registered at the rate of
about 1,500 per month. At present there are about 112,000 active
members and some 4,000 chapters scattered throughout the United
States, Canada, Latin America, and 36 other countries.
A priest once told me that the AA program is the most fruitful source
of conversions. It is perhaps the best means by which the work of
the hospital can be interpreted to the community. It gives the
hospital a good name not only with the reformed drunkard, his family,
friends and neighbors; but the whole community can point to something
constructive which the hospital has done. These people are seeking
truth, in other words, they are thirsting for God.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON ALCOHOLICS CARE IN ST. THOMAS HOSPITAL
QUESTION: Does admission of inebriated patients cause interference
with hospital routine?
ANSWER: While patients are admitted under the influence of alcohol,
they must be clear enough to acknowledge the fact that alcohol has
become a problem in their lives which they cannot solve without
help. Patients may be noisy for a short time but they usually
respond to treatment and therapy; A.A. patients are frequently less
disturbing than the average patient admitted to the hospital.
QUESTION: How is medical and nursing service provided for the patient?
ANSWER: Patients are taken care of by one of the staff men who
formerly worked with Doctor Bob and took over during the doctor's
illness. He continued the work after Doctor Bob died. The ward is
so located that the general duty nurse on the floor takes care of
patients and carries out the doctor's orders. The nurses' aide stays
about an hour each morning making beds. A member of A.A. is employed
in the ward eight hours a day, where his services are invaluable.
QUESTION: How is psychiatric care provided for these patients?
ANSWER: If a patient requires the services of a psychiatrist the
family and sponsor are notified and are asked to call a psychiatrist
of their own choice or one on the hospital staff. The patient is
moved from the A.A. ward and placed according to the advice of the
psychiatrist.
QUESTION: What are the charges to the patient for hospitalization?
ANSWER: The approximate charge for a period of five days is $75. All
hospital plans accept A.A.'s since we admit them but once for
treatment.
QUESTION: What does the medical treatment consist of?
ANSWER: There is no absolute routine treatment. Each patient is
evaluated according to his needs. An attempt is made to obtain from
the family or sponsor a medical and personal history concerning the
patient. Ideally, it is best for a patient to be admitted after
abstinence from alcohol for several days so that he may be given five
days of the A.A. program. Most of the time it is necessary to give
some medical treatment so that the patient may regain all his
faculties and be responsive to the A.A. treatment.
The following methods, here briefly summarized, have been used and
have been found successful, almost routinely:
1. Spirits of frumenti two ounces; Chloral Hydrate two drams -
every four hours for 24 hours if necessary. A definite attempt is
made to withdraw alcohol completely within 48 hours.
2. Fluids - intravenously.
3. Vitamin B complex - 2 cc daily.
4. Sedation: Sodium Luminol grains two may be given every six
hours the first day and sometimes on the second day. It is given hypo-
dermically so that the patient does not know that he is receiving a
barbiturate. N.B. Barbiturates Are Dangerous to the Alcoholic.
A. HMC No. 1 - We have used HMC several times when the patient
becomes quite unruly and craves alcohol constantly. Usually one
administration is sufficient.
5. Tolserol: Tolserol is used mostly when there are severe
nervous symptoms and the patient complains of inward tension
following adequate fluid intake, abstinence from alcohol and adequate
diet.
6. Adrenal Cordex: We have had some degree of success with
adrenal cortex. We have used the lipotropic cortex - 1 cc every
eight hours - first and second day; once daily thereafter during the
hospital stay, Cortalex in tablet form may be used after leaving the
hospital - two tablets three times daily. The patients state that
they have a sense of well-being, following administration of the
above, but the cost prohibits routine use when the patient responds
to other forms of treatment.
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Robert Stonebraker"
wrote:
> Dear History Lovers,
>
> There is an example of the "Six Step Process" being completed
in "three or
> four hours" in Earl Treat's Story "He sold Himself Short."
> (p.292 - 3rd edition of the Big Book). I believe this event took
place in
> the summer of 1937. My question is this: Is there documentation
of the
> Step process being done that quickly in later years after we had 12
Steps?
> I am referring mostly to the years of the early 1940s.
>
> Thank you for documented response.
>
> Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 2017. . . . . . . . . . . . Traditions match with Steps?
From: unclebearboy@yahoo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/20/2004 3:08:00 AM
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Is it true that Bill put each of the Traditions in specific sequence
in order to match-up with its corresponding step?
For example, consider Step Two & Tradition Two: "God," "Ultimate
Authority ... or Step 12 & Trad. 12: "spiritual, principles,
practice."
If so, did Bill speak/write about his intention?
Thanks in advance!
~ bill
ps: I just took over moderation of the
Yahoo! AA12n12 Group. <== Click here if interested
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AA12n12/
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++++Message 2018. . . . . . . . . . . . 2nd Edition Forward
From: Joanna Whitney . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/20/2004 7:49:00 PM
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Hello:
I have been talking with archivists at GSO re: the changes made to the 2nd
Edition
Forward, first the typographical changes regarding the switching around of
paragraphs and later the actual changes made to the wording describing the
growth
rate of AA and then the change back to the original printing in 1955. Can
anyone
shed some light on who would have made such decisions to change an historical
document in this manner and why?
GSO was helpful in letting me know when the changes were made and what the
changes were but were very unhelpful in helping me to understand why the
changes
were made and by whom.
Thanks,
Joanna W.
Saugerties, NY
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++++Message 2019. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Traditions match with Steps?
From: Diz Titcher . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/20/2004 9:44:00 AM
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Bill had a unique way of writing and others have expressed it. The first
Step, Tradition and Concept spells out the problem and the 2nd one of each
gives us the solution, 3-11 we work for a spiritual event as stated in each
twelfth one.
Diz
----- Original Message -----
From:
To:
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 4:08 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions match with Steps?
> Is it true that Bill put each of the Traditions in specific sequence
> in order to match-up with its corresponding step?
>
> For example, consider Step Two & Tradition Two: "God," "Ultimate
> Authority ... or Step 12 & Trad. 12: "spiritual, principles,
> practice."
>
> If so, did Bill speak/write about his intention?
>
> Thanks in advance!
> ~ bill
>
>
> ps: I just took over moderation of the href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AA12n12/">
> Yahoo! AA12n12 Group. <== Click here if interested
>
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AA12n12/
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 2020. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Traditions match with Steps?
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/21/2004 12:53:00 PM
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Hi Bill
You'll find many of the basic principles that were carried into the Twelve
Traditions in the foreword to the first edition Big Book.
Bill later wrote a series of articles in the AA Grapevine regarding the
Traditions starting with an August 1945 article titled "Modesty One Plank for
Good Public Relations." In an April 1946 Grapevine article titled "Twelve
Suggested Points for AA Tradition" Bill defined what would later come to be
called the "long form" of the Traditions.
In 1947, a pamphlet titled "AA Tradition" was distributed throughout the
Fellowship and members were advised that they each could get one copy free
from the NY office. Much of the material, I believe, can be found in the
contemporary pamphlet titled "AA Tradition How it Developed by Bill W."
Bill continued to write Grapevine articles on the Traditions (or subject
matter related to the Traditions) up to November 1949 when the entire edition
of the Grapevine was devoted to the Traditions for the coming 1st
International Convention held in 1950 in Cleveland, OH. The November 1949
Grapevine contained the first publication of the short form of the Twelve
Traditions (2 wording changes were subsequently made to version published).
The Traditions were approved unanimously by attendees at the 1950
International Convention.
Much of the of the Grapevine material that Bill wrote on the Traditions from
1945 to 1949 was used in the books "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions" and
"AA Comes of Age." The Grapevine Traditions essays are preserved in the book
"Language of the Heart." "AA Comes of Age" gives a very nice history (straight
from the original author) of how the Steps and Traditions came to be.
I can find no suggestion in AA literature that Bill had any kind of strategic
intention for the ordinal construction of the Steps and Traditions to somehow
correspond based on content. So I believe your basic premise does not stand
under scrutiny. Simple examination of the Steps and Traditions, on their face,
challenges one to come up with either a formula for correspondence or some
matching criteria without making a real reach into the esoteric. You may find
the same words here and there but I believe context should take precedence.
Your example dissolves in substance when trying to find contextual equivalency
in Steps 3 through 11 and their correspondingly numbered Tradition.
There is a great deal of imaginative thinking in our beloved AA Fellowship.
Unfortunately it can stimulate a revisionist historical perspective on matters
that really should be fairly straightforward and shaped by common sense. For
example I've attended Step meetings where members would go into long,
elaborate dissertations on why the term "defects of character" was used in
Step 6 and the word "shortcomings" was used in Step 7 and what the presumed
significant differences were in their meaning. It was very entertaining
discussion but hardly factual. When Bill W was questioned on the matter of the
choice of words in the two Steps he stated that he simply did not want to use
the same words in succession.
All too often "information" is ignored and "imagination" dominates. From my
studies, the primary matching quality I can discern between the Steps and
Traditions is that they both were shaped by trial and error experience as
opposed to some mystical design. One set of principles was designed for
recovery, the other was designed for unity.
As an aside, I am NOT from the school that asserts that "the Traditions are to
the group what the Steps are to the individual" if that is what is driving
your search. Groups are made up of members and if the members wish to be
unifiers instead of dividers they should learn and practice the Traditions. If
members want to get sober and stay sober, they should learn and practice the
Steps.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: unclebearboy@yahoo.com
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 20, 2004 3:08 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Traditions match with Steps?
Is it true that Bill put each of the Traditions in specific sequence
in order to match-up with its corresponding step?
For example, consider Step Two & Tradition Two: "God," "Ultimate
Authority ... or Step 12 & Trad. 12: "spiritual, principles,
practice."
If so, did Bill speak/write about his intention?
Thanks in advance!
~ bill
ps: I just took over moderation of the
Yahoo! AA12n12 Group. <== Click here if interested
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AA12n12/
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++++Message 2021. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Sister Ignatia and St. Thomas
Hospital, Akron
From: caseyosh . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/22/2004 10:00:00 AM
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AAHistoryLovers,
Re my previous post regarding Sr. Ignatia, to which James
responded as below... I have rediscovered the text wherein I saw a
picture of the Sacred Heart medallion that the good Sister gave to
alcoholic patients at St. Thomas Hospital, Akron, when they left the
facility.
It is in the book "Slaying the Dragon" by William L. White, in the
picture section following page 224.
Happy 24's, friends...
Casey O
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, James Bliss
wrote:
> I am not certain this is what you are looking for, but there is a
picture of Sister Ignatia on page 186 of _DR. Bob and the Good
Oldtimers_ and on page 195 it states:
> 'Sister Ignatia gave each of her newly released patients a Sacred
Heart medallion, which she asked them to return before they took the
first drink. She would occasionally give out St. Christopher medals
as well, but she would tell the recipient not to drive too
fast. "He gets out after 50 miles an hour," she warned'
Hope that helps.
Jim
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++++Message 2022. . . . . . . . . . . . Big Book Printed
From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/21/2004 9:46:00 AM
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I am interested in the number of Big Books in each of the printings of the
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions.
Could someone point me towards the data?
Tommy in Baton Rouge
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++++Message 2023. . . . . . . . . . . . James Houck Article
From: Lash, William \(Bill\) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/24/2004 6:00:00 AM
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So close yet so far. This James Houck article made the online issue of Time
magazine, but not the circulation copy in magazine stores. It can be found at
www.time.com:
TIME BONUS SECTION OCTOBER 2004: GENERATIONS
Living Recovery
A man who knew the founder of A.A. has had a 70year quest to help other
problem drinkers
By Melissa August/Towson
-From the Sep. 27, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
It was on a cold day in 1934 that James Houck hit bottom. Newly wedded and
living in Frederick, Md., he was getting drunk every weekend -- and sometimes
even during the week -- on home brew. He had recently been in a
drunken-driving accident in his employer's car, and his drinking had estranged
him from his wife Betty. "We were not married a month," Houck says, "before I
told her I was sorry I ever saw her." Houck had begun drinking early, at age
5, when he would sneak sips from his mother's bottle of dandelion wine, then
make up the difference with water. Although he grew up in the middle of
Prohibition, his drinking problem only got worse as the years passed.
On Dec. 11, a friend who thought Houck needed to make some changes took him to
a meeting at the local YMCA of the Oxford Group, an evangelical society
founded in Britain by Frank Buchman that was prominent in the 1920s. Houck was
immediately drawn to the group's teachings, which were based on four
principles: honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. He was especially moved
by the concept of "two-way" prayer: the group taught that if you spent quiet
time every day listening to God, he would provide guidance. You were also
encouraged to make restitution, to "put right what's wrong in your life," says
Houck.
It was at those Oxford Group meetings that Houck befriended Bill Wilson,
a.k.a. Bill W., a chronic drinker who would go on to co-found Alcoholics
Anonymous (A.A.) in 1939. Houck joined the Oxford Group and became sober on
Dec. 12, one day after Wilson did. Today, at 98, Houck is the only living
person to have attended Oxford Group meetings with Wilson, who died in 1971.
Houck remembers Wilson well, and after a 40-year career as an electrical
engineer and salesman, he has made it his mission to bring the Oxford Group's
teachings to a new generation of recovering alcoholics. In the early 1970s, he
started working with longshoremen on the Baltimore docks, and until recently,
he traveled every six weeks or so, giving talks to members of 12-step
programs, including A.A., around the country. Houck continues to provide
counsel to recovering addicts who telephone from around the world. He still
appears at meetings held within driving distance of his home in Towson, Md.,
and shares the inspirational story of his recovery and the early days of the
Oxford Group with out-of-town gatherings via teleconferencing.
Houck wants to restore the old methods the Oxford Group used, in particular
its spiritual aspects, which he believes are stronger and more effective than
the ones currently practiced in A.A. The principles of the group live on in
the Back to Basics organization, which follows a 12-step program similar to
that originally used by A.A. Houck has been trying to apply Back to Basics
techniques in federal and state prisons and is working directly with 300
prisoners in the Henrico County Jail East, in Richmond, Va.
Houck knows how much a group like this can mean to someone. After he decided
on Dec. 12, 1934, that he would never drink alcohol again, he made restitution
with his wife and others he had harmed. "I started telling my wife what kind
of a fellow I was," he says. "I did this for three nights to get all of the
garbage out. I wanted to be honest about everything in my life." He says his
wife was grateful for the talk and then understood his behavior. "Now we could
start our family and raise the children with the same guidelines. We had
family quiet time every day. That's the way we raised the whole family." Houck
lost his wife to cancer in 1988, but believes the lessons learned from the
Oxford Group gave him a life he had not been sure was possible. "A marriage
that wasn't supposed to last one year lasted 57 years."
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++++Message 2024. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Big Book Printed
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/24/2004 9:42:00 AM
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Hi Tommy
I gleaned the following from the final report of the 2002 General Service
Conference (pg 15).
Big Book distribution
1st edition - 300,000 copies were distributed from 1939 to 1955
2nd edition - 1,150,000 copies were distributed from 1955 to 1976
3rd edition - 19,550,000 copies were distributed from 1976 to 2002
In 2002, the Conference approved publication of the 4th edition Big Book.
More than 2,000,000 copies of the 4th edition have been distributed so far.
The price of the 4th edition was initially set at $5.00 as a special
introductory price.
It returned to its regular price this year.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Hickcox
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 9:46 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
I am interested in the number of Big Books in each of the printings of the
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions.
Could someone point me towards the data?
Tommy in Baton Rouge
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++++Message 2025. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: James Houck Article
From: johnpine@comcast.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/24/2004 10:09:00 AM
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Has Houck ever been a member of A.A. or identified himself as a recovering
alcoholic in his talks? Thanks. John Pine, Richmond, VA
-------------- Original message --------------
So close yet so far. This James Houck article made the online issue of Time
magazine, but not the circulation copy in magazine stores. It can be found
at www.time.com:
TIME BONUS SECTION OCTOBER 2004: GENERATIONS
Living Recovery
A man who knew the founder of A.A. has had a 70year quest to help other
problem drinkers
By Melissa August/Towson
-From the Sep. 27, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
It was on a cold day in 1934 that James Houck hit bottom. Newly wedded and
living in Frederick, Md., he was getting drunk every weekend -- and
sometimes even during the week -- on home brew. He had recently been in a
drunken-driving accident in his employer's car, and his drinking had
estranged him from his wife Betty. "We were not married a month," Houck
says, "before I told her I was sorry I ever saw her." Houck had begun
drinking early, at age 5, when he would sneak sips from his mother's bottle
of dandelion wine, then make up the difference with water. Although he grew
up in the middle of Prohibition, his drinking problem only got worse as the
years passed.
On Dec. 11, a friend who thought Houck needed to make some changes took him
to a meeting at the local YMCA of the Oxford Group, an evangelical society
founded in Britain by Frank Buchman that was prominent in the 1920s. Houck
was immediately drawn to the group's teachings, which were based on four
principles: honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. He was especially moved
by the concept of "two-way" prayer: the group taught that if you spent quiet
time every day listening to God, he would provide guidance. You were also
encouraged to make restitution, to "put right what's wrong in your life,"
says Houck.
It was at those Oxford Group meetings that Houck befriended Bill Wilson,
a.k.a. Bill W., a chronic drinker who would go on to co-found Alcoholics
Anonymous (A.A.) in 1939. Houck joined the Oxford Group and became sober on
Dec. 12, one day after Wilson did. Today, at 98, Houck is the only living
person to have attended Oxford Group meetings with Wilson, who died in 1971.
Houck remembers Wilson well, and after a 40-year career as an electrical
engineer and salesman, he has made it his mission to bring the Oxford
Group's teachings to a new generation of recovering alcoholics. In the early
1970s, he started working with longshoremen on the Baltimore docks, and
until recently, he traveled every six weeks or so, giving talks to members
of 12-step programs, including A.A., around the country. Houck continues to
provide counsel to recovering addicts who telephone from around the world.
He still appears at meetings held within driving distance of his home in
Towson, Md., and shares the inspirational story of his recovery and the
early days of the Oxford Group with out-of-town gatherings via
teleconferencing.
Houck wants to restore the old methods the Oxford Group used, in particular
its spiritual aspects, which he believes are stronger and more effective
than the ones currently practiced in A.A. The principles of the group live
on in the Back to Basics organization, which follows a 12-step program
similar to that originally used by A.A. Houck has been trying to apply Back
to Basics techniques in federal and state prisons and is working directly
with 300 prisoners in the Henrico County Jail East, in Richmond, Va.
Houck knows how much a group like this can mean to someone. After he decided
on Dec. 12, 1934, that he would never drink alcohol again, he made
restitution with his wife and others he had harmed. "I started telling my
wife what kind of a fellow I was," he says. "I did this for three nights to
get all of the garbage out. I wanted to be honest about everything in my
life." He says his wife was grateful for the talk and then understood his
behavior. "Now we could start our family and raise the children with the
same guidelines. We had family quiet time every day. That's the way we
raised the whole family." Houck lost his wife to cancer in 1988, but
believes the lessons learned from the Oxford Group gave him a life he had
not been sure was possible. "A marriage that wasn't supposed to last one
year lasted 57 years."
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++++Message 2026. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Big Book Printed
From: wilfried antheunis . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/25/2004 3:30:00 PM
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Hi Tommy, I should have sent this earlier, was looking for more information
and someplace on my computer (or maybe on another one that crashed!) it is
there - printings and number of copies printed. But this relates to the first
and second edition. If I find more, I will post it.
ciao
wil
Printing History of the First Edition
*************************************
First Printing, April, 1939
Second Printing, March, 1941
Third Printing, June, 1942
Fourth Printing, March, 1943
Fifth Printing, January, 1944
Sixth Printing, June, 1944
Seventh Printing, January, 1945
Eighth Printing, February, 1945
Ninth Printing, January, 1946
Tenth Printing, August, 1946
Eleventh Printing, June 1947
Twelfth Printing, October, 1948
Thirteenth Printing, February, 1950
Fourteenth Printing, July, 1951
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Editions
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, First Printing 1955, (28,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Second Printing 1956, (23,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Third Printing 1957, (21,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fourth Printing 1960, (20,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fifth Printing 1962, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Sixth Printing 1963, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Seventh Printing 1965, (Quantity
printed is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Eighth Printing 1966, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Ninth Printing 1967, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Tenth Printing 1969, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Eleventh Printing 1970, (Quantity
printed is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Thirteenth Printing 1972, (Quantity
printed is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fourteenth Printing 1973, (Total 1973
Printings 1,000,000)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fifteenth Printing 1973, (Total 1973
Printings 1,000,000)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Sixteenth Printing 1974
----- Original Message -----
From: Arthur Sheehan
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 10:42 AM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
Hi Tommy
I gleaned the following from the final report of the 2002 General Service
Conference (pg 15).
Big Book distribution
1st edition - 300,000 copies were distributed from 1939 to 1955
2nd edition - 1,150,000 copies were distributed from 1955 to 1976
3rd edition - 19,550,000 copies were distributed from 1976 to 2002
In 2002, the Conference approved publication of the 4th edition Big Book.
More than 2,000,000 copies of the 4th edition have been distributed so far.
The price of the 4th edition was initially set at $5.00 as a special
introductory price.
It returned to its regular price this year.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Tom Hickcox
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 9:46 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
I am interested in the number of Big Books in each of the printings of the
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions.
Could someone point me towards the data?
Tommy in Baton Rouge
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++++Message 2027. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: James Houck Article
From: billherold1017@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/25/2004 12:05:00 PM
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This is Bill H from Baltimore. I have been in the program 21 years and am
currently chairperson for Archives for Maryland General Service Archives.
I interviewed Mr. Houck about 2 months ago and he is quite a gentleman. He is
indeed sober however, it was not through AA nor has hever considered himself a
member of AA.
The purpose of the interview was to gain a better perspective on the
atmosphere that was present when AA was started. He met Bill and Fitz Mayo
(our southern friend) when they used to attend Oxford group meetings in
Frederick Md. Bill used to come down occasionally and visit Fits May and his
wife on the weekend at Fits's house just sout of annapolis.
Bill used to come into the meeting and ask if there were any drunks there.
Bill took the concepts from the oxford group and with the help of the original
members molded them into the 12 steps and the foundation of this program.
Fits Mayo was the son of a minister and along with his best friend Jim Burwell
helped start AA in Baltimore Philadelphia , Washington DC and Northern
Virginia. Fits and Jim were also in the middle of the big debate over God in
AA with Fitz leaning to chritisnity influence and jim leaning to no God
(Aetheist).
From my interview with Mr. Houck, he was never in AA nor a firm believer so
much as an admirer of the program. Hisa thouhgts and belief lie strictly in
the christian foundation of the Oxford movement.
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++++Message 2028. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: James Houck Article
From: Bernadette MacLeod . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/25/2004 5:47:00 PM
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I met James Houck at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont at a seminar he
participated in and he told me he was never a member of AA.
Bernadette
----- Original Message -----
From: johnpine@comcast.net
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 11:09 AM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] James Houck Article
Has Houck ever been a member of A.A. or identified himself as a recovering
alcoholic in his talks? Thanks. John Pine, Richmond, VA
-------------- Original message --------------
So close yet so far. This James Houck article made the online issue of
Time magazine, but not the circulation copy in magazine stores. It can be
found at www.time.com:
TIME BONUS SECTION OCTOBER 2004: GENERATIONS
Living Recovery
A man who knew the founder of A.A. has had a 70year quest to help other
problem drinkers
By Melissa August/Towson
-From the Sep. 27, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
It was on a cold day in 1934 that James Houck hit bottom. Newly wedded and
living in Frederick, Md., he was getting drunk every weekend -- and
sometimes even during the week -- on home brew. He had recently been in a
drunken-driving accident in his employer's car, and his drinking had
estranged him from his wife Betty. "We were not married a month," Houck
says, "before I told her I was sorry I ever saw her." Houck had begun
drinking early, at age 5, when he would sneak sips from his mother's
bottle of dandelion wine, then make up the difference with water. Although
he grew up in the middle of Prohibition, his drinking problem only got
worse as the years passed.
On Dec. 11, a friend who thought Houck needed to make some changes took
him to a meeting at the local YMCA of the Oxford Group, an evangelical
society founded in Britain by Frank Buchman that was prominent in the
1920s. Houck was immediately drawn to the group's teachings, which were
based on four principles: honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. He was
especially moved by the concept of "two-way" prayer: the group taught that
if you spent quiet time every day listening to God, he would provide
guidance. You were also encouraged to make restitution, to "put right
what's wrong in your life," says Houck.
It was at those Oxford Group meetings that Houck befriended Bill Wilson,
a.k.a. Bill W., a chronic drinker who would go on to co-found Alcoholics
Anonymous (A.A.) in 1939. Houck joined the Oxford Group and became sober
on Dec. 12, one day after Wilson did. Today, at 98, Houck is the only
living person to have attended Oxford Group meetings with Wilson, who died
in 1971.
Houck remembers Wilson well, and after a 40-year career as an electrical
engineer and salesman, he has made it his mission to bring the Oxford
Group's teachings to a new generation of recovering alcoholics. In the
early 1970s, he started working with longshoremen on the Baltimore docks,
and until recently, he traveled every six weeks or so, giving talks to
members of 12-step programs, including A.A., around the country. Houck
continues to provide counsel to recovering addicts who telephone from
around the world. He still appears at meetings held within driving
distance of his home in Towson, Md., and shares the inspirational story of
his recovery and the early days of the Oxford Group with out-of-town
gatherings via teleconferencing.
Houck wants to restore the old methods the Oxford Group used, in
particular its spiritual aspects, which he believes are stronger and more
effective than the ones currently practiced in A.A. The principles of the
group live on in the Back to Basics organization, which follows a 12-step
program similar to that originally used by A.A. Houck has been trying to
apply Back to Basics techniques in federal and state prisons and is
working directly with 300 prisoners in the Henrico County Jail East, in
Richmond, Va.
Houck knows how much a group like this can mean to someone. After he
decided on Dec. 12, 1934, that he would never drink alcohol again, he made
restitution with his wife and others he had harmed. "I started telling my
wife what kind of a fellow I was," he says. "I did this for three nights
to get all of the garbage out. I wanted to be honest about everything in
my life." He says his wife was grateful for the talk and then understood
his behavior. "Now we could start our family and raise the children with
the same guidelines. We had family quiet time every day. That's the way we
raised the whole family." Houck lost his wife to cancer in 1988, but
believes the lessons learned from the Oxford Group gave him a life he had
not been sure was possible. "A marriage that wasn't supposed to last one
year lasted 57 years."
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++++Message 2029. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Big Book Printed
From: jacqueline belgium . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/26/2004 1:50:00 AM
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Hi !
Thanks for the info re BB printings.
I would like to know how much copies of the BB have been printed in French !
Thanks.
Jacqueline - Brussels-Belgium
>From: "Arthur Sheehan"
>Reply-To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
>To:
>Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
>Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 09:42:38 -0500
>
>Hi Tommy
>
>
>
>I gleaned the following from the final report of the 2002 General Service
>Conference (pg 15).
>
>Big Book distribution
>
>
>
>1st edition - 300,000 copies were distributed from 1939 to 1955
>
>2nd edition - 1,150,000 copies were distributed from 1955 to 1976
>
>3rd edition - 19,550,000 copies were distributed from 1976 to 2002
>
>
>
>In 2002, the Conference approved publication of the 4th edition Big Book.
>
>More than 2,000,000 copies of the 4th edition have been distributed so far.
>
>The price of the 4th edition was initially set at $5.00 as a special
>introductory price.
>
>It returned to its regular price this year.
>
>
>
>Cheers
>
>Arthur
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Tom Hickcox
> To:
>AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 9:46 AM
> Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
>
>
>
> I am interested in the number of Big Books in each of the printings of
>the
> First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions.
>
> Could someone point me towards the data?
>
> Tommy in Baton Rouge
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
> ADVERTISEMENT
>
>
>
>
>
>
>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
> a.. To visit your group on the web, go to:
>
>http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/
>
> b.. To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>
>AAHistoryLovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
> c.. Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of
>Service.
>
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Téléchargez les plus grands succčs ŕ partir de € 0.80 !!
http://divertissements.fr.msn.be/musique/musicclub
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++++Message 2030. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: James Houck Article
From: kilroy@ceoexpress.com> . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/26/2004 5:21:00 PM
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I met James Houck in Philadelphia PA when he was 93 yrs.old. He was with Wally
P. and they were doing the Back to Basics talk. He did say that he was at one
time drunk but he also said that "he got sober in the Oxford Group and that he
did not leave the Oxford Group to go with Bill W.
Kilroy W
Philadelphia PA
--- "Bernadette MacLeod" wrote:
I met James Houck at the Wilson House in East Dorset, Vermont at a seminar he
participated in and he told me he was never a member of AA.
Bernadette
----- Original Message -----
From: johnpine@comcast.net
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, September 24, 2004 11:09 AM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] James Houck Article
Has Houck ever been a member of A.A. or identified himself as a recovering
alcoholic in his talks? Thanks. John Pine, Richmond, VA
-------------- Original message --------------
So close yet so far. This James Houck article made the online issue of Time
magazine, but not the circulation copy in magazine stores. It can be found at
www.time.com:
TIME BONUS SECTION OCTOBER 2004: GENERATIONS
Living Recovery
A man who knew the founder of A.A. has had a 70year quest to help other
problem drinkers
By Melissa August/Towson
-From the Sep. 27, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
It was on a cold day in 1934 that James Houck hit bottom. Newly wedded and
living in Frederick, Md., he was getting drunk every weekend - and sometimes
even during the week - on home brew. He had recently been in a drunken-driving
accident in his employer's car, and his drinking had estranged him from his
wife
Betty. "We were not married a month," Houck says, "before I told her I was
sorry
I ever saw her." Houck had begun drinking early, at age 5, when he would sneak
sips from his mother's bottle of dandelion wine, then make up the difference
with water. Although he grew up in the middle of Prohibition, his drinking
problem only got worse as the years passed.
On Dec. 11, a friend who thought Houck needed to make some changes took him
to a meeting at the local YMCA of the Oxford Group, an evangelical society
founded in Britain by Frank Buchman that was prominent in the 1920s. Houck was
immediately drawn to the group's teachings, which were based on four
principles:
honesty, purity, unselfishness and love. He was especially moved by the
concept
of "two-way" prayer: the group taught that if you spent quiet time every day
listening to God, he would provide guidance. You were also encouraged to make
restitution, to "put right what's wrong in your life," says Houck.
It was at those Oxford Group meetings that Houck befriended Bill Wilson,
a.k.a. Bill W., a chronic drinker who would go on to co-found Alcoholics
Anonymous (A.A.) in 1939. Houck joined the Oxford Group and became sober on
Dec.
12, one day after Wilson did. Today, at 98, Houck is the only living person to
have attended Oxford Group meetings with Wilson, who died in 1971.
Houck remembers Wilson well, and after a 40-year career as an electrical
engineer and salesman, he has made it his mission to bring the Oxford Group's
teachings to a new generation of recovering alcoholics. In the early 1970s, he
started working with longshoremen on the Baltimore docks, and until recently,
he
traveled every six weeks or so, giving talks to members of 12-step programs,
including A.A., around the country. Houck continues to provide counsel to
recovering addicts who telephone from around the world. He still appears at
meetings held within driving distance of his home in Towson, Md., and shares
the
inspirational story of his recovery and the early days of the Oxford Group
with
out-of-town gatherings via teleconferencing.
Houck wants to restore the old methods the Oxford Group used, in particular
its spiritual aspects, which he believes are stronger and more effective than
the ones currently practiced in A.A. The principles of the group live on in
the
Back to Basics organization, which follows a 12-step program similar to that
originally used by A.A. Houck has been trying to apply Back to Basics
techniques
in federal and state prisons and is working directly with 300 prisoners in the
Henrico County Jail East, in Richmond, Va.
Houck knows how much a group like this can mean to someone. After he decided
on Dec. 12, 1934, that he would never drink alcohol again, he made restitution
with his wife and others he had harmed. "I started telling my wife what kind
of
a fellow I was," he says. "I did this for three nights to get all of the
garbage
out. I wanted to be honest about everything in my life." He says his wife was
grateful for the talk and then understood his behavior. "Now we could start
our
family and raise the children with the same guidelines. We had family quiet
time
every day. That's the way we raised the whole family." Houck lost his wife to
cancer in 1988, but believes the lessons learned from the Oxford Group gave
him
a life he had not been sure was possible. "A marriage that wasn't supposed to
last one year lasted 57 years."
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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++++Message 2031. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Big Book Printed
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/26/2004 8:40:00 PM
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Dear
History Lovers,
There were
two more printings of the first edition than listed below, sixteen in all.
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;">The fifteenth printing was,
January, 1954 and the sixteenth printing was August, 1954. Please see the
attachment from my
sixteenth printing of the first edition. .
Bob S.
-----Original
Message-----
*From:* wilfried antheunis
[mailto:wilant@sympatico.ca]
*Sent:* Saturday, September 25, 2004
3:30 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Big
Book Printed
Hi
Tommy, I should have sent this earlier, was looking for more information and
someplace on my computer (or maybe on another one that crashed!) it is there -
printings and number of copies printed. But this relates to the first and
second edition. If I find more, I will post it.
ciao
wil
*Printing
History of the First Edition*
********************************************
First
Printing, April, 1939
Second Printing, March, 1941
Third Printing, June, 1942
Fourth Printing, March, 1943
Fifth Printing, January, 1944
Sixth Printing, June, 1944
Seventh Printing, January, 1945
Eighth Printing, February, 1945
Ninth Printing, January, 1946
Tenth Printing, August, 1946
Eleventh Printing, June 1947
Twelfth Printing, October, 1948
Thirteenth Printing, February, 1950
Fourteenth Printing, July, 1951
*
12.0pt;color:black;font-weight:bold;">Alcoholics
Anonymous Second Editions*
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, First Printing 1955, (28,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Second Printing 1956, (23,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Third Printing 1957, (21,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fourth Printing 1960, (20,000 Printed)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fifth Printing 1962, (Quantity printed is
unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Sixth Printing 1963, (Quantity printed is
unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Seventh Printing 1965, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Eighth Printing 1966, (Quantity printed
is
unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Ninth Printing 1967, (Quantity printed is
unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Tenth Printing 1969, (Quantity printed is
unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Eleventh Printing 1970, (Quantity printed
is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Thirteenth Printing 1972, (Quantity
printed is unknown)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fourteenth Printing 1973, (Total 1973
Printings 1,000,000)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Fifteenth Printing 1973, (Total 1973
Printings 1,000,000)
Alcoholics Anonymous Second Edition, Sixteenth Printing 1974
-----
Original Message -----
*
From:
* Arthur Sheehan
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:*
Friday, September 24, 2004 10:42 AM
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
Hi Tommy
I gleaned the
following from the final report of
the 2002 General Service Conference (pg 15).
Big Book
distribution
1st edition
- 300,000 copies
were distributed from 1939 to 1955
2nd edition
- 1,150,000 copies
were distributed from 1955 to 1976
3rd edition -19,550,000 copies
were distributed from 1976 to 2002
In 2002, the
Conference approved publication of the 4th edition Big Book.
More than
2,000,000 copies of the 4th edition have been distributed so far.
The price of
the 4th edition was initially set at $5.00 as a special introductory price.
It returned to
its regular price this year.
Cheers
Arthur
-----
Original Message -----
*From:* Tom
Hickcox
*To:* AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:* Tuesday, September 21,
2004 9:46 AM
*Subject:*
[AAHistoryLovers] Big Book Printed
I am interested in the number of Big Books in each of the printings of the
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Editions.
Could someone point me towards the data?
Tommy in Baton Rouge
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++++Message 2032. . . . . . . . . . . . Bill''s Detox from Seconal
From: jimmy . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/27/2004 12:12:00 AM
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I recently was listening to a taped interview of a deceased longtimer in my
area. He mentioned in the interview that four members (Al Marino, Chuck
Chamberlain, and two others) went to New York to detox Bill Wilson off of a
five year long addiction to Seconal.
Can anyone corroborate or refute this second-hand information?
Jimmy
Los Angeles
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++++Message 2033. . . . . . . . . . . . more information on first editions
From: bikergaryg@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/27/2004 2:11:00 AM
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since we are on the subject of big books! can any one break down how many of
each first editions where printed, to include how many green, light blue and
dark blue in the first of four printings. why the 1st Ed, 7th printing
{Seventh Printing, January 1945}
so rare? one rumor, most where sent overseas and sunk on a supply ship.
I could be wrong {please correct me}but I was told 4,750 of the big red {1st
edition 1st printing} and then 5000 each until the 11th printing.
thanks for your help
collecting old big books does not keep one sober, it keeps one broke.
Gary
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++++Message 2034. . . . . . . . . . . . The Common Sense of Drinking (1930)
Part 1 of 3
From: Lash, William \(Bill\) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/29/2004 9:28:00 AM
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The following book was part of the source material for the writing of the
Big Book in 1938. For instance, on page 59 of the Big Book it says, "Half
measures avail us nothing." What a coincidence, in "The Common Sense of
Drinking" it says, "Halfway measures are of no avail." On page 32 of the Big
Book it tells the story of "A man of thirty...made up his mind that until he
had been successful at business and had retired, he would not touch another
drop (of alcohol)...after a successful and happy business career he then
fell victim to the belief that he could drink like other men...he went to
pieces quickly and was dead within four years." What a shocker, "The Common
Sense of Drinking" includes a story, "Some years ago there lived a man who
decided to give up drinking until he could make a million dollars, at which
time he intended to drink in moderation. It took him five years - of
sobriety - to make the million; then he began his 'moderate' drinking. In
two or three years he lost all his money, and in another three he died of
alcoholism." These are just two examples of many so read on. - Barefoot Bill
The Common Sense of Drinking
By Richard R. Peabody
Boston: Little Brown and Co. (1930)
INTRODUCTION
In the twentieth century, with its high-pressure demands on nervous systems
which have not yet become adapted to big business, mass production,
telephones, automobiles, high economic standards, - in fact, bigger, faster,
and noisier living conditions, -alcohol has come to play an ever-increasing
part as a narcotic, rather than a mere social stimulant. Because so many can
use it in moderation, and because of its social aspect, alcohol is seldom
thought of as a drug -not, at least, until it has done its ruinous work on
certain organisms that have proved unable to resist it.
I propose in this book to define the alcoholic, to show how he arrived at
this condition, and by what method he may rid himself of his habit once and
for all. While aimed primarily at the chronic inebriate the subject will, I
think, be of interest to all who drink, more especially as it may show them
where they stand on the line that separates moderation from excess.
Several years' experience in treating chronic alcoholism has shown me that
it is perfectly possible to cultivate abstinence under certain conditions.
It is a far easier task than the alcoholic has any idea of, provided that a
scientific approach is made to the problem. Vague theories based on
undirected will power are ineffective in the long run. Above all it must be
remembered that eradication of the habit and temporary abstinence represent
two totally different states of mind.
This book is in no way concerned with the arguments for and against
Prohibition, which roar louder and louder throughout the land. Needless to
say, after ten years of the Volstead Act there still seem to be a great many
men who are unable to regulate properly their consumption of the liquor they
so easily obtain.
Drinking is a manifestation of the wish to escape from reality. The illusory
charm of drink comes from the fact that the mental reactions to alcohol are
extremely satisfying to certain basic psychological urges. Let any man
reflect on his sensations subsequent to taking a drink and I think he will
agree that the resultant feelings consist (1) of calmness, poise, and
relaxation; (2) of self-satisfaction, self-confidence, and self-importance.
While the satisfaction of the demands for peace of mind and ego-maximation
by alcohol may be legitimate for the average man who can control the use of
it, certain individuals, normal in other ways, have an abnormal reaction to
drinking. It is too fascinating to them. It poisons their nervous systems.
Those who react in this manner must eliminate drink from their lives or
suffer very serious consequences. If they are willing, these people can be
shown how to train their minds so that they no longer wish to drink. They
can learn to relax and to satisfy their egos in a manner that is
constructive and permanent.
I have taken care to omit from my discussion all moralizing, knowing full
well that the uncontrolled drinker is surfeited with it already, however
true and justified it may be. He must be aware of all the reasons that his
well-meaning friends and relatives have given him in regard to the harm that
he is doing himself, to say nothing of his neglected obligations toward
others.
Neither is the subject approached from the physiological side. Much
authoritative information has already been written upon the destructive
effects of alcohol on the bodily tissues. If these books should not be
accessible to the individual seeking such information, a short conversation
with a physician will shed sufficient light upon this important phase of the
subject to leave no doubt in his mind of the harm that results from
persistently subjecting the body to large and continuous doses of alcohol.
The explanation of excessive drinking lies in the field of abnormal
psychology rather than in that of physiology or ethics. As a background to
almost every case of chronic alcoholism there exists an inner nervous
condition akin to the " unreasonable" feelings of anxiety and inferiority
suffered by the abnormally nervous. It is precisely this condition - of
which moderate drinkers and other so-called normal people are fortunately
unaware - that makes hard and persistent drinking (on the part of those who
cannot stand it) so incomprehensible. If friends and relatives wish to be of
assistance, they must learn to realize that the nervous person with
"imaginary" troubles is just as much in need of help as if he had an acute
organic malady. Indeed, those who have experienced both forms of suffering
would prefer to repeat the physical rather than the mental if they had to
choose between the two evils. It is for the former alone, however, that they
customarily receive sympathy.
The more the problem is imaginary, unreasonable, illogical, the harder it is
to bear, because the individual suffering from it has neither the respect
nor the sympathy of the outside world. What is worse, he has lost caste in
his own eyes: he criticizes himself mercilessly, so that the resulting state
of mind is one of fear and depression often bordering on terror. While the
alcoholic in many cases may not seem to be deserving of pity, he
nevertheless to some extent belongs to an unhappy class of neurotics,
however much he may keep his mental discomfiture from the outside world or
try to pretend to himself that he is free from it. It does him no good to be
told that his troubles are his own fault and that all he has to do to get
over them is to stop drinking. Though in a sense this may be true, it is of
no help, because he is often motivated by inner forces of which he is
unaware and over which, without scientific assistance, he has no sustained
control.
The world is gradually coming to understand the importance of caring for the
mind as intelligently as it does for the body, and that the pain resulting
from a broken spirit should no more be faced courageously alone than that
resulting from a broken leg. Yet what could be more indicative of a broken
spirit than the perpetual attempt to escape from reality through excessive
drinking ?
Reality must be faced unaided by alcohol or any other drug. For the more.
Responsible concerns of life, a state of mind wherein the individual
actually doe; not want to drink must be attained. Such a possibility may
seem so remote to a man who has been habitually drinking to excess that its
mere suggestion is sufficient to make him shrug his shoulders in
contemptuous skepticism, even though he would be free to admit that his
present way of life is far from satisfactory. Yet it has been demonstrated
over and over again that, in spite of the desires of the moment, sincere men
and women anxious to work faithfully toward the goal of not drinking because
they do not want to can create this relatively serene attitude of mind with
far less hardship than they probably imagine.
CONTENTS
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
I THE CONDITION
1 THE PERSONAL PROBLEM
2 THE "ALCOHOLIC" DEFINED
3 TYPES OF DRINKERS
4 THE EFFECT OF INHERITANCE
5 THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT
6 THE ATTITUDE OF MIND
7 DANGER SIGNALS
II DIAGNOSIS
1 A TYPICAL CASE
2 SELF-ANALYSIS
3 THE ROOTS OF THE TROUBLE
4 WINE WOMEN AND INTERIORITY
5 PSYCHOANALYSIS
III FIRST STEPS
1 SURRENDER
2 FUTURE DRINKING
3 ECONOMIC FREEDOM
4 THE FAMILY
5 THE PATIENT
6 SELF-PERSUASION
IV THE CURE MADE EFFECTIVE
1 THE MIND
2 OCCUPATION
3 THE BODY
4 RELAXATION AND SUGGESTION
5 READING AND WRITING
6 LIVING BY SCHEDULE
7 THE NOTEBOOK AND WILL POWER
8 PITFALLS
9 THE GENERAL EFFECT
SUMMARY
I
THE CONDITION
I. THE PERSONAL PROBLEM
Not long ago I interviewed a man who had decided that alcohol as a beverage
had reduced him to a condition that lay somewhere between inefficiency and
discontent, on the one hand, and potential ruination on the other. He could
not confine his drinking to the occasion of which it was supposed to be a
part, but continued it for at least one and often more successive days. In
other words, he belonged to a class of people known as alcoholics.
Though emotionally out of hand, he was intellectually honest, and therefore
he had no delusions as to his ability to confine his indulgence within
normal time limits. One drink always led to another, and, what was far more
serious, one night almost invariably led to another day. Every so often,
medical intervention was necessary. He said to me, " I know I cannot stand
alcohol. I must confess that an infrequent and short sojourn on the 'water
wagon' is all that my efforts to control my habit amount to. I have been
admonished until I am sick of it, although what has been said to me is
perfectly true and unquestionably deserved. Much of it has been said by
people whose opinions I respect, people who in most instances themselves
drink. While I have been severely criticized a few times, to be sure, I have
as a rule met with more kindness than I have a right to expect. Furthermore,
I have given myself many talks in the same vein which seem to me to be even
better than those I have listened to. I have made resolutions not to drink
at all as well as to drink with various limitations, but, except for an
occasional month or fortnight spent 'on the wagon' in discontented sobriety,
I never seem to get anywhere. Once I stayed on for six months, but I have
never wanted to try to repeat the experience, if for no other reason than
that I don't think I could. Needless to say, I fell off with a crash and
started making up for lost time, though it had not been my original
intention to do so."
Because he had ability as a salesman, a position which did not require daily
attendance at the office, he kept his job. Because he was attractive, made
money, and was always kind even under the effects of alcohol, he kept his
wife. Because he was endowed with a strong physical constitution, he
apparently kept his health. Nevertheless he unquestionably stated the truth
when he said, " If I keep this life up much longer, I don't see how I can
fail to lose everything."
This individual, while Intelligent and educated, is nevertheless a typical
drunkard of the somewhat milder variety. He might drink even less and still
be classed as a chronic alcoholic, but on the other hand he has by no means
reached the lowest depths of disintegration as a result of his habit. While
genuinely anxious to allay a condition that has become alarming, he does not
in truth understand his present situation or Its potentialities for the
future, nor is he understood by his fellow beings. By his family, friends,
and the public in general he is condemned out of hand as being a moral
delinquent who could perfectly well control himself if he wanted to do so.
In their criticism moderate drinkers, often show less sympathetic
understanding of his condition than teetotalers. This the sufferer from
alcoholism puts down as hypocrisy, when in reality it is misunderstanding.
His actions are quite naturally considered at their face value without
regard to inner impulses and their causes. "Why can't that fellow handle
liquor the way I do?" is the comment of the normal drinker. "There is no
need for anyone to make a fool of himself once he has had enough," he adds,
and forthwith proceeds to instruct the alcoholic in how to drink moderately,
not realizing that he is attempting to teach what can never be learned.
Ignorance and good intentions often work closely together. The conduct of
the alcoholic need not be condoned, but his personality and his problems
must be understood if he is to be helped.
2. THE "ALCOHOLIC" DEFINED
What is a "'drunkard," " inebriate," or " alcoholic " ? In the use of
alcohol as a beverage there is a descending scale of mental as well as
physical reaction, increasingly pathological, beginning with almost total
abstinence and ending with delirium tremens, alcoholic dementia, and death.
Just where on this scale chronic alcoholism begins is open to a variety of
opinion, but for practical working purposes I draw the dividing line between
those to whom a night's sleep habitually represents the end of an alcoholic
occasion and those to whom it is only an unusually long period of
abstention. The former class, which will be referred to as normal, includes
the man who limits himself to a casual glass of beer, as well as the man who
is intoxicated every evening. But at worst they are hard drinkers, going
soberly about their business in the daytime, seeking escape from social
rather than subjective suppressions, and to be definitely distinguished from
the morning drinkers, who are, to all intents and purposes, chronic
alcoholics, inebriates, or drunkards. There are normal men who occasionally
indulge in a premeditated debauch, and who sometimes start the next day with
a drink; but, by and large, the men who can drink and remain psychologically
integrated avoid it the next day until evening (midday social events
excepted).
More than one drunkard has told me that the first drink "the morning after"'
was by all odds the best of all. They say it makes them feel as if they were
coming back to life, as if they were no longer going crazy, and so forth.
Such sentiments as these are absolutely incomprehensible to the normal
drinker, to whom the idea of an "eye-opener" is almost always repulsive, no
matter how much liquor he may have had before going to bed. I recognize, of
course, that there is a small group of men who drink slowly and steadily day
in and day out without any apparent psychic deterioration. Physically, they
almost always break down in the long run, but, as this book does not deal
with the physiological side of drinking, we shall disregard them except to
say that their drinking is so methodical, their systems are so adapted to
it, that as far as pleasure goes it does little more than bring them up to
"par," actually a state somewhat below that in which they would be if they
did not drink at all. If by chance they want to get a real "kick," they have
to drink a prodigious quantity. Then there is a very much larger group than
the one just referred to, who from time to time go on a premeditated spree,
such as a class reunion or a New Year's week-end, and yet who by no stretch
of the imagination can be considered alcoholics.
Lastly, there are a very few exceptions to the general rule who do take a
drink the next morning to lessen the punishment resulting from a hard night,
but who do not increase the dosage as time goes on. In spite of these
exceptions, however, I think we may be justified in making the statement
that those who can use alcohol successfully generally terminate the drinking
of any particular occasion when they go to bed at night. On awakening, such
sickness as alcohol may have caused them is of the body; their unimpaired
nervous system sets up no cry for more. They are content to pay the price of
their "good time" because the price is not unendurable; it has not changed
much, if any, from their early drinking days.
But the drunkard with his nerves on edge is in a different plight. Once he
has taken a drink he is quite rightly said to be 'offagain." When his
friends are going to their offices, enduring such hangovers as they may
have, he is back at the 'speakeasy.'' If he appears at his work at all, it
is only after he has been heavily 'braced'' to avoid the nervousness and
depression of a 'morning after,'' which he has become too cowardly to face.
At lunch time he imbibes again to avoid the hardships of the afternoon. At
five o'clock he can hardly wait to shake up his cocktails, and by late
evening he is drunk again. Sooner or later, depending upon his particular
stage of disintegration, he is unable to carry on his business at all until
he has passed through a somewhat painful period of "drying out.'' Shortly
after such a recovery the cycle recommences, with the alcoholic periods
becoming longer and more intense. The resulting worry and feeling of guilt
give the mind no rest when sober, in consequence of which these intervals
become shorter and the nervous system receives no chance at all for
recuperation. The victim is caught in an increasingly vicious circle.
Drunkenness, acute nervous hangover, remorse, feelings of inferiority; then
drunkenness again. A sanitarium may check temporarily the outward expression
of this state of mind, but the inner urge continues to exist.
3. TYPES OF DRlNKERS
What sort of people reach this unfortunate condition and by what route? It
is interesting - if somewhat disheartening for the purposes of determining
causes - to note that the group which may be designated as "pathologically
alcoholic " comprises persons from all walks of life, reared under the most
varied conditions and undergoing the most diverse experiences. Racially, we
might say that the Slavs, Teutons, and Anglo-Saxons are less able to control
their consumption of alcohol than the Latins and Orientals, even though we
should of course expect individual exceptions to the rule. Geographically,
those living in the cooler climates seem more disposed to abuse liquor than
those situated nearer the equator, though for some peculiar reason
northerners who move south are apt to drink more than anybody else. The idea
suggests itself that, inasmuch as drinking can be reduced to terms of
nervous instability, it tends to be predominant among those who have a
larger surplus of easily stimulated nervous energy and hence feel the need
of something that in the last analysis soothes far more than it elates.
When we investigate any particular group, we find the most strikingly
contrasted persons succumbing to excessive drinking. The rich and the poor,
the highly intellectual and the ignorant, the frail and the robust, the shy
and the apparently bold, the worried and the seemingly carefree, all furnish
their quota of inebriates. We find that this unhappy group includes people
of accomplishment as well as those who achieve nothing, the religious and
the unbeliever, those with an interest in life and those without one, those
who love and are loved, and those who are alone in the world. Among all
these opposites and the many that come between we find a relatively small
percentage, but a large actual number, whose nervous system cannot withstand
alcohol in any quantity whatsoever.
While there are enough apparently confident and successful individuals who
succumb to alcoholism to make impossible any hard and fast limitations to a
particular type of personality, still the large majority of cases are found
among those who are shy, egocentric, and shut in. Jung has designated these
people as introverts. They are ably described by Dr. Abraham Myerson in his
book, The Foundations of Personality: "There are relatively normal types of
the heavy drinker - the socially minded and the hard manual worker. But
there is a large group of those who find in alcohol a relief from the burden
of their moods, who find in its real effect the release from inhibitions, a
reason for drinking beyond the reach of reason…
"And so men with certain types of temperament, or with unhappy experiences,
form the alcoholic habit because it gives them surcease from pain; it deals
out to them, temporarily, a new world with happier mood, lessened tension,
and greater success…
"Seeking relief from distressing thoughts and moods is perhaps one of the
main causes of the narcotic habit. The feeling of inferiority, one of the
most painful of mental conditions, is responsible for the use not only of
alcohol but also of other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, morphine, etc."
The italics are mine.
4. THE EFFECT OF INHERITANCE
Unfortunately we can give no scientific explanation for the creation of
alcoholics.
Exceptions to any closed system of causal relationship would stare us in the
face at every turn. The study of many inebriates, however, has given
definite clues to certain features which have a distinct bearing on the
majority of situations, so that within limits we can recognize the forces
that have an influence on the shaping of an alcoholic career.
The first question to be considered is inheritance. To what extent are
parents responsible for the development of this trait in their offspring
through the transmission of the germ plasm? Without going into Statistics a
cursory examination of this situation shows, first, that among the children
of alcoholics there is seldom more than one in a family with this
propensity. Secondly, that a much greater number have children who drink
normally and in no sense as drunkards. Conversely, a great many alcoholics
are born of parents who are temperate in their use of alcohol, in some cases
being total abstainers. This would seem to indicate that a man does not
acquire chronic alcoholism from his father or mother. Many inebriates use
inheritance as an excuse, because it has become a sort of prejudice or credo
to do so, but when they are carefully questioned they do not consider that
they have any inborn taste or craving for liquor, once they have completely
sobered up.
At all events, whatever the validity of inheritance as a cause, it has been
definitely proved over and over again that it offers no insurmountable
obstacle, or, for that matter, any additional impediment, to the overcoming
of the habit once a man has definitely made up his mind to do so. What
unquestionably is inherited is a nervous system which proves to be
nonresistant to alcohol, though this same nervous system is more often
acquired from neurotic parents who have expressed their nervousness in some
other manner than that of chronic intoxication. just as a disposition to
weak lungs is inherited and not tuberculosis itself, so I believe is a
nervous system transmitted which is highly susceptible to alcohol and which
may manifest itself in a variety of symptoms regardless of the original
manner of expression. An investigation of the inheritance of alcoholics
indicates in almost every case a neurotic history at least on one side of
the family, and often to an extreme degree. While parents may be exonerated
as far as the direct inheritance of alcoholism is concerned, they cannot
escape the blame for an injudicious early environment which they themselves
have created. For many parents the bringing up of a child should require
study and instruction from those who have made a business of treating
children from the psychiatric point of view, particularly if the child
presents difficult problems at an early age. Because a woman has had six or
seven children does not mean that she has been an intelligent mother, as the
lives of many members of large families bear witness. Mothers and fathers
with the best intentions in the world can ruin a child's future because of a
silly superstition that nature endowed all women, and some men, with a
superior instinct for performing a very difficult task - namely, the
efficient rearing of children.
I am reminded of Dr. Austin F. Riggs's statement in his book, Intelligent
Living: "The relation of grown-ups to children is second to none in
importance, whether the grownups be parents, foster parents, or teachers.
Obviously the future of civilization depends upon its children. The
responsibility which they present to their parents and all other grown-ups
is both immediate and absolutely non-transferable."
Certain features in the lives of many patients have stood out so clearly
that it is pertinent to set forth what seem to be a few but indisputable
instances of bad bringing up. Too much prudishness and restraint either
break a child's spirit so that he is never free from parental authority or,
as a slightly better choice of two evils, drive him into open revolt. His
mind must either become a vassal to that of his more dominating parent, or
he must over-assert himself to prevent this surrender. If to preserve his
own personality he has been on the defensive with his family, he may in
later life become unconsciously hostile to the restrictions of society
without being in the least a misanthrope, and may feel that he is satisfying
a morbid desire for self-assertion (freedom) by an over-indulgence in
alcohol.
The spoiled child, on the other hand, receives no discipline at all, and so
is unprepared to meet the world on anything like a give-and-take basis.
Confronted with reality and finding it unfriendly compared to the
unrestrained solicitude of his doting parents, he has a tendency to seek
refuge in a parent substitute, something that will dull his
hyper-sensitiveness and make him feel in harmony once more with an
unsympathetic environment. It is for this reason that the majority of
alcoholics are recruited from the ranks of only children and youngest sons.
In his study, The Structure and Meaning of Psycho-analysis, Dr. William
Healy makes an interesting observation.
"Rigel," he says, "makes much of a matter which comes frequently to the
front in the modem child guidance clinic. He says that all sorts of
considerations make it clear that normal psychic development depends upon
the gradual emergence from a condition of parental authority. Failure in
such a development will result in a relatively feeble adult personality.
More dangers lie in the direction of too great rather than too little
dependence on the efforts and guidance of the parents or their substitutes.
However too sudden or too complete revolt from parental guidance and
tradition may be productive of a bias against every kind of authority and
convention."
Again, if the parents have been of equal influence and have taken opposite
attitudes, or if the more influential has frequently changed his or her
attitude, the individual grows up with a twofold ideal of self. He is of
unstable temperament because he does not know whether to think of himself as
a saint or a sinner, a success or a failure. One minute he has
overconfidence and the next none at all. Now he may be elated for no
particular reason, and now unduly depressed. These feelings may be
semiconscious or they may be entirely unconscious and only demonstrate
themselves in behavior.
However, when confronted by situations calling for mature judgment or
courage, a person brought up in the manner outlined is unequal to the
occasion and, having already tasted alcohol as a matter of social custom, he
flies to it as a refuge, knowing that for the time being he can have the
courage and poise that he craves and that temporarily he will have
compensation for his deficiencies.
Brutality, neglect, and the deliberate teaching of pernicious doctrines are
so obviously detrimental to a child's welfare that they do not merit
discussion. Rather, I shall conclude this all-important phase of parental
influence by summoning to my argument four important quotations, the first
two from Dr. Karl A. Menninger's The Human Mind and the latter two from Dr.
Alfred Adler's Understanding Human Nature.
"The neurotic personality," says Menninger, "is one whose primitive
instincts have been modified to meet social demands only with painful
difficulty…This difficulty arises because of the prejudices,
misapprehensions, shocks, rebukes, experiences, and parental examples of
early childhood. Hence the neurotic personality is very definitely a product
of the childhood environment and depends largely on the individual's
parents…
"The man was reliving a childhood situation in which fear had been instilled
into him by an over-anxious fear-ridden mother, who robbed her son of his
self-confidence. Or it may have been a hard-boiled, blustering, storming
father, well-meaning perhaps, but intimidating. Some parents intimidate by
silent disapproval, others by example, and still others by attack. Fears are
educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out."
"It will be difficult," says Adler, "to mobilize a child who has grown up in
a family where there has never been a proper development of the feeling of
tenderness. His whole attitude in life will be a gesture of escape, and
evasion of all love and tenderness…
"Education accompanied by too much tenderness is as pernicious as education
which proceeds without it. A pampered child, as much as a hated one, labors
under great difficulties.
Where it is instituted, a desire for tenderness arises which grows beyond
all boundaries; the result is that a petted child binds himself to one or
more persons and refuses to allow himself to be detached."
5. THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT
The temptation to drink, regardless of the parental attitude, does not
appear as a problem until late in adolescence. At the earliest it comes up
for consideration in the last year or two of school life, more generally
upon arrival at college, or, for those who do not continue their education
further, at the commencement of work. Obviously the family is still
influential throughout the period which separates childhood from maturity,
though as the boy grows older it is more and more modified by outside
forces, sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another. These forces
may be corrective or they may intensify the original trend. For instance,
boarding school may give a child the assurance gained through relative
independence that he could never have attained at home, or he may be
overwhelmed by it through failing to survive among the fittest. For some,
probably the large majority, boarding schools are of great benefit if for no
other reason than that they remove boys from a too close contact with their
families, but for the handicapped child who needs skillful Individual
attention they are apt to be harmful. Schools differ so much, however, that
it would probably be unfair to some to make sweeping statements about them
as a class.
Just how much harm these schools can do in the creation of alcoholics is a
matter of varying opinion. My own theory is that in some of the most
fashionable ones, where the discipline is apt to be of a severe order, a
great deal is inadvertently done toward working up a thirst in the minds of
the upper school so that, when left to themselves, they are more or less
prepared to take up drinking as a serious business. This I think is due to
two contributing causes. First, the discipline just mentioned is too
confining, particularly as graduation approaches. The upper classes are not
allowed much more leeway in choosing for themselves than the youngsters of
the lower school. This results in an exaggerated sense of freedom upon
arrival at college, a making up for lost time as it were. A super-abundance
of energy has resulted from the suppression of liberty with little
experience in self-determination to control it. Secondly, there are the
school graduates who return from the universities to see their younger
brothers and friends in the classes one or two years behind them. From this
source the schoolboys hear many lurid tales of dissipation, the suggestion
being that the fast life is the one to lead and that anyone who objects to
it is a "bluenose" whose opinion is not worth considering. It does not take
much to make a boy of sixteen or seventeen feel that drinking is the smart
thing to do. When a somewhat natural impression has been reinforced by the
thrilling experiences of an "old grad" it is not hard to see what a boy's
future aspirations will be when he once gets free from his
preparatory-school confinement.
However, while this school life, with the graduate influence, is
unquestionably a determinant in making a young man "hit things up" in the
beginning, it is at its worst much more conducive to creating drinkers who
eventually learn to control themselves than to the actual production of
alcoholics. There are many forces working at this time, seemingly remote
from alcoholism, which may be much more effective in producing that state
than the gaudy tales of graduates. They are a part of growing up, and are
independent of any single set of surroundings.
These are the successes and failures, the accomplishments and
disappointments, of the young boy and adolescent. Are events shaping
themselves in his life so that he becomes self-reliant and confident of his
ability to mingle on an equal footing with his friends; or has failure in
studies, in athletics, or in achieving reasonable popularity driven his
thoughts inward so that he becomes shy, moody, or resentful at life ?
While the major responsibility for an unsatisfactory adjustment lies in the
atmosphere of the home during the first ten years, the next ten can do much
toward the amelioration or elimination of it. A more careful study of the
growing boy as an individual rather than as a relatively insignificant
member of a group is almost as important as it was in the case of the child.
In other words, if more individual psychology could be brought to bear in
the formative years, the neurotic troubles of later life could probably be
forestalled, in all but the most extreme cases.
Upon his entrance into the world, which takes place upon graduation from the
secondary schools, the boy would find himself prepared to take up his
responsibilities with mature judgment rather than with undirected emotions
in control. In that provocative volume, Why We Misbehave, Dr. Schmalhausen
remarks: On the high authority of Dr. William A. White, we are told that
"many mental breakdowns, perhaps the majority of them, occur during
adolescence or in early adulthood, and that systematic help extended to the
youths in our schools and colleges would be of inestimable value in
preventing such breakdowns."
Initial drinking generally takes place upon arrival at college. Now,
whatever the prudes may think, a certain amount of drinking and even
drunkenness at college is due to nothing more than a normal declaration of
independence at coming of age, a youthful desire to be grown up, and an
anxiety to be considered one of the boys. Most young men go through this
stage none the worse for it, capable of taking up their responsibilities as
they appear, with the drink problem well under control for the rest of their
lives. In spite of spasmodic excesses they always have been and always will
remain social drinkers, using alcohol as a stimulant to make a good time
more enjoyable, and for the most part having the quantity consumed suitably
adjusted to the occasion. To the truth of this statement the lives of the
overwhelming majority of college graduates bear testimony.
On the other hand the individual of strong neurotic tendencies is
undoubtedly weakened and prepared for a maladjusted life by a prolonged and
intensive period of wild oats, whether the milieu be a college or a fast
social set. Though he may show no signs at the time that he is to become a
chronic alcoholic, subtle changes are taking place within him which may
appear later in life. At an impressionable age he has formed a dangerous
connection in his mind between happiness and rum. This criticism sums up the
worst that can be said against the colleges; a not very damaging statement,
when it is considered to how relatively few individuals it applies.
Most men are going to drink something and many of them a considerable
quantity. The amount, so long as it remains within normal limits, may to
some extent depend upon the direct alcoholic suggestion received in one form
or another. But the point I wish to make clear is this. Whether or not a man
becomes an alcoholic as the term is defined in this book depends on
character traits deeply rooted in his personality, and not primarily on
exposure to an alcoholic environment.
6. THE ATTITUDE OF MIND
Such influences as I have mentioned are usually accompanied by an attitude
of mind, which more than any other factor changes the individual from a hard
drinker into a true alcoholic. While this transition is often so gradual as
to be scarcely noticed, I think, as I have said, that the decisive moment
comes when a man finds out that a drink the next morning is soothing nerve
medicine for the excesses of the night before.
I recall the case of a man who in his college days was faced with the
problem of having to go to a lecture in an extremely nervous condition due
to his drinking on many previous evenings. A graduate who happened to be in
his club at the time asked him if he had had anything to drink that morning.
When told, "No," he evinced surprise that the boy should be willing to
suffer "unnecessarily," and suggested to him that what he needed was a stiff
drink of brandy to remove any unpleasant feelings of nervousness that he
might experience during the lecture. This was a distasteful idea to the
younger man, as it had never occurred to him before to drink medicinally.
But rather than put up with his nerves any longer he gulped down what was
offered to him. In the course of a few minutes alcohol had its narcotic
effect and the lecture presented no difficulties whatsoever.
That drink was the beginning of the end for him, although he did not realize
it until several years later. As he expressed it to me, "The handwriting was
on the wall from that moment on, though of course I didn't realize it at the
time." Then and there he conceived the idea that he could drink all he
wanted to in the evening and take care of the resulting nervousness with a
stiff bracer the next morning. For a year or two he stuck to his one drink
in the morning after nights of excessive indulgence. But as he grew older,
and his nerves were progressively weakened, additional drinks throughout the
day became "'necessary," until he was having one every two or three hours.
In a few more years he had reached the final stage of disintegration, where
he would remain in an intoxicated condition for several days following a
'party." He invariably thought that he was tapering off, but in reality he
was gathering headway faster and faster, until he was drunk a large part of
the time. Respites unfortunately only resulted in a physical recuperation
that gave him the needed strength to repeat the performance.
After a period of sobriety the alcoholic wants his first drink for the same
reason that his more moderate friends do - that is, to escape from reality.
But in most cases he does not really want to continue drinking for the sole
reason that prompted him to start in the beginning. Or perhaps it might be
better to say that, while the same reason may be functioning to some extent,
it is completely overshadowed by a greater one. He invariably claims that he
is 'easing'' himself out of his condition, until he is entirely under the
influence of drink again, and he is speaking the truth as far as his desires
are concerned no matter how much his conduct and appearance may belie his
statement. But he simply cannot stand the emotional disorganization that
even a limited indulgence has created, and, although he realizes in the
bottom of his heart that each drink is making matters worse, he postpones
the ordeal of a hangover as long as he possibly can.
Are we to conclude from this that there is no such thing as the purely
vicious alcoholic, that they one and all sincerely wish to recover from
their habit? If we disregard the few moral delinquents whose mentality is
practically psychotic, - that is, insane, - and those whose failure in life
has been so glaring that they are willing slowly to commit suicide, I think
we might answer the question in the positive; the reason being that the
genuine alcoholic, however he may twist and turn, is undergoing a very
unhappy experience most of the time. His ethics may be nil, but he is
getting so little out of life except downright suffering that he casts
longing looks, not at abstinence to be sure, but at a successful career of
hard but controlled drinking. As he can never attain this state again,
whatever he may have been able to do in the past and no matter how hard he
may try, and as he is unable even to visualize a life free from alcohol, he
prefers what in his fatuousness he considers to be the lesser of two evils.
To this extent only I think we may say that some drunkards wish to remain in
their condition and refuse all offers of assistance which might show them a
way out of it.
7. DANGER SIGNALS
From what has been said thus far it might be gathered that prolonged sprees
lasting from two days to several weeks are the only form of drinking to be
considered pathological and hence in need of formal curative measures. While
this type of reaction is the most conspicuous, it is by no means the only
manifestation of the fact that alcohol has disintegrated a man
psychologically. In the first place there is the partial or potential
drunkard who follows out the procedure of the individual outlined above part
of the time, and the other part seems to drink in a fairly normal manner. If
he is not slowly but surely increasing his dosage, he is at least rather
uncertain of the outcome of any given alcoholic occasion, and as a result he
keeps those who are dependent on him in a perpetual state of anxiety. His
problem, if he wishes to stop his habit, is easier in one way than that of
the out-and-out inebriate, because alcohol has not entirely absorbed his
attention, but it is more difficult in another, because heroic measures do
not seem to him to be so imperative and his tendency to rationalize on his
ability to control himself has enough truth in it to prevent him from making
a sincere effort. He is a drunkard every so often and a social drinker the
rest of the time, but except as an aftermath of a disastrous occasion he
bolsters up his self-esteem by thinking of himself as a social drinker, and
it sometimes takes a genuine catastrophe to bring him to his senses.
Then there is the man who restricts his indulgence to the social event where
it started, but who, during this time, runs amuck either habitually or at
unexpected intervals. He may develop a maniacal viciousness which seriously
menaces all who cross his path, or he may, with the best intentions in the
world, perform insane acts which endanger himself and those about him. It is
indeed far from unknown for an apparently mild person to commit a murder in
a drunken rage without the slightest provocation, without, needless to say,
premeditation, and without any remembrance of what he has done after he
sobers up.
I knew a man who for no apparent reason developed a streak of madness while
under the influence of alcohol which led him to run his horse full gallop at
an eight-foot stone wall, killing the animal and all but killing himself.
This extreme sort of behavior in certain individuals may occur regularly
until death or the law intervenes, or it may come infrequently "out of the
blue" as it were; in which case a certain amount of luck may permit the
offender "to get away with it" for some time. As a matter of fact this
horseman acted normally under the influence of drink a large proportion of
the time, but occasionally he became temporarily insane, and at those times
nobody knew what he would do- least of all himself. Alcoholic indulgence for
this type of person is a more dangerous activity than it is for many
out-and-out inebriates.
Of a similar nature, but to a modified degree, are the people who, while not
actually dangerous, are morose, disagreeable, or disgusting, so that they
make enemies, while drinking, through their slanderous remarks or vulgarity.
As often as not these people are perfectly pleasant and gentlemanly when
sober, though it is hard not to believe that there is a strong antisocial
sentiment within them which comes to the surface when alcohol has removed
the inhibitions. It behooves them not to irritate this abnormal streak,
especially in a manner that makes them irresponsible when they are doing it.
Many, though not all, of these obnoxious drinkers have considerable remorse
when they sober up, particularly if they are confronted with and are about
to suffer in some concrete manner from the harm that they have done. This
naturally leads to brooding, an unhealthy activity for any mind, and such an
unpleasant one that sooner or later alcohol in larger quantities is resorted
to as a means of forgetting it.
While some degree of alcoholic depression following even a successful
"party" is natural, a few carry it to an unwarranted extreme. These people
are probably predisposed to a morbid state of mind in sobriety, and are
living temporarily and in miniature what they may come to live permanently
even to the point of a pernicious depression if they do not mend their ways.
Their reaction to alcohol is a danger signal which should not go unheeded.
Unfortunately these various manifestations of drinking may be combined in
the same man. At any rate those missing are in many instances latent and
will probably develop under sufficient provocation. I knew an inebriate,
whose conduct was for a long time condoned because of his humor and
amiability, suddenly to become rude, obscene, and sometimes actively
hostile. Another man with these unpleasant qualities to begin with always
prided himself upon his ability to be at his office early the next morning
in a state of sober efficiency. In the course of time he became a continuous
drinker; he lost his habit of quick recovery, but he did not lose any of his
disagreeable traits. Once the nervous system has begun to react
pathologically to liquor we can be sure of one thing only - it is going to
maintain this form of "action, but in what way, and to what degree of
intensity, time alone will tell.
Certain forms of conduct, as we have seen, are latent in the alcoholic, and
we might suggest that they are latent in many more people than is realized.
Whether such a manifestation actually appears or not may be entirely
fortuitous, depending upon the nervous strains to which the persons are
subjected. The strongest systems have a limit to what they can withstand. A
certain number, if hard enough pressed, will take refuge in excessive
alcoholic indulgence, though they had for years thought of themselves as
immune to abnormal drinking. Nor is it always disaster that produces the
crisis. Success, particularly when it is financial, and thus permits a life
of luxurious leisure, has been frequently known to create the same slavery
to alcohol that is so often attributed to misfortune alone.
By this statement, however, I by no means imply that alcoholism is a
probable or even possible outcome of the moderate drinking of the large
majority. Far from it, as the life histories of an overwhelming number of
men show. What I do mean is this - there are enough alcoholic breakdowns
late in life to show us that there is a considerable group who only need a
strong and easily accessible stimulation to force them from moderate
drinking into chronic alcoholism.
II
DIAGNOSIS
1. A TYPICAL CASE
BEARING fully in mind the somewhat restricted picture that any particular
case history can give of the whole problem, let us at this point sketch a
typical alcoholic personality. This man, after thirty-six years of living
and approximately sixteen of drinking, has definitely proved to his own
conviction that he cannot use alcohol without abusing it, and that by his
own efforts he is equally powerless to stop his indulgence.
While we need not discuss the characteristics of the grandparents, a short
description of the father and mother will not be out of place. The father is
a reserved sort of person with a keen mind, though shy, and given to mild
periods of despondency due to a lack of success in a business to which he
was never suited. His mother is domineering and prudish. He describes her as
somewhat suspicious and fearful of the future, and he believes that she was
mildly resentful of the quiet life which her marriage compelled her to lead,
though she would never admit this and always referred to her husband in the
highest terms. The family life centered about her. Our patient, in speaking
of her attitude, says that she spoiled him in a negative sort of way -
nagging him and making him think a great deal too much about himself.
Everything seemed to be reduced to terms of right or wrong. Furthermore, he
was made to feel in one way or another that the world was a difficult place
to live in, and that nervousness was the rule rather than the exception. He
thinks that the death of his older brother at an early age was partly
responsible for her peculiar states of mind. Sometimes she had temper
tantrums, which were apt to be directed at him if he were present. These
were followed by remorse and a desire to compensate by being temporarily
over-solicitous. He never felt quite sure what her attitude was going to be,
and, as his father considered it much easier to agree with whatever she said
than to dispute it, he often felt very much misunderstood and friendless.
However, he wishes me to understand that on the whole he received kind and
generous treatment, and, while he does not look back on his childhood as
something he would like to repeat, he does not feel that it was so very
difficult. Alcoholic drinks were served at the house as a matter of course,
without any particular attitude being taken toward the subject. He does not
consider that such drinking as he saw in his home has any bearing at all on
his present problem.
His elementary schooling was completed without any occurrences worthy of
comment having taken place. He went to boarding school, where he mixed well
with the other boys, though he had a distinct feeling of inferiority which
he thinks now came from being less mature as well as from a lack of ability
in athletics. As he was small and not very strong, the others did not hold
this against him, but nevertheless he was envious and admired greatly those
who were more successful than he. There was little difficulty if any with
the faculty, as his work was above the minimum required for passing and his
conduct was somewhat better than the average, though he assures me that he
was by no means a goodygoody.
Them was no particular temptation to drink while at school. Three or four of
his friends did so during the vacations, but it was so obviously done in an
effort to be smart that he did not feel the least urge to imitate them.
In college his first two years were moderate in all directions, in spite of
the freedom that he felt in getting away from school. His puritanical
prejudices did not yield immediately to his newly acquired liberty.
Furthermore he was not overburdened with money, and as a result he
associated primarily with one or two rather conservative individuals who had
been his intimates at school. He made friends easily despite his shyness.
Eventually he joined a fraternity, and it was this influence more than any
other that started him drinking. However, he does not hold his fraternity or
the club system in general responsible, as them was no drinking allowed in
the house and them were a few members at least who were total abstainers and
more who drank in moderation. Nevertheless the friendships that he made at
this time resulted in many trips to a neighboring small city, which
invariably ended in drinking to excess.
At this point it might be well to state that he is not conscious of ever
having had any trouble with his sex life. To be sure, the information he
received on the subject from his family was scanty, but his friends supplied
this deficiency rather adequately and in plenty of time to prevent any
morbid introspection.
Of course at this period drinking did not seem to be any problem to him
whatsoever. Custom soon adapted his physical system to it, and he had few
hangovers. He maintained his ability to enjoy non-alcoholic occasions,
though he noted a slightly progressive decline in this respect during his
senior year. It was then, too, that he first began to experience
nervousness, though on only one occasion did he notice the sedative effects
of alcohol. This was inadvertent, a prolonged spree having been planned in
advance to celebrate the end of examinations. It made a distinct impression
on him, however ("that wonderful feeling," as he expressed it, "of being
picked out of the depths so quickly in the morning"), but he did not
deliberately use alcohol as medicine until some months later. He was in no
sense an alcoholic at any time during his college career, nor was there any
reason to believe from his conduct or from his mental attitude that he would
ever become one. He said there were several boys who gave more evidence of
becoming drunkards than he did, though as far as he knows only one lived up
to expectations.
Upon graduation he enlisted in the aviation corps. He did not go overseas,
but as he chose a particularly dangerous branch of the service he quite
naturally had no feeling of inferiority in regard to his war record. He
enjoyed flying and does not remember that he was ever particularly
frightened by it. After fatal accidents, which happened often enough at the
flying field, he became temporarily nervous and apprehensive, but to no
greater extent than his brother officers. He thinks that his nerves suffered
relatively little from his war-time experiences, but, as his excessive
drinking began shortly after his discharge from the army, he is perfectly
willing to admit that this may not be so. During this period he drank all
that he could get his hands on, but except on one or two occasions this was
never very much.
While in the service he married a girl to whom he had long been attached and
who has since made him a very good wife, the only source of friction being
his abnormal drinking. Even here he feels that she has been, to use his own
words, "a damn good sport." An analysis of his married life seems to
disclose nothing to excuse his exaggerated indulgence in alcohol. He thinks
if he were single it would be worse, if that were possible.
After the war he moved to another city to enter a business that was soon to
prove extremely successful. This gave him a superficial self-assurance which
he unfortunately misused. Almost immediately he became associated with a
"country club" crowd who spent most of their spare time drinking. While in
the beginning he "carried" what he drank pretty well, he became increasingly
nervous on the "morning after," and within a year of his discharge from the
army he was bracing himself by pouring two fingers of gin into his coffee at
breakfast. Furthermore he was sneaking additional drinks at the weekend
parties - a totally unnecessary performance, as almost all his friends were
drinking openly a great deal more than they could hold. Sunday afternoons he
generally became intoxicated again, and it was not long before he was
decidedly under the influence of liquor from Friday night until Monday
morning. This naturally required an additional dose of "medicine" to get him
back to the office.
Soon he found that, if a drink at breakfast helped out the morning, another
one at lunch saved the afternoon. So, slowly but surely, with infrequent
periods on the wagon which were invariably terminated prematurely, he
arrived at a state where one drink meant a twoor three-day debauch. This
would have cost him his job but for the leniency of his employer and his own
ability as a salesman during his sober periods. I say "sober periods"
because he felt that, while some business success could be attributed to
artificial conviviality, he would have accomplished a great deal more in the
long run if he had let the other fellow do all the drinking.
2. SELF-ANALYSIS
Having ascertained in a preliminary interview that this man sincerely wanted
to stop drinking once and for all, and would work seriously to that end, I
asked him to set forth in writing his reasons for drinking.
Not being a student of abnormal psychology, he was not expected to unearth
any hidden causes behind his reasons unless they came freely into his mind.
His account of himself is interesting, however, as he was an intelligent
person and, like the great majority of alcoholics, an honest thinker when
sober. He was cautioned to avoid the petty excuses that all drinkers are
wont to make in order to give themselves some flimsy moral justification.
His short thesis on "The Causes, Reasons, and Excuses for My Drinking," as
he entitled it, is quoted in full: - When I think of what liquor does to me
and how much it makes me suffer, I sometimes feel as if I didn't know why I
drank, as if any reason sounded too foolish to bother with. Then again when
I concentrate on the problem it seems as if there were reasons or impulses,
some of which are obvious, and some of which are vague and hence hard to
explain.
In the first place my environment is a distinctly alcoholic one; even
business seems to demand a certain amount of drinking, either to land a sale
or to be congenial with the men in the office after hours. The country dub
where my wife and I spend most of our spare time is of course wringing wet,
and it seems as if I were forever expected to shake up a drink for someone
else or that one was being shaken up for me. Of course I don't want to make
a goat out of my environment. Only one of my intimate friends drinks as hard
as I do and he is a rich bachelor, and many of them do not drink hard at all
When it comes right down to it I have reached such a state now that I would
probably try to drink all I could get in any environment.
When I start to sober up the next day I fed nervous and depressed, and I
can't get it out of my head that one good drink won't set me up for the day
the way it used to. So I take it and of course it doesn't, then I take
another and the game starts A over again. I really don't want to stay drunk,
whatever people may think; in fact I don't even feel that I am drinking in
the same manner or for the same purpose that I do at the beginning of a
party.
After I have been sober, say, for a week, a part of me seems to be trying to
fool the other part, and I begin to think that the next time things am going
to be different. Though I really know in my heart that this is not so, still
I am fool enough to think that it is. If by any chance I do make a success
of it, which is very rare, I use it as an excuse for the next three months,
forgetting the hundreds of other times where my schemes and resolutions for
"drinking like a gentleman" have come to nought. When I do stay off it, I
become envious of those who are drinking, and that makes me cross. I don't
say much of anything to them, because I wouldn't get away with it, but every
so often I take it out on my wife, which makes me ashamed of myself.
I hate to admit that I can't handle liquor the way my friends do and the way
I used to be able to, and at times I will think up the queerest systems of
reasoning rather than admit that I am licked.
Then my wife likes to go out or entertain at home, and I like it myself as
long as I can drink. She does n't we why I can't drink moderately and always
suggests that I have a cocktail or two and stop there, which of course I
never can do because all one drink does is to make me want another.
Furthermore them are the celebrations which have to be taken care of, such
as football games, weddings, ushers' dinners, class reunions, and so forth.
Sometimes it seems as if every Saturday and holiday came under this head.
More and more lately I have been using it as a sort of refuge from worry and
troubles in general. If the market goes down, or if I have to entertain
someone who bores me, I take a few drinks to forget it. As a matter of fact
I get bored more and more easily, whereas after a drink or two I enjoy
everything and everybody.
I have no real interest outside of business and drinking. I don't mean by
that that I don't like my home, because I do and I would feel like hell if
anything happened to my wife. Also I like golf, and fishing, and shooting,
but when it comes right down to it I would rather sit around and drink with
a congenial companion or two than anything I know.
While I have never tried to get away from a wet environment, still I feel
sure if I did stop drinking and went anywhere else I would find practically
no one my own age who wasn't drinking something, generally enough to make
him feel pretty good, even though he might not be actually drunk. It's hard
when you are bored without it, and you see everyone else doing it, not to
say to yourself that you will just take one and that won't do you any harm,
even though you secretly know it is a lie. As far as the next day goes that
is different, nobody is doing it then and I get no support or sympathy, but
I can't help going on.
Another reason that goes with my grouchiness, when I am sober and see others
drinking, is that I feel sort of out of place, tongue-tied, too tired at
times to compete with their alcoholic wit. I guess you would call it an
inferiority complex, though perhaps I am not using those words correctly.
That seems to be about all the reasons I can think of now, though perhaps
some others will come into my head later.
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++++Message 2035. . . . . . . . . . . . The Common Sense of Drinking (1930)
Part 2 of 3
From: Lash, William \(Bill\) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/29/2004 9:29:00 AM
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3. THE ROOTS OF THE TROUBLE
The individual described here is a fairly typical example of a man who, by
his own admission, has passed through the different stages from normal
drinking to habitual drunkenness, although he has not yet reached a state of
complete demoralization, nor has he committed any act or reached a frame of
mind which makes the prognosis for a cure unfavorable. He has already found
out that he cannot learn to drink normally, because he has exhausted all
known methods in an effort to control his habit, nor has he even been
successful in keeping it within limits satisfactory to an extremely liberal,
if not actually dissipated, social group. While he feels that no irreparable
harm has been done so far, he is convinced that his habit is progressive,
and that if he keeps it up he will be down and out within a very few years.
What does an examination of this man's history disclose? What does an
analysis of the past show as a cause for his inability to drink as his
friends do, and what prognosis may be made for the future? (Incidentally I
should like to state that it is very unwise to make any prognosis whatsoever
until at least two or three months of consultation have elapsed. "Hopeless
cases" sometimes show remarkable aptitude in rehabilitating themselves, and
"excellent prospects" fail to measure up to
what is expected of them.)
The most marked feature of this situation is the comparative normalcy of
this man's life. There have been no obvious reasons why he should be unable
to control his drinking within reasonable social limitations. He has not had
a hard time in the world, nor has he experienced any severe shocks; in fact
there was almost nothing until the end of the war that might give an inkling
of the deterioration that he was to undergo. However, bearing in mind what
has already been said in regard to inheritance and early environment, an
analysis of his family relationship may not leave us so much in the dark.
His father, it will be recalled, was a reserved type of man afflicted with
moods of mild despondency. His mother was prudish, domineering, and subject
to tantrums - symptoms of an attempt to cover up her pronounced fear of the
world. The characteristics of both parents inclined the child toward
self-consciousness, for children unwittingly absorb and reflect the
attitudes of those who bring them up. How much of this parental influence
was imparted through inheritance and how much through precept and suggestion
we will leave to the "Inheritance School" and the "Environmentalists" to
decide. An any rate a hypersensitive nervous constitution was inherited, and
an unfavorable home atmosphere in the early years of the child's life
combined to create a personality ill-adapted to facing life with stability.
Of the two influences I believe that the environment plays a more important
part; but, from whichever angle the subject is approached, the resulting
character is the fault of the parents, though in our use of the word "fault"
we do not wish to conjure up an ethical concept so much as one of ignorance
and lack of self-control - an ignorance which would be less excusable
nowadays, in the light of modern knowledge, than it was at the time of this
man's childhood.
Our patient does not seem to recall very clearly his youthful mental
reactions save a fear of his mother - not of being abused. but rather of
being interfered with and misunderstood. Also he was in a continuous state
of uncertainty as to what her attitude was going to be on any given
question, and how soon it would change to the opposite for no apparent
reason. He made a particular point of avoiding her whenever he had something
that he especially wanted to do, for fear of being thwarted, though very
often his desires were perfectly harmless and natural. He would sneak down
the back stairs and hide in the cellar until she went out, so that she would
not have an opportunity to spoil his plans, a performance in which it seemed
to him she specialized. At other times he would run from the house yelling
at the top of his lungs to drown out the sound of her voice should she
attempt to recall him.
This man as a child was unquestionably stubborn, and his mother was not
always at fault except in so far as her lack of tact and control was
originally responsible for creating stubbornness in her offspring. Our
patient had unconsciously to choose between becoming a timid mother's
darling, completely surrendering his own personality, or putting up an
exaggerated opposition. Of the two he unquestionably chose the wiser course,
though as a result he has had an antagonistic attitude toward life in
general ever since. In fact, a neurotic, whether his neurosis takes the form
of alcoholism or not, is generally reacting to life as he formerly did to
his immediate family when it comprised his entire world. Where this
child-world was consistent, poised, and mature, where it demanded a system
of conduct which was justified by its own example, we expect to find
resulting personalities who can adjust themselves to an ever-changing
environment without remaining fixated in or regressing to an infantile state
the minute they are confronted with the complexities of life. Where we have
a different kind of child-world we must be on the lookout for individuals
who have never matured and who will be tempted to adapt themselves through a
stimulant-depressant medium, or take refuge in some other form of neurotic
behavior.
It was pointed out to this man that he probably grew up with a twofold
conception of self, largely unconscious, to be sure, but which gave him a
feeling of insecurity because of the changing mental states of
superiority-inferiority which his mother's attitude had produced in him.
What else can we find in this life history that has contributed to an
emotionally unstable condition? I say contributed, because we have already
had the seeds of the trouble sown in childhood, and they only needed the
benefit of certain experiences in college and the war to make them sprout
and flourish. But I want to emphasize that unless the seed had been there,
and by seed I mean a disposition to react neurotically to life, the
condition would never have developed, as the overwhelming number of normal
college graduates and war veterans bear witness.
It should be noted, parenthetically, that the attitude toward drinking in
some of our colleges does not help matters for the nervously inclined
individual. This attitude, though seldom openly expressed, seems to be that
drinking should consist of a "party." In other words, if you drink at all,
you are supposed to become intoxicated. One of my patients, a man who had
graduated from one of our largest and most celebrated universities, told me
that it was considered almost degenerate to take one or two drinks unless
they consisted of beer. You were supposed to leave it alone entirely or make
a thorough job of it. This point of view, it goes without saying, was as
unsuited to an unstable personality as it was nonsensical from the point of
view of logic. Had this boy grown up under Continental influences, his
reaction to alcohol might have been very different; drink would probably
have been an accessory to other interests and not an end in itself. To
revert, however, to the case before us, we should observe the part played by
aviation in the further weakening of our patient's nervous system. The war
seems to have had a marked effect on the nerves of many men, including some
who never saw the front-line trenches. "Shell-shock" often began its work on
some organisms the minute they donned a uniform five thousand miles and many
months away from the front. There were nervous breakdowns, in some cases
reaching the point of suicide, on the part of men to whom the question,
"Shall I be brave when the time comes?" occurred with morbid intensity even
though it was doubtful if they would ever be put to the test. When this war
state of mind was attained through aviation, it was increased a hundredfold,
for an aviator did not have to go to the front to have his life in jeopardy
a good proportion of the time. Few failed during their training course to
see at least one, and sometimes many more, of their friends crash to the
ground. Whether this fear of not being brave was conscious or whether it was
largely repressed seems to have made little difference as regards its effect
on the nervous system. In the case of our patient, while it cannot be
considered as a fundamental cause of his intemperate conduct after the war,
it most certainly precipitated matters. He undoubtedly would have been an
unsuccessful drinker in the long run, but his army experience reduced the
time limit by a considerable amount.
Another feature of military life that tended to make the soldier - and even
a junior officer - irresponsible was the lack of initiative required in his
daily life. The government told him what to wear, what to eat, and where and
when to move about; in fact, his whole life was passed in carrying out
carefully prescribed instructions.
Superimposed upon this irresponsibility was an - annoying confinement, so
that when at last he was discharged it was not unlike being released from an
honorable jail. The boarding-school-to-college change was in a sense
repeated without the youthful nerves to withstand the shock, and, for an
unfortunate few, without any increased maturity.
So, with his nerves frayed by aviation, with a feeling of escape from an
absolute discipline, with a justified sense of having done his duty (and
hence being entitled to allowances), and with a young wife anxious to have a
good time, our patient found himself in a large city among strangers. There
followed a period of business success, partly due to the intrinsic ability
of the individual, partly due to post-war prosperity, and partly due to
luck. The list of friends grew and the social demands kept pace; but the
nervous system began to crack, and in order to keep it going, drink was used
in larger and larger quantities as medicine. It was a social stimulant in
the beginning, but, as hangovers could no longer be faced philosophically, a
sedative was required to steady the jangling nerves. One had to work, one
had to eat, and one had to sleep; drink unfortunately gave temporarily the
strength on the one hand, and the relaxation on the other, to accomplish all
these things. This man had in reality become a species of drug addict by
carrying to excess a normal social custom. He would have been horrified at
the idea of a hypodermic, yet alcohol had become a powerful narcotic for him
without his having the slightest idea that he was an addict to any form of
dope whatsoever.
4. WINE, WOMEN, AND INTERIORITY
In view of what has been said, it is clear, I think, that the real causative
factors are those which induce a nervous condition first, and that this
condition in turn induces alcoholism. In other words, alcoholism does not
directly result from an event or a series of events in the manner that fever
results from an infection. Drinking, or an isolated debauch, may follow a
specific stimulation, but chronic alcoholism is a pathological method of
life and not a mode of revenge, diversion, or even of suicide. The majority
of men - and this must necessarily include a goodly number who are none too
brave -simply do not choose that means of facing their troubles or of ending
their life. Says Dr. Myerson in his Foundations of Personality: "Not all
persons have a liability to the alcoholic habit. For most people, lack of
real desire or pleasure prevented alcoholism. The majority of those who
drank little or not at all were not in the least tempted by the drug. 'Will
power' rarely had anything to do with their abstinence, and the complacency
with which they held themselves up as an example to the drunken had all the
flavor of Pharisecism. To some the taste is not pleasing, to others the
immediate effects are so terrifying as automatically to shut off excess.
Many people become dizzy or nauseated almost at once and even lose the power
of locomotion or speech."
Anything that creates fear in a person creates uncertainty, timidity,
inferiority; and so I firmly believe that the inferiority complex of the
Adlerian School of abnormal psychology goes much further in explaining the
origin of alcoholism than the
pansexualism of Freud.
I agree with Dr. Schmalhausen when he says: "The ego is more pervasive as a
human reality than sex. Human natures that harmonize on the ego level can
contrive to put up with sex disharmony; but sex harmony cannot cope with the
problem of disharmony rooted in a maladjustment of egos. The Adlerian theme
runs deeper in human life than the Freudian, though the latter, because of
its dramatic and sensational components, gives the impression of being more
fundamental."
Inasmuch as Dr. Schmalhausen's book, Why We Misbehave, is very far from
being hostile to much that has been written by Freud, this remark is quite
significant. At any rate I have yet to find a case of alcoholism which
seemed to rest on suppressed sexual desires either normal or abnormal,
unless all uncalled-for violence is to be interpreted as Sadism and all
exaggerated friendliness is reduced to terms of homosexuality which does not
seem reasonable to me. Nor does this opinion arise from any prejudice
against Freud in favor of Adler or from any a priori reasoning. As a matter
of fact, it came somewhat as a surprise in my experience that alcoholics
should be so free from sexual disturbances past and present.
As I do not explore the unconscious by psychoanalysis or hypnotism, I cannot
make an unqualified statement that there is not a deepseated relationship
that can be discovered by these methods. It has, however, seemed unnecessary
to go to such lengths to procure satisfactory results.
On the other hand, sex can function as a conscious or semiconscious
stimulation to drink under certain conditions as contrasted with a
fundamental instinctive urge. Men who are self-conscious in the presence of
women find it easier to accomplish their purpose if their timidity is
removed by alcohol (though "satyrs" never allow any blunting of their
sensibilities to interfere with their pleasure).
Furthermore, many men have more of a conscience than they realize. Alcohol
will suppress this inhibiting force during the event and give them an excuse
("I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't been drunk") to dispel remorse after
it is over. Thirdly, the crudities of coarse, inferior women are obliterated
if men of sensibility drink a sufficient amount. Thus for many a bachelor,
unable to find a woman of his own class, the old association of "wine,
women, and song" consciously or unconsciously recommends itself.
For the man who is going to stop drinking, this association must be broken
up. There is no biological urge for drink such as there is for sex, and only
vicious custom has given them a connection. If this break cannot be made,
then 'women' must be avoided until the alcoholic habit has been definitely
overcome. An inebriate's entire life depends on the successful outcome of
the treatment; so it will not do him any harm if he finds he has to do
without women until this has taken place.
In contrast to the sexual theme, them always appears inferiority in some
form or another, often to a marked degree and in most cases fully admitted,
although sometimes a compensatory mechanism is at work, disguised under a
bold front. Alcohol, with the "Dutch courage" that it temporarily supplies,
is a logical antidote for inferiority. Some of the causes of this
inferiority, in addition to the early environment already referred to, are
shocks, humiliations, accidents, failures in athletics and scholarships as
well as in business, disappointments in love, inability to make friends, and
the doing of some act which, even if unknown to the outside world, degrades
the individual in his own eyes. According to Dr. Myerson, "' Dutch courage'
drove from many a man the inferiority and fear that plagued his soul. True,
it drove him into a worse situation, but for a few moments he tasted
something of the life that heroes and the great have. If we can ever find
something that does not degrade as it exalts, all the world will rush to use
it." The italics are mine.
A case might be mentioned of a man becoming a drunkard as a result, so he
thought, of having his heart broken in a love affair. This individual had
always been lacking in self-confidence, but his girl had temporarily given
him the feeling of power that he had abnormally craved. When she terminated
their relationship he collapsed. A short analysis soon showed him that it
was his ego that was broken and not his heart. Sad he was, without question,
but it was humiliation and not sorrow that "drove" him to excessive
drinking.
Just as we speak of a vicious circle of cause and effect which moves faster
and faster as drinking continues, so we can with equal validity refer, in
the case of inebriates, to the cessation of drinking as a benign circle
where confidence and poise follow sobriety, inferiority disappears, and so
sobriety itself is made easier. Self-respect is substituted for degradation.
While the eliminating of drink itself has been the factor in determining
this restored state of mind, still there may be other forces at work which
will determine whether or not the alcoholic is going to be able to complete
satisfactorily his treatment. If he is leading, apart from his drinking, a
life which causes him to lose caste in his own eyes, it is almost certain
that he will conceive of himself as too weak or vicious to give up the drink
habit, though this low opinion of himself may be partly repressed into the
unconscious.
The most ready illustrations of the above condition are the sexual
irregularities on the part of married men. Many men, as has been mentioned
before, have more of a sex conscience than they realize. Some, of course,
though they would collapse under the remorse following a petty theft and are
in many other directions anything but conscienceless, have no immorality
conscience at all. On the other hand, there are a great many men who pretend
to this irresponsibility, whereas in reality they are unable to escape the
traditions of their inheritance and bringing up. I have had two cases which
have involved extramarital sexual relationships. In each case I replied
that, as long as it did not lead to drinking directly through emotional
contagion or indirectly through a feeling of guilt which produced
inferiority, it was their own problem to decide. However, these men
voluntarily came to the conclusion that, inasmuch as their wives were doing
all that they could to make the home a happy one, they would make a clean
sweep of their entire irregular life. They found that fundamentally they did
feel conscience-stricken, and that in addition the fear of being caught had
a demoralizing effect upon them.
I have known of other men in this predicament who, because of the difference
of their natures, did not require the adjustment of this factor in their
treatment and cure. But sex is by no means the only cause for an enervating
and demoralized self-ideal, nor is it necessarily the most important one. It
was merely used as a convenient illustration. Any form of behavior which
lowers a man in his own eyes, whether the outside world knows about it or
not, will obviously prevent a vigorous, sustained, and undiverted
concentration on the giving up of the alcoholic habit. Lying furnishes
another excellent illustration of destructive conduct. A man who lies to
those who have a right by nature of their position to know of his affairs is
soon motivated by the feeling that if he is not man enough to tell the truth
to those who are endeavoring to help him he is not man enough to give up
drinking. While he may not consciously formulate this relationship in so
many words, the effects - that is, his actions - soon testify to its
validity. A man quite naturally has feelings of inferiority at the beginning
of his treatment because of the effect that alcohol has had upon him, and so
he should do all in his power to eliminate anything that fosters a lack of
self-respect, whether it appears on the surface to pertain directly to the
question of drinking or not.
"If," writes Professor McDougall in his Outline of Abnormal Psychology, "a
unitary personality is to be achieved, the various sentiments must be
brought into one system within which their impulses must be harmonized, each
duly subordinate to the higher integration of which it becomes a member.
This higher integration is what we call 'character'; it is achieved by the
development of a master sentiment which dominates the whole system of
sentiments, subordinating their impulses to its own…The only sentiment which
can adequately fulfill the function of dominating and harmonizing all other
sentiments is the sentiment of self-regard, taking the form of a
self-conscious devotion to an ideal of character…
"A firm or strong or well-knit character, one that can resist all
disintegrating influences, is one that can face all problems, all critical
alternatives, and can make a decision, can choose one of the alternatives
and give that line of action an assured predominance over all others; and
this capacity depends upon the organization of the sentiments in an ordered
system dominated by a master sentiment; and of all possible master
sentiments the most effective is a sentiment for an ideal of character, an
autonomous self, a reflective self that can control, in the light of reason
and moral principles, all the promptings of other sentiments as well as the
crude urgings of instinct and appetite."
Another factor in the background of alcoholism, which is common to all
neurotics, but which might escape those uninitiated to abnormal psychology,
is the fact that by his conduct the alcoholic is making himself important in
his own eyes. Prevented by his habit from living a constructive life, he is
unconsciously anxious to make a stir in the world, even though this stir is
of a purely destructive nature. Anything is better than oblivion, and so all
the fuss that is made about him, as well as the fact that he is a "serious
problem," is not as distasteful to him as he may imagine. In fact, he often
considers himself a heroic villain or martyr. Those who have had dealings
with drunkards have noticed the phase of self-pity wherein they expatiate at
length about the curse that is laid upon them. They delight in relating how
they are drinking themselves to death; it seems that they cannot help this
unfortunate procedure, since, owing to inheritance or some other bugaboo,
they are in the clutches of a " vice" which is more powerful than they are.
Often this discourse is accompanied by drunken temperance lectures. In a
weepy manner they implore their audience not to follow in their footsteps,
and state with great emphasis that, had they their lives to lead over again,
they would never touch a drop. This is, of course, 100 per cent hocus-pocus,
and nobody realizes it more than the man who has given up the habit "he
couldn't help"' and has learned to satisfy his craving for attention in a
legitimate manner.
5. PSYCHOANALYSIS
In the foregoing I have had occasion to refer to psychoanalysis. Owing to
the profound influence that Freud and his followers have had on abnormal
psychology and the justified interest that the public has taken in the
popularization of his works, the relationship between this most important
study of the human mind and alcoholism should be made clear. When the large
number of inebriates seeking help is contrasted with the relatively small
amount of space that the psychoanalysts have devoted in their works to this
phase of abnormal psychology, the thought occurs that possibly
psychoanalytic procedure in this direction has not been as productive as it
has been with hysteria, anxiety, and obsessional neuroses. In Dr. William
Healy's recent publication, The Structure and Meaning of Psychoanalysis,
which Dr. Wittels of Vienna has referred to as a "'Bible of Psychoanalysis,"
less than two pages out of 480 are devoted to alcoholism.
Nevertheless, since psychoanalysis has done more than anything else to
illuminate for me the abnormal processes of the human mind, this form of
treatment at the hands of an expert is most sincerely recommended when
stringent methods seem necessary. I do not question the fact that the
fundamental motivating cause of alcoholism may often be a conflict buried in
the unconscious, but experience has shown others besides myself that methods
more or less similar to those set forth in this book are in general adequate
for cure without more intricate psychoanalytical investigation.
Of course I do not mean in the least to imply that exploration is neglected.
The patient, as I have described, is encouraged to talk at length on every
conceivable topic that interests him from his earliest childhood to the
present time, and past as well as present problems are given special
attention from the point of view of "confession" or catharsis. This, to many
psychiatrists who are by no means inimical to psychoanalysis, constitutes
sufficient analysis. Let me here refer to The Human Mind.
"One very useful method," (of treating nervous disorders) says Dr.
Menninger, "is a combination of expression (analysis) and suppression
(persuasion). Sometimes it is called reeducation. It amounts to this. The
physician learns as much as he can about his patient, in all the ways he
can, but chiefly by as much mental catharsis and as much environmental
investigation as possible. These he puts together, consults his knowledge of
the principles of mental functioning and mental disease, and his experience
with other cases; and on this basis he gives advice, adjuration,
enlightenment, encouragement."
III
FIRST STEPS
1. SURRENDER
THE first essential requirement for successful treatment is the sincere
desire to be helped on the part of the alcoholic himself. Nothing
constructive has ever been accomplished or ever will be with men who are
dragged or pushed toward curative measures by friends or relatives. In fact,
sometimes actual harm is done by such a procedure. A man will often reject
premature persuasion, and, once having rejected it, may maintain his
attitude for all time. He should be informed that professional assistance is
available and then left
undisturbed to seek it on his own initiative.
I can well understand from the point of view of the family that "premature"
may hardly seem a suitable word to apply to a person who has been drinking
to excess for many months and possibly years--, but in spite of this fact, I
repeat, he should be given the idea as a suggestion and then left alone to
think it over. Nothing may ever come of it, to be sure, but on the other
hand he may be much more concerned with the matter than appears on the
surface. No action may result until some particularly depressing series of
events has brought vividly home to him the futility of trying to continue
drinking and the apparent impossibility of giving it up unaided. If he
should have a friend who has been successfully treated and in whom he has
confidence some pressure may be applied by this friend, but even here tact
and suggestion should be relied on more than persuasion or exhortation.
Alcoholics are apt to be extremely stubborn people; in fact, it might be
said with much truth that the therapeutic problem consists in redirecting
this stubbornness from destructive to constructive ends.
One man, who now no longer drinks anything, when first informed by an
ex-alcoholic that there was a systematic method for treating inebriety, did
nothing about it for a year, although it had long been obvious to even his
most dissipated friends that he simply could not withstand alcohol. Matters
naturally went from bad to worse, but this seemed to be necessary in order
to convince him that his habit had definitely gotten the upper hand. When at
last he awoke to his condition, he allowed his friend to bring him in for an
interview. Before very long he was a successful case himself, though both he
and the friend who introduced him had looked upon the situation as hopeless
before the treatment. However, he did want to stop, or, to use his own
phraseology, he "wanted to want to stop," which is all that can be desired
in the uninitiated.
The surrender to the fact that alcohol can no longer be indulged in without
bringing disastrous results is of such importance that it requires extremely
thoughtful consideration. This surrender is an absolute starting point as
far as the conscious mind is concerned. Experience has shown, however, that
an intellectual surrender by no means settles the question, because there
are unconscious motivations working in opposition which the patient must be
made aware of and upon which he must devote considerable reflection in order
that a distorted pride may be expelled from the deepest recesses of the
mind. The alcoholic, in company with all other drinkers, started his habit
with the idea of being smart or manly as one of the main impulses. Although
this idea is supposed to pass away with the coming of maturity, in reality
it does not do so. It still lingers in the unconscious as a sort of credo
and accounts for much of the driving force which operates against a graceful
surrender to the inevitable.
In some cases it is fully conscious, and the individual frankly admits that
he hates to say "no forever," for reasons which are hard for him to explain
because they seem to be apart from an actual desire to drink. When he is
confronted with the 'manly" or "freshman" complex, as I often call it, a
certain illumination is shed on the question, though often it takes a little
analysis and "planation for the idea to become a conviction. If he will face
this problem and bring to bear on it the counter idea (which is, of course,
only too obvious) that it is the manly thing to give up drinking because
weaklings cannot do it, he will accomplish a great deal in the correcting of
a very deep-seated obstruction to the cure. It is driving home platitudes as
if they were profundities over and over again that actually unifies the
emotional system with the intellect so that the latter has complete and
permanent domination.
Another reason for not wanting to surrender is that the patient visualizes
such a step in the light of an irrevocable pledge which he might some day
want to retract. The sooner he takes this "'pledge" by himself, the better
off he will be, but he is not asked to do so, and a little reflection should
show him that as long as he remains in a civilized community there is
nothing to prevent a retraction if he really wants to make it.
A third way of expressing this will-not-to-surrender is in terms of bogus
freedom. The alcoholic wishes to feel "free" to do as he likes; he does not
want to bow to the will of his family, his friends, the prohibitionists, or
his own better self. This demand for free self-expression may be logical for
the man who has drink under control. He may be justified in resenting the
interference of those who wish by legislation to interfere with customs
which are as old as civilization. But the drunkard should realize that he is
in search of a larger freedom which rises far above the influence of
man-made law. He has become a slave to something which can in the long run
only be used by those who remain masters of it. In reality he has not known
what freedom was since he first tried to limit his drinking and found
himself unable to do so. The only freedom he can enjoy is that derived from
an abstinence which gives him assurance and self-respect in his own eyes.
When he knows each day what he has done, what he wants to do, and when he
feels within himself the power to do it, then and then only can he
understand the true meaning of the word "freedom," as well as the absolute
bondage that he was in when he tried to express himself "freely" by drinking
all the alcohol that he could lay his hands on.
These various theories for not surrendering are often supported by actions
clearly showing unconscious motivation: such, for instance, as persistent
attendance at very wet parties (though the patient was "absolutely sure of
himself" before he went to them), quarrels with relatives and friends
inducing self-pity, the distortion of theories designed for the elimination
of drinking so that they come to permit of light drinking once in a while.
This unconscious resistance against surrendering - that is, being cured is
nowhere better demonstrated than by avoiding work and being late for or
breaking appointments, apparently always with the best of reasons. There is
a telling paragraph in Dr. Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis:
"If you were to come in contact with neurotics as a physician, you will soon
cease to expect that those who complain most woefully of their illness are
the ones who will oppose its therapy with the least resistance or who will
welcome any help. On the contrary, you will readily understand that
everything contributing to the advantage derived from the disease will
strengthen the resistance to the suppression and heighten the difficulty of
the therapy. We must also add another and later advantage to the gain of
illness which is born with the symptom. If a psychic organization, such as
this illness, has persisted for a long time, it finally behaves as an
independent unit, it expresses something like self-preservation, attains a
kind of modus vivendi between itself and other parts of psychic life, even
those that are fundamentally hostile to it."'
Of course a man cannot be expected to agree to do something until he knows
of what it consists. Therefore one who has not been entirely convinced that
he needs or wants help might be interested in a preliminary interview so
that he can have first-hand information that may be of use to him some day,
or that might entertain him as pure theory.
The attitude taken with such an individual is simply to answer his questions
as fully as possible, discussing drink from any angle that he may wish. The
accounts of changes in the lives of others more or less similarly situated
may catch his attention and it may be possible thus inadvertently to
"convert" him as to the advisability of seeking a cure. He is definitely
informed that he is not interviewing an evangelist, so that whether he wants
to stop drinking or not is most decidedly his own business. There is not the
slightest desire or even willingness on my part to settle anybody's moral
problems for them. If a person thinks he can drink, let him continue to do
so. He may be right, and at any rate it is his own concern, whether he is or
not. If his condition is extreme, not from the point of view of prudes, but
from that of his drinking friends, and he does not wish to correct it, then
he is either insane or a moral delinquent, in which case his problem belongs
in another field.
When, however, a man is doing something that his more intelligent self
(which he would like to have as a permanently directing force) knows to be
the height of inexpediency; and when he admits, furthermore, that he can do
relatively little about checking this something in spite of his desire to do
so, then and then only is the prospect favorable. A person in the beginning
cannot be expected to say that he wants to give up drinking in the broadest
sense of the word, because if this were true he would promptly give it up
without any difficulty and without any assistance, as obviously nobody
compels him to drink. But on the other hand he can say that he would like to
be shown how to reconstruct his mental processes so that in due time he will
no longer want to drink. This is what I mean by the necessary "surrender."
2. FUTURE DRINKING
The patient's point of view in regard to future drinking is a second
essential for successful treatment. He must have as his goal, no matter how
fantastic the idea may seem in the beginning, the complete renunciation of
the use of alcohol as a beverage in any quantity, however small for all
time. No man who has ever passed from normal or hard drinking to chronic
alcoholism, or who has shown persistently a disposition to act in an
antisocial manner when under the influence of intoxicating beverages, can
ever expect to be shown how to drink in a controlled manner, or to learn how
by himself even after long periods of abstention. The very concept of
eventual drinking, however remote, seems to be fatal to satisfactory
results. The going-on-the-wagon point of view and the giving-it-up-forever
point of view have little or no relationship. The first is only a stop-gap.
Sober conduct, to be sure, may temporarily result from it, but the alcoholic
conflict continues in the mind and sooner or later results in action.
Dr. Elwood Worcester, a pioneer in the psychological treatment of
inebriates, tried in the early days of his work to teach drunkards to drink
"like gentlemen." He told me that in spite of his best efforts he was 100
per cent unsuccessful. Because of Dr. Worcester's skill and experience this
would seem to be convincing testimony of the futility of trying to teach the
art of drinking to one who has ever reached the point where it has become a
pathological problem. Mr. Courtenay Baylor, after seventeen years'
successful work with alcoholics, is most emphatically of the same opinion.
Why it is that certain persons have a morbid reaction to alcohol after a
period of fairly normal indulgence has been indicated in the first part of
this book. Whether some day the microscope will disclose physiological
deteriorations now unknown is a matter of mere conjecture. Nevertheless,
lack of specific knowledge on this interesting point, however helpful it
might be, does not seem to stand in the way of successful treatment.
Once the mental conflicts, at least those within reach of the conscious
mind, have been broken up, the outlook is forward rather than back. Suffice
it to say, once a drunkard always a drunkard -or a teetotaler! A fairly
exhaustive inquiry has elicited no exceptions to this rule.
Of course a man who has had long periods of abstinence may on a few
occasions be able to manage things pretty well when he resumes drinking, but
sooner or later, depending some what on outside conditions, but still more
on the stage of psychological deterioration that he has reached, he will
crash harder thin ever.
One of the reasons that may make it difficult for an inebriate to reform
permanently is an idealization of the past, which he futilely believes he
can revive, a belief often unexpressed with which he fools himself over and
over again. "This time it is going to be different," you may hear him say,
but if you know him well you will smile. There are plans made to drink
slowly, to take small drinks, to stick to beer (the most futile of all), to
prime first with olive oil, and not to drink before or after certain hours;
all in the long run are of no avail. Then there are the occasions; at first
only the big ones will cause the vows to be broken, but before long the
little ones am getting their full share of alcoholic attention, and
eventually they are deliberately invented. Just as the glow of the first
cocktail cannot be repeated on any given party no matter how many may be
imbibed, so the carefree days when the nerves were strong are gone forever
for the man who has abused his nervous system through long periods of
excessive indulgence. He has exhausted all but the most fleeting pleasures
that can be derived from drinking, and he must understand that he can never
recall them.
3. ECONOMIC FREEDOM
Some degree of economic freedom is necessary to assist in carrying out the
cure. It is futile to attempt a systematic character reorganization with a
man who does not know where the next meal is coming from, or whether he is
going to have a bed to sleep in that night. The idea of reform is obviously
appropriate, but the development of the idea so that it becomes expressed in
sustained action requires sufficient freedom from the basic demands of
self-preservation to allow the drink problem, intrinsically so important in
itself, not to appear to be relatively insignificant before the larger
quest. It would seem as if destitution would act as a powerful deterrent to
alcoholism, but, as is well known, the reverse is only too often the case
when unstable personalities are involved. For this reason, among the poor
only those who are at least assured of room and board while they are seeking
employment are suitable subjects for reeducation.
However, the rich and poor alike cannot await the ideal moment for taking up
treatment, since it would doubtless never come. Many of the reasons why the
present is unbearable for the alcoholic are derived directly from his
drinking and will only be intensified by its continuance. Putting off
treatment until this or that trouble disappears is just another way of
saying one intends to continue.
Experience has shown that the habit has been gotten rid of by many people
whose lives were by no means a bed of roses at the time they started to
work, but tended toward that ideal state in some degree when they took a
mature attitude toward their self-improvement.
If drink could permanently remove worry, most of the world would probably be
more or less drunk a fair share of the time. But liquor as a diversion is
definitely a two-edged sword, as the temporary oblivion gained from its use
is unfortunately overcompensated for by an intensified and morbid
remembrance when a state of sobriety is regained.
Incidentally, if a person is going to drink to any extent he should do so
when he is in a happy frame of mind. The men who "get away with it" use
alcohol in this manner because it does not require an increasing amount to
make an environmental adjustment that is becoming more and more difficult.
Some may claim that they know drunkards who only drink, or at least start
drinking, in this manner, - to celebrate rather than to seek refuge, - and
have the testimony of the drunkards themselves in support of their
statement.
It seems hard to believe, however, that an otherwise sane person will
deliberately ruin his life against his own best judgment for the sake of a
most immature form of enjoyment unless he is motivated by a strong
compelling force of which he is unaware and from which he is at times trying
to escape. Because he picks his time for escaping at moments when his
friends are celebrating, he is led to believe that he is doing as they are;
but, with the full knowledge of his unfortunate reaction to alcohol, he
would not attend these celebrations at all, or would not indulge if he did,
if he were not motivated by an abnormal mental condition.
4. THE FAMILY
Unless a prospective patient is entirely on his own, a preliminary interview
with his family or most intimate friend is most important. Much instructive
material may be obtained from them which the patient cannot give, no matter
how willing and honest he may be. Frequently what he says and does when
drinking is a valuable source of information. The inhibitions are lowered
and the resulting speech and action may show clearly the repressions,
somewhat in the manner of a dream but without its symbolization.
Inasmuch as the family interview often takes place after the patient has
been treated several times, it must be stated plainly that the latter's
private affairs can be told to nobody without his express permission and
that he is only being discussed for his own good. If this were not clearly
understood, most people would disclose nothing of an intimate nature, and as
a result the work would have to consist of persuasion devoid of analysis,
with rather doubtful prospects of success.
Of even more importance than the information received are the suggestions
which should be given the family to enable them to cooperate with the
patient to the best advantage.
Another serious concern is the readjustment of the patient to his
surroundings, of which
The family is obviously the focal point. Where this is impossible, the
surroundings themselves must be changed- a more difficult and less
constructive performance, as it is often synonymous with hospitalization or
permanent rustication in some remote spot. I am using the word 'changed" in
its most comprehensive sense minor changes in the environment are nearly
always necessary, and generally the most important of these is the facing of
the problem by the individual's family and intimate friends in an
intelligent and cooperative manner.
In the first place, it must be understood that the immediate results of the
treatment are far from satisfactory to the layman. There may be relapses
throughout the first six months and sometimes these discouraging episodes
are numerous and extreme. I say "discouraging" because that is the logical
reaction of the uninitiated, but for those who have had experience with
alcoholics these falls from grace are discounted in advance as being part of
the normal procedure. In nearly every case the individual is slowly weaned
from his habit. He is not instantly checked. During this weaning process the
change in the fundamental attitude toward drink is often further advanced
than would appear in actual conduct, though it is of course recognized that
conduct in the long run is the only criterion.
In two extreme instances which I can recall no sustained progress was made
during the first year of effort. Then suddenly both individuals completely
eliminated their habit. As there was no sudden shock in either situation,
the complete change of heart can only be explained on the grounds that the
effects of the persuasion and the suggestion were accumulating in a mind
that had been opened up by analysis, and when these suggestions became
sufficiently strong the old habits yielded to them.
The first stage in the cure is reached when the patient abandons alcohol as
a way of life, so that his upsets are actually mistakes and not a
continuation of his former method of environmental adaptation. In the
beginning the conduct itself may often be indistinguishable, but unless the
patient is a liar (this trait is rare among alcoholics when they are sober,
and when it exists the prognosis is very bad) it is easy enough to find out
his fundamental attitude by asking him.
Relapses may continue after this important change has been made, but on
recovery the patient reaches a different point of view: he has a sincere
disgust at having been so stupid as to drink, a realization that the best
part of his mind at least did not intend to do so, and a feeling that he got
little or no satisfaction out of his "party" save in the early stages.
Moreover, if with this new state of mind goes a recognition that he has had
long periods of contentment without recourse to alcohol, the temporary
reversion to former conduct may be discounted.
But if after two or three months of work the patient feels that his basic
attitude has not changed, that such temperance as he may have shown has been
purely a matter of annoying restraint, then it would be worth while
considering if a continuation of the treatment were warranted. This
situation has not arisen yet.
What should be done with the liquor in the house is apt to be one of the
first questions asked. The answer is that such dramatic gestures as pouring
it away are futile. There is always plenty more obtainable around the
corner. It is better to fight the battle out on the firing fine, unless the
patient definitely feels that it would be easier to have as dry surroundings
as possible during the first part of his rehabilitation. If he does react in
this manner he must say so frankly and without feelings of inferiority, for
many first-class men have taken that attitude in the beginning, and it is
only the stupid or insincere who force themselves beyond their limit. But
most men prefer to continue serving their friends in the customary manner.
They get a certain stimulating satisfaction in refraining from drinking when
there is plenty of it under their noses. Best results are obtained, however,
where this liquor is used in moderation as the sober view of "drunken
parties" is apt to bore the non-drinking alcoholic just as much as it does
any other non-participant. As an escape from such boredom and as a result of
concentrated negative suggestion the patient may be tempted to take refuge
in the fatal "small one" as a means of adjusting himself to an annoying
situation.
The inebriate who is attempting to overcome his habit must be given his way
in regard to all things pertaining to an alcoholic environment. If he does
not want liquor in the house, then obviously it should be removed.
Furthermore, if he wishes to give up going to the houses of others, or to
any function where it may be served and which would bore him when sober,
then those who are primarily interested in him must arrange matters so that
he has his way without making him feel that he is selfish and narrow. On the
other hand, in this modern age, there is no reason why a wife who is well
known in a community should not be free to enjoy herself as much as possible
by carrying on her social life alone if necessary. Because the alcoholic
chooses, perhaps wisely, to withdraw temporarily or even permanently from
wet social functions, there is no reason for his becoming a dog in the
manger. (Incidentally this is not a common trait in alcoholics when they
have made up their minds to stop once and for all.) A woman may not want to
leave her husband alone continually, but much of the time he should be glad
to have her amuse herself in the manner to which she has been accustomed.
Whether a woman who drinks in moderation should become totally abstemious
just because her husband cannot indulge himself without going to excess is a
question to be decided on the merits of each particular case. A woman under
the influence of liquor is naturally of no help to a man who is trying to
give up the habit. On the other hand, the last thing that most inebriates
desire is to feel that because they themselves cannot take one drink without
eventually becoming saturated their wives must forgo such pleasure as can be
derived from one or two cocktails. If a woman is actually dissipated she had
better part company with her husband until he has had time to acquire a
foundation of new habits. However, I have not yet known of a situation where
a relapse was brought about because of a mild indulgence on the part of the
wife.
While, as I have stated, the inebriate in process of reconstruction must
unquestionably be yielded to in matters that immediately concern drink, he
should not consider himself a hero and a martyr, and as a result use his
praiseworthy efforts as a rod of iron with which to rule the home. Nor
should he expect that just because he has stopped drinking everybody with
whom he comes in contact is forthwith going to renounce all annoying traits
and moods in deference to his change of heart. After all, he is only doing
the sensible thing from which he himself will derive the most profit, and he
must realize that his relatives' troubles and worries do not cease with his
temperance, no matter how much his former course of conduct may have
contributed to their aggravation.
On the other hand, the alcoholic should always be dealt with honestly, even
when he is under the influence of liquor, as he is apt to remember a
deception in a way that will react unfavorably upon those who are trying to
help him, even though the latter may feel with justification that their
relative or friend while drinking has no "'rights." For instance, if in
order to get him home the alcoholic is told that he can have what he wants
to drink when he gets there (provided he will stay there), then it should be
given to him even if some friend has to go in search of another bottle. This
arrangement, of course, could not go on forever, but a physician can
generally induce sleep before the individual has gone much further in
drunkenness.
I know of a case where an alcoholic went to an institution voluntarily on
the condition that the doctor in charge would agree to his having four or
five drinks on the day following his arrival and two or three the day after,
a not unreasonable request. The doctor, however, deliberately broke his
word. The result was that the cure of the patient, which eventually took
place elsewhere, was indefinitely postponed because of the hostility
engendered at what was justly considered the dishonest treatment received at
the hospital.
5. THE PATIENT
At the expense of some repetition, I wish to consider the treatment as it
directly affects the patient.
The alcoholic is first shown that there are two types of men whose reaction
to drink is so extreme, so abnormal, and so detrimental to themselves and to
those about them that they cannot afford to indulge any longer in the habit
unless they are willing to sacrifice their life to it. These types are the
continuous drinker and the 'bad actor."
The difference between the normal or hard drinker and the alcoholic is
carefully described to the patient, as well as by what route the
transformation between the two is made. The influence of inheritance and the
influence of early environment on his nervous system are pointed out as
being causative but by no means compulsive factors. He is told that
practically every inebriate has had some such background as a cause of his
trouble, and that if these were insurmountable obstacles to a cure, nobody
would ever recover.
Then the patient is informed with all the emphasis that can be brought to
bear that the sum total of experience to date has shown that if a man has
ever definitely been unable to drink in a normal way (in using the word
"normal" plenty of leeway is allowed for a good deal of dissipation) he can
never again drink anything containing alcohol without the ultimate results
being disastrous. He may do so "successfully" for a few times after long
periods of abstinence, but there is a wealth of evidence to show that in the
long run (and it may not be very long, either) he will become an addict
again. If an individual insists that he is the exception to this rule, then
the best thing for him to do is to go out and prove (or disprove) it, for
there is nothing so convincing as personal experience, and there is very
little use trying to persuade a man who his had an insufficient amount of
it.
If he is only a partial drunkard or an occasional malefactor, he will not be
convinced that his problem is a vital one demanding solution unless he is
unusually farsighted. The average man must learn the truth from his actions
even though these actions may bring disaster in their wake. On the other
hand, if a man is a definite alcoholic and yet will not admit that there is
anything the matter, he is serving notice to the world to leave him alone,
which is the only thing it can do until such time as his conduct
necessitates incarceration - or he changes his mind.
Once the alcoholic takes up treatment, he must be absolutely honest in
giving an account of his thoughts and actions, and he must take great
precautions against lying ingeniously (rationalizing) to himself. "To be
frank and honest in all relations," writes Professor McDougal, "but
especially in all relations with oneself, is the first principle of mental
hygiene."
A lie obviously does not hurt the instructor, but it creates such a conflict
in the mind of the student that progress is at a standstill until it is
uncovered. That a man will lie when drunk or when trying to sober up in
order to get more liquor goes without saying. Furthermore, he may lie to his
wife or to anyone else whom he fears, in order to cover his tracks and avoid
a scene, but it is a very different thing to lie to the person who is
treating the situation in a professional manner. As no promises are ever
exacted, and as no one is ever ridiculed or scolded, there is no particular
reason for untruthfulness save an unnecessary feeling of shame. If a person
goes to a doctor with a pain in his stomach, he does not tell him that it is
in his head if he wants to get well.
While on the subject of honesty we might mention that there seems to be a
feeling among some people that secret drinking is a particularly
reprehensible form of indulgence. As a matter of fact, if a drunkard is
going to drink at all, there is nothing peculiar in his sneaking drinks in
an environment which is naturally hostile. It shows rather more of a social
consciousness than if he did blatantly what he knows is the part of folly.
But on the other hand, where there seems to be no reason why a person should
not drink in company and where he has plenty of opportunity to do so, then a
preference to drink in solitude would probably indicate an abnormal
personality.
6. SELF-PERSUASION
A man must make up his mind to do everything in his power to cooperate in
such work as there is to be done. Halfway measures are of no avail. Even if
a patient is interviewed every day, it is obvious that one hour of
instruction, analysis, and persuasion could not be effective should a man
have an adverse or indifferent state of mind during the other twenty-three.
He may listen dutifully while he is in the office and agree with what is
being said to him, but if the subject leaves his mind until the next
appointment, or if it is counterbalanced by destructive ideas which he could
control, then his visits are doing him little good. An alcoholic should
always realize that he himself does the actual work which produces the cure,
though he may well need to be shown how to do it, and often be encouraged to
carry it on. There is no wand to wave over his head wafting away by magic
his undesirable habits. Two eminent Frenchmen, Dr. Dejerine and Dr. Gaukler,
write thus of their patients: "We give them the desire to be cured, but it
is they themselves who work the cure. This is the very thing which
constitutes, we think, the great superiority of psychotherapeutic methods by
persuasion. They develop in people the feeling of personality and
responsibility, they increase their intellectual control, they accustom them
to plan their lives and direct their energies by themselves."
The patient should view the process as he would a course, say, in medicine
or technology. He knows perfectly well if he worked hard the first month or
two at a medical school or engineering institute and loafed the rest of the
time, or if he worked three days a week and knocked off for the other four,
he would be neither a doctor nor an engineer. just because there are no
lectures where attendance is taken, no laboratories where specimens can be
looked at under a microscope, and no written examinations to be passed, the
man who is going through a process of reeducation cannot afford to take his
work lightly or informally. In reality he is undertaking the most important
problem with which he has ever been faced, and unless it is solved in a
satisfactory manner his life will be a total failure.
A man must be impressed with the fact that he is undergoing treatment for
his own personal good and because he believes it to be the expedient thing
to do. In other words, he is doing it selfishly as far as the guiding motive
goes, though the results, if he is successful, will of course be anything
but selfish. Others cannot help but profit by his change of conduct, and if
that is the case, so much the better. But the minute a man seeks to reform
for somebody else, no matter how deeply he may care for the other person, he
is headed for failure in the long run. The old habits are for a long time
trying hard to assert themselves, and as the work proceeds their attacks
become more and more subtle. If he can lay the blame for failure at someone
else's door, he will surely find a means of doing it.
Consider the case of a man who tried to give up drinking for the sake of a
wife to whom he was most devoted. Drunk or sober, he was a very peaceable
individual, but under special conditions these characteristics did not
prevent him from picking an acrimonious argument with his wife one evening.
When she quite naturally retaliated, he said, "All right! I've given up
drinking for you and it 's a damned hard thing to do, and now see how you
treat me! I'll show you that I 'm not going to stand for that sort of
thing." He soon showed her by going out and getting drunk. As he had his
pockets picked of two hundred dollars which he could ill afford to lose, he
incidentally showed himself something, too. The motivating forces behind
this performance were entirely unconscious, but when brought to his
attention were readily admitted. He simply wanted to get drunk, but, as the
old excuses about being cold and tired no longer held good, his unconscious
invented what he thought at the time was a " real good reason.''
The problem of drinking for the alcoholic is so important that it cannot
afford to be contingent upon other people. If a man must avenge himself for
real or imaginary wrongs, then there are plenty of ways for him to do so and
still remain in a reasonably integrated state of mind. If, however, he takes
a drink, he must realize that he is doing it solely because he wants to
drink and not as a response to an external stimulation, whatever form this
stimulation may take. The weather, physical fatigue, football games, New
Year's Eve, and slumps in the market are typical "good" excuses. But, as I
have said, the results of drinking are so disastrous for a chronic alcoholic
that there can be no such thing as a good or bad excuse for drinking at all.
This, of course, means that an attitude of forethought must be maintained.
Should the idea that the problem is after all not a vital one take root in
the mind, the work might just as well be given up. The conviction of its
supreme importance is an absolute necessity. The frequent inability to give
up minor habits by those who have conquered alcohol is an excellent
illustration of this point. By contrast the temptation is insignificant, but
because these minor habits are very properly held to be relatively
unimportant, no genuine sustained effort is put forth to suppress them.
Certain moments may be "seductive" if they are allowed to be, but the
"'seduction" can be frustrated nine times out of ten by an advance mental
preparation, and on the tenth (the unforseen) occasion forceful common sense
can be hastily summoned to a mind that has had methodical training in
visualizing the problem in its true light. Because surroundings are highly
respectable and the cocktail is very mild, the idea that "it won't do any
harm to take it just this once," must not be allowed to take root in the
mind for an instant. If this dangerous thought so much as shows itself, it
must be swamped under an avalanche of positive suggestion.
The intellectual idea of abstinence is not of itself adequate to carry on
the cure conscientiously over a sufficient period of time. It takes
sustained effort to unite the intellectual concept which led the alcoholic
to seek help with that consistent form of action which is an expression of
an automatic attitude rather than a monument to will power.
Sound theory is an absolutely essential point of departure, but the
statement that hell is paved with good intentions was never better applied
than to the alcoholic who, almost more than anyone else, has become a
specialist in avoiding life. Whatever may be the theoretical desire and
intention, the old habits do not die as quickly or as easily as one could
wish, nor are they dead and buried as soon as the patient considers them to
be. In periods of emotional stimulation, whether pleasant or unpleasant,
they may suddenly appear to the bewilderment of the person who had supposed
himself to be cured "in record time." The habits of five, ten, and perhaps
twenty years' standing are not going to pass out of the picture in as many
days or even weeks, no matter how intelligent or conscientious a man may be
in his application to the work. He has got to keep on directing his mental
processes in a formal and definite manner for at least a year after his last
debauch. The second year should be regarded as postgraduate work, during
which the subject requires a modicum of attention. After that his new habits
of thinking - that is, a genuine and automatic desire for abstinence -
should have become permanent. But for the rest of his life he must allow
himself just one thought in connection with drinking - under no
circumstances can he ever drink anything intoxicating again. And "anything"
most certainly must include light wine and beer, however harmless one may
consider them to be.
A man will usually act according to his desires if it is possible for him to
do so. Therefore my work is based on the idea that if a permanent cure for
alcoholism is to be accomplished the mind must be trained so that in the
course of time it ceases to want to drink. This for the drunkard, who has
proved by his conduct that drinking is disastrous, is a normal goal which
does not require any exotic ratiocination or mental gymnastics to be brought
into harmony with logic. When it has been attained, he is no longer in a
state of conflict, and his energies become released for other worth-while
interests and activities. This I think constitutes the all important
difference between going on the wagon, even for long periods, and
permanently effacing the mental attitude behind the habit.
A man who is on the wagon may be sober physically, but mentally he may be
almost as alcohol-minded as if he were drunk. He is sorry for himself (a
disastrous state of mind for anybody to be in) and he is envious of his
drinking friends. He is constantly wondering if he cannot find an excuse for
"falling off," and he is daydreaming of how happy and lucky he will be when
the days of abstinence are finished. If he is not actually on the wagon, but
is trying to curtail his drinking, he wastes his time attempting to devise
various impossible schemes for making his drinking successful. Furthermore,
he is doubtless depressed because of some fiasco that he has made of a
recent party, he wonders why he did it, and whether he will do it again.
He dreads what people are saying about him, and he knows in his heart,
however much he may try to whoop up his courage by rationalization, that
things are going from bad to worse. Nevertheless, life without liquor seems
hopelessly stupid.
Looked at with a sense of relativity, to say nothing of a sense of humor,
this is sorry stuff to obsess the mind of a supposedly mature man with
normal obligations and responsibilities. Yet "obsession" is no exaggerated
term to apply to the mental state of the individual who is trying to
temporize with alcohol once he has exhibited a pathological reaction to it.
Obsessions are arrived at generally after a long and intense application of
erroneous thinking, and therefore it is no exaggeration to say that thoughts
are most decidedly potent influences in determining people's lives.
Constructive thinking must be stimulated in order that values be properly
determined and desirable action set in motion. Therefore to prevent a
continuous conflict, to prevent denial being a matter of will power, though
power should be brought into play whenever logic will permit it.
Says Dr. Myerson, "Thought is powerful, words are powerful, if combined with
appropriate action, and in their indirect effects. All our triumphs are
thought and word products; so, too, are all our defeats."
Let the alcoholic, then, become accustomed to talking to himself in some
such manner as this: "The most sensible part of me, the part that I consider
my best self and should like therefore to think of as my directing force,
does not want to drink any more because much experimentation has proved it
to be a most unsatisfactory way of living.
Furthermore, it is my belief from what I know of the history of other
alcoholics (whom I have no particular reason to believe differ materially
from myself) that after a course of treatment, from which I learn in a
scientific manner how to rid myself of the habit, I shall be very much
happier than I can possibly be as long as I persist in trying to beat what
has already beaten me soundly. Moreover, this satisfaction will be true from
a purely selfish point of view, regardless of the happiness it may or may
not bring into the lives of others. Of course I realize that there is a part
of me, perhaps a large part in the beginning, that wants to drink. If this
were not true it would be unnecessary for me to take formal action about it.
But there is no use lying to myself any more or trying further to suppress
my unfortunate desires in other words, pretending that this temptation does
not exist. However, it does seem logical and reasonable to me that, if I
really try consistently, I can reorient my opinion on the subject, which
after all has been emotional, so that it coincides with my intelligence.
This I have already admitted is the best part of me - the part which
certainly should be in control of my destiny, and the part which secretly
agrees with the world in thinking that I cannot and should not go on
drinking."
This is the most important element in the work - the control and direction
of the thoughts toward the ultimate logical goal. It is for this reason more
than any other that treatment even with those whose theoretical desires
(regardless of their conduct in the beginning) are sound must be patiently
carried on over a long period of time -long, that is, by comparison with the
time required for an intellectual understanding of the treatment. It does
little good for a man to endeavor to eliminate his habit until he considers
it a sound, sensible, and desirable thing to do; something he would like to
accomplish for his own sake, however difficult it may seem. Incidentally,
for a man who is willing to buckle down to work the "difficulty" is always
exaggerated in the beginning, as successful patients, without exception,
have testified at the conclusion of the treatment.
On the positive side, then, the patient must keep before him the idea that
his most mature intelligent self wants to stop drinking, and whenever he
thinks of the subject he must drive this point home with as many masons as
he can muster from his experience to support it. On the negative side, all
destructive daydreaming about the enjoyment of bygone parties as well as
imaginary ones in the future must be checked as near its inception as
possible. That these undesirable thoughts will appear, particularly in the
beginning of the treatment, goes without saying, but if their presence
prevented eventual cure nobody would ever get well. The all-important point
is how they are to be treated when they do come to the mind.
The negative thoughts must be stopped, but the subject must not be repressed
or even dropped from consciousness until it has been pursued to its logical
conclusion with as many positive thoughts as possible. When at length the
mind is diverted, the unconscious, which is supposed to retain all memories,
must be left with a true picture of the whole situation and the individual's
intellectual attitude toward it, so that it holds as a conclusion the idea
that, whatever may have been done in the past, total abstinence is the only
possible and hence desirable solution of the future.
The following example will clarify any doubt as to what is meant by the
control and correction of stupid and dangerous reflections and imaginings.
A man who had successfully rid himself of alcoholism, and who had learned
thoroughly how to guide his mind so as to maintain willingly his new
attitude toward life, was walking along the street one spring evening. He
heard a radio playing an old song which through association carried him back
to his drinking days - in fact, to one particularly "glorious party." Before
he realized what he was doing he had mentally relived the entire scene. But,
even though cured, it would have been a mistake for him to leave his mind in
this condition. Being aware of the danger of negative suggestion, he
reviewed briefly his alcoholic history: all the trouble of which this party,
among many others, had been the forerunner, and the recent debauches, with
their painful recoveries - in other words, what a mess he had made of his
life because of alcohol. Then he recounted how he had pulled himself
together, just about in time, and how entirely different his life had become
since he had given up drinking. By this procedure he overcame any tendency
to action that might in the long run have resulted from his preliminary
pleasant recollections. He had suppressed nothing, nor had he in any way
lied to himself, but the final vivid impression left on his mind was that
drink was something that he very definitely did not want to bother with
again.
For emphasis I repeat; It is of supreme importance that positive thinking be
employed whenever the subject comes up until the cure is complete, and that
negative thinking be restricted to that small amount which automatically
occupies the mind before the attention is aroused to combat it.
Negative thoughts, given the chance, arise all too swiftly. As the
individual's adult life has been built around alcohol, it has naturally
become an accompaniment to many of his instinctive urges - particularly his
ego or willto-power urge, as has already been pointed out. It is his refuge
in trouble and boredom as well as an apparent necessity at times of
pleasurable excitement, because for the inebriate there is in reality little
or no enjoyment without it. As soon as his intellectual control is shaken at
all, and it takes very little to shake it, his emotions immediately take
charge, which is almost the same as saying that alcohol takes charge, if
there is any available. While in this condition he wants happiness and
relaxation (of which I shall come to speak) and he wants them as soon as he
can get them.
When treatment is under way, the patient is less liable to give in to these
emotional states, as he has been forewarned of their probable appearance and
has received instructions in handling them. Furthermore, he has taken a
definite mental and a more matured emotional attitude toward them. This does
not prevent, however, what are called conditioned reflexes - or, better,
conditioned responses - from causing a certain amount of peculiar reactions
until the mental processes are proof against them. Sometimes these stimuli
are perfectly obvious, as would be the case when an alcoholic attends a
wedding or dance or any other occasion where formerly he was accustomed to
drink. But there are other unperceived stimulations which are connected in
his mind with alcohol. When these are received by his senses, they may set
in motion his former processes of thinking. Under this head might come
certain faces, places, or sounds which are not consciously associated with
dissipation although the relationship could be established if enough
analytical association were employed.
The purpose of mentioning these conditioned responses is, first, to show why
it is that a person who is trying his hardest to forget the subject of
alcohol may so frequently think about it at unusual times; and, secondly, to
explain certain annoying character traits which may crop out for apparently
no reason, and which the patient in his bewilderment may at times think are
almost as bad as the habit itself if they are to become permanent. These
traits are moodiness, depression, and sometimes anger, which apparently are
without reasonable provocation. The inebriate misses his accustomed refuge,
and furthermore he does not like to surrender to the fact that he must forgo
what his friends apparently can indulge in. Moreover, he has in sobriety a
surplus energy which he has been in the habit of deadening rather than
utilizing. As nothing of a worth-while nature is at hand to which he can
devote his attention the minute he sobers, up, the same discontent that he
felt between parties is carried over into sobriety, but because he is no
longer drugging himself he is more conscious of it. There is a feeling of
emptiness and lack of accomplishment even though he may be rather proud of
his ability to resist his temptation.
Also, he is beginning to realize that this change might have been
accomplished sooner, and that on the whole he has been stupid to insist on
prolonging his excessive drinking until the last possible moment. Now these
phenomena are sometimes entirely unconscious, and are activated to symbolic
expression by seemingly irrelevant or insignificant events. That does not
prevent them, however, from being a motivating force in the destruction of
mental peace and emotional equability. The alcoholic must understand that
the initial period of treatment is a transitory state, but that when his
creative instinct is satisfied and he has had time to form new associations
of ideas his negative moods will pass.
Parenthetically I should like to add that, if the patient has a tendency to
be disagreeable while drinking, this will be intensified should he suffer a
relapse. He will be conscious that he is doing something that he has taken
very definite measures against, and that these measures were taken because
his intellectual self had come to a realization that drinking for him was
the height of inexpediency. This being the case, the alcoholic hates himself
for his stupidity in a manner that he never did before he declared himself
formally against the habit, and so in drunkenness this self-hatred is almost
sure to be projected on to others.
One alcoholic found himself unreasonably disagreeable on returning from
football games which he attended sober. It was the first autumn in many
years that he had gone without liquor, and football had formerly furnished a
particularly suitable excuse for intoxication. Apparently he thought little
about his problem either during or after the games; in fact, he claimed to
have enjoyed them almost as much as ever., and he could think of no reason
to account for his ill nature. Then he was shown that, inasmuch as he only
began treatment in the middle of September, his old habit system, which he
had not had time to eliminate, was still seeking its accustomed manner of
expression. He was repressing this desire into the unconscious, and it was
vicariously seeking satisfaction in the form of a temper outburst when he
returned to his home. When this displacement of affect was analyzed, the
after-game tantrums vanished.
While we have justly stressed the direct control of thinking and shown its
supreme importance, we must add that such action is often best approached
and accomplished by a combination of the direct with the indirect. The mind
is never a vacuum - it is contemplating something at all times. Hence the
elimination of an undesirable system of thought cannot be achieved alone by
dwelling on the fact that such and such ideas (with their tendency to
action) can be changed or kept out of the mind by concentration alone.
The surest, as well as the easiest, way to keep the mind in a healthy state
is to have it filled with constructive and diverting thoughts which occupy
it because of their intrinsic interest and appeal. In other words, the
sooner an alcoholic can become genuinely interested in some worth-while
activity, the more of an outlet he will have for his creative urge, and
hence the more easily he will rid himself of a bad habit without conscious
effort. I have known of cases where men have accomplished their purpose
without becoming interested in other phases of life until much later; but
when a new interest can go hand in hand with the treatment the results of
the work are quicker, surer, and more pleasurable.
There is so much excitement attached to alcohol, whereby the stupidest
things become vitally interesting, that in moments of temporary sobriety the
drunkard is apt to feel that nothing is of any consequence without it. He
thinks that he has become so jaded that his power to enjoy simple pleasures,
or even complicated ones, without artificial stimulation has gone forever.
But this is true only temporarily. Quite naturally, upon first sobering up,
the inebriate finds nothing in his life of constructive interest. Though his
over-stimulated imagination will put a damper on every idea in the
beginning, he should give anything which may have a spark of attraction for
him an honest trial. Time after time it has been shown that this interest
achievement is no insurmountable task for a person of reasonable
intelligence and the will to succeed. For instance, in the matter of
conversation, the alcoholic will find that the same "intense
philosophications" with which he was wont to bore bartenders and taxi
drivers while amusing himself can in sobriety be carried on with people of
his own level of intelligence; only, instead of nonsense repeated over and
over again, they will become interesting and instructive exchanges of ideas.
Consider, for example, a young man whose chief interest in life was to
become intoxicated and then discuss art, poetry, and literature with an
equally drunken friend. He thought liquor and criticism were indivisible
because without the former the discussion seemed to lack stimulation.
Knowing that he had not taken the treatment seriously and would therefore
again succumb to temptation, I dropped the hint that a review written under
the influence of liquor (a time when he thought his mind was working
exceptionally well) might be illuminating. The result was pathetic; in fact,
so much so that I had difficulty in getting him to show it to me, although
he was not as a rule a person who minded a laugh at his own expense. Then I
persuaded him to do some literary work while sober, as he had a good mind
and a keen critical sense. One night he undertook to write a thesis for one
of those athletes who are too busy to perform such work for themselves. He
started at 10 P.M. and it was 4 A.M. before it was completed and he realized
the lateness of the hour.
He said, "'For the first time in many months' " I was really taken out of
myself mentally; for the first time since I began drinking I got a thrill
out of life sober." This was for him an epoch-making discovery. Though very
young, he was a real cynic; his cynicism was not a pose, as it is with so
many young people. Therefore it was hard to convince him of the truth of
anything that he had not himself experienced, and it was even harder to get
him to experience anything in a state of sobriety. The effect of this
writing can well be imagined.
There is in every man a disposition to create, and this disposition has the
force of a fundamental instinct; whether its expression takes the form of
painting pictures or selling bonds makes little difference so long as it
brings satisfaction. When this creative urge, through laziness or inner
conflict, is suppressed, it is bound to break out in some form of abnormal
behavior. When a man is drunk, he somehow feels that he is expressing
himself, regardless of how preposterous this feeling or its form of
expression may be from the point of view of logic. The psychoneuroses, of
which alcoholism is one manifestation, are often unsatisfactory substitutes
for doing nothing or for perpetually doing something that is distasteful.
(An exception to this statement is a person who has been doing something to
his taste, but has been grossly overdoing it. This form of causation is,
however, very rare indeed.) Thus it behooves the alcoholic who has been
vividly demonstrating his discontent with life - or perhaps it would be
better to say with himself - to seek a field of self-expression in which he
may utilize his superabundant energy, which heretofore he had been drugging
to the point of oblivion. Dr. William Healy writes: "Jung views the neurosis
as the result of a lack of a positive goal or value in life and as really an
attempt (unsuccessful) toward a new synthesis of life."
A debauch for the man who knows he cannot drink is nothing but an acute and
vivid form of neurotic outbreak. While the satisfaction of this creative
urge is most necessary for neurotics, it is particularly requisite for the
alcoholic, because' contrary to opinion, he has in the majority of cases an
unusual capability if he will avoid rum long enough to become acquainted
with his own mind. If the energy and ingenuity that he has shown in becoming
intoxicated are directed toward some more legitimate activity, he is more
apt than not in the long run to go further than his sober competitor. In
other words, his temperament is a powerful force for good or evil; it will
take him far toward success and happiness, or it will consign him to hell.
The mind must be free of alcoholic doubts and conflicts, so that it can be
devoted to the mature interests of life. There are different ways of freeing
the mind, and it is important that the right one be selected. It has just
been shown that an interest-diversion is most helpful in hastening and
consolidating the cure, but the alcoholic must not become so absorbed in
this interest that he forgets what actually is his main problem during the
first year of treatment, a problem which before all else must be solved.
Where drink is forgotten too soon because of its unimportance relative to
something else, - a sound enough idea, to be sure, - it sooner or later
returns to consciousness as being such a negligible factor that one or two
drinks cannot make any difference. "Now that I have this new, interesting,
and responsible position,"' says the pseudo-ex-alcoholic to himself, "I can
handle the liquor problem in a normal manner. My energies are concentrated
elsewhere, and my former reasons for excessive indulgence no longer exist."
The only fault with this reasoning is that it does not result in either
temperance or moderation, for when a drunkard resumes drinking it is never
very long before alcohol again rules supreme.
Some years ago there lived a man who decided to give up drinking until he
could make a million dollars, at which time he intended to drink in
moderation. It took him five years-of sobriety - to make the million; then
he began his "moderate" drinking. In two or three years he lost all his
money, and in another three he died of alcoholism.
The alcoholic, then, who is so fortunate as to have an absorbing interest
during his period of reorganization must find time to carry on the work that
is prescribed, otherwise his "old"' habit will appear to him as something so
far away and incapable of returning that it really makes no difference
whether he has a small cocktail or not. So he invariably has one, and the
results before long are in no way different than they were before he took up
his new interest.
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++++Message 2036. . . . . . . . . . . . The Common Sense of Drinking (1930)
Part 3 of 3
From: Lash, William \(Bill\) . . . . . . . . . . . . 9/29/2004 9:29:00 AM
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IV
THE CURE MADE EFFECTIVE
I. THE MIND
WE have seen that alcoholism and the psychoneuroses have for the most part
the same fundamental bases though alcoholism is a rather more natural form
of symptomatic behavior because of the social approval that accompanies
moderate drinking. It is not surprising that what has been a social custom
throughout history in all parts of the civilized world should be the natural
method of relief for those of an unstable nervous condition who unwittingly
crave a narcotic, but who are unfortunately unable to withstand its soothing
influence. Because drinking alcoholic beverages is considered to be normal
up to a certain point, the inebriate finds himself a "drug addict" without
being made aware of his deterioration in the same sense that he would have
been if he had taken morphine.
Because of this similarity between the more commonly accepted neuroses and
alcoholism, much of the treatment that has been found beneficial in the
former is applicable to the latter. Even before the advent of
psychoanalysis, one of the cardinal methods of approach to functional
disorders of the mind has been through an analysis of the patient's past and
present life to the end that the afflicted may unburden themselves, and that
as much light as possible may be shed on the underlying motivations through
expression. Furthermore, an intimate discussion with a sympathetic listener
whose opinion is believed to be authoritative generally brings distinct
relief to a troubled mind, even though no advice is given. Frequently I have
been thanked at the close of an interview for the assistance I have
rendered, when that assistance has consisted merely in being an interested
audience. Unconsciously the patient has drawn off his emotional pressure,
the driving force behind his undesired state of mind and the conduct
resulting from it. If there is live steam in the boiler, it must either go
into the cylinder or escape through the safety valve. If the engine cannot
revolve and the safety valve is jammed, the boiler bursts. This is an apt if
somewhat crude simile of what happens to the neurotic, though the bursting
may be expressed in symptoms ranging from a fear of subways to chronic
drunkenness.
2. OCCUPATION
While the past is doubtless responsible in one way or another for present
conditions, the future is going to determine whether or not these conditions
are to be changed. To be more explicit, the pursuit of suitable work and the
enjoyment of interesting hobbies are without doubt the easiest and surest
method of substituting sensible ideas for stupid ones. The discovery of an
interesting occupation to which the nervous system is suited is certainly
one of the most important goals to be striven for in the reeducation of
alcoholics. If a suitable occupation can be selected in advance, much
effort, often useless, in trying to adapt a personality to an unsuitable one
can be avoided. A man with an unstable nervous system cannot successfully
carry on a business which perpetually worries him even though it may be
interesting.
As an incitement to seek the relief of alcohol, invariably go worry,
boredom, and discouragement. An occupation may be in itself distasteful;
lack of future opportunity may produce a sense of futility. The energy, both
physical and psychic, that a person can expend beneficially depends much
less on the quantity of the work than on the quality of the emotional
reaction to it. Where a person is continually performing a disagreeable
task, he is in a constant state of conflict, though he may be unaware of it
because of repression. The greater the conflict and the longer its duration,
the more the individual feels himself to be trapped. If he reasons, as he
generally does, that his condition is no fault of his own stupidity, then he
is sure to feel that he is entitled to forget his troubles in intoxication.
To combat alcoholism without making every effort to combat what may well be
one of the chief external causes is putting undue emphasis on psychological
persuasion,, which may naturally be unable to carry the whole load in the
face of too great an obstacle.
If possible, a man should leave a distasteful job for one which holds out a
natural appeal even if the transfer involves a temporary reduction of
financial return. This is much easier to write about than to put into
effect, but, in general, plans can at least be made for an eventual change
so that the individual substitutes for the trapped feeling a more
philosophical acceptance of a status which he has come to regard as
temporary. Where a change seems to be impossible, depression can often be
alleviated by the development of some hobby to be pursued in the evenings
and over the weekend. If a man has something to look forward to at the end
of the day, time passes more quickly and with considerably less bitterness.
Dr. Myerson comes to my support here. "A hobby, or secondary object of
interest," he writes, "is therefore a real necessity to a man or woman
battling for a purpose whose interest must be sustained. It acts to relax,
to shift the excitement, and to allow something of the feeling of novelty as
one reapproaches the task." The italics are mine.
Where the predominating conscious conflict in a man's life revolves around
another personality rather than around a material object, a radical change
in the relationship should be deferred if possible until the drink problem
has been settled, when a man will act according to the ideas resulting from
a free functioning intelligence rather thin those of an unstable alcoholic
emotionalism. It is true that he may consider with justification that the
other personality, when most displeasing, is a distinct stimulus to his
habit. Nevertheless he cannot be sure of his opinions until he finds out by
actual trial to what extent both the conduct of this person and his own
ideation are a result of chronic drunkenness, occasionally interspersed with
grouchy and uncertain periods on the water wagon. (One of my patients who
recovered eventually from alcoholism bitterly regretted a divorce which he
had prematurely precipitated because of a disorganized state of mind.) An
inebriate does not know his own true self. In fact, it is no exaggeration to
say that this knowledge does not come in its entirety for many months after
a man has been sober on a " for-all-time" basis. The chances are that his
drinking started in late adolescence, and thus he has never known either the
extent or the direction of his adult potentialities. Therefore all important
decisions, other than that definitely to stop drinking, should be postponed
until the treatment is well on its way to a successful culmination.
3. THE BODY
Although this book does not discuss the physiological results of excessive
drinking, the attention given the body during the period of mental
reeducation requires brief consideration. In order successfully to make over
certain processes of the mind, the organic system should give all the
assistance that it can. It should be kept in the best possible condition,
and to that end the elements of a normal physical hygiene should be
faithfully followed. A medical examination by a competent physician is a
wise point of departure to find out what corrections, if any, are necessary
to enable the patient to carry on his work with a feeling of physical
well-being. A moderate amount of daily exercise - walking is as good as any
other - is a requisite for the average person's health. (Anything more
strenuous should follow the doctor's advice.) A person who is taking up the
reorganization of his mind should employ every means possible to assist him,
and quite naturally the condition and training of the body are not the least
important.
Because of its extreme obviousness, this essential phase of the work is
given only the briefest mention, but that does not mean that it can be
slighted -indeed, it must receive the most careful consideration.
4. RELAXATION AND SUGGESTION
The next phase of the work is that of relaxation and suggestion. This
well-known method of psychotherapy has a twofold purpose. First, to remove
the emotional tenseness from the conscious mind; second, to educate the
unconscious so that it will function in harmony with the desires of the
conscious.
Relaxation, or the elimination of tenseness, comes first. If people
accustomed to the use of alcohol will reflect, they will probably agree that
the pleasurable state of mind resulting from the first few drinks is due
primarily to two mental states - a feeling of self-importance, and an
accompanying feeling of calmness, poise, or relaxation. We have already
indicated that "self-importance" can be created legitimately and maintained
permanently without recourse to alcohol. Relaxation can as easily be
achieved by natural methods, and experience has shown over and over again
that when this has been the case, a most important blow has been struck at
the fundamental causes of excessive drinking.
This tension, which is largely emotional, can express itself in a variety of
ways; fear, worry, and, most commonly, boredom. Unhappily, for many men,
alcohol for a short space of time removes tension most effectively, and so
the person disposed to these states of mind has a tendency to resort to it
as a narcotic (a quieting drug having strong habit-forming propensities).
That alcohol is no real solution to nervous tension is shown when drinking
is carried to its extreme limit (delirium tremens). But, whatever the final
results may be, the initial effects are so satisfactory that the individual
is tempted to seek this method over and over again for want of a better one,
with full realization of the eventual suffering that he must endure. On the
other hand, if he can find a method which will prevent the accumulation of
this excess tension, if he can learn to face life calmly and quietly, he
will not feel the need of what he thinks of as a stimulant but what in
reality is a sedative. Men, if necessary, can resist a stimulant; but once
they employ alcohol as a narcotic they have great difficulty in controlling
themselves. When the narcotic employed is very powerful, as is the case with
morphine and cocaine, the problem is practically insoluble outside of the
four walls of an institution.
Relaxation, however, can be achieved without alcohol if a person will take
the time to study the method. Let us consider for a moment the physical
aspect. When a man can go through the day using only those muscles which he
needs at the time and to the extent that the situation demands and can
permit them to recuperate the rest of the time through relaxation, he is far
more efficient in business and far less fatigued when the day's work is over
than he is if, for example, he sits at his desk with his legs rigid and his
toes dug into his shoes or walks home at the end of the day with his Jaws
and fists clenched.
From the mental point of view, if this same man can train himself by methods
of relaxation to avoid displays of temper, baseless apprehensions, shyness,
and other unpleasant moods, not by attempting to suppress them, but by
finding out why they exist and anticipating occasions which might create
them, he has begun to get at the roots of his drinking in a manner that he
never did when he was putting the blame on his inheritance, the bad start he
got in college - or the weather.
Now let us consider the phenomena of suggestion.
The existence of the unconscious (sub-conscious or co-conscious) and the
fact that it can be affected, without even the knowledge of the conscious,
were definitely proved long ago by hypnotism. Thus if all in need of it
could be hypnotized, and if the effects of hypnotism were permanent, the
whole problem of alcoholism would be solved by this method of treatment.
Unfortunately, however, many persons cannot be hypnotized (this is
particularly true of introverts, who make up the largest group of
alcoholics), and those who can are in most cases only temporarily relieved
of their ailments. In fact, it was because of the limitations of hypnotism
that Freud was impelled to seek other methods to treat successfully the
psychoneuroses, and thus finally evolved psychoanalysis. He was perfectly
capable of putting many of his patients in a state of hypnosis, and of
giving them, while in that state, suggestions that were of the utmost
benefit for the time being, but because of the ultimate recurrence of the
malady he was dissatisfied with it as a means of psychotherapy.
On the other hand, it has been found by many practitioners that a deep
though fully conscious relaxation (what the late Dr. Morton Prince called a
state of abstraction) followed by suggestion seems to give the unconscious
mind the stimulation and direction that it needs. As the patient is well
aware of what is taking place, the results of this suggestion are not as
quick and spectacular as they are when amnesia is induced, but they are
surer and in the long run their effect is out of all proportion to the
energy spent in practicing them, provided the work is carried on
systematically over a sufficient period of time. Let him who is skeptical
about this suggestion commit to memory two verses of poetry-one in the
morning to recite in the evening, and the other just before going to sleep
to recite on the following morning. He will soon discover that the latter
gives better results with a minimum of effort expended.
The relaxation procedure is as follows. The patient is instructed to recline
in a chair and think of himself as being numb, heavy, limp, and relaxed. He
is told that the chair and the floor are holding him up and that there is no
need for him to make any effort whatsoever.
He need not even keep perfectly quiet if it is difficult for him to do so.
If other ideas than those he is being given enter his mind, he is warned not
to try to resist them but to let them come into his field of thought and
then quietly pass out of it again. He takes a long deep breath in the
beginning which is slowly exhaled, and thereafter the breathing is
rhythmical and slow as in sleep. In a voice that is even and monotonous the
instructor enumerates the more prominent muscles of the body, such as the
arms, legs, shoulders, and back, which are to be relaxed, and the patient is
informed many times that he is becoming drowsier and sleepier, and that his
mind is following his body into a state of relaxation. When at the end of
four or five minutes a state of drowsiness has been attained, simple
suggestions are given; but these suggestions must under no circumstances
conflict with ideas which are acceptable to the individual when he is in
alert condition.
He is then instructed to relax himself at night in much the same manner,
though he is at perfect liberty to invent any method of his own which he may
find more effective in treating himself. For instance, one patient
discovered that relaxation could best be induced under conditions of extreme
tension by first making the muscles all over the body as taut as possible
while slowly inhaling, and then very slowly relaxing while exhaling, the
process to be repeated more and more slowly as often as necessary.
The suggestions given to the patient during the relaxed state are in general
to the effect that he is going to be more calm, poised, and relaxed on the
following day, that he is slowly but surely building up a well-poised mature
personality, and that as his nervous tension passes away the desire for
alcohol will go with it; furthermore, that through a relaxed attitude he
will develop a sense of relativity so that he can distinguish the true
values of life from the false, and that, what is all-important, having
distinguished them, he will be able to develop them in a sustained manner.
Alcohol itself is referred to as briefly as possible because of the danger
of employing negatively suggestive words, but in the beginning it is
necessary to mention it if the subject is to be done sufficient justice in
the patient's estimation.
If, on retiring, a person is already relaxed and ready for sleep, the
artificial method can be dispensed with, but the suggestion must never be
omitted as the ideas in the mind at that particular moment are more potent
in influencing the personality than at any other time.
A whole book might be - and indeed has been - written on the energy wasted
and the exhaustion produced by living in a contracted state of mind and
body. Bodily tension, except where it is willed for the accomplishment of
some task, is always the result of a nervous state of mind, though the
latter can exist apparently independent of physical expression. For those
who are interested in the physiological side of this problem I recommend
Progressive Relaxation, by Dr. Edmund Jacobson. It is rather technical for a
layman, but it shows in a convincing manner the far-reaching results of
relaxation. I appreciate that this relaxation-suggestion phase of the
treatment may sound like hocus-pocus to those who have never tried it. But I
have never yet seen a person - and alcoholics are much more apt to be
skeptical than credulous - who did not admit receiving very distinct
benefits from it, once they had given it a fair trial.
It must be clearly understood, however, that relaxation is the direct
opposite rather than the counterpart of laziness and slouchiness. (The
sporting columns of Mr. Grantland Rice have made much of relaxation as an
all-important element in a successful athletic career.) Relaxation is, in
fact, the antithesis of laziness, in that by conservation of energy greater
efficiency is promoted, and hence more successful work can be accomplished.
Catching a baseball is a good simile to illustrate the difference between
the tense and relaxed attitude towards life. A novice holds out his hands
rigidly; the ball strikes them, stings, and is probably muffed. A trained
player extends his hands to meet the ball, but brings them back at the
moment of contact; there is no pain, and the ball has been caught, because
relaxation has taken place at the proper moment.
To substantiate the theory I have described, quotations from Mr. Courtenay
Baylor's book, Remaking a Man, are pertinent. "I recognized," he writes,
"that the taking of the tabooed drink was the physical expression of a
certain temporary but recurrent mental condition which appeared to be a
combination of wrong impulses and a wholly false, though plausible
philosophy. Further, I believed that these strange periods were due to a
condition of the brain which seemed akin to a physical tension and which set
up in the processes a peculiar shifting and distorting and imagining of
values; and I have found that with a release of this `tenseness' a normal
coordination does come about, bringing proper impulses and rational
thinking."
And again, "Underlying and apparently causing this mental state (fear,
depression, or irritability), I have always found the brain condition which
suggests actual physical tenseness. In this condition a brain never senses
things as they really are. As the tenseness develops, new and imaginary
values arise and existing values change their relative positions of
importance and become illogical and irrational. Ideas at other times
unnoticed or even scorned become, under tenseness, so insistent that they
are converted into controlling impulses. False values and false thinking run
side by side with the normal philosophy for a time; and then with the
increasing tenseness the abnormal attitude gradually replaces the normal in
control. This is true whether the particular question be one of drinking or
of giving way to some other impulse; the same indecision, changeability,
inconsistency, and lack of resistance mark the mental process. In fact, the
person will behave like one or the other of two different individuals as he
or she is not mentally
tense."
We must not overlook one very important but little-recognized stimulus to
drinking. Emotional instability (tension) can be created by legitimate
excitement (such as attending a football game where the home team is
victorious or, for that matter, by any other form of pleasant emotional
stimulation) just as surely as it can by worry and unhappiness. In fact, it
would be no exaggeration to say that the alcoholic has to learn to withstand
success just as assuredly as he does misfortune, strange as this statement
may seem. Many drunkards claim that they do not use alcohol as a refuge but
as a means of celebration, and they are probably right as far as their
conscious minds are concerned.
Why a man under pleasant emotional stimulation seeks narcotic escape from
reality in the same manner as he does from unpleasant emotions is an
interesting question but difficult to answer. My own theory is that a
neurotic is unconsciously, and possibly consciously, afraid when his
emotional equilibrium is disturbed, no matter what the quality of the
disturbance may be. When he is in a state of euphoria (happiness) he
evidently feels the need of a stabilizer to the same extent as he does in
dysphoria (unhappiness), just as he is bored when he looks inward, so he is
frightened when he looks outward, if the customary scene has changed even a
little.
Stekel, the psychoanalyst, throws some light on this question when he writes
in his volume, The Beloved Ego: "There has always remained a bitter sediment
in every joy, a secret fear that Is the gods wish to destroy us,' that
happiness would be followed by misfortune, and that the contrast would make
the inevitable misfortune appear all the greater. Is this the right form of
teaching? Happiness should not make us reckless; but should our happiness be
poisoned by the thought of its inevitable end? "
Is it not possible that this "bitter sediment" is overdeveloped in the
alcoholic, even if it is entirely unconscious ?
Finally, we must remember that most people enjoy being emotional, and would
like to express themselves in this instinctive manner much more often than
is possible under normal living conditions, and the resistance to such
expression for lack of opportunity is a contributing cause of tension. When
men drink, the self-critical inhibitions are lowered and an emotional
discharge easily takes place.
"Now of all the intellectual functions," says Professor McDougall, "'that of
self-criticism is the highest and latest developed, for in it are combined
the functions of critical judgment and of self-consciousness, that
self-knowledge which is essential to the supreme activity we call volition
or the deliberative will. It is the blunting of this critical side of
self-awareness by alcohol, and the consequent setting free of the emotions
and their instinctive impulses from its habitual control, that give to the
convivial drinker the aspect and the reality of a general excitement."'
The individual under the influence of alcohol does what he wants to do, -
that is, in some way exercises his emotions, - and he is happy doing
anything so long as he can have this emotional outlet. It matters very
little from the point of view of a good time whether he laughs or cries,
and, for that matter, whether he cries over the death of a friend or the
blowing out of an automobile tire. If tears and sobs are any indication of
his grief, they both furnish the same amount of sorrow. In other words,
alcohol not only permits an emotional discharge, but also it never fails to
provide an instantaneous incitement to whatever new emotional form of
expression comes to mind. However ridiculous this incitement and its form of
expression may be from the sober point of view, they are satisfying to the
drinker. He has his "cause" and he is going to have his emotional spree
about it. (The word "emotion" is used in a wide sense in this particular
paragraph. For instance, to be very serious-minded and persuasive about
nothing at all would certainly be an emotional rather than an intellectual
proceeding.)
While the release of the emotions through alcohol may be of benefit to the
normal drinker who has an occasional "party," it in no sense releases the
alcoholic, but on the contrary precipitates him into a worse mental
condition than he was in at the beginning. The moment he regains sobriety a
new series of depressive nervous thoughts are in attendance to take the
place of the boredom or worry that was supposed to have been the cause of
the first drink.
So the alcoholic must learn, not to eliminate or repress, but through
relaxation to prevent the accumulation of emotional tension unaided by
alcohol. There are certainly times when the emotions should be enjoyed to
the limit, and the person who is always restrained and judicial is apt to be
a dull pedant. But once a legitimate emotional situation is over, a man must
learn to revert willingly to the realm of reason until another normal moment
for emotionalism presents itself. These occasions should not be prolonged or
created on a whim by indulging in a drug which is too stimulating in the
beginning and far too depressing for a long time thereafter. The results in
the long run are as futile as they are when this same substance is used as a
refuge from trouble.
As a matter of fact, one of the most interesting features to observe about
drink, and the one that more than any other has made it an alluring social
custom, is its apparent soothing and yet stimulating effects acting
simultaneously. These attributes seem to have a fatal fascination for those
whose nervous systems are not suited to being stimulated or relaxed by an
artificial medium. Coffee will stimulate and sleeping powders soothe, but
neither of them creates a feeling of elation, whereas alcohol in its
earliest stages seems to possess both the "desired " qualifications. Of
course these effects are only temporary. It is common knowledge that the
stimulation resulting from liquor is so short-lived and so quickly turns to
exhaustion that nobody contemplating prolonged effort considers employing it
as an aid. Even more deceptive is the soothing quality, for, as has been
stated, the continued drinking of unlimited quantities of alcohol results in
delirium tremens, the very peak of physical and mental tension.
5. READING AND WRITING
It is often helpful in influencing the trend of thinking to read books of a
constructive nature whether they bear directly on the problem, as would be
the case with those of a philosophical or psychological nature, or whether
the appeal is through inference. Books which would influence in this manner
are biographies or autobiographies of men who have become successful.
Lives of such men as Napoleon, Lincoln, Lee, Washington, Pasteur, and
Disraeli cannot fail to act as an inspiration to a man who is endeavoring to
get rid of an undesirable habit. Conversely, literature which deals with the
charms of hedonism, which expounds a philosophy of "Eat, drink, and be
merry, for to-morrow we die," or which glowingly describes dissipation,
should be carefully avoided until the patient is definitely cured. Of those
books which deal directly with the problem of character integration in a
popular manner I know of none better than The Human Machine, by Arnold
Bennett. There are, of course, others written in a similar vein, and if the
alcoholic will give a little attention to the bookstores and libraries he
will be able to find sufficient reading material to keep his mind
constructively occupied throughout the period of treatment. How much, if
any, investigation of abnormal psychology should be made depends upon the
individual reaction to the subject. For instance, some men are quite
interested in the theories of psychoanalysis and can read its more
simplified expositions with considerable benefit, while others are disturbed
by it, or merely disinterested.
Such books as interest the patient must be read in a careful manner, and the
ideas which particularly appeal to him should be marked. This does not mean
that an abstract is to be made as proof that the book has been read with
understanding, but rather that the patient is to gather together a group of
ideas which will contribute to the construction of a new philosophy of life.
If a few helpful suggestions can be culled from pages of platitudes, then
reading the book has been worth while. For this reason a person should show
some degree of perseverance in searching through a book which may not
stimulate him in the beginning. On the other hand, if he has a definitely
unpleasant reaction to it, he should drop it instantly.
Writing as well as reading is of benefit to the patient. It helps to
crystallize in his mind the ideas that he has received. He may write an
exposition of his personal reaction to the treatment so far as he has
progressed in it, or he may write a letter to an imaginary friend describing
how the alcoholic habit can be eliminated. If this latter way is employed,
the patient is for the moment playing the role of teacher, and there is no
way of learning that is half as effective as teaching.
Writing incidentally will disclose how many of the ideas have been
thoroughly understood and retained in the patient's mind, how many have gone
in one car and out the other, and how many have been twisted so that they
are more in line with emotional wish fulfillment than with an intellectual
disposition of the problem under consideration. Many people who are
apparently listening with the closest attention are in reality only
considering what they themselves are going to say when it comes their turn
to do the talking. Whatever the method of approach to the composition, the
cure will be clarified, objectified, and in a sense intensified by an
occasional thesis of not less than two pages. If an individual is willing to
write more often and at length, so much the better.
The following is a sample theme of the autobiographical type, written by a
man for whom alcohol had become a serious problem because of his occasional
antisocial reaction to a normal amount, rather than because of prolonged
debauches. He felt with some reason that this latter manifestation was
latent.
The cure for alcoholism, as given me during the last nine months, has left
me with the following impressions.
When I began the cure, I had just reached the point when alcohol had become
a narcotic. The periods during which I was "on the wagon" were becoming
shorter and shorter, and in the ensuing "hangovers" I had already reached
the point when I felt that I needed rather than wanted a drink the next day.
My shame and depression from the periodic outbreaks was becoming a dull and
ever present misery.
I had for some time known that Peabody was making a business of successfully
curing alcoholics, and after an especially severe debauch I called him in on
the theory that it was at least worth while for me to hear about how other
people had been cured. The first, and one of the most important, things that
I got out of his explanation was a brand new thought to me - namely, that
habit of thought is more powerful than will. This thought immediately
reduced the cure from an intangible exercise of will power to a definite
course of mental training, and made the cure seem to me not conceivable but
probable. It made the cure seem more like learning algebra than learning to
love Art. Starting from the basic idea that, although it involved a great
deal of effort, it was possible, I then considered the question of whether
it was worth while to make the effort. The answer was obvious.
The answer to the next necessary decision to be made by me was equally
obvious. If I was to change my habit of thought, learn to want not to drink,
I must give up alcohol for all time, as only by doing so could I eliminate
any conflict of thought on the subject. From this point on the cure became
an exercise of mental gymnastics, the overrunning of old habits of thought
by new habits of thought. You cannot obliterate tracks in the mind any more
than you can hoof-prints in a muddy road, but you can overrun those old
tricks in the mind until they are no longer important in the same way that
you can overrun hoof-prints in a muddy road by the tire tricks of an
automobile.
One of the tasks I was set seems very important to me - the making out of a
daily schedule, which, once made out, had to be lived up to. This issuance
of small commands to myself and my obedience to them rapidly restored my
self-respect. Incidentally my efficiency in my daily work was enormously
increased, which increased the respect for me of other people. This reacted
favorably on my confidence in myself. In other words, by perfectly
mechanical means I was enabled to rum what had been a vicious circle into a
beneficent circle. The more pride I was able to take in myself the less need
I had of the rallying effect of alcohol when I went out.
Besides the schedule, another aid was available and equally important.
Almost all impulses originate in the unconscious mind. It is necessary
therefore to change the habit of thought in the unconscious mind. This is
perfectly possible. Peabody used to - and still does - relax me, physically
as well as mentally, and when I am in a relaxed condition, talks to me. What
thoughts he expresses at that time are sowed in my unconscious mind. He has
taught me to do the same thing for myself. The result is that when I am
offered a cocktail, instead of instinctively saying "Yes" I instinctively
say "No." I have been able to put the application of this method to work in
my daily life downtown.
All this sounds pretty easy. It is not easy for several reasons. First, that
it takes a certain amount of courage to admit that you, yourself, cannot do
what others can apparently successfully do, namely, drink. Secondly, that it
takes a long time to overrun with new habits of thought the old habits of
thought in the mind, and a certain amount of will power is necessary to
carry you through the long grind.
After my common sense told me that the cure was possible, - in fact, if the
work be done, inevitable, - I went to Peabody on the same theory that I
would have gone to in instructor of mathematics had I found it necessary to
learn calculus. Probably I could learn calculus by myself out of books, but
it would take me a great deal longer than if I went to a competent teacher.
I keep referring to mathematics because the whole cure seems to me similar
to addition. If you add two and two you get four. If you add one and two you
don't get four, you only get three. What you put into your mind you take
out. If, over a long period of time, you have put things into your mind
which are bad for you those same things come out, and the reason that I am
so much better off to-day than I was nine months ago is that the right
things that I have been putting into my mind have largely nullified the
wrong things that I had put in the past.
6. LIVING BY SCHEDULE
The therapeutic problem is one of mental and emotional reintegration, which
implies obviously that a disintegration of personality is found to some
extent in each patient at the beginning of the work. This disintegration
shows itself in laziness and inefficiency, even when the alcoholic is sober.
This it is absolutely necessary to correct. Of course there are some
inebriates who from time to time introduce bursts of efficiency into an
otherwise disordered life. Then there are those who concentrate upon one
form of "efficiency" so that it is almost a fetish. Neatness is a case in
point. I have known drunkards who prided themselves upon their personal
appearance at all times (except when they were so drunk that they did not
know what they were doing), even though their life was crumbling about their
cars. But by and large the excessive drinker has lost his sense of values;
he has no goal in life; he is entirely concerned with drinking, sobering up,
and drinking again. Everything else is of so little importance that it
receives at best only a half-hearted consideration, and, more often, none at
all. The "conscientious" acts performed when under the influence of liquor
would have been better left undone until sobriety was-again attained.
The individual who leads this sort of inefficient existence, even when he is
not an alcoholic, is flying in the face of an urge having almost instinctive
force, for whenever we observe nature we note an orderly system. This same
methodical urge to be integrated exists in our characters. In olden times
this question of conduct was such an obsession that the word "integrity"
itself, which originally meant orderliness, came to assume a definitely
ethical meaning. Nowadays to be well organized is recognized as a concrete
means of existence rather than an abstract principle with religious
overtones. Dr. Jelliffe and Dr. White, in the chapter on the
Manic-Depressive psychoses in their book, Diseases of the Nervous System
say, "The efficiency of one's relation to reality is the measure of one's
normality."
Our problem is to substitute a benign for a vicious circle, and the key to
this substitution is the employment of a method whereby a relative degree of
efficiency will be achieved. The drunkard must naturally sober up first;
but, this having been accomplished, a new and more vigorous point of view
must be injected into that period which heretofore has consisted in marking
time between "'parties," to take the place of indifference, remorse, or
hopeless discouragement. If, during this interim, the reaction to life can
be changed even slightly for the better, if some concrete action can be
introduced into the daily attempt at normal adaptation which will give the
patient the feeling, "Here is something constructive (dynamic and new),"
then the cure may be said to have started.
I say "concrete" action because wise planning is a comparatively easy task
for most people. In fact, it is so easy that all but the most vicious
inebriates have been as full of lofty and sensible ideas as they have been
of liquor, long before they have taken any constructive action about their
problem. But it is the execution of the plan that determines whether or not
the initial theories were of any value. There must be action -forceful,
purposive, intelligent, and sustained; and there is no better way to produce
this action than to plan and execute one's life according to a self-imposed,
prearranged schedule. To be explicit: before going to bed the patient should
write down on a piece of paper the different hours of the following day,
beginning with the time of arising. Then, so far as can be determined
beforehand, he should fill in these hours with what he plans to do.
Throughout the day notations should be made if exceptions have occurred in
the original plans, and it should be indicated whether these exceptions have
been due to legitimate or rationalized excuses. The latter must be avoided
at all costs. Small as well as large activities that are taken up should not
be dropped until completed unless they are in a sense unknown quantities,
entered upon for purposes of investigation only.
Just how detailed the schedule should be depends somewhat upon the
individual personality, for it is the spirit in which it is carried out
rather than the letter of the law that is important. Some people are made
nervous by looking at the clock, and so they have better results if they
merely put down what they intend to do in a semblance of order. The time
method is the best, however, although it is desirable that the commitments
should not be treated from a petty point of view, such as might create only
an annoying reaction. For instance, when a person his set aside the hours
from three to five for reading, he is not supposed to close his book
promptly at five o'clock if a few minutes more will give him sufficient time
to finish the chapter. Moreover, there are business as well as social
interests which cannot be terminated at any hour known in advance, as they
depend upon other people who are not in any way interested in a schedule.
Obviously, under these conditions, question marks will have to be
substituted for definite time limits, but this need not prevent the schedule
from doing all that it is intended to do if such things as can be done are
carried out in the proper spirit.
The schedule must be thorough; on it goes everything - not only work and
duty, but pleasure and rest, though the rest should be of a definite nature
and not just loafing about. At least one thing which must be done
eventually, but which has been procrastinated because it is distasteful,
should be included in each day's plan until all the pieces of an inefficient
past have been picked up.
As far as notations go, I wish to repeat for emphasis that these will be
determined by common sense, checked by the utmost personal honesty that can
possibly be attained. Most people in their hearts cannot really fool
themselves unless they wish to. So the alcoholic should have no trouble in
determining honestly whether a change in the schedule has been made for
sensible and necessary reasons or whether it has come about through the
reassertion of the old habits of laziness, if logical, it should be made
without hesitation, for the schedule has reason as its basis and not
fanaticism; but ingenious as well as feeble excuses must be stringently
suppressed.
The schedule contributes to the reintegration of character in three ways,
all of them important. First, it prevents idleness. This advantage is so
obvious that I shall let a quotation from Dr. Stekel suffice for further
comment. "Earthly happiness," he writes, "or that condition which we call
happiness, is primarily dependent upon our relationship to time. People who
have no time, but, in spite of that, find time for everything they wish to
do, are the happiest. There is no need for them to kill time. They never get
so far as to become conscious of it - they know no boredom. Boredom is
nothing else than consciousness of time."
Second, the schedule brings to the attention of the alcoholic the fact that
he is doing something concrete about changing his condition, something more
than mere discussion and reflection. One of the chief difficulties of the
treatment is its seeming vagueness outside of the central theme
(abstinence), and so the more reality that can be brought into the work, the
surer and quicker the favorable outcome. As has been stated before, the
alcoholic is more of a student than a patient, and he should never be
allowed to forget that he is taking a course.
The third and most important of all reasons for employing the schedule is
the training that it gives the individual in executing his own commands. It
stands to reason that if ten or twenty times each day a person carries out a
self-imposed direction, even though each of these directions may in itself
be infinitesimal, a definite contribution has been made to the formation of
a new character.
In battle it has been proved over and over again that large hordes of
individually brave but untrained men can accomplish little when opposed by a
smaller but disciplined military group. It takes plenty of close order drill
before a regiment can go over the top, though the commands of that drill are
never by any chance used in modern warfare. So with the alcoholic and his
temptation. He cannot expect consistently to conquer his enemy in every
drawing-room and country-club porch if he has made no advance preparation.
He must do something more than theorize, important as that is, if he is
going to pass through a cocktail barrage unscathed. In the end, to be sure,
his abstinence will be the result of his not actually wanting to drink, but
to reach that end successfully requires a disciplined personality. That this
training, if carried out over a sufficient period of time, will have
ultimate results far exceeding that of mere sobriety goes without saying,
but we will reserve discussion of that important "by-product" for a later
period.
From my own point of view the schedule gives a very good indication of what
may be expected from each particular patient. A man who cannot or will not
carry out such an important element of the work may be strongly suspected of
being unsuitable material upon which to spend time and energy either because
of his constitutional makeup or because of lack of sincerity.
7. THE NOTEBOOK AND WILL POWER
Keeping a notebook is another helpful means of objectifying the work. As a
basis for this book I have collected some sixty statements pertaining to the
elimination of the alcoholic habit. These ideas, which average about one
hundred and fifty words each, are set down on separate sheets of paper, one
of which the patient takes home with him, after it has been carefully
discussed, and transcribes in his own handwriting. He is cautioned to do
this work only when he has sufficient time to give the point under
consideration considerable reflection. If he can expand the idea, or if he
can express it, without changing the sense, in words that make more of an
appeal to him, so much the better. He also copies into his notebook those
ideas which he has marked in the books that he has read. Thus he creates a
personal reference book which should stimulate him by precept, warning, or
inference toward better control and more mature behavior. This book he
should turn to frequently for the purpose of refreshing his mind with his
new system of philosophy and as a means of correcting any negative
suggestion which he may have absorbed.
Of course it is the spirit with which the notebook is kept that is
important, not the perfunctory copying out of so many words in an uncritical
and unreflective frame of mind. If the alcoholic cannot see the help to be
derived from this procedure, as in the case of the schedule, he should not
be coerced into taking it up. But the conscientious student who wishes to
make the most of his time will be anxious to employ all the elements that
have assisted others toward reconstruction. There are too few of these aids
as it is, and it is hardly fair if one or two are neglected, particularly as
the one that is slighted is presumably the one that is most necessary.
"Many patients," writes Dr. Menninger, "show their resistance by doing
everything imaginable in the name of treatment, except the thing most likely
to cure them." For example, if exercise is avoided, the mind has to work
against, rather than with, a body which at least should be pulling its own
weight. If, again, the pre-sleep suggestion is forgotten, the unconscious is
not being trained to cooperate with the conscious, and thus one of the
strongest methods of attacking the problem is omitted.
I have emphasized the right spirit in which the work should be undertaken
and maintained. Anticipation is a powerful aid to this proper frame of mind.
The alcoholic must continually suggest to himself that he is going to carry
on the work just as conscientiously and seriously in the future as he did in
the beginning until he has had a year of uninterrupted sobriety behind him.
If he faithfully faces the future in this manner, he will be well armed
against overconfidence or laziness, (if he is sane and sincere, there is no
chance of an "about face" as regards his intellectual attitude.)
In the beginning he is particularly apt to get good results, because,
although he is very near to the latest expression of the habit he is
endeavoring to conquer, the treatment is colored with novelty and
enthusiasm. When this wears off, as it is bound to do, he may become lazy
and uninterested if he has not taken pains to prepare his future mental
attitude, though the method that this laziness will take will be a premature
conviction that he is already cured. Experience has shown that relapses come
about in this way and not because of the accumulation of an irresistible
thirst through a period of abstinence. As a matter of fact, in no case yet
where a relapse has occurred has the patient told me that it resulted from
overwhelming temptation in spite of conscientious work. In each and every
instance it was frankly admitted that the carrying out of the therapeutic
measures had been allowed to slacken some time before a drink was actually
taken. There have been a few instances which might be considered an
exception to this statement in its narrowest sense. These occurred very
early in the treatment and were the sudden expression of rage or grief which
gave the neophyte the "justification" he was looking for.
Before finishing the discussion of the treatment, there is one point which I
should like to bring home. So much has been said about methods for
overcoming the alcoholic habit other than the old-fashioned one of straight
will power that the reader may be wondering if this does not enter into the
work at all. On this point there should be no misunderstanding. Will power
is most decidedly necessary, but after the first month or two it is used
chiefly as a force to compel the patient to carry on his work. It is much
more effective if applied in this manner than if it is blindly directed
against the habit itself. The latter method might be described as will power
fighting with its bare fists, and the former as will power armed with an
assortment of weapons with which to coerce an errant mind. If the will is
used without any imagination in a headlong and unscientific attack, if all
effort is concentrated on the control of the habit and none on the
redirecting of the desires, sooner or later will power will lose and a long
(?) period on the wagon will be the best that can be said for the energy
expended.
But while the new habits are forming, the will must be used without stint
whenever necessary. The treatment is founded on common sense and sound
psychological principles rather than magic, and there is no known means for
removing instantaneously the desire for alcohol forever. At later periods
also there may be times when, in spite of all his efforts, the patient
frankly wants to drink. But he will be tempted less intensely as time passes
and far less frequently, so that it can do him no harm to fall back on will
power to tide him over his occasional "crises," conscious that his
temptation will be short-lived and in the end entirely eliminated.
The question of will power has been stressed because one or two individuals
have conceived the idea, probably as a result of wish-fulfillment, that the
treatment would instantly remove the desire for drink and that will power
did not enter into the matter; that therefore if they really wanted to drink
they might do so, leaving the future change in point of view to some
transcendental power. They were right about will power not entering into the
matter after the cure has been completed, but to try this theory at the
beginning of the treatment when they were naturally full of thirsty
associations was the worst form of sophistry and rationalization.
8. PITFALLS
It is, I believe, desirable to warn the alcoholic of certain pitfalls. While
we cannot say that such a caution is synonymous with prevention,
nevertheless knowledge of motives and reactions is certainly of great help
in the science of controlling the emotions. These ideas, which might be
called a mental defensive preparation, are not necessarily linked together
except as they apply to the central theme, nor are they set forth in order
of importance.
It would hardly seem necessary to devote space to the discussion of
"systematic drinking" at this late period in the book if an attempt to
utilize the treatment as a means of drinking moderately had not actually
been put in practice by an unusually intelligent and sincere patient. At the
time, to be sure, his reasoning was unconscious, and so there was no
reversal of policy toward drinking as an accepted way of life, but when the
smoke of a temporary explosion had cleared away, it would seem that the
philosophy evolved was as follows: "I have learned how to stop drinking and
am happy without it. Two or three times a year, however, I should like to
drink moderately during the evening. I am so satisfied without liquor and
have such a good system for directing and controlling emotional thinking
that I am sure I shall be able to restrict my indulgence to the amount
stated."
This was a beautiful theory, and those who are not aware of the insidious
power that alcohol has over certain organisms might be disposed to find it
logical. The trouble with this 'reasoning" was that the results were very
different from those intended, for the patient frankly and voluntarily
admitted that after a six months' trial it was a complete failure and that
his drinking was more of a fiasco than it had ever been before.
The alcoholic cannot make plans and set limitations for the use of alcohol,
for once he has taken a drink he ceases to be himself in a much deeper
meaning of the phrase than would be applicable to the average man under the
influence of liquor. To be sure, this does not always show at the beginning
of a "party." In fact, it is perfectly possible that on occasions the
alcoholic may take his normal drinking friend home and put him to bed. But
the behavior on succeeding days proves the truth of the statement that
alcohol for inebriates acts as a mental-nerve poison in a manner that it
does not for the normal drinker, regardless of the comparative condition of
the two in the early stages of what is to be an evening's dissipation for
one and a debauch for the other.
As has been mentioned before, alcoholism is a disease of immaturity,
regardless of the actual age of the individual suffering from it. The
drunkard is not only a child, but a spoiled child. He has far too keen a
sensibility for likes and dislikes, chiefly the latter. By trying to avoid
everything unpleasant and make what he cannot avoid artificially enjoyable,
he reaches a state wherein he likes nothing when sober. He must be
reeducated in a manner that will show him that, while a diversity of
interests is desirable, it is not necessary to like everything, nor is it
possible to escape entirely from unpleasant duties. Many of these tasks
could perfectly well be done automatically -that is, without endowing them
with any emotional consideration whatsoever. They are not important enough
to either like or dislike.
As far as the pleasures go, if an ex-alcoholic finds under a sober regime
that he dislikes certain things that he enjoyed while drinking, he need not
be surprised, but may feel certain that these same things have no genuine
interest for him or it would not be necessary for him to whip up an
agreeable reaction to them with alcohol. For instance, if, at the age of
thirty-five or forty, he finds that he does not like dances when sober, all
well and good. Dances are not a criterion of intelligence or necessary as a
diversion, and he does not have to attend them. If he objects that staying
at home leaves him "out of things," reflection, when he regains his sense of
relativity, should show him that he is not 'out of'' very much, and that a
mind functioning soberly over a sufficient period will unquestionably
provide a substitute which will make life more interesting and vital for him
than formal social activity. Naturally, the more means people have of
amusing themselves, the better - and this most certainly includes a social
life! But where pleasure cannot be enjoyed unstimulated, and for its own
sake, it may be eliminated without self-pity or disparagement.
It is most important that a person who is conscientiously endeavoring to
reorganize his morale should understand that 100 per cent results are not
necessarily expected. Lapses are bound to occur, but these are seldom
serious if immediately checked. (When I say "lapses," I do not refer to
actually taking a drink, but rather to a careless, lazy form of behavior.)
The worst that can be said of the great majority of such slips is that they
tend to create a precedent for future conduct. A whole day or even a week
may be wasted because of such an idea as this: "I have made a bad beginning
this morning, so I might just as Well wait until tomorrow to turn over a new
leaf." We all know people who are always waiting for New Year's Day or the
first of the month to make a fresh start. They have good intentions, but
they never accomplish their purpose. If a slip is checked instantly,
however, and a vigorous attitude intervenes the minute the error is
recognized, no harm has been done; if a laissez faire policy is adopted for
the rest of the day, actual drunkenness may result before nightfall.
Of course, this theory of the harmlessness of a lapse in conduct must not be
used as the basis for deliberately creating mistakes, or a very different
light would be shed on the picture. The initial mistake is inconsequential
only if it is immediately checked and when it has not been premeditated. For
an individual to feel that he could err in small ways whenever he happened
to feel like it would be flying in the face of common sense, but such
twisted ratiocinations are not uncommon to the most intelligent and sincere.
Victories over temptations lead of course to ultimate success, but they must
be watched carefully or they may be turned into temporary defeats of a most
unexpected, discouraging, and bewildering nature.
One man, attending a class reunion, apparently enjoyed the first two days
completely sober. He was delighted to find that he did not want to drink,
and, in fact, was having "a damn good time without it." Toward the end of
the third day, he suddenly and for no good reason, as he thought, became
hopelessly drunk. Another man went through an entire New Year's celebration
without a drop, only to find himself getting drunk alone on the second of
January when all his friends had finished their carousing. Both of these men
were very much upset and amazed at their behavior, though they had heard of
others who had done the same thing.
The causes of this apparent strange reversal of conduct are in reality not
so obscure and peculiar as they seem at first glance. In the first place,
these individuals, whose new habits were by no means crystallized, were
undergoing a great deal of concentrated alcoholic suggestion, and they used
little constructive reasoning to counteract its effect. In the second place,
they were putting up much more resistance of the tense, repressive type than
they had any idea of. After the victorious fight was over, they completely
dropped their guard; but their opponent was still on his feet, and before
they knew it they themselves were taking the count. An alcoholic who has won
a victory may congratulate himself all he wants to, but let his success make
him particularly careful of his subsequent behavior. Liquor is always
obtainable, and if a man really wants to drink he does not care a hoot
whether it is New Year's or any other day.
Because of the power of suggestion, a person should not expose himself to
too strong and lengthy temptations during the first six months or so of his
treatment. Some people retire from social activity completely, but this is
not recommended unless it is proved necessary since there is a happy medium
between complete retreat and overexposure. If the individual in process of
ridding himself of drinking attends wet parties, he must give himself plenty
of positive suggestion before, during, and afterwards, lest what he has
seen, heard, and smelt shall cause him to reverse his conduct when such an
"excuse" for drinking as there might have been in the beginning has passed
away.
In addition to negative suggestion and fatigue, overconfidence can also
enter into the situation in a destructive manner. A cured alcoholic may well
take satisfaction in his achievement, but he cannot afford to become
"cocky"" about his temperance until it is a settled question of many years'
standing. As a matter of fact, at that time he will not bother to become
"cocky" about it. When he thinks of his drinking career he will merely
wonder how he could have been such a fool, he will be glad that he gave it
up before it was too late, and he will expend his pride on those things that
he achieved as a result of his sobriety.
It is important to add that these preparations can be carried to such an
extreme that the occasion itself receives the concentration of attention
rather than the preparation. Imaginary dragons should not be created for the
purpose of slaying them, for they may possibly slay their creator. If
parties cannot be approached with confidence, with such a statement as "Of
course I shall not be such a fool as to drink" being said and meant, then
the inebriate must stay away from them until he has trained his mind
sufficiently so that he can say it with conviction. When a man feels that he
cannot spend a few hours in sobriety with others who are drinking, he has
lost all sense of proportion.
He may have to attend a large dinner now and then for business reasons. If
it proves to be a rather wet occasion, what of it? What are two or three
hours out of a lifetime? At worst he will be bored, but that is nothing to
unbalance a properly adjusted comprehension of reality. If he drinks he is a
fool, but if he remains sober he is neither a hem nor a martyr, but just an
ordinary mortal using the most elemental common sense. It is much easier,
having recognized thoroughly the situation, to react to it as a fleeting
fraction of a lifetime, unimportant so long as it is passed in sobriety,
than it is to conceive of it as a battle-ground upon which an exhausting
combat is to be waged. Excessive drinking is so generally thought of in
terms of wickedness or weakness that its most salient characteristic is
completely ignored. This is its supreme stupidity. For a man deliberately to
seek pleasure by methods which he knows are going to bring only suffering is
such a farcical performance that the drinker himself (for drinkers have an
unusually good sense of humor) would be the first to hold his sides laughing
if he saw a parallel waste of energy on the part of anyone else outside of
the field of alcohol. Just as all normal boys are anxious not to be
considered incompetent in athletics, so to be thought stupid is the last
thing that a full-grown man with any pretense to normality wishes. This is
one of the chief contributions to the inferiority complex which is such a
marked characteristic of excessive drinkers. In their hearts they cannot
hide from themselves their own crass stupidity. Even in prisons drunkards
are held in low repute by criminals because they are where they are as a
result of an inferior intelligence rather than a distorted moral point of
view. The others have at least a certain misguided skill and courage.
9. THE GENERAL EFFECT
The alcoholic patient, and the general public as well, should disabuse their
minds of any ideas they may have that it is only strong characters who are
able to complete the treatment satisfactorily. As a matter of fact, it is
only the pathologically weak who fad. Obviously a person should have a
normal amount of common sense, an ability to persevere, and enough breadth
of mind to admit the truth when his own experience confronts him with it.
But for the overcoming of alcoholism these qualities are found to a
sufficient degree in the average man if he sincerely wants to exercise them.
He is not asked to warp his mind to fit any exotic theories, nor is he
compelled to undergo any hardships of a mental or physical nature. He is
merely shown how to train his intellectual processes so that they have
enough control over his emotions to enable him to lead a mature normal life.
A person does not need a great deal of perspicacity to recognize that the
advantages to be derived from a cure pass far beyond a mere cessation of
drinking. That is, of course, an absolutely necessary preliminary, but the
overcoming of the habit by a system, and the application of that same system
to other weaknesses of character as well as to the making of new and better
adjustments to life, will in the long run carry the individual to a point of
efficiency and contentment of which he had little or no realization in the
dark days when he was seeing the world through a whiskey bottle. A number of
men have said that the principles of relaxation, when applied to their
business, have been worth many thousands of dollars, to say nothing of the
benefit to their state of mind and the increase in their physical efficiency
and endurance. Just as they have learned to handle liquor in the only manner
possible for them (by complete elimination), so they have learned to handle
life instead of letting life handle them. Because of their peace of mind,
their increased stamina and self-confidence, depression, moodiness,
irritability, and anxiety tend to disappear. Even when they are faced with
problems which make these unpleasant states a normal reaction, their poise
and judgment prevent the complete demoralization and despair which
accompanied them only too easily in their drinking days.
To the beginner this may sound like a Utopia impossible of realization, for
the past may seem to have set an ineffaceable seal on the future. As is to
be expected, excessive indulgence, long pursued in the face of common sense
and frequent warning, often brings one or more concrete disasters in its
wake - loss of position, the breaking up of the home, and the alienation of
many if not all friends. But experience has shown over and over again that
few of these losses are irretrievable.
Of course the world at large cannot be blamed for being slow to recognize
the reform of the inebriate. He in particular, and his kind in general, have
fooled the public too often with their short intervals on the wagon, from
which it was so easy to fall. When, however, people become convinced-and
they only become so through the observation of concrete results that the
individual really means business, the past is definitely forgotten and
forgiven. In fact, the ex-alcoholic will at times be embarrassed at the
lavishness of the praise he receives for merely adjusting himself to life in
an obviously expedient manner. Often the very people who were most
disparaging of him during his drinking days will be his warmest supporters
and admirers, once he has convinced them that he has stopped for good and
all.
But the recognition and appreciation of friends and the discovery of a
suitable occupation take time, so the former inebriate must have patience. A
certain price has to be paid for his past stupidity and weakness, though in
most cases it is not nearly so large as it might have been; and it is at
least insignificant compared to the disaster that awaits him if he persists
in seeking the impossible - that is, adaptation to life through the medium
of drink. Therefore, let him who feels that he is lost in an impenetrable
maze pause a moment to reflect. Disaster awaits him if he continues in his
present way of living. He cannot standstill, as he has a driving force
within which will compel him to move in one direction or another. The way
out, which many men have found to their everlasting satisfaction, lies open
to him. It might be worth his while to seek for it.
Much has been made in this book of the desirability of undertaking the
treatment only with those who clearly recognize the seriousness of their
problem and who sincerely wish to do everything in their power to overcome
the habit. This is essentially true, and the cases where the work can be
started with a reasonable prognosis of success should be selected with some
discrimination. However, there is this much to be said for those who at
first refuse to see "the light of day" of their own accord. They are
sometimes interested in an academic discussion of the subject, and it
happens every so often that these academic discussions, without being in the
least evangelical or proselyting, induce the alcoholic to investigate the
situation more thoroughly. He may lose a few weeks of drinking, but he may
decide that, after all, life holds too much to spend it under the influence
of what has become for him a pernicious drug.
SUMMARY
For the sake of those who wish to keep my argument in mind, I have
summarized below the salient points in my exposition.
THOSE WHOM ALCOHOL POISONS
An abnormal drinker is either a man who habitually behaves in an asocial,
i.e. dangerous or disgusting manner, when under the influence of liquor,
even though the time spent in this condition be restricted to reasonable
limits; or one who, unlike his normal drinking friends, is unable or
unwilling to face a return to reality. For these people a night's sleep is
only a particularly long interval of abstention. This type is the true
alcoholic. Sometimes both these characteristics of abnormal drinking are
present in the same man. If not, the missing one is apt to be latent.
THE GENESIS OF THE HABIT
An individual becomes an alcoholic for three main reasons:
1. As a result of inheritance he possesses a nervous system which is
non-resistant to alcohol. (in no sense is a direct craving transmitted from
parent to offspring.)
2. By mason of his early environment. Through the ignorance of his parents
or from their own nervous constitution the alcoholic was either spoiled or
neglected. He was not brought up to face the world courageously. He is
lacking in self-reliance no matter how physically brave he may be or how
bold he may appear on the surface. Psychologically he is unable to stand on
his own two feet. As a result of this he unconsciously craves a
stimulant-narcotic.
3. Because of the effects of his later environment. That is to say, school,
college, economic and social competition, marriage, and, for one generation
at least, the World War.
TO WHOM RE-EDUCATION IS APPLICABLE
Scientific treatment for the eradication of the drink habit can be
successfully applied to sane men who have come to realize that drink has
definitely disintegrated them to a point where they am no longer able to
control themselves, but who would sincerely like to eliminate the habit if
they could be shown how to do so.
THE TREATMENT
The treatment consists in instructing a man how to train his mind so that he
carries out a sustained course of conduct consistent with the theories of
his most mature intellectual self, how to form new habits and stick to them,
and conversely how to eliminate the unsatisfactory method of trying to adapt
himself to his environment through the medium of alcohol. The reeducation is
comprised of the following steps:
1. A mental analysis is made wherein the drinker learns that certain actions
and systems of thinking, past as well as present, have directed him on the
unfortunate course he has been pursuing, by creating doubts, fears, and
conflicts. When these are removed his energy is free to take up more
interesting and constructive occupations.
2. Various factors contribute to an abnormal state of tension which drink
temporarily releases, only to aggravate it in the long run. This tension can
be permanently removed by learning formal relaxation and suggestion.
3. The unconscious mind can be influenced by suggestion so that it
cooperates with the conscious to bring about a consistent, intelligent
course of action.
4. Actions (where they are not mere reflexes) are the direct result of
thoughts. Experience has proved over and over again that thoughts can be
definitely controlled and directed when it seems desirable to do so.
5. As the body and mind are indivisible parts of the same organism, the mind
is naturally much more efficient in the vigorous execution of new ideas if
it is functioning in a sound body. To this end the elements of a normal,
healthy hygiene should be followed. If there is any actual or suspected
disability it should be attended to by a competent physician.
6. The alcoholic is to a large extent demoralized and disintegrated. To
overcome this condition a direct attack must be made on the small habits of
daily inefficiency. Alcohol is too strong an enemy to fight with untrained
forces. To this end living by a self-made and self-imposed schedule will
accomplish three very important results: (a) The individual is continuously
occupied; (b) he is conscious that he is doing something concrete about his
problem (in contrast to mere intellectualizing); (c) he trains himself
constantly in minor ways to obey his own commands. This develops an ability
to say "Yes" when he means "Yes," and "No" when he means "No."
7. Various unexpected pitfalls into which people have previously slipped are
carefully explained so that the drinker is forewarned and forearmed as much
as possible against the future.
8. Some means of self-expression, some outlet or hobby to satisfy the urge
to create, some means of absorbing the will-to-power must be energetically
sought. The mind cannot dwell on the subject of not drinking all the time,
important as it may be. It must be diverted, intrigued, and, if possible,
inspired. This does not always happen until the cure is completed, but if it
can take place earlier it i sa great assistance to rapid recovery.
9. The individual is only an inferior person as long as he continues to
drink. The same driving force that has brought disintegration, if given a
chance under conditions of sobriety, will carry him beyond the level of
achievement attained by his average contemporary. He has an energy within
which must be utilized constructively or it will destroy him. What Dr.
Milton Harrington says of people with strong instinctive tendencies seems to
be equally applicable to alcoholics. Instinctive tendencies, he says, "drive
some upward to success, while in others, who are unable to direct them into
satisfactory channels, they are dammed up, find outlet in unhealthy ways,
and so, instead of doing useful work, react on the mind to distort and
destroy it."
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++++Message 2037. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Common Sense of Drinking
(1930) Part 3 of 3
From: cliffhammond . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/3/2004 9:26:00 PM
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I read this on a number of occassions but had to acquire it through
the interlibrary loan system. How did you transcribe it?
-cliff H
balmorhea, texas
--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Lash, William \(Bill\)"
wrote:
> IV
>
> THE CURE MADE EFFECTIVE
distort and destroy it."
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++++Message 2038. . . . . . . . . . . . An Evening with Bill W. & Dr. Bob,
Morristown NJ, 10/23/04 (Cost Update)
From: Lash, William \(Bill\) . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4/2004 10:11:00 AM
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JOIN US FOR
AN EVENING WITH
BOTH A.A. CO-FOUNDERS
BILL W. & DR. BOB S.
TELLING THEIR STORIES
ON SATURDAY
OCTOBER 23rd, 2004
AT THE CHURCH OF RELIGIOUS SCIENCE
331 Mount Kemble Avenue
Morristown, New Jersey
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
5:00pm - 6:30pm
"...Moments..."
An Evening with Bill W.
A Play in One Act
Performed by Bill McN.
8:00 pm- 9:30pm
"Scapedream"
Dr. Bob: Pure & Simple
A Play in One Act
Performed by Bill McN.
DIRECTIONS:
-From Route 287 going South - get off exit 33 Harter Road (this exit is a
few miles South of Route 24), at the stop sign make a left onto Harter Road
and go to the end, turn left onto Mt. Kemble Avenue (which is also Route 202
South), the church is ahead about 300 yards on the right.
-From Route 287 going North - get off exit 33 Harter Road, make the first
two left turns and now you are on Harter Road, follow Harter Road to the end
and turn left onto Mt. Kemble Avenue (which is also Route 202 South), the
church is ahead about 300 yards on the right.
COST: We will be passing the basket.
If there are any questions, please call Barefoot Bill at 201-232-8749 (cell)
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++++Message 2039. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Common Sense of Drinking
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/4/2004 11:34:00 AM
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The complete text of the book is available online as a PDF file. It doesn't
preserve the page breaks but original page numbers are indicated. It
includes an
image of the dustjacket.
http://aabibliography.com/common_sense_of_drinking.htm
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++++Message 2040. . . . . . . . . . . . 10th Annual National Archives
Workshop
From: jlobdell54 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/5/2004 10:55:00 AM
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Does anyone know the location and date of the 10th Annual National
[AA] Archives Workshop? -- Jared Lobdell
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++++Message 2041. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 10th Annual National Archives
Workshop
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/6/2004 12:36:00 PM
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10th Annual National [AA] Archives Workshop in 2005:
The vote at the 9th Annual Archives Workshop (two weeks ago) was to hold the
2005 get-together in New Orleans, Louisiana. Laissez les bons temps roulez
as they say down there in New Orleans (let the good times roll)!
The 9th Annual National [AA] Archives Workshop was held in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee (near Nashville) on Sept. 23-26, 2004, just two weeks ago. It was
well-attended, with people from all over the country coming to the
conference, from California to the East Coast. Gail LaC. from Akron, Ohio,
gave an illustrated talk as the keynote address, Don F. from Florida gave an
excellent talk on copyright law as it affects AA historians and archivists,
there were hands-on sessions on restoring and preserving old documents led
by a real expert in the field, there was a talk by an archival librarian at
Vanderbilt University on how to set up and organized an archives, and so on
-- too much good stuff to list everything.
There was a tour of the building which serves as the Tennessee A.A.
Archives, which is one of the best set-ups in the country for a state or
Area A.A. archives.
The place in Nashville, Tennesse, where the Upper Room is published was open
for tours on the Friday of the workshop, which was a deeply moving
experience for everyone who went. It put us in contact with a part of A.A.
beginnings which none of us had ever experienced before.
(The Upper Room began being published in 1935, at almost the same time when
A.A. began, and was used by a majority of A.A. members for their morning
meditation until Twenty-Four Hours a Day was published down in Florida by
A.A. member Richmond Walker in 1948.)
jlobdell54 wrote:
Does anyone know the location and date of the 10th Annual National
[AA] Archives Workshop? -- Jared Lobdell
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++++Message 2042. . . . . . . . . . . . Error in Pamphlet F-107, Special
needs
From: Cherie'' Pulliam . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/9/2004 1:31:00 PM
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Hello everyone, Cherie' here, alcoholic and grateful member of AA.
There is an error in one of the pamphlets from NY. The pamphlet, "Serving
Alcoholics With Special Needs" F-107 has an error in two places.
On page 3, directly above the text: Alcoholics who are blind........it
reads: Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous
intergroup-approval@world.std.com This text also appears on the last page,
middle of page.
The correct contact information for the Online Intergroup of Alcoholics
Anonymous is: http://aa-intergroup.org At this email address you will find a
help button, lists of online AA groups and much more info.
Please pass this important information along at your face to face meetings.
I plan to make little stickers with the correct info, and when I see
pamphlets, put the correct info on them.
Thanks
Hugs,
Cherie'
DOS April 26, 2004
One Day At A Time
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++++Message 2043. . . . . . . . . . . . Success Rate in The First Year
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/11/2004 5:39:00 PM
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Following the 1989 Triennial Survey of Alcoholics Anonymous, a paper
was written for A.A. providing some analysis of the of the 1977, 1980,
1983, 1986 and 1989 Surveys. One graph has been misiniterpreted by
some A.A. critics as showing a low 5% recovery rate. That is NOT what
it shows at all. Actually, 56% of those who stay for three months
stay for a full year.
C-1 "Percent of Those Coming to AA Within the First Year
Who Have Remained the Indicated Number of Months."
Month .. %
1 ... 19
2 ... 13
3 ... 10
4 ... 9
5 ... 8
6 ... 7
7 ... 7
8 ... 6
9 ... 6
10 .. 6
11 .. 6
12 .. 5
The second (percent) column is the distribution of the people who were
present at the randomly selected groups on the day of the survey. The
first column is what month "number" they were in. For example Line "3"
says that 10% of the people in the sample (attending A.A. for less than
a year) had been coming for two months but less than three months.
You can see the attrition here but the second column is not the percent
those staying that length of time. If nobody dropped out, every number
of months would have 1/12th or 8.3% of the people. Since we often tell
newcomers to take three months to decide if they are alcoholics, I
multiply by 11.1 to create a third column with 100 in the 4th month.
Month . % . Adjusted
1 ... 19 .. 210
2 ... 13 .. 144
3 ... 10 .. 111
4 ... 9 ... 100 <---
5 ... 8 ... 89
6 ... 7 ... 78
7 ... 7 ... 77
8 ... 6 ... 67
9 ... 6 ... 67
10 .. 6 ... 66
11 .. 6 ... 66
12 .. 5 ... 56
Of those who were in their first month, about half decided they were
not alcoholics or that A.A. was not for them and didn't stay for three
months. It is reasonable to say that those who stay three months are
interested in our program of recovery. Of these, over half stay active
in A.A. at least a year.
Visiting an A.A. meeting does not mean someone is an alcoholic.
Leaving A.A. does not mean someone has returned to drinking.
_______
Tom E
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++++Message 2044. . . . . . . . . . . . Success Rate in The First Year
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/14/2004 12:28:00 PM
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Hi, AAHistoryLovers:
Rewritten to answer some questions...
Every three years, A.A. "takes its inventory" by conducting a
survey. This is done with a random sample of about six to ten
thousand members at randomly selected groups during one week.
Following the 1989 Triennial Survey of Alcoholics Anonymous,
a paper was written for A.A. providing some analysis of the
1977, 1980, 1983, 1986 and 1989 Surveys. One graph in that paper
(C-1 of Appendix C) has been misiniterpreted as showing a low 5%
recovery rate in the first year. Critics of A.A. jumped on that
but even friends misunderstood. That is NOT what it shows at all.
Actually, 56% of those who stay for three months stay a full year.
C-1 "Percent of Those Coming to AA Within the First Year
Who Have Remained the Indicated Number of Months."
Month Dist . New . 3mo
1 ... 19 ... 100
2 ... 13 .... 68
3 ... 10 .... 53
4 .... 9 .... 47 . 100 <=== Over 3 months
5 .... 8 .... 42 .. 89
6 .... 7 .... 42 .. 83
7 .... 7 .... 36 .. 77
8 .... 6 .... 34 .. 72
9 .... 6 .... 32 .. 68
10 ... 6 .... 30 .. 64
11 ... 6 .... 28 .. 60
12 ... 5 .... 26 .. 56
The first column is the "Month" number that people in the survey
were in if they had been coming for less than a year. The second
"Dist" column is the distribution as a percentage of the people
in this sample on the day of the survey. For example Line "3" says
that 10% of them had been coming for two months but less than three
months.
It is easy to see how the graph could be misunderstood by someone
who hadn't read the whole article. The title of C-1 doesn't match
the data. The original graph was scaled in terms of the "Dist"
column here. Except for rounding, this column adds up to 100%.
If the same number of people came to A.A. every month and none
of them left, then a random sample would find the same number
of people with each number of months. Every line in "Dist" would
have 1/12th or 8.3% of the people.
I have derived two columns to clarify the meaning. The "New" column
is scaled to set 100% for the new people in their first month. Of
those people, about half later decided they were not alcoholics
or that A.A. was not for them (at that time) and dropped out with
less than three months of attendance.
It is reasonable and customary to say that those who stay three
months are interested in the A.A. program of recovery. The "3mo"
column shows that over half (56%) of those who keep coming to A.A.
for three months stay active in A.A. at least a year.
* Visiting an A.A. meeting does not mean someone is an alcoholic.
* Visiting an A.A. meeting does not mean someone wants to get sober.
* Leaving A.A. does not mean someone has returned to drinking.
* The only factor that graph C-1 reports is attendance at meetings.
* The data is the averages of five surveys 1977 through 1989.
_______
Tom E
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++++Message 2045. . . . . . . . . . . . Dr. Bob''s Nightmare Punctuation
From: rogerwheatley2004 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/16/2004 1:36:00 PM
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I recieved the digest of conference advisory actions in the
Grapevine a few months ago. One action was that the conference
recommended the punctuation in Dr. Bobs Nightmare be restored in the
4th Edition of the Big Book as it appeared in previous editions.
I compared 4th and 3rd edition and did not recognize the difference.
Anyone know what punctuation change this action refers to?
Roger W.
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++++Message 2046. . . . . . . . . . . . Frank Buchman Keswick church...?
From: John G . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/17/2004 8:58:00 PM
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Does anyone know the name of the Keswick church (in England's Lake District)
where Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman had his spiritual experience in
1908? I have a chance upcoming to visit the area, and would like to stop by.
John G.
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++++Message 2047. . . . . . . . . . . . Statement about the Big Book
Question.
From: Robert Stonebraker . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/17/2004 10:59:00 PM
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Arial;">Dear AA History Lovers,
Arial;">
Arial;">A statement was made in praise of the Big Book which indicated:
"It's
not what was put in it, but what was left out that made it so great." I
think this came from either Reverend
Samuel Shoemaker or Father Ed Dowling.
Arial;">
Arial;">A documented answer would be much appreciated.
Arial;">
Arial;">Thanks in advance,
Arial;">
Arial;">Bob S., from Indiana
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++++Message 2048. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Dr. Bob''s Nightmare Punctuation
From: Jan Baldwin . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/16/2004 10:22:00 PM
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Another that I found was on the second page of the story. There is a comma
after Sunday School in the 4th edition and no comma in the third edition.
Jan
----- Original Message -----
From: "rogerwheatley2004"
To:
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2004 1:36 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Dr. Bob's Nightmare Punctuation
>
>
> I recieved the digest of conference advisory actions in the
> Grapevine a few months ago. One action was that the conference
> recommended the punctuation in Dr. Bobs Nightmare be restored in the
> 4th Edition of the Big Book as it appeared in previous editions.
> I compared 4th and 3rd edition and did not recognize the difference.
> Anyone know what punctuation change this action refers to?
>
> Roger W.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 2049. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Frank Buchman Keswick church...?
From: corafinch . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/18/2004 11:58:00 AM
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--- In AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com, "John G" wrote:
> Does anyone know the name of the Keswick church (in England's Lake
District)
> where Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman had his spiritual experience in
> 1908? I have a chance upcoming to visit the area, and would like to stop
> by.
>
> John G.
In "Streams: The Flow of Inspiration from Dwight Moody to Frank Buchman",
Mark
Guldseth gives the name as Titheburn Chapel. May or may not still be there,
of
course.
Have a good trip!
Cora
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++++Message 2050. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Frank Buchman Keswick church...?
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/18/2004 8:13:00 AM
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Hi John,
I can't find a name but it is described as a "little stone-built chapel" in
Garth Lean's "On the Tail of a Comet." You might look around Keswick for
such a building that was standing in 1908. The woman whom Buchman credited
for turning him around was an evangelical preacher named Jessie Penn-Lewis.
Mel Barger, Toledo
~~~~~~~~
Mel Barger
melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: John G
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, October 17, 2004 9:58 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Frank Buchman Keswick church...?
Does anyone know the name of the Keswick church (in England's Lake
District) where Oxford Group founder Frank Buchman had his spiritual
experience in 1908? I have a chance upcoming to visit the area, and would
like to stop by.
John G.
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++++Message 2051. . . . . . . . . . . . Keswick Chapel & Buchman
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/18/2004 8:55:00 PM
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In 1906, Rev Frank N. D. Buchman started a settlement home for boys in
Philadelphia. He wanted it to be as much of a true home as possible and
he succeeded. When the Board of Directors wanted to cut expenses, he
threatened to resign if they went through with it. They accepted his
resignation. That was not what he had in mind. So, in 1907, he took his
resentments on a tour of Europe. After quite some time, a visit to a
chapel in Keswick, England, changed his life. In response to a sermon,
he realized the burden his resentment was causing him. He wrote a letter
of apology to each Board member confessing his own ill-will. The release
this gave him was so great that he passed it on to others. This eventually
led to creation of the Oxford Groups. Indirectly through Bill W and Dr Bob,
that same message came to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Here is some information about that event and the chapel as it appears
in a 534+ page biography of Buchman. It seems the Keswick Tithebarn Rd.
chapel was in use until 2003. I have some pictures which I can send on
request.
----------------------------
ON THE TAIL OF A COMET - THE LIFE OF FRANK BUCHMEN
(c) Copyright 1988 by Helmers & Howard, Publishers, Inc.,
P. O. Box 7407, Colorado Springs, CO 80933 USA
Originally published in Great Britain by
Constable and Co. Ltd
under the title FRANK BUCHMAN: A LIFE
(c) copyright 1985 Garth Lean
Between Pages 116-117:
Photo 5. right 'A little stone-built chapel in Keswick.
Photo 6, below 'Thirty years later, Buchman recalls
his experience in the chapel in 1908.
Page 30:
In Germany, still sick at heart despite the outward liveliness, Buchman
went to see von Bodelschwingh again. By July he was in Britain and
decided to attend the Keswick Convention, an annual gathering of
evangelical Christians. His hope was to see the reputed Congregational
minister, F. B. Mayer, whom he had met at Northfield and who he
believed might be able to help him. Meyer, however, was not there, and
Buchman kept himself busy attending meetings and walking the Lakeland
countryside.
Then, one Sunday, on a whim, he dropped in on a service in a little
stone-built chapel. It was sparsely attended - a congregation of only
seventeen - and a woman was leading the service. She was the evangelist
Jessie Penn-Lewis, whose husband was a descendant of the fmily of
William Penn. She spoke about the Cross of Christ. It was hardly a new
subject to Buchman. He had heard the doctrine of the Atonement
exponded on a score of occasions at Mount Airy, taken notes on it,
answered examination questions on it, preached about it. This woman,
however, spoke so movingly about the Cross that, for the first time, it
became a living and life-giving experience for him. 'She pictured the
dying Christ as I had never seen him pictured before,' he recalled later.
'I saw the nails in the palms of His hands, I saw the bigger nail which held
His feet. I saw the spear thrust in His side, and I saw the look of sorrow
and infinite suffering in His face. I knew that I had wounded Him, that
there was a great distance between myself and Him, and I knew that it was
my sin of nursing ill-will.
'I thought of those six men back in Philadelphia who I felt had wronged
me. They probably had, but I'd got so mixed upin the wrong that I was the
seventh wrong man. Right in my conviction, I was wrong in harboring
ill-will. I wanted my own way and my feelings were hurt.
'I began to see myself as God saw me, which was a very different picture
than the one I had of myself. I don't know how you explain it, I can only
tell
you I sat there and realised how my sin, my pride, my selfishness and my
ill-will had eclipsed me from God in Christ. I was in Christian work, I had
given my life to those poor boys and many people might have said' how
wonderful', but I did nto have victory because I was not in touch with God.
My work had become my idol.'
Pages 167-168:
Arthur Strong, a young and successful professional photographer,
spent a weekend with hm and his secretary, Michael Barrett, in the
English Lake District in the lage 1930s, partly with the aim of finding
and photographing the chapel in Keswick where Buchman had had his
decisive eperience in 1908. BUchman was now aged 60. 'Frank's gaity is
immense and he chips Mike like a schoolboy,' Strong recorded in his
diary. 'We had constant laughter... In the car going there FB sang and
whistled, he was so happy not to have any plans and engagements for two
whole days. He sang old hymns and it was then that I reliised his age. To
Keswick. . . Then the chapel. There were several possibilities... Frank
warned us it was an ordinary place with nothing particular to distinguish
it.
Found the Tithebarn Methodist (Primitive) Church; opposite it is a bus
depot.
'He sat where he had done thirty years before; then read the News
Chronicle - he'd already read six other papers that day... Back at the hotel
we changed for tennis and I played Frank. His energy was amazing; he
serves well and has a good eye. He ran too.
----------------------------
A more recent view of the Keswick chapel at Tithebarn Road can be found at:
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/kcmethodists/primitivemore.html
That article also explains the Methodist (Primitive) Church.
----------------------------
Tithebarn St, Keswick
In the 1830s a Primitive Methodist minister, Rev R Lyon, visited
Keswick and tried to start a cause there. It began with great numbers,
and by 1833 there were 40 members. However the Society was led by the
White family and when they left in 1836 the cause collapsed. By 1840
a new attempt had begun, but shortly after lapsed. Another cause, more
permanent this time, arose in the mid-1850s. They met over a stable
in Head's Lane, and by 1869 they built a church, in a visible place
in the town. In 1894 a Sunday School was attached to the church.
It is reputed that Frank Buchman, the founder of Moral Re-Armament,
was converted during the Keswick Convention at a service at Tithebarn
St in 1908.
The members reluctantly agreed to close in 2003 and Methodism now
focuses all its energies on the remaining site in Keswick at Southey Site
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++++Message 2052. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Dr. Bob''s Nightmare Punctuation
From: Buzz . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/20/2004 1:10:00 PM
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This comes from the background materials I received as Literature chair for
my District:
3rd Edition Large
Print 4th Edition
Large print
Page 172, line
7 Page
172, line 7
Sunday School (no
comma) Sunday School,
(comma added)
Page 175, line
3 Page
175, line 3
I did, my
(comma) I
did my (comma removed)
Page 175, line
9 Page
175, line 9
Finally my (no
comma) Finally,
my (comma added)
Page 175, line
29 Page
175, line 29
old habits (no
comma) old
habits, (comma added)
Page 176, line
23 Page
176, line 23
cellar and (no
comma) cellar,
and (comma added)
Page 177, line
11 Page
177, line 11
tight and (no
comma) tight,
and (comma added)
Page 178, line
25 Page
178, line 25
interested and (no
comma) interested, and
(comma added)
Page 179, line
4 Page
179, line 4
afternoon, saying
(comma) afternoon
saying (comma deleted)
Page 179, line
22 Page
179, line 22
dinner and (no
comma) dinner, and
(comma added)
Page 180,line
4 Page
180,line4
write nearly (no
comma) write, nearly
(comma added)
Buzz
At 01:36 PM 10/16/2004, you wrote:
>I recieved the digest of conference advisory actions in the
>Grapevine a few months ago. One action was that the conference
>recommended the punctuation in Dr. Bobs Nightmare be restored in the
>4th Edition of the Big Book as it appeared in previous editions.
>I compared 4th and 3rd edition and did not recognize the difference.
>Anyone know what punctuation change this action refers to?
>
>Roger W.
>
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++++Message 2053. . . . . . . . . . . . Success Rate in Later Years
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/25/2004 9:02:00 PM
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How long have members of A.A. been sober? That is one of the
questions in the survey among randomly selected groups in the
U.S. and Canada every three years. Surveys are all done during
a one to two week period. Everyone who is at a particular
meeting of each of those groups is asked to participate.
Following the 1989 Triennial Survey of Alcoholics Anonymous,
a paper was written for A.A. providing some analysis of the
1977, 1980, 1983, 1986 and 1989 Surveys. One table showed
the percentage of surveyed members who had been sober varying
lengths of time and the average sobriety in years.
<1 ... Less than one year sober
1-5 .. One year but less than five years
>5 ... Five or more years sober
Entries with dates beginning ** here are from that paper. This
article continues that with information from later editions of
"(P-48) Alcoholics Anonymous 19xx Membership Survey"
LENGTH OF SOBRIETY IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
Survey
Year ... <1 ..... 1-5 .... >5 ..... Average
**77 ... 37.3% .. 38.0% .. 24.7% ... 4 years
**80 ... 36.4% .. 37.2% .. 26.4% ... 4 years
**83 ... 37.7% .. 36.9% .. 24.9% ... 4 years
**86 ... 32.8% .. 38.4% .. 29.0% ... 4+ years
**89 ... 34.6% .. 36.4% .. 28.9% ... 4+ years
1989 ... 34% .... 37% .... 29% ..... 4+ years
1992 ... 31% .... 34% .... 35% ..... 5+ years
1996 ... 27% .... 28% .... 45% ..... 6+ years
1998 ... 27% .... 26% .... 47% ..... 7+ years
2001 ... 30% .... 22% .... 48% ..... 7+ years
Per the 1989 Survey:
41% of those sober <1 year stay sober and active another full year.
83% of those sober 1-5 years stay sober and active another full year.
91% of those sober >5 years stay sober and active another full year.
This 40/80/90 had been reasonably consistent through previous surveys.
The average years of sobriety has increased since 1989.
For those unfamiliar with Alcoholics Anonymous, sobriety in A.A.
means continuous and complete abstinance from alcohol in any form.
This table represents only those who are sober and still attending
meetings. Someone who got sober in A.A. and who is staying sober
by some other means would not appear in the survey.
___________________
En2joy! Tom En2ger
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++++Message 2054. . . . . . . . . . . . Sad News from GSO
From: AC . . . . . . . . . . . . 10/29/2004 6:22:00 PM
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MEMORANDUM
October 28, 2004
To: Area Registrars/Secretaries
General Service Conference Members
From: Greg Muth, General Manager
General Service Office, New York
RE: Elaine Soroka
We are saddened to inform you that our dear friend and colleague, Elaine
Soroka, passed away on
Sunday, October 24, 2004.
Elaine had been working at G.S.O. since 1993. As Manager of Support
Services at G.S.O., which
also included the Records and Files departments, Elaine interacted on a
daily basis with Area
Registrars/Secretaries throughout the U.S. and Canada. Her dedication to
Alcoholics Anonymous will
always be remembered and her friendship will be missed by many.
I know you all join us here at G.S.O. in sending our condolences to
Elaine's family and friends.
Condolences may be sent to:
Family and Friends of Elaine Soroka
191 73rd Street, Apt. #264
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11201
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++++Message 2055. . . . . . . . . . . . Old black and white movie on Bill
Wilson
From: the_alky . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/4/2004 9:44:00 AM
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I hope you will be inclined to lend some assistance.
I need to get in contact with someone who can help track down some
information about a TV movie that I saw while stationed with HHB 2/6
field Artillery 3rd Armored Division Hanau Germany 1986 - 1988.
It was a black and white film on the life and formation of Bill Wilson
and Alcoholics Anonymous.
This movie (whose title I only remember a fragment of) has eluded my
ability to locate it via the WWW.
I believe the title had something to do with a mirror, IE: The mirror
looking back or something like that.
It is definitely a black and white film.
Thanks, Tor
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++++Message 2056. . . . . . . . . . . . The Oxford Group is Not Gone
From: ny-aa@att.net . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/5/2004 1:12:00 AM
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The Oxford Group never completely disappeared as some seem to believe.
Many of its principles led to the formation of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The name changed as its primary purpose evolved. Other organizations
and fellowships have spun off of it, each with its own purposes. The
Oxford Group principles are alive today in "Initiatives of Change" and
the "WorldSmart Leadership Program" and in the spin-off fellowship of
"Alcoholics Anonymous." Other names used recently but less frequently
today are "Moral Re-Armament" or "MRA" and "Up With Poeple." Here are
some of the names by which the work of Frank Buchman has been known
and still is known.
"Buchman Clubs" (1915)
Early work with seamen by Buchman and his teams led to the formation of
several Buchman Clubs on ships and in port cities.
"A First Century Christian Fellowship" (1922)
Frank Buchman described his fellowship as "first century Christianity."
He was bothered by the sterility of many organized religions in not
turning their messages into actions. This name never amounted to much
more than the name itself. It applied to a small group who gathered
around Buchman, but most didn't use this name for their society.
NOT "Buchmanism" (1926)
Those following Buchman's methods had an enthusiasm that was naturally
attractive. There were enough of them that it appeared to others that they
were attempting to take over a conference. The name "Buchmanism" sometines
was used by critics as a term of derision. It was intended to imply that
the work came from his ego.
"Oxford Group" (1928)
An evangelical movement developed and teams traveled the world spreading
their message. It was never associated with the University at Oxford,
England, but many students there were particulary active. One group was
traveling in South Africa in 1928 when a railway porter hung a sign saying
"Oxford Group" to identify their rail car. News reports of their activities
started using this name. Without much of a deliberate decision, it became
their name by default. They eventually, ten years later, took it as the
official legal name to make it possible to receive bequests as a non-profit
organization.
NOT "Oxford Movement" (1833-1845)
The similarity of the name to "The Oxford Movement" led to some confusion.
The Oxford Movement was an attempt around 1833 through 1845 by Anglican
priests at Oxford University to restore some Roman Catholic doctrins and
rituals to the Church of England. The Oxford Group avoided attaching the
term Movement to their name.
NOT "The Oxford Pledge" (1933)
The Oxford Debating Society of the Oxford Union was known for what was
called the "Oxford Pledge" or the "Oxford Oath" in which members of that
organization vowed "not to fight for King or country." This was seen as
pacifist and possibly Communist. The Oxford Group was not related to the
Oxford Debating Society but the confusion brought undeserved criticism
and suspicion.
"Alcoholics Anonymous" (1935 or 1939)
Both A.A. co-founders Bill W and Doctor Bob were active with the Oxford
Group before they met. Early A.A. was "The Alcoholic Squad" of the OG.
In 1939 it took on the name Alcoholics Anonymous from its book. A.A.
eventually went its own way and separated from the Oxford Group. While
some in both fellowships were bothered by the split, others welcomed it.
This happened about the time that public pressures and criticism against
the Oxford Group was leading to a name change for that fellowship.
The separation proved beneficial to both organizations.
"Moral Re-Armament" (1938)
"MRA" (1938)
There were critics who objected to Buchman's work and methods. Some of it
was by misunderstanding. Some of it was that his teams tended to sweep in
and gather up the willing "sinners" from under the noses of other Christian
organizations. Others objected to the freedom with which some included
details of their faults in telling their stories of having been changed.
The mission evolved from saving sick souls to saving a sick world. Some
at Oxford University objected to the use of the Oxford Group name. Frank
Buchman made some comments about Hitler that were taken out of context and
misinterpreted in the press and he was labeled as a Nazi-lover. In 1938,
with World War II on the horizon, the Oxford Group took on the name of
"Moral Re-Armament" or simply "MRA." As the west re-armed militarily in
preparation for the impending war, the Oxford Groupers said it would be
necessarily to re-arm morally to be able to work together for that cause.
"Up With People" (1965)
"WorldSmart Leadership Program" (2002)
The "Up With People" singing groups were a side development supported by
MRA.
These teams of energetic wholsome young people started in 1965 to counteract
the negativity in the United States at that time. They carried a message of
love, tolerance, and understanding. Up With People recently evolved to
include the "WorldSmart Leadership Program" which provides international
opportunities for young people.
"Initiatives of Change" (2001)
"IofC" (2001)
In 2001, the name "Initiatives of Change" was adopted by what was left of
MRA
to reflect the further evolution of MRA's purpose and methods. They believe
that changing personal lives leads to improved international understanding.
_____________________
En2joy! Tom En2ger
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++++Message 2057. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Old black and white movie on
Bill Wilson
From: Joe Petrocelli . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/5/2004 9:48:00 PM
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Hope this will be of some help. Try to contact Bill Pittman at Hazelden. He
is the Director of Hazelden Historian Infomation. His email is as follows
bpittman@hazelden.org
His tel3 is 1 800 328 9000 ext 4364. that may not be the correct ext number
but the tel operator will connect you to him.
Again hope it will help--he has a wealth of historical data available.
Joe Petrocelli
14 Pine Rd
Belmont, Maine 04952
jopet34@yahoo.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com
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++++Message 2058. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Old black and white movie on
Bill Wilson
From: t . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/6/2004 4:27:00 PM
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AA movies
'Lost Weekend' 1945. Strictly fiction but many details resemble Bill's
story.
'Days of Wine and Roses'
Des Moines A.A.s had a professional movie camera crew record activities at
one
of
their regular Saturday night open house parties at their newly-painted
clubhouse. The
showing (for members and friends only) was scheduled for July 1946.
'Problem Drinkers'. [adapted from a March of Time newsreel to a movie] 1946
[first public film record of AA work - according to Grapevine Aug 1946. may
be
same
as mentioned above from Des Moines]
Hal H. Wallis, motion picture producer, cancelled plans to make a
full-length
motion
picture about Alcoholics Anonymous. [according to Grapevine June 1947]
'Smash-Up' -prepared with assistance from NCEA [date unknown, sometime late
40's]
'I am an Alcoholic' movie short [sometime in late 40's]
A report was rumored from Hollywood ...a super movie is being made and will
be
called
"Love Inside AA" ... bottle fugitives build Love's bonfire while saving
souls
...
hear thrilling true confessions as drunks tell all.
...
... the movie company spent vast sums and precious time to change a shallow
script
into an adult and honest picture [revised title not given]
[from Grapevine article, Public Relations, in Nov 1951 on things that
'almost
happened' in AA]
'Come Back, Little Sheba' 1952
'Bills Own Story'
produced by AAWS in early 1960's to preserve Bill telling his story for
archival
purposes
and
'Bill Discusses the 12 Traditions'
produced by AAWS about a year later. Has Bill speaking to a group of GSO
people
around a conference table.
Both these were reportedly home-movie quality, and somewhat disapointing to
the
Conference - never received Conference-approval, though available from GSO
as
service
material.
They are both restricted to use within the fellowship only.
'Mr & Miss Anonymous'
proposed name of a movie a large motion-picture producer wanted to make,
portrayed
A.A. lopsided, rewritten and changed name, A.A. thought of suing, didn't
(mentioned
in AA Comes of Age p.126) [may be same as 'Love Inside AA' mentioned above]
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++++Message 2059. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Old black and white movie on
Bill Wilson
From: Warren Kegebein . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/8/2004 5:41:00 AM
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In the 50's or early 60's Lutheran Social Services sponsored and
produced stories of a spiritual nature which were aired on Sunday
mornings. I vividly recall one in which William Shatner starred as
Bill Wilson. I believe the hotel lobby experience was actually filmed
in Akron. I saw the film one time in treatment in 1973 and have been
trying to track it down ever since I got a computer. Seeing it in
treatment triggered the memory of seeing it in my late teens or early
twenties. As I recall AA wasn't mentioned or if it was it was only at
the end.
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++++Message 2060. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Re: Old black and white movie on
Bill Wilson
From: Pittman, Bill . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/11/2004 2:00:00 PM
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Voice In The Mirror Universal Pictures 1958 Black & White
Richard Egan & Julie Andrews
-----Original Message-----
From: Warren Kegebein [mailto:MRGOTROCKS@aol.com]
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 4:41 AM
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Old black and white movie on Bill Wilson
In the 50's or early 60's Lutheran Social Services sponsored and
produced stories of a spiritual nature which were aired on Sunday
mornings. I vividly recall one in which William Shatner starred as
Bill Wilson. I believe the hotel lobby experience was actually filmed
in Akron. I saw the film one time in treatment in 1973 and have been
trying to track it down ever since I got a computer. Seeing it in
treatment triggered the memory of seeing it in my late teens or early
twenties. As I recall AA wasn't mentioned or if it was it was only at
the end.
Yahoo! Groups Links
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++++Message 2061. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: Re: Old black and white movie on
Bill Wilson
From: michael oates . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/11/2004 4:30:00 PM
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How do we get a copy of this movie.
We need it in our Archives
Michael Oates
--- "Pittman, Bill" wrote:
> Voice In The Mirror Universal Pictures 1958 Black &
> White
> Richard Egan & Julie Andrews
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Warren Kegebein [mailto:MRGOTROCKS@aol.com]
> Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 4:41 AM
> To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Re: Old black and white
> movie on Bill Wilson
>
>
>
>
>
> In the 50's or early 60's Lutheran Social Services
> sponsored and
> produced stories of a spiritual nature which were
> aired on Sunday
> mornings. I vividly recall one in which William
> Shatner starred as
> Bill Wilson. I believe the hotel lobby experience
> was actually filmed
> in Akron. I saw the film one time in treatment in
> 1973 and have been
> trying to track it down ever since I got a computer.
> Seeing it in
> treatment triggered the memory of seeing it in my
> late teens or early
> twenties. As I recall AA wasn't mentioned or if it
> was it was only at
> the end.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 2062. . . . . . . . . . . . conceptions
From: NORMANSOBRIETY@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/17/2004 4:18:00 AM
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Dear history lovers,
I sent you an e-mail on the 8/11/2004. Regarding the conceptions I have not
had a reply so far.
I was at a meeting about two weeks ago and the conceptions of 1935 were read
out I have never heard of them before. Does anyone know any thing about
them?
Yours in the fellowship
Norrie F.
Oban Sunday night
Scotland U.K.
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++++Message 2063. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: conceptions
From: GitaByte@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/17/2004 6:18:00 AM
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Hi Norrie - I think you are actually refering to the 12 Concepts for World
Service which Bill W. delivered at the 10th General Service Conference in
1960. For historical info please try this link;
http://www.aaprimarypurpose.org/BillW12Concepts.htm
For the 12 Concepts list go here;
http://www.aaprimarypurpose.org/12concepts.htm
Hope this helps - Peace, Gita
In a message dated 11/17/2004 10:15:13 AM Eastern Standard Time,
NORMANSOBRIETY@aol.com writes:
Dear history lovers,
I sent you an e-mail on the 8/11/2004. Regarding the conceptions I have
not had a reply so far.
I was at a meeting about two weeks ago and the conceptions of 1935 were
read out I have never heard of them before. Does anyone know any thing
about them?
Yours in the fellowship
Norrie F.
Oban Sunday night
Scotland U.K.
-----------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
· To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/
· To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
AAHistoryLovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
· Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service
[1] .
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++++Message 2064. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: conceptions
From: Charles Bishop, Jr. . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/17/2004 9:48:00 AM
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Hi Norrie F.: please send copy of the "conceptions" to the AA Hist. Lovers
site. thanks, Charlie Bishop, Jr.
----- Original Message -----
From: NORMANSOBRIETY@aol.com
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 10:18 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] conceptions
Dear history lovers,
I sent you an e-mail on the 8/11/2004. Regarding the conceptions I have
not had a reply so far.
I was at a meeting about two weeks ago and the conceptions of 1935 were
read out I have never heard of them before. Does anyone know any thing
about them?
Yours in the fellowship
Norrie F.
Oban Sunday night
Scotland U.K.
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++++Message 2065. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
1 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 8:43:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 1 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY, Glenn C. (South Bend IN)
Editor's introduction: The A.A. prison group at Michigan City in Indiana
(founded in 1944) together with the A.A. prison group at San Quentin in
California (founded in 1942) were the two best known groups for alcoholic
convicts in the United States during the early years. The one at San Quentin
(where Clinton T. Duffy was the warden) was the first, and there were
additional successful attempts to set up groups at other prisons during the
following two years, but Warden Alfred F. "Al" Dowd at the Indiana State
Prison highly publicized the enormous success of the Indiana group among the
prison wardens all over the country, and raised the Indiana program to
national prominence.
The major part of the story is told here by Nick Kowalski, one of the best
story tellers and most important spiritual teachers of early Hoosier A.A.,
who had been sent to the Indiana State Prison for a murder which he
committed in a confused alcoholic rage in a house of prostitution located in
the seamy district along South Michigan Street in South Bend where a good
many of the city's bars and places with nude dancers could be found. He had
been brought up in an orphanage and had a deformed chest from the vitamin
deficiency disease called rickets which he had developed from the inadequate
diet at the orphanage. Not long after the last of several suicide attempts,
Nick became one of the founding members of the little A.A. prison group, but
only because they got him to that first meeting by promising him a piece of
raisin pie smuggled from the prison kitchen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sources: The following material is taken from the Northern Indiana Archival
Bulletin, Vol. 1 (1998) No. 2. Published by the A.A. Archives Committee for
Northern Indiana Area 22 (c/o Michiana Central Service Office, 814 E.
Jefferson Ave., South Bend, IN 46617).
For further background information on Nick Kowalski and early South Bend
A.A., see the two-volume series on Lives and Teachings of the A.A. Old
Timers put together by Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana) for the Michiana
Conference held to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the bringing of
A.A. to northern Indiana. This work is due to come out in a second edition
at the beginning of 2005, with the two volumes entitled The Factory Owner &
the Convict and The St. Louis Gambler & the Railroad Man.
================================================
THE PRISON GROUP AT MICHIGAN CITY
Nick K.'s Lead: How the Group Was Begun in 1944
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This material is transcribed from the tape recording of a lead given by Nick
Kowalski at Ann Arbor, Michigan on February 26, 1976, contributed by Molly
S., who lived with Nick in the last years of his life. Nick was in prison
for murder at the time the A.A. group was started there, joined the new
group, and became one of their first big success stories. After his release
from prison, he not only continued to work with ex-cons for the rest of his
life, but was also for many years a major leader and spiritual guide within
the A.A. program in the South Bend/Mishawaka area.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor: In 1944, the new A.A. group in South Bend, barely a year old, was
presented with a unique challenge -- a request by Tim Costello, a convict at
the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City, to bring the A.A. program to him
there at the penitentiary. As far as the people in South Bend knew, there
were no other such programs, and this was a journey onto completely
uncharted ground.
We must also remember that early A.A., coming out of the Oxford Group, was
definitely slanted at that time towards the upper social groups. Bill W. had
been a wealthy Wall Street stockbroker before the Great Depression, and Dr.
Bob was a skilled surgeon. Of the two founders in South Bend, Ken Merrill
was a well-to-do factory owner and a widely published author, and Soo Cates
was an engineer who served as a sales representative for a major firm. Could
a program tailored to people like these make sense at all in the totally
different context of hardened convicts incarcerated in a state penitentiary?
But the South Bend A.A. people came through, and Ken Merrill along with
another early member of the South Bend group, Harry Stevens, both began
visiting Warden Dowd until they wore him down, and got him to let them set
up an A.A. group at the penitentiary.
One of the prisoners who joined the new group was Nick Kowalski, who later
earned his release and eventually became one of the legendary figures in
A.A. in South Bend and the St. Joseph river valley. Since few people could
tell a tale better than Nick, perhaps it is best to let him relate the story
of the beginnings of the A.A. prison group in his own words:
"In 1944, a guy named Tim Costello, long dead, tore a fascinating,
wonderful, God-gifted trail through the prison's A.A. program . . . . And I
got to talk to you a little about Tim, because he showed me what God gives
everyone:
"In this room tonight, there're people here who never seem to accomplish
much in the world, because they're always busy around here, washing the
dishes and cleaning up, and putting things together. And you get mad at 'em,
a lot of the time, 'cause they've got pretty strict ideas about how the
program works, and they'll argue, and talk to you about the things you
should do, and the things you shouldn't do. And you raise hell with 'em, and
say 'Lousy no good so-and-so's,' and this and that. But they're always here.
"About two weeks after they're dead, you realized they saved your life maybe
fifty times. Hadn't have been for their sternness with themselves, and with
you and me, their candid honesty that we need from time to time -- if you're
like me, clear up to tonight, including tonight -- I'd have often gone off
the deep end.
"We need 'em and we love 'em. And those of them that are here would know
that nothing you say to 'em can pay them back, because God pays them for
doing that. They don't need things from us, they need [only] the spirit of
God. In the sobriety they obtain, and their companionship, and even telling
you the candid truth, they gain a kind of grandeur that God gives few people
on the face of the earth.
"But I think sometimes we should remember them while they're alive, and give
them thanks, because if it wasn't for them, we might wouldn't be here
tonight.
"And Tim was one of these people. And God provides them, you know that. He's
got one for you and one for me, and here's a consummate value."
Editor: On March 1, 1941 an issue of the Saturday Evening Post appeared all
over America, with Jack Alexander's story as its lead article: "Alcoholics
Anonymous: Freed Slaves of Drink, Now they Free Others." The article gave
the New York A.A. address to which people could write for more information.
Now, three years later, Tim Costello, a convict in the Indiana State Prison
at Michigan City, read that article in an old copy of the magazine that was
lying around, and realized that this was the only thing that could save his
life.
"Tim went to the warden and asked if he could write a letter to A.A., and
the warden said, 'What's that?' He said, 'Well, it tells you here, read the
article.' And the warden said, 'I ain't reading no article about alcoholics,
I got a whole damn prison full of 'em!' [Laughter] Well Tim says, 'Can I
write a letter?' 'Hell no, they're not related to you. This is a maximum
security prison. The only people you can write to are relatives.'
"So Tim went back to his cell, and wrote a kite -- some of you know what a
kite is, it goes under the wall. It went out -- in this case, the priest is
dead too -- it went out through a Catholic priest, then to New York. And
then they got it in New York, and they sent it to South Bend, where there
were four men sober -- I could name 'em for you, God love 'em, here right
now.
"One was named Harry Stevens. God provides that second guy, that guy for
assistance -- the little, mild-mannered man, who like the fish in the dam,
keeps butting against the wall. Couldn't turn his head. Harry Stevens just
died a few years ago, had a stack of cards this high. If he ever got a call
from you -- ever -- he wrote your name, address, and phone number down. Once
a month, he sat down and wrote you a postcard. Said, 'I was just setting
down here tonight thinking about you, wondering how you are. If you ever
feel like it, give me a call, I'd like to see you again.' Didn't make any
difference, [if] some of them guys [wouldn't respond at first]. He wrote
them cards for years. Lots of guys, four or five years later, when they got
ready to come, they knew who to call. He'd be there, he'd come, he'd go. He
didn't worry about himself, he put together a pretty good life.
"He come up to the prison, said that 'I'd like to talk to an inmate named
Tim Costello.' The warden said, 'How do you know him?' He said, 'I got a
letter from him.' [Laughter] The warden said, 'No, you can't get a letter
from him.' He says, 'I can't? I got it right here.' So the warden went in,
and he said to Tim, 'How'd you get that letter out, Tim?' Tim said, 'Hell,
I'd never get another one out if I tell you that.' [Laughter] And he said,
'You're going into the hole.' And in the hole he went, three days in the
hole.
"Seventy-two hours later, he comes out, walks around the prison saying, 'I
don't know what the hell went wrong,' sat down and wrote another letter.
[Laughter] To New York, went back to Harry Stevens. Harry Stevens gets the
letter, he comes up to the prison, he says, 'Warden, I got to talk to that
guy, I got another letter from him.' [Laughter] 'By gosh, you did, you're
not gonna see him.' Goes inside, threw Tim back in the hole. [Laughter] When
you was a real bad guy, they used to shave your head -- shave your head, and
they put you in a big checkered wool suit, and they put a little red card on
your cell. That meant you were a bad man. And they locked your cell before
you went out for privileges, whether it was recreation, you know, or
visitors. Four months without privileges. Had lots of time, so he wrote
another letter. [Laughter] God gave us some wonderful power!
"You know, a lot of people in this room once thought they were junk. And
they tried to make junk out of a pretty damn good piece of equipment. You
beat it to death, you ran it over a cliff, you busted up cars, you busted
yourself up, you got in tragic situations. Still works pretty good! He
didn't make junk. When you turn yourself over to him, he'll make you a
talented man.
"And he needs every one of you, and brings you here because he needs you.
And he needs you here, not to be me or somebody, or Jack or Jim or somebody,
but to be YOU. Because of a special quality you have, he brings you to these
tables. It ain't something that I aren't or you aren't -- he brings you here
'cause he needs that quality [which you already have]. The difference in
your fingerprints and mine. And he wants you to bring it, and put it on the
table, and talk about it, and converse with it, and work with us, so that
there will be, between us, the quality that's open to everybody.
"So Tim writes another letter -- goes to New York, comes back to Harry
Stevens, Harry opens the letter, it said, 'I don't know what you guys are
doing, but don't do that, you're killing me!' [Laughter] That's the kind of
innocence we talk about in A.A., that kind of wonderful openness, that we do
things that people will not try.
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++++Message 2066. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
2 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 8:53:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 2 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY
"Harry comes back up to the warden, he says, 'I can't sleep, I got to see
that guy.' The warden says, 'You better learn to sleep, 'cause you ain't
gonna see him.' Harry says, 'Well, I'd like to talk to 'im.'
"The warden later became a fan of ours. He says, 'That damn Harry Stevens
showed up at my house every night, quarter of five. I'll go home at five
o'clock, my usual evening, watch the radio, boob tube, whatever. Then I go
to sleep. He comes, he's standing out on the porch waiting for me when I
come home. I tried being late, he's still there; get there early, he's still
there. Can't miss. I'm not gonna give him anything. He can't take my
martinis -- he'll think I'm one of these damned drunks he's always talking
about! [Laughter] I'm not gonna feed him!'"
Editor: Although Nick apparently did not know about it, Ken M. was also
going a number of miles over to Michigan City every weekend to work on
Warden Dowd too. Harry S. and Ken M. together finally wore him down, and he
agreed to let Tim try to get an A.A. group together there in the prison.
Nick himself was one of the original group whom Tim assembled. Nick was in
the prison hospital at the time -- this presumably was the result of his
last, almost successful, suicide attempt.
"Tim was trying to bleed me away from that, so he come talked to me. When I
got out of the hospital, he said, 'We're gonna have a meeting in the prison
hospital, about Alcoholics Anonymous.' And I said, 'What the hell is
Alcoholics Anonymous? I'm doing a life sentence in penitentiary, I hate
going anyplace, I don't give a damn what I am. I should worry about
Alcoholics Anonymous?' He said, 'Please come.'
"He said, 'I've been trying to work with you, and I think you owe me a
favor.' And he said, 'I'll tell you two things. One: if you don't go, I'm
gonna take you off of them other books you had charged to the library, and
put you back on western stories. [Laughter] And secondly, if you do come,'
he said, 'I got a connection in the prison dining room for raisin pie.'
"I still have a passion for good raisin pie. And he said, 'I'll get a raisin
pie, and we'll have it at the meeting.' And this guy, he would go and take
two packs of Camels [cigarettes] to the guy in the kitchen, one of the other
kind, to make him a raisin pie. They're illegal as hell!!! [Laughter] Now
Tim's gotta get in there, and get this pie -- some of you cons know how that
goes -- and get back to the education department without getting caught. And
[the pie's still] hot. And he goes in there, and opens his shirt, and puts
that pie down there. [Laughter]
"And they had a screw there named Cokey Joe, who was crazier than Tim -- he
went around like that naturally. [Laughter] And . . . Cokey Joe called him
over, and said, 'Come over here, Tim.' And he stands there talking to him.
[Laughter] You know, how the White Sox are doing, who's gonna win the
election, and Tim's standing there. And finally, when he gets done talking
to him, 'See you later buddy,' and he reaches out to hit Tim on his belly.
[Laughter] And so he almost took off like an arrow, from that raisin
spreading, took off for the education department!!! [Laughter]
"So I went to my first meeting, because . . . to get a cut of that pie, and
to keep from getting put back on [having nothing to read but those cheap
western pulp novels].
"It sounds like crazy things, but the important thing is, you know, you hear
in A.A., 'don't come unless you have an honest desire to stop drinking.'
Don't do that! Come, dammit, just come! If you have a drinking problem,
come! And don't put in your mind classifications or rules or regulations,
JUST COME! 'Cause I didn't think this thing was gonna work. Never once. I
was in A.A. in prison nine years before I got out, it never occurred to me I
was gonna stay sober. But I tell you what it done -- I told you, I couldn't
do that time."
Editor: When he first started going to the A.A. meetings that Tim Costello
had set up, Nick says,
"I sat on the end, because I'm a big shot. And down this side they'd go,
[after] they'd propose the subject. I'm sharp, you know! This guy talks --
hell, I could top that! When they come to me, I'm gonna be the biggest thing
of the year -- nothing to it!
"And it comes along here, gets down to the end. And they say, 'Nick,' I say
'Pass.' [Laughter] 'You keep at it, coming to the meeting, can't you even
say your name, you know?' [Laughter] 'Damn it, you said I could pass, and I
pass.' [Laughter]
"Down [the other side of the table, after this] I don't hear nothing. 'Cause
you know why? Inside I'm saying to myself, 'God! Can't you say something?
You know they're nice guys, they're trying to help you. Can't you be
friendly? Can't you just open up and help 'em out?' So I didn't hear a word
[past that point]. Be talking to myself, inside."
Editor: They rotated chairing the meeting each week, going around to each
person in turn until everyone there had chaired a meeting, then starting
over again. So the week would come when they would remind Nick that it was
going to be his turn to be the chairman for the next meeting, and poor Nick
was plunged into a week of agony. Whose turn it was next was an automatic,
unavoidable process, done in a preestablished rota, and everyone was
expected to do his share.
"You couldn't do anything, [but] I had to escape next week, you remember.
They say, 'Nick, next week is your week to be chairman, you know, something
on the fifth step.' 'O.K., fine. Next week I can do it.'
"All week long: we're gonna have the biggest meeting, it's gonna be a drag
'em out, kill 'em dead meeting, man! Best in the world! Wrote stuff, planned
stuff, read stuff -- never got up there! [Laughter] Skipped the meeting. If
I could, developed influenza, or a cold or something.
"They come around and say to me, 'Why don't you come to the meeting?' I 'd
say, 'I'm too smart. You guys are dumb. Don't you see that Costello making
notes down there all the time? And you're sharing all that good stuff about
the banks and the filling stations and the robbery? When you get done doing
this time, baby, you gone get some time!' [Laughter] 'Tim is a stool pigeon!
He's turning all that junk in.'
"You know, I was afraid I'd admit the truth. It's always somebody else's
fault. So they'd say to me, 'Well, come on back.' Tim never worried about
that. He'd come talk to me, 'Come on up there.'"
Editor: But Nick kept coming to meetings-- as long as it was not his turn to
chair! -- and (as he stressed in his lead) if newcomers keep coming back,
making meeting after meeting after meeting, sooner or later the same thing
always happens. The right person comes along -- sent by God when you're
finally ready -- and you finally make that fundamental breakthrough.
"[Sooner or later] you get that guy or that girl, so hang in there! And the
guy come one day. And we're setting at meeting, they had an open meeting,
and had a speaker.
"And the guy said, 'I got to tell you this, fellas. I don't give a damn
about you, I don't care about your condition, I don't care about your
position . . . . don't! I don't want it, I don't care nothing about it.
UNLESS you're so sick and tired of being sick and tired that you're
contemplated SUICIDE.'
"And I thought, 'Maybe he knows a way that don't hurt?' [Laughter] So I
listened. AND HE DID.
"He said, 'Take this little twelve-step card that pretty lady read, on how
it worked and twelve steps. Take this twelve-step card into the quiet of
your own mind. Sometime, you phony so-and-so, take the card and get away
from everybody you're onto next, and read it. And when you read it,' he
said, 'if you're like me, you're gonna get down through there, you're gonna
say, "Well, that might be all right for them ordinary drunks. But that won't
help me."
"'But don't worry about that. If you've exhausted all the other
possibilities of change, say to yourself, for one day I'm gonna pretend that
this damn card is true, that somewhere there's a force, a force of creation,
that cares about me. Not how, or why, just that it does. For some reason, it
cares about me. It put me here for a purpose. And for that one day, I'm
going to ask that force, without question, for twenty-four hours of
sobriety, guidance, and direction. And then, in the process of the day, I'm
going to talk to at least one other person who is attempting to walk this
quiet life, about what happened. Whether it happened, or whether it don't
happen. Because I've exhausted all the other possibilities, try -- pretend
-- one day at a time.
"'Do three things,' he said. We had just got a couple of copies of the Big
Book. He said, 'Take this, read this Big Book. Ask God for twenty-four hours
of sobriety, guidance, and direction before you leave your cell. You let God
talk to you, by reading in the Big Book. There's a story! That's God's story
to us, about these first hundred people, how they learned to stay sober.
Read a little in there, and respond somehow to what you read. Even if it's a
page a day. That's God talking to people like you and me. And then you share
this by talking about the results -- honestly, without pretense -- with one
other person who's attempting to walk this quiet way.
"'I'll tell you what's gonna happen before you start. If you'll do this one
day at a time, and just pretend: one day you'll get a day, you go to bed at
night, and you have a feeling inside with which you're kind of satisfied.
Somehow you feel like the day has somehow been satisfied.
"And he said, 'If you're like me, you never had one. You won't know what it
is till you get one. Not "Mom ain't satisfied," or the kids, or the warden.
You somehow will feel that the day has been satisfied.
"'You go on a little bit further, just pretending, saying the prayers
because the people who bring the message to you say that's what you do. And
pretty soon, you'll get one day in which you'll feel there's a reasonable
reason for being alive.
"'Did you ever sit on the side of an accident, everybody bloody and running,
and you been driving the car, and you ain't got a scratch? You say, how come
(to yourself inside) all this guilt you got? How come all these nice people
are hurt, and I ain't hurt? You know, I done that. You know? And you can
swap that for a day in which you feel that there's a reasonable reason for
being alive.
"And he said, 'Just keep pretending.' He said, 'If you're like me, you're
great at pretending. You've been playing roles all your life. And you can
pretend this one as well. You're one of the best actors in the world. Part
of the way we survive. About the only marketable quality we had was the
ability to pretend.
"'So you can. And one day you'll look at the chair you occupy tonight, and
realize you put to sleep those qualities which are making suicide necessary,
in this hour. To sleep! And that you don't have to give them life again,
unless you personally climb back. You climb back.
"'Now,' he said, 'if you mistrust yourself and you disbelieve in God and you
hate your fellow man -- give thanks! You've got a lot less to unlearn.
Because this program positively guarantees that if you practice the proper
motion, you'll create the proper emotion. If you practice the proper motion,
you'll create the proper emotion.'
"So I went to my cell that night, I read the card, I said, 'Hell, I'm
insane, I'm not an alcoholic. That can't help me. I know I'm insane. Hell,
I'm crazier than a fruitcake. It'll never help me. But I ain't got nothing
else to try. Ain't got a friend in the world. There's nobody I can talk to,
nobody I communicate with. In A.A., I'm playing all the roles, trying to be
everybody's man. Can't be myself. Men can't do that.'
"Telling God to change me. And I don't have to change me, all I have to do
is let me open up and turn me loose.
"Can't do that. Can't do it.
"So I decided to try. It's been a long time ago. That's the reason I'm here
tonight, and the only reason.
"I'm not a professional do-gooder. I don't run around the world trying to
change people. But I owe Tim, and all those guys who brought me to this day,
the obligation to pass that word on. It'll work for anybody in this room."
Editor: This particular lead was being given by Nick at an Al-Anon
conference, so he wanted to stress that this program worked for the Al-Anon
as well as it did for someone like himself who was primarily an alcoholic.
Nick was probably thinking of drug use here as well: he said that he himself
preferred alcohol when he was not in prison or jail, but that it was
impossible to get alcohol in the quantities he needed when he was behind
bars. So while he was at Michigan City, he stayed off prison booze and used
homemade drugs instead, fearsome mind-bending substances prepared by prison
"chemists" from cleaning chemicals and things like that.
"And I don't really give a damn whether you're an alcoholic or not, whether
you're an addict of any form -- any form of addiction. If you take that
first line and change it [to say, 'We admitted we were powerless over
WHATEVER WE ARE STUCK ON,' and] try to work with somebody who has a like
problem, and follow down through the inventory steps into the knowledge and
experience with God, you can get free of that problem. 'Cause you won't need
it. You just won't need it any more.
"What it done for me, was helped get it possible to do the time. I'm still
doing time. I'm sent for doing time: God's time NOW.
"Before we done our own time. I done what I wanted, when I wanted, right
now, soon as I wanted, and it kept me caged so I couldn't do nothing!
"But now I do God's time, and I come down here and talk to you people, and
meet a few nice people, and we have a nice dinner together, and somehow life
is rich and rewarding. That's it: it helped me to do time."
================================================
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++++Message 2067. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
3 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 8:58:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 3 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY
================================================
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AS A
CORRECTIONAL TECHNIQUE
by Warden Al Dowd
Indiana State Prison at Michigan City
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's introduction: The following is an article by Alfred F. Dowd,
"Alcoholics Anonymous as a Correctional Technique," The Prison World,
Official Publication American Prison Association and National Jail
Association, Vol. 14, No. 4 (July-August 1952), pp. 12-14 and 31.
Warden Dowd was the one who ran the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City
when the A.A. group was started there -- it had now become one of the two
most famous A.A. prison groups in the United States. He wrote this article
in 1952; eight years had passed since the A.A. group had been started at his
prison, and he had now been converted to a complete believer in the program
-- a highly vocal friend of A.A.'s whose enthusiasm was only surpassed by
his occasional ignorance of what the principles and traditions actually
meant.
One of the more outrageous suggestions he made in this article was for
parole officers to attend A.A. meetings regularly, both within prison and
outside. If anybody ever dreamed up a better way of totally stultifying the
open and honest exchange of thoughts and feelings at an A.A. meeting it
would be hard to imagine!!!
The issue of the Prison World containing his article was included in a
scrapbook belonging to C. W. Mackelfresh, Secretary of the Fellowship Group,
Indiana State Prison, Post Office Box 41, Michigan City, Indiana. The
inch-thick scrapbook contains a number of valuable archival documents
dealing with the prison A.A. program in 1952. This book was donated to our
archival project by Ed C. -- Ed and his wife Carla are A.A. members from the
Elkhart, Indiana, area. Ed believes the scrapbook had been saved by his
grandfather, Willard C., who had been one of the founders of A.A. in Elkhart
during the 1940's.
Prison World editor's note at beginning of article: Upon request of the
editors, Warden Alfred F. Dowd of the Indiana State Prison, Michigan City,
prepared the following comment based on the recent First Regional Conference
of Alcoholics Anonymous Prison Groups held at the Indiana State Prison. In
attendance were many outstanding wardens and correctional personnel, and the
group was honored by the presence of Governor Henry F. Schricker of Indiana.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All over the country, in both federal and state fields of penal
jurisdiction, there is a great and gratifying growth of interest in the
rehabilitation of alcoholic inmates. This broadening hope for alcoholics has
also reached out to the city and county jails, road camps and other levels
of penal institutions to which alcoholics are sentenced. As a direct result
of proved successes, the Alcoholics Anonymous program has been inaugurated
in 134 prisons and penal institutions, an increase of 63 during the last
12-month period.
The founding of the Michigan City AA group in 1944
In April, 1944, a short time after Warden Clinton T. Duffy offered the AA
program to the alcoholic inmates of San Quentin, the AA group was formed at
the Indiana State Prison. For most the intervening eight years, I have
watched with considerable interest the influence of the AA precepts and
philosophy on inmate life. At first, we, the institution, could not fully
understand what Alcoholics Anonymous was all about, so we went content to
simply sit and watch. That point of view could be expected when we consider
how few outside the top medical profession and AA members themselves
possessed an understanding of the alcoholic malady and its effective
treatment.
Indiana State Prison AA group at Michigan City
held back by overly restrictive prison rules
Shortly after my return from Japan in 1949, I found that our ISP-AA group
had made little progress, despite the fact that, through widened education,
a vigorous assault was being made in combating alcoholism, our fourth major
public health problem.
AA making enormous advances worldwide
AA was not only sweeping the United States, but was encircling the world.
The World Health Organization, a United Nations agency, created a
sub-committee on alcoholism; 39 states and the District of Columbia passed
alcoholic legislation offering medical care, research and rehabilitation.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. recognized alcoholism and gave
Alcoholics Anonymous wholesale approval in its advertising. The American
Medical Association issued a general statement to physicians accepting
responsibility of the problems of alcoholism. Industry became seriously
concerned with alcoholism and many plants set up special programs to reclaim
alcoholic workers and aid the manpower shortage by cutting down absenteeism
and accidents. Society became awakened to the growing destruction of family
and community life caused by the alcoholic. It was then that many
theologians, philosophers, sociologists, psychologists, employers and
political scientists
approached AA to see how its principles and structure might fit into their
fields of work and meditation.
Indiana State Prison study begun: positive
practical effects of AA programs
In finally acknowledging the reality that alcoholism was a disease as a
result of this universal, broadened education, we penologists also resolved
to cope with it to the best of our abilities, the same as we do with other
disorders coming within our sphere of jurisdiction. Our interest at the
Indiana State Prison intensified and we began a comprehensive study of the
AA program and its relative merit in prison environment. As a result we
found, in almost every instance, that AA is the greatest rehabilitation
program ever inaugurated behind the walls.
We learned that many of our so-called incorrigibles and troublemakers, who
sincerely and honestly embraced the AA program, became quiet, orderly
inmates. The self-discipline of the AA group was by far more effective than
other forms of corrective treatment we had used in these cases.
Varying results from AA programs at different prisons,
and (afterwards) with different parole officers
In the breakdown of all available information from other prison groups, we
found that some boasted larger membership than other prisons of equal inmate
population. We also learned that the ratio of men who entered inside groups
and continued with the AA program while incarcerated varied, in most cases,
as did the percentage of AA parolees who continued with the AA program when
released. We became aware that some parole officers were more fortunate than
others in their work with the alcoholic parolee.
These and other variations came to light during our research, and thus it
became imperative that all prison groups should pool their common
experiences with the AA program and share them with one another for the
common good.
Midwest prison administrator conference on AA groups
On this premise, the First Regional Conference of Alcoholics Anonymous
Prison Groups of Midwest States was formulated, and to everyone
participating it proved a highly enlightening and educational experience. We
discovered that prison administrators had barely tapped the great AA
reservoir of dynamic power and help available to aid in work with the
alcoholic prisoner. We visioned for the first time the many overall benefits
to be derived by putting the program on a practical basis. We, as well as
the other prisons which participated, profited by this mutual exchange of
experience and found ways to improve the AA structure at ISP. These changes
will gradually be made until the program is permanently set up as a
substantial part of our inmate welfare work.
Rules which conflicted with AA traditions
kept groups from being effective
A great many of the differences in our findings were attributable to the
restrictions and rules of each prison and their accompanying influence upon
the manner in which the program functioned. Our experience at ISP is that
the AA program is a self-contained program, and unlike other rehabilitation
programs which can be processed by varying supervisory opinions and dogma,
the only way for AA to flourish and properly function in any prison
environment is within the framework of the AA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.
During the past 15 months we have proceeded, hesitatingly at first, to relax
a few prison rules which were as old as the prison itself. To our deep
gratification, nothing unusual happened, except the inmate AA cherished and
zealously guarded these small privileges. We have continued to further grant
more privileges to the AA group as they earn and deserve them, and the
spirit of honest cooperation on the part of the inmate holds deep
significance for us.
We learned, too, that the other maximum security prisons which participated
in the conference had like experiences and not one reported a violation of
any privilege accorded their respected AA group. The State Prison of
Southern Michigan, Jackson, Mich., which could not actively participate
because of recent disturbances, reported, however, that not one single
member of their AA group was involved in the recent rioting.
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++++Message 2068. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
4 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 9:02:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 4 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY
Topics at the midwest conference
The picture of the future for prison AA that is visualized as a result of
the conference is a composite one and the many direct benefits will become
apparent in the days ahead. The four morning panel meetings were, in
reality, full and open discussion periods on problems that seem to be common
to all prison AA groups. Here are some of the topics discussed, in brief:
WARDENS' MEETING
1. Outside literature for inside AA groups.
2. The value of inmate AA publications.
3. What part officialdom whould take in active participation and supervision
of their AA groups.
4. The benefits of small daily meetings in addition to one large weekly
meeting as compared to only one large weekly meeting.
5. Whether election of secretaries, etc., best serves the group purpose or
the program in prison environment. As an alternate it was suggested that
selection could be made by officials from a panel of men submitted by the
entire group.
6. The importance of outside AAs attending inside meetings and the
advantages of good outside leadership.
7. The need for contact with the AA groups in every community within the
individual state and major cities surrounding.
On the subject of official supervision, Warden Joseph E. Ragen told of the
Joliet plan of appointing a civilian AA member as a full-time coordinator of
their AA group. He stressed the many advantages of this type of setup,
particularly its value with working in conjunction with outside groups. He
said that, with the help of the AA Joliet Committee of the Illinois
Fellowship of Alcoholic Prisoners, the coordinator was chosen and would
continue to be, as any other method would be a detriment. He cited that
Joliet had early recognized that any money needed and available for the use
of the AA program would have to be without strings and without
administrative interference. Governor Schricker of Indiana also commented at
this meeting that the AA work was too important to be cramped for the want
of a little money for any purpose.
The round-table discussions clarified many points for each warden and
created new plans for the AA program within the prisons. These plans will
gradually unfold in the near future.
A part of the overall plan, as visioned here in Indiana as a result of the
conference, will become a reality on June 26 when we form the Indiana
Fellowship of Alcoholic Prisoners. The Indiana institutions which will
actively participate in the benefits of this fellowship include: the Indiana
State Prison, Michigan City; the U.S. Penitentiary, Terre Haute; the Indiana
Reformatory, Pendleton; the Indiana State Farm, Greencastle, and the Indiana
Women's Prison, Indianapolis. A solid core of 23 Citizens of AA,
representing 21 AA groups in Indiana, will serve as the planning committee,
with an ultimate fellowship roster of 200 to 300 other Citizens of AA. Full
details of the Indiana Fellowship of Alcoholic Prisoners, as well as the
already existing Illinois Fellowship, are available for other interested
prisons.
PAROLE OFFICERS' MEETING
A closely-knit working unity between parole authorities and AA groups in
their localities was unanimously endorsed and approved. J. C. Copeland,
director of the Division of Corrections, and Maurice O. Hunt, administrator
of the Department of Public Welfar of Indiana; Joseph D. Lohman, chairman of
the Illinois Board of Parole; and Glenn R. Klopfenstein, chief of Probation
and Paroles in Ohio, have advocated, and in some instances have begun,
indoctrination program on alcoholism and AA for parole officers.
Parole officers should attend AA meetings
Parole officers were urged to attend AA meetings inside the prison, as well
as AA meetings in free society, to learn the nature of the work which the
alcoholic AA inmates are doing to prepare themselves for readjustment upon
release. It was agreed that this integration of parole officers with AA
inmates should encourage better understanding on the part of both as to
their mutual and common problem. (Walter C. Hock, parole supervisor for
northern Indiana, was guest speaker at the June 8 AA meeting at ISP. The
many benefits to be derived from continuing such association were apparent
after this first appearance.)
The problem of parole rules prohibiting
any association with former felons
The value of enlisting the help of an AA parolee who is making the program
work in a substantial way, to aid the new alcoholic parolee, was also
discussed and taken under advisement. The merit of the plan was recognized,
but, as permitted association of ex-inmates is prohibited by provisions in
existing parole rules, no definite action could be taken.
(We would like to mention that several other institutions have permitted
former inmates to visit with outside AA groups and have found this
experiment most beneficial. Wallkill Prison in New York, and the Westchester
County Penitentiary at East View, New York, have both made use of this
procedure. Wardens Wallack and Brown are continuing this practice with
selected former inmates. The Editors).
CITIZENS OF AA
Free society has for too long rejected the inmate and shunned him upon
release because of the stigma attached to his having served time. The
genuine interest of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of citizens of AA who daily
visit the alcoholic prisoners in jails and prisons everywhere is of
immeasurable value in removing that stigma. To have society accept a part of
the ever increasing load of prisoner rehabilitation is eviden[ce] that here,
at long last, is the help that prison administration has been needing so
badly.
The outside AA s, by their attendance at inside meetings, offer the inmate
AA a human understanding, a companionship and an acceptance that he had long
forgotten existed. This integration instils hope, faith and confidence in
the inmate and holds definite promise for his future well-being upon
release. These men, in the most part business and civic leaders, offer wise
counseling and understanding, based on their kinship of common suffering,
and because of this fact, there are no class barriers.
There, but for the grace of God, go I
Many of our visitors say that the program of carrying hope and help through
barred windows comes from an old AA recipe for successful accomplishment --
man hours of persistence. And they say that each meeting with their
incarcerated fellow-men reminds them of an old familiar motto which hangs in
every AA meeting room. It reads . . . "But, for the Grace of God!"
The Indiana State Prison's ties with the outside AA s and AA groups will be
strengthened and the fullest use made of their tremendous help through the
formation of the Indiana Fellowship of Alcoholic Prisoners.
The significance of the conference just held
At the beginning of his talk at the afternoon conference meeting, Governor
Schricker said, "This conference has been the highlight of my official
career . . ." I, too, can say that it was indeed a privilege and a highlight
in my 30 years in penal work. It was inspiring to witness this gathering of
authorities and free world society, to see them offering in true Christian
charity their wholehearted, unbiased help and encouragement to their less
fortunate fellow-man, the alcoholic prisoner. Here, without guard
supervision, 800 free and imprisoned men had gathered for but one common
purpose. The tavern owner, the bartender, the police officer, the
prosecutor, the judge, the sheriff, the warden, the parole board member, the
parole officer, the Governor, and free society from all walks of life and
eight midwestern states, from beginning to end, the people and the agencies
which are directly concerned in the life of an alcoholic prisoner,
were represented. Where before has such a comparable and significant meeting
taken place and under what other auspices could it be possible?
I honestly believe that through good leadership, both inside and outside,
the Alcoholics Anonymous program should and will become an integral part of
every prison system. It most certainly will prove to be our greatest ally in
combating the growing problem of alcoholism and its indirect cause for
crimes resulting in prison sentences of all types. This is of great portent
when we consider that over 60 per cent of all men entering admit to an
excessive use of alcohol.
The prison administrators and other authorities who attended the conference
now see only a wide, clear road ahead for the AA program as it unfolds
behind prison walls and thence into the free world. We vision the day, in
the not too distant future, when Alcoholics Anonymous, through closely-knit
co-ordination of the efforts of prison administrators, parole authorities,
judges, free society, Citizens of AA, the alcoholic's family and the
alcoholic himself, will establish new concepts of penal work and new heights
of prisoner redemption and salvage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: So we see that in the 1950's, just as today, there were
sincere and well-intentioned people within the criminal justice system who
admired and respected what A.A. was able to accomplish, but whose immediate
response was to attempt to co-opt A.A. and turn it into just another of the
cogs in their own machinery. Judges who nowadays send people to A.A.
meetings under court order, and counselors at treatment centers who want to
sit in on closed A.A. meetings, come out of the same mindset. Non-alcoholics
have lived lives so different from that of alcoholics that they simply
cannot understand exactly how and why A.A. must remain an entity apart, with
no outside involvements or linkages whatever, in order to accomplish what it
does do so well.
================================================
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++++Message 2069. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
5 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 9:05:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 5 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY
================================================
HARRY S. RESIGNS AS SPONSOR OF THE PRISON A.A. GROUP
Harold E. Stevens, letter to C. W. Mackelfresh, June 18, 1952
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Editor's note: In a
protest against what Warden Alfred F. Dowd was doing with his regional
conference there in 1952, Harry Stevens resigned from his role as principal
outside sponsor of the Michigan City Prison A.A. group, the job he had
faithfully carried out since the program was begun in 1944.
In the following letter, dated June 18, 1952, Harry wrote to C. W. "Mac"
Mackelfresh and explained his reasons for doing do. The letter was received
at the warden's office at the Indiana State Prison at Michigan City on June
21, 1952, according to the prison date stamp at the top, and passed on to
Mac. The letter is preserved in the latter's scrapbook (along with Warden
Dowd's article in Prison World, see above).
Harold E. Stevens and his wife Pearl lived at 127 E. Marion, Apt. 316, in
South Bend, Indiana, according to that town's city directory for 1943. Harry
was listed there as a traveling salesman by occupation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 18, 1952
Dear Mac:
Thank you for your letter of June 6th inviting me to attend a meeting on
June 29th or July 13th. I regret that I'll be unable to attend. I have never
been one, I hope, to seek glory or tributes for any help or service I may
have given in A.A., and a meeting for that purpose would only be
embarrassing to me. If, in the past, I have been of help to anyone in the
prison group -- or anywhere else -- that fact alone is reward enough. I am
happy and grateful for having been given such an opportunity.
Your letter stated that you were advised by authoritative sources that I had
decided to withdraw from the prison group because of my health and
increasing business demands. At this time I would like to clarify this
situation by explaining the actual reasons for my withdrawal. At the time of
my withdrawal, I gave my reasons to Warden Dowd and Bob Heyne and am
positive that I made no mention of health or business in my explanation. I
also gave a letter to Walter Kelley in which I stated the same reasons and,
at that time, I also mentioned that, healthwise, it was probably a good
thing for me. My decision to withdraw was made when it became very obvious
and evident that my sponsoring and services were no longer needed or
required.
I think it is only fair to all concerned to quit "playing ostrich" and get
their heads out of the sand. Let's face facts, look at the record and then
it will be clear as to why I decided to withdraw. In my opinion, things had
become too involved and, under the trying circumstances, I thought it was
best for me since, as an alcoholic, I cannot afford to repeatedly get upset.
Further, I was truly upset and concerned when you told me you were sending
several press releases out before the meeting, as well as having a lot of
pictures taken at the time of the meeting. My thinking on this procedure was
that A.A. neither needs nor benefits by this sort of publicity. Not wishing
to act entirely on my own feeling in this matter, I discussed it with others
who had many years of A.A. experience behind them and found they agreed with
me. In turn, I called Warden Dowd and informed him that, unless the press
releases were stopped and pictures banned, I would have no part of the
meeting, other than to continue to get the invitations out and aid in
getting visitors into the prison. I felt that I simply could not go along
with all the publicity and "hullabaloo" that was building up. At that time
the Warden seemed fully in accord with my thinking. However, he apparently
deemed it necessary to further confer on the issue with Kelley
or someone else and ultimately reversed his decision.
During the past eight years, as the recognized A.A. sponsor of the prison
group, I have always felt a great deal of a sense of obligation to the
prison group, to the outside groups and to individual members. One of the
prime objects of this feeling of obligation has been to protect the
anonymity of the members I invited to the prison. Conscientiously, I feel
that anonymity is of the utmost importance to many of us. Without it, A.A.
may not survive. I must stand by my convictions and the traditions of A.A.
as I understand them, even if, in so doing, I am forced to disagree with
some of you.
By this time I had begun to feel that the Warden had ceased to value my
judgment on the issue of publicity. Consequently, I felt my services were no
longer wanted and there was little else to do but step aside in favor of
someone whose judgment would be valued a little more.
In the second paragraph of your letter, you mentioned that you all regretted
that I had been unable in the past year, because of my health, to be as
active in your A.A. group as previously -- that you have missed that outside
contact so necessary to the life blood of te group. With the exception of
the two months I spent in Arizona, I had been more active, due to the daily
meetings, during the past year than ever before. I thought I had left the
group in good hands and well taken care of at the time I went away. In fact,
on my way to Arizona, I made it a point to stop at the prison to arrange for
the changing of the time of the Sunday meetings from mornings to afternoons,
in order to make it easier to get the Sunday visitors there.
I would like to make the suggestion that you refrain from using the
expression "outcasts of society." Since you have become associated with
A.A., it seems that you have been exaggerating this subject and ultimately
you and your fellow inmates will really begin to believe it a true
expression. You will no doubt recall that you were gravely criticized at the
sponsors' meeting for stating that no member of A.A. would be seen walking
down the street with an ex-convict. They not only walk down the street with
them, but many A.A.'s have seen fit to take ex-convicts into their homes to
mingle with their families in order that the ex-convicts may regain
confidence in themselves. This remark was greatly resented by those members
who have gone "all out" for the discharged or paroled member. Frankly, we
can't think of a single case where a released man, if he wanted A.A., was
not treated with the greatest care. Even those of us who have been taken in
financially would gladly do it over again, hoping that the next man would be
the one who would make the grade.
With reference to the forming of the Fellowship of Alcoholic Prisoners, I
don't believe anyone would have objections to that. However, outside of an
impressive sounding name, it would seem to gain little more than you already
have. Actually, all you have to do is give the man the name of the Secretary
in the city to which he is going. If the discharged man makes the contact,
he will, without a doubt, receive the help and guidance needed where his
alcoholic problems are concerned. The rest is up to him. If I'm not
mistaken, this procedure was followed long before you entered Michigan City.
If this has not been the case, it's been due to neglect on the part of
someone.
I expect to carry out my twelfth step work regardless of my health or
business, as it is a "must" with me and I cannot afford to relax with my
A.A. activities.
With kindest regards to all --
Sincerely, H. E. Stevens
================================================
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++++Message 2070. . . . . . . . . . . . EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part
6 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/20/2004 9:10:00 PM
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EARLY A.A. PRISON GROUP (1944), Part 6 of 6, INDIANA STATE PRISON AT
MICHIGAN CITY
================================================
LETTERS FROM BILL W.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: In the Mackelfresh scrapbook (where the copy of Prison World
and the Harry Stevens letter were preserved) there are also two letters and
a note from Bill Wilson. In the first letter, Bill gives the planning of a
Prison AA Conference his approval as an experiment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
February 20, 1952
Mr. C. W. Mackelfresh, AA Secretary
P.O. Box 41, Michigan City, Indiana
Dear C. W.,
Thanks very much indeed for your cordial letter of February 7th, telling me
of the very interesting proposal for the first Regional Prison AA
Conference.
This idea seems to me, from where I sit, to have immense possibilities. I do
hope your outfit and the others will be able to go through with it. Of
course, there is no reason in A.A. Tradition why you should not. Moreover,
you really need never ask my permission in these things. After all, I am
just a drunk trying to get along like the rest of you. As long as any action
taken is reasonably within the framework of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve
Traditions, please always feel free to experiment. As you may know, the
principle of "trial and error" is a part of A.A., also. In this case, it
seems to me you have everything to gain, nothing to lose. And, in this
connection, please carry my best to Warden Dowd. He is but one more proof
that A.A. could never have been, or functioned at all, without friends such
as he.
Now about my coming out there. It is with the utmost reluctance that I shall
have to take a raincheck. My next main job is that of serious writing.
Excepting for a few pamphlets, the whole AA story and its lessons of the
last twelve years has scarcely been put on paper at all. Though no
greybeard, I'm not so young as I used to be. And most of my friends agree
that I had better spend most of my time on this sort of thing for the next
few years. This will, I am sorry to say, almost entirely prevent further
traveling. Then there is also the long standing difficulty. If I were to
make a special appearance at your Conference, I would get hundreds of prison
and group invitations at once which I would be obliged to decline. Then the
places I didn't visit would be disconsolate -- the alcoholic temperament,
you know.
Please, though, keep me posted on your progress with this Conference. When
the time comes, if you will remind me, I shall be glad to send a word of
greeting and best luck. Please carry my best to all my friends behind your
walls. And take the same for yourself.
Devotedly, Bill Wilson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: In a second letter, a month later, Bill W. seems still quite
willing to send a letter of greeting, put something in the Grapevine about
the conference, and so on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May 20, 1952
Mr. C. W. Mackelfresh
P.O. Box 41, Michigan City, Indiana
Dear C. W.,
We are eagerly looking forward to a report of the First Regional Conference
of Alcoholics Anonymous Prison Groups. I'm so very glad the Grapevine is
going to run such an account.
I sincerely hope I did not slip up in sending you a word of greeting. It
seems to me that I wrote Mr. Dowd well before the Conference date and gave
him a greeting from me to be read. I truly hope that was the case.
Meantime, please carry my greetings and congratulations to all AAs in your
good part of the world.
Devotedly, Bill Wilson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: There eventually however seems to have been a reaction in New
York to some of Dowd's ideas, though phrased more diplomatically than Harry
Stevens' letter. Eve Lum, Secretary of the Alcoholic Foundation, sent a
letter to Warden Dowd on September 10, 1952, praising the conference which
Dowd had organized and the article in Prison World. Nevertheless, in the
midst of this fulsome praise, New York headquarters also inserted a
paragraph politely but clearly pointing out (1) that A.A. was pleased to
continue cooperating with what Dowd was doing as long as it remained clear
that there was no organizational relationship between A.A. and Dowd's own
special programs, (2) that A.A. did not officially endorse Dowd's efforts,
and (3) that what Dowd was doing had to be construed as falling outside the
framework of the Twelve Traditions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Letter from Eve Lum, Secretary of the Alcoholic Foundation
Your complete understanding of our A.A. Traditions and the attendant
appreciation of what we are equipped to do and what we cannot do, is
gratifying indeed. For example, the new Indiana Fellowship of Alcoholic
Prisoners, which in itself is such a tremendous stride forward, is properly
launched when you state so vividly in the preamble: "The Fellowship is not
related, nor is it endorsed, by Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole, and not
necessarily by any A.A. group. It functions independently and in the same
manner as any activity not coming within the framework of the A.A. Twelve
Traditions." In this way we can stick to our primary purpose, that of
helping the sick alcoholic recover through our Twelve suggested Steps and
yet we can continue to cooperate with you whenever you feel that we can be
helpful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's note: To help take the sting out of this backing away from Dowd's
activities, Bill W. himself added a personal postscript.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Postscript from Bill Wilson
Dear Warden Dowd,
I'd like to enclose with Eve Lum's letter a further word in praise of the
magnificent occasion that the First Regional Conference of A.A. Prison
Groups was. After reading the accounts of it, I find myself more deeply
impressed and moved than I have been in years. Which, my friend, is saying a
great deal!
Please carry my best to all who participated in making that historic
occasion a thing of such great moment.
Devotedly yours, Bill
================================================
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++++Message 2071. . . . . . . . . . . . Date of Bill W.''s Spiritual
Experience
From: Jim Burns . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/22/2004 12:32:00 PM
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"Pass it On," refers to Bill entering Towns for the last time on December
11th and being discharged on December 18.
Is there a documented date in which Bill had his " white light" spiritual
experience?
Jim
California
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Meet the all-new My Yahoo! [112] - Try it today!
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++++Message 2072. . . . . . . . . . . . "Fellowships Similar To A.A.
From: chris fuccione . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/22/2004 1:21:00 PM
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Hi Can anyone provide the publishing history of the AA service
piece "Fellowships Similar To A.A."? I have it dated back to January
1986. I was wondering if it went back further and any other
infomation on the development of it.
Thanks
Chris F.
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++++Message 2073. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Date of Bill W.''s Spiritual
Experience
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/23/2004 1:29:00 AM
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Hi Jim
In his autobiography "Bill W My First 40 Years" (pg 141) Bill states "One
morning, the fourteenth of December, I think, Ebby appeared in the doorway
of my room ..." This book also provides the most elaborate description of
Bill's experience.
I checked several other books but Bill's autobiography is the only one I
found that offers a date.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Jim Burns
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 11:32 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Date of Bill W.'s Spiritual Experience
"Pass it On," refers to Bill entering Towns for the last time on
December 11th and being discharged on December 18.
Is there a documented date in which Bill had his " white light"
spiritual experience?
Jim
California
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Meet the all-new My Yahoo! [112] - Try it today!
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++++Message 2074. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Date of Bill W.''s Spiritual
Experience
From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/25/2004 12:33:00 AM
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The July 1953 issue of "The Grapevine" has an article by Bill
W. titled "12 Steps in 30 Minutes." The following is from
it:
Two or three weeks later, December 11th to be exact, I staggered into the
Charles B. Towns Hospital, that famous drying-out emporium on Central
Park West, New York City. I'd been there before,
[snip]
In my case it was of course Dr. Silkworth who swung the sledge while my
friend Ebbie carried to me the spiritual principles and the grace which
brought on my sudden spiritual awakening at the hospital three days
later. I immediately knew that I was a free man.
Three days later than Dec. 11th would be Dec. 14th and affirm the date
Arthur Sheehan reported.
Tommy in Baton Rouge
At 00:29 11/23/2004 , Arthur Sheehan wrote:
Hi Jim
In his autobiography "Bill W My First 40 Years" (pg 141) Bill
states "One morning, the fourteenth of December, I think, Ebby
appeared in the doorway of my room ..." This book also provides the
most elaborate description of Bill's experience.
I checked several other books but Bill's autobiography is the only one I
found that offers a date.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message ----- From: Jim Burns To:
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com Sent: Monday, November 22,
2004 11:32 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Date of Bill W.'s Spiritual
Experience
"Pass it On," refers to Bill entering Towns for the last
time on December 11th and being discharged on December 18.
Is there a documented date in which Bill had his " white
light" spiritual experience?
Jim
California
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Meet the all-new My Yahoo! [112] - Try it today!
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++++Message 2075. . . . . . . . . . . . Early Black AA -- Part 1 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/30/2004 10:58:00 PM
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Early Black AA -- Part 1 of 5
EARLY BLACK A.A.
ALONG THE CHICAGO--GARY--SOUTH BEND AXIS
The Stories and Memories of Early Black
Leaders Told in Their Own Words
Editor's introduction: Some of the earliest black A.A. groups in the United
States were formed c. 1945-48 along an axis running from Chicago eastward
through Gary to South Bend, Indiana. These three cities were linked by an
interurban rail line called the South Shore Railroad which made it easy for
people to travel back and forth. We know much more at present about early
black A.A. in this area than we do about any other part of the United
States.
Source: Materials gathered for the Northern Indiana Archival Bulletin,
published by the Archives Committee of Northern Indiana Area 22 of
Alcoholics Anonymous, and printed in South Bend (contact the Michiana A.A.
Central Service Office, 814 E. Jefferson Ave., South Bend, IN 46617).
For further background information: Detailed material about four of the
early black A.A. leaders who played a role in this story (Bill Hoover, Jimmy
Miller, Brownie and Goshen Bill) can be found in the two-volume series on
Lives and Teachings of the A.A. Old Timers in the St. Joseph valley region
(northwestern Indiana and southwestern Michigan) put together by Glenn C.
(South Bend, Indiana) in 1993-96. This work is due to come out in a second
edition at the beginning of 2005, with the two volumes entitled The Factory
Owner & the Convict and The St. Louis Gambler & the Railroad Man. Check the
http://hindsfoot.org website in January or February 2005 (or the online
bookstores) for further information.
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INTERVIEW WITH BILL WILLIAMS
EVANS AVENUE A.A. GROUP IN CHICAGO
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S NOTE: On Saturday, July 17, 1999, three people came from Chicago --
Evans Avenue Bill W. (recently turned ninety-six years old), Jimmy H., and a
younger man -- and met at the lakeside home of Frank N. a few miles south of
Syracuse, Indiana, a little before lunch time, along with two people from
South Bend: Glenn C. and Raymond I., who had arrived a little earlier and
had been sitting outside enjoying the serenity of the lake, and watching a
family of Canadian geese paddling around the edges. This is the story of
early black A.A. Frank and Glenn were the only two white people there,
present simply to tape record the conversations.
Bill Williams ("Evans Avenue Bill W.," Chicago) was born in 1904 and spent
his early years in East Texas. He eventually ended up in Chicago, where he
came into A.A. in 1945, when he was around forty-one years old. At the time
of this recording (transcribed below), he had just turned ninety-six. Fifty
years earlier, in 1948 and 1949, he had helped the two earliest black
members of A.A. in South Bend, Bill Hoover and a woman named Jimmy Miller,
at the time when the A.A. program was just getting established in that town.
Jimmy H. (Chicago) is well-known as a dynamic and colorful speaker, who
frequently travels to various parts of northern Indiana to give leads. Two
weeks earlier he had been one of the featured speakers at the Fourth of July
hog roast at Chic L.'s farm along the Elkhart River outside of Goshen,
Indiana -- a major annual event which often draws almost a thousand people,
traveling from as far away as Ohio to eat, chat, play horseshoes, go on
hayrides, and so on.
Raymond I. (South Bend, Indiana) had also come. He first began attending
A.A. meetings in 1974 and had been extremely close with the first two black
people to enter the A.A. fellowship in South Bend, Bill Hoover and his wife
Jimmy Miller. Bill Hoover became his sponsor in 1975. Most people in South
Bend A.A. know Raymond, who is the "elder statesman" at Brownie's at 616
Pierce Street, just off Portage Avenue near downtown South Bend. Brownie's
(named after one of the other major black leaders in early South Bend A.A.)
is the basement meeting room below a children's daycare center, where
numerous A.A. meetings are held every week.
Frank N. (Syracuse, Indiana) came up with the idea of this get together
after talking with Jimmy at Chic's hog roast. Frank had come to the event to
socialize and enjoy, along with three other members of the Indiana Area 22
Archives Committee -- Floyd P. (Frankton), Klaus K. (Fort Wayne), and Glenn
C. (South Bend) -- when he suddenly realized that the elderly Bill W. whom
Jimmy was talking about was the same man who had come to South Bend to speak
fifty years ago to help get the first black A.A. members in South Bend fully
accepted.
Glenn C. (South Bend, Indiana) came along to help Frank tape record and edit
the information which Bill Williams and Jimmy H. were going to provide.
When the group was all assembled, everyone sat down in a room with large
glass windows looking out over the lake. Frank had trays of cheese and cold
cuts and vegetables out on his dining room table, and asked who wanted
coffee or a soft drink or something else. Jimmy H., who is a vegetarian and
studiously avoids being around cigarette smoke, said he would just fix
himself some hot water, while Bill W. asked if Frank could give him a cup of
hot tea.
When the tape recorders were turned on, Glenn C., to start things going,
read from a transcript of Jimmy Miller's story, and then asked Bill Williams
what he himself remembered about those events. Now some background needs to
be given here: the first A.A. group in north central Indiana was founded in
South Bend on February 22, 1943, by Ken Merrill and Joseph Soulard "Soo"
Cates, and quickly began spreading into the surrounding parts of Indiana and
Michigan, but it remained a totally white organization until 1948, when two
black people in South Bend, Bill Hoover (who died in 1986) and Jimmy Miller
(an erect, impressive black woman who was still living at the time of this
meeting) asked for help.
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JIMMY MILLER'S STORY
THE FIRST LADY OF BLACK A.A.
IN THE
ST. JOSEPH RIVER VALLEY
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jimmy Miller (South Bend, Indiana) was born in Wayne,
Arkansas, in 1920, but her family moved to South Bend when she was only
three months old, so she is essentially a South Bend person. In March of
1993, Raymond I. arranged for Glenn C. to go over to Jimmy Miller's house
and tape record some of her reminiscences for the A.A. archives, including
the story of how she and Bill Hoover (South Bend, Indiana) became the firs
two black A.A. members in that part of Indiana. After they came into the
fellowship, Bill and Jimmy eventually got married, so Jimmy was able to talk
at length about Bill's A.A. career as well as hers. She died around two or
three years ago, so we can give her full name now. (This entire conversation
is transcribed in Glenn C., The Factory Owner & the Convict, which is due to
come out in a second edition in early 2005, see http://hindsfoot.org)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JIMMY MILLER: I was a periodic drinker. Very much so. When I went out, I
stuck to my 7-Up, my Coke. I drank at home. I was a loner. If I had a week's
vacation from a job, I stayed drunk that whole week. I mean drunk! -- go
into D.T's, had to go to the doctor. We had an alcoholic doctor .... I found
out about this doctor, and I'd go get a shot, and I'm all right. But I ...
that was my pattern.
Maybe I would go a year without a drink, because I knew better, because then
I would be drunk anywhere from one week to two weeks. But I would make sure
it was during my vacation -- never lost a job, never got into financial
trouble, no kind of way. But then I knew I had this time to stay drunk.
RAYMOND: It's cunning, it's baffling, and it's powerful.
JIMMY MILLER: But I knew I'd get drunk, because I know there was something
wrong. The reason I didn't drink when I'd get out, go out: I knew better. I
was going to get drunk! I knew that I would be clear drunk for at least a
week, so I had to plan these things.
And I used to tell my mother, that I knew better. She said, "Oh honey, you
don't need no help. You just drink sometimes." So she would go and get,
like, get the neighbor to go get me two or three pints of whiskey, and I'm
quite young, maybe seventeen, sixteen, and when I started drinking she would
hand me a pint. I'd go on up to my room. She'd check on me, or she'd bring
me soup to eat. And I said, "Mama, I've got to be an alcoholic." And she
said, "Naw, my baby gone stop one day." But she was ....
RAYMOND: ... Enabling.
JIMMY MILLER: She never .... No, I think she did the best thing she could
do.
When I drank the whole fifth of vodka, that was my last drink. I decided to
go to drink me a fifth of vodka, it was just coming out [on the American
market]. So I drunk this fifth, I was working at the cleaners.
I blundered at work that morning, the temperature was about 115 [degrees
Fahrenheit] in there. I worked for a solid week, without anything on my
stomach but a drink of water. I'd get off from work, I'd make it as far as
getting on the floor and I would stretch out. It almost killed me.
I didn't have no more afterwards. But like Ray Moore say [he was an
Irishman, who became Jimmy and Bill's sponsor when they came into A.A.], he
was surprised by me being a periodic drinker. To know that I was an
alcoholic.
And you know, then I went to send and get all this literature. I was
ecstatic at something.
Then I couldn't get into A.A.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jimmy made a phone call to the A.A. number in South Bend, but
this was 1948, and she was told bluntly over the telephone that Alcoholics
Anonymous was for white people only. However, unknown to her, Bill Hoover
(who was also black) had also called the South Bend A.A. number about the
same time, so a certain amount of soul searching had begun among a few of
the A.A. leaders. Jimmy did not know that Bill had also phoned the A.A.
number, but she did know who Bill was.
JIMMY MILLER: I had known Bill since '36 or '37. He and one of my brothers
was strong alcoholics, so they was running buddies. They used to just say,
"Mama, I'm going to sleep on the porch" (in them days you slept on the
porch) and him and Bill would drink all night long. You know, I had known
Bill for years, never thinking that we would ever marry.
RAYMOND: Talking about [your brother] Luxedie?
JIMMY MILLER: No, my brother Jesse. He was a "sophisticated drunk."
JIMMY MILLER: Bill and I had called in three days apart .... they didn''t
have any set up for colored people (that's what we were called) .... [first
Bill phoned them for help, and then] I called in, and they also told me they
didn't have any setup for "colored people."
And at the time that Bill called in, Ray Moore was there, and he heard this
remark -- they didn't have anything for colored people -- so he said,
"That's all right, I'll take it." So they tried to discourage him, but
anyway, he made the call on Bill.
Three days later I called in, so he brought Bill over to my house, and he
said, well he would sponsor us. Only they told him -- they didn't have any
set up for colored whatsoever -- we couldn't come to the open meetings or
the closed meetings, so Ray had brought two of his friends with him.
GLENN C.: He was an Irishman?
JIMMY MILLER: Uh-huh. Dunbar [came with him], and the other one was Ken
Merrill. So in the meantime, they decided we could meet from house to house,
so we met at my house, Bill's house, [and at the homes of] Ken Merrill and
Dunbar.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Bill Hoover, and Raymond I. (whom he later sponsored), were
convinced that it was not simply coincidence, but the power of God at work,
that made these two particular people -- Jimmy and Bill -- call into A.A. at
the same time. And Bill Hoover was convinced that it was the power of God at
work that made Ray Moore, an otherwise perfectly ordinary Irishman who had a
job at the Bendix plant, insist on making the twelfth step call on these two
black people in spite of the stiff opposition from within the A.A. group
itself.
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++++Message 2076. . . . . . . . . . . . Early Black AA -- Part 2 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/30/2004 11:11:00 PM
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Early Black AA -- Part 2 of 5
JIMMY MILLER: When Ray Moore called on me, he was really surprised that I
[already] had the ... Alcoholic Anonymous book. I was determined. He say two
or more, but it's just a coincidence the way Bill and I called in.
My husband [Bill Hoover] used to tell me, used to tell me that he had a
slip. I said, not really. 'Cause after Ray Moore called on him that evening,
he drank the next day, and never had a drink since. So you really -- I
couldn't even call that a slip, could you? He called on him that day, he
didn't know enough about the program -- bad handled -- so he drank that
night, never no more!
Said he was just determined. We really went through a lot ....
I said, well you couldn't really call that a slip, because the man just come
over and talked to you, you didn't know anything about the program.
But I came in thinking I knew quite a bit -- which I did, 'cause I had read
the Big Book. I read any and everything! Like my Grapevines [the A.A.
periodical]. I run through 'em, and then I put 'em right here, and I read
'em over.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Getting someone in the South Bend A.A. group to make a
twelfth step call was only the first of many barriers that would have to
be surmounted. Ray Moore -- who has been dead for many years now, Jimmy
said -- continued to come through for her and Bill, and served as their
sponsor during those earliest years, hearing their fifth steps, and
advising and counseling and supporting them and fighting for them every
step of the way.
But when Jimmy and Bill came into A.A., it was still 1948, and the terms
on which help was offered them by the South Bend A.A. group at first was
incredibly humiliating and demeaning, in often unbelievably petty ways.
The closed meetings were still normally house meetings in those days,
and when Jimmy and Bill went to one of the few white homes where they
would be admitted at all, they were promptly sent back to the kitchen
like household menials, and could hear only as much of the people
speaking as would travel back to that distant part of the house.
JIMMY MILLER: So when Bill would walk it, they would invite us into the
kitchen. The women took time to give us some broken cups! And they decided
to give us broken cups, so we just took it. Ray told us, no matter what, be
calm about it, so we sit in the kitchen, where we could hear from the family
room, living room, whatever.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Side Note:
BROWNIE TOLD THE
SAME STORY
EDITOR'S NOTE: Even in 1950, two years later, when Brownie (Harold
Brown) came into the South Bend A.A. program, he said that he, as a
black man, was also at first given the broken-cup treatment when he went
to A.A. meetings at white people's homes. (This is taken from a tape
recording of a lead he gave around 1972.)
BROWNIE: When I come on the A.A. program, my people wasn't welcome. They was
meeting in the homes at that time. I had to drink coffee out of a broken cup
because they refused to give me a decent cup! Yes, I've sat in some of'em's
homes, where they put their finger in their nose at me, then they buck at
me. In other words, want me to get out of there.
But I wasn't particular about being with them. What I wanted is what you
had. I was trying to get sober. All I wanted to do was to learn it. They
couldn't run me away. The rest of 'em were behind me pushing, saying "Brown,
push on!" and they kept pushing me, and I kept going. It's to say, oh, look
it! It wasn't easy for me to make the A.A. program.
But I come here [into this hostile situation], a thought come to me: if they
open the door, I get it myself. And I begin to study this A.A. program. And
when I mean study it, I know it. I don't need you to tell me about it. I
knows everything, in the steps and everything, what it says.
And they told me that this was a spiritually program. Well now, if this is a
spiritually program, ain't got no business being prejudiced. My God tells
me, "I have no respect for persons." Alcohol ain't prejudiced. It don't give
a damn who it tear down.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S NOTE: So the tales of black people being given only the chipped
and cracked coffee cups to drink from in early South Bend A.A. are amply
documented, as embarrassing as this fact is to many present-day white
A.A. members in this area.
But to get back to Jimmy Miller and her story: Although Jimmy and Bill
Hoover were allowed to attend closed A.A. house meetings as long as they
could tolerate this deeply offensive treatment, it was six or seven
months before the white members would allow them to go to open meetings
at all. Even then, it was not until two black A.A. members from Chicago
came over to South Bend to give leads at the South Bend open meeting on
several occasions, that the black people in the South Bend A.A. program
began to be treated with at least a measure of ordinary social respect.
The two black A.A.'s from Chicago were Earl Redmond and Evans Avenue
Bill W. (Bill Williams), so being able to record some of Bill's memories
of those long ago events was a special privilege for the two members of
the Area 22 Archives Committee.
JIMMY MILLER: So then, we still couldn't go to an open meeting. So we just
kept meeting, and then, one or two more blacks called, and we met that way,
and then Ray got real worried, and Bill's wife [at that time] called her
cousin in Chicago: Earl Redmond. So Ray had a hard time getting permission
for him to speak at an open meeting ....
We still wasn't allowed to go to an open meeting, but we went anyway, so
when he finished talking -- now this is a good six, seven months later --
they opened up, and said we could come to an open meeting.
We could come to the group, and Ray told us don't be talking, just listen,
and learn, and that's the way. And after we got about five more blacks . . .
. that's the way the group got started.
But we were treated real coldly at the open meetings, and finally -- like
several of the speakers, we tried to shake their hands, and they would just
turn and walk off -- [but] after Earl Redmond come down about three times,
then they started shaking hands.
Hey Raymond, what's the other gentleman, Bill's other cousin in Chicago?
RAYMOND: [Evans Avenue] Bill Williams.
JIMMY MILLER: Bill Williams, he come down, and after he made a talk it
really opened up for us.
RAYMOND: Fourth black man to make A.A. in Chicago.
JIMMY MILLER: And I'm telling you! But we held on.
RAYMOND: Do you remember being at the talk, that Earl Redmond made, to help
you all get in?
JIMMY MILLER: Yes I do. He said, you know, this was basically formed: no
race, creed, religion, or anything. And then if you read it out the Big
Book, it's all [a matter of] if you had the desire to stop drinking, that's
all that's required.
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RACE RELATIONS IN THE
NORTHERN UNITED STATES
During the 1930's and 40's and afterwards
Any black person in South Bend old enough to remember the world before Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. will tell you that the humiliating treatment given
to Jimmy and Bill at first was simply typical of the period, and that such
treatment was a daily part of every black person's life. Many white people
in the United States to this day believe that racial discrimination against
black people only happens in the southern states, but every black person I
have ever talked to who has lived in both parts of the country, has told me
that racial discrimination is equally bad in both north and south. All of my
own observation of life in the north (Chicago, the upper Midwest,
Massachusetts, New York City, and so on) shows that they are totally
correct. Black people who began leaving the south to live in northern cities
around the mid twentieth century moved because that is where the jobs were,
in the factories and foundries, not because there was
less prejudice there, or any less likelihood of being beaten or killed by
white people.
King's Problems in Chicago
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not begin his work until several years after
the first black men and women came into A.A. in Chicago and South Bend
(which was around 1945-48). Dr. King's first major protest was the
Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. This took place in the south, in Alabama, as
did the major integration campaign he carried out later on in Birmingham, in
1963. It was only after this that Dr. King went north to work in Chicago,
where his marchers were met by white mobs led by uniformed Neo-Nazis and Ku
Klux Klansmen, in an even more violent and vicious opposition than he had
encountered in the south. When King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, it
could be argued that Chicago still stood as a partial failure for him: that
city had proven to be far more resistant than the cities of the American
south to truly basic change in racial attitudes at the public and political
level.
A.A. in Chicago and South Bend
So the world inside A.A. circles in Chicago and South Bend was in fact
twenty years ahead of the world outside of them on racial issues: getting
black people into some of the closed meetings (on any terms) was a miracle
for the 1940's, and getting them into the open meetings was a further
miracle, and putting an end to at least some of the discriminatory treatment
was yet another miracle. Young people today often do not realize (until they
look back at how bad things were in the 1930's and early 40's) how much was
actually accomplished in eliminating the worst kinds of racism in A.A. in
the years which followed, and how difficult it was to bring this about. It
was done by attacking the issues at the fundamental spiritual level, and by
insisting that the spiritual principles of the program had to take
precedence over personalities, and personal likes and dislikes, and
politics, and blind cultural taboos. It also took a handful of
people, both black and white, who had an astonishing courage, and a
willingness to speak lovingly, but boldly and honestly, when basic spiritual
principles were at stake.
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BACK TO JIMMY MILLER'S STORY
EDITOR: But to return to Jimmy's story. At one point, Raymond asked her
what she remembered of some of the details of that open meeting where
Earl Redmond, the first black speaker the South Bend A.A. group had ever
had, came over from Chicago.
RAYMOND: Well 'd Ken Merrill play the piano or something -- didn't he play
the piano for you all?
JIMMY MILLER: Yeah.
RAYMOND: And ... I mean when Earl Redmond and them came in?
JIMMY MILLER: Yes. But Ken ....
RAYMOND: And I think Earl Redmond made a statement like Bill [Hoover] used
to tell me, said when Earl came down he made such a powerful talk. He said
the same whiskey that'll make a white man drunk, will make a black man
drunk.
JIMMY MILLER: That's right, he explained all of that. It was a talk you just
-- it kept everybody spellbound. And it opened the doors for us.
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++++Message 2077. . . . . . . . . . . . Early Black AA -- Part 3 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/30/2004 11:22:00 PM
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Early Black AA -- Part 3 of 5
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KEN MERRILL PLAYS THE PIANO
Celebrating a victory over racism
Ken Merrill (the founder of A.A. in South Bend) opened the meeting in a way
that had never been done before, by sitting down and playing the piano for
all the people who were assembled. This was one of Ken's more unexpected
talents: he had been a professional church organist for part of his life,
and (on a piano) could play everything from the latest jazz to truly
difficult classical pieces, almost totally by ear. Raymond commented later
on in this recording that this symbolic gesture was a way for some of the
white people in South Bend A.A. to begin making amends for the wrong they
had done to the black members, and to extend the olive branch of peace by
turning this first visit by a black speaker into a day of jubilee, if you
wish. It was something special offered by the white people who were leading
that meeting, to show that they too now realized that this was a very
special welcoming, where they wanted to pull out all the
stops and do something far beyond the ordinary for this meeting.
Earl Redmond did his job too. Soon everyone in the room found themselves
swept into the power and sincerity of his lead. And the white people
discovered that, once you stopped making external comparisons and started
listening to the message of the heart, black alcoholics suffered and felt
exactly the same things as white alcoholics, but could also use the twelve
steps to live in and through God's power to arrive at the same sobriety and
serenity that some of the white people were beginning to achieve.
When Bill Williams subsequently came over from Chicago to give his lead at
the South Bend open meeting, the effect (as Jimmy Miller remembered it) was
even more powerful. So being able to actually listen to Bill himself talking
about his memories of his part in those same events is a special treat,
because (although he was now 96 years old) he still remembered clearly his
trips to South Bend some fifty years earlier.
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BILL WILLIAMS' STORY
COMING FROM CHICAGO TO SPEAK TO
THE WHITE A.A.'s IN SOUTH BEND
EDITOR'S NOTE: Glenn C. read aloud from the preceding transcript of Jimmy
Miller's story, and then asked Evans Avenue Bill W. (Bill Williams) if he
could tell all of us some of his own memories of those events.
GLENN: Now Bill, that's where your name came into this thing. Do you
remember anything about that at all?
BILL WILLIAMS: Uh huh. I remember it all. Most of that. Not all of it, but
most of that. See, that was the problem, that's the reason I came over here,
at the time. See, happened my wife was related to Bill [Hoover]'s, some of
Bill's family, and they had told her about it, told them about it. So I came
over here. I came over here, I brought four other members from my group,
over here from Chicago. Myself -- see, this all happened before some of
that, what you was reading, was happening. See, at the time, Bill couldn't
go to the meetings. He could go to some of the meetings, but especially he
couldn't go to the open meetings. And I came.
So fortunately, my wife was a distant relative to him, and so that's the way
I met Bill. I didn't know him before. So with about five of the members of
my group, we came over here one Sunday, and talked at Bill [Hoover]'s house
[at 1242 Howard St. in South Bend].
And after we met, that's [when] they told him it's all right, but you can't
go to the big meeting, on a Sunday. So then I asked why. Then they begin
telling, "Well you see, our wives wouldn't like that."
And I listened to them talking. When they got through, I says, "Listen," I
said, "if I had to go to Chicago from here in the morning -- I lived here, I
got to go to Chicago. Wasn't but one train go, one bus go to Chicago, and I
had to be there. And if I was on the train, and you got on ... because I was
on there, and I was black, you wouldn't get off! Because you had to go to
Chicago too." I said, "By the same token, if I go to the meeting, your wife
cares less than a damn about me. She's there interested in you. So she's not
gone go leave the meeting because I come. Because I'm going there for a
purpose, and she's there to help you."
So one of the fellows said it, he laughed, he said, "Well that's true."
I said .... "By the same token, if I go to this meeting, your wife isn't
going to leave -- it's an open meeting -- because she cares less than a darn
about me. She's there for interested in you. And she's not gone leave
because I get here. So if Bill [Hoover] goes to that meeting, it's not gonna
affect your meeting at all. Cause all of you are going there -- all the
alcoholics -- are going there for one particular purpose, and the
non-alcoholic -- her husband, his wife -- is going there on account of you
...."
"My wife would be the same thing about you. She wouldn't care anything about
[you]. She would only be there because she's interested in me, and she want
to find out what makes me tick.
So when I got through -- see, before -- before that, they didn't want Bill
[Hoover] to come to the open meeting. Well, I knew the reason. I'm from
Texas, and I know the reason.
GLENN: O.K., so am I, yeah, so am I.
BILL WILLIAMS: I know the reason that they didn't want Bill [Hoover] to come
to the meeting. Say, all right, say right now [pointing to the only empty
chair in Frank's lakeside room]: it's only one chair sit here now. If I'm
sitting right there, and this man is sitting here -- black -- your wife come
in, that's the only seat. She's gone sit down there. She ain't gone leave
because she just got her one seat, cause she's interested in you. She cares
less than a doggoned about me. It was only him."
I said, "Now it's only you guys that don't [want] your wife to sit in a
chair close to me .... I can understand that. I know that .... But that
isn't the point .... The point is that we're all here for one particular
purpose. The alcoholics are here to mend their alcoholism. Your wife is here
to learn what makes me tick."
"See, the non-alcoholic -- the husband or wife -- don't know why we drank.
They don't know that alcohol makes us THIRSTY. [Laughter] Now this tea --
see, this tea -- it quenches my thirst. See, I drank this, and this'll be
about all I want. I might would like another cup an hour or so from now ....
but you see, it quenches my thirst. But if this was alcohol -- and I am an
alcoholic -- it makes me thirsty.
GLENN: For more.
BILL WILLIAMS: .... See, when Hoover came in, the fellows would go over to
his house and talk, but they didn't want him, or none of us, to come to the
open meeting .... They said, "We'll come to your house to the meeting, but
you can't come to .... they was meeting in the church. Raymond, are they
still meeting in that church? And anyways, they were meeting in the church
-- that was an open meeting, where the husbands and wives were there. They
didn't want them to come there, and they come and talking about, "Well, you
see our wives gone to complain." I listened, to a while, until they begin to
do things to me inside. I said,"Listen, let me tell you something, you
further something ...."
===================================
SOUTH BEND A.A. IN THE
1940's AND THE OPEN MEETING
AT ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR'S NOTE: Let us interrupt Bill Williams at this point to talk about
South Bend A.A. (which was started on February 22, 1943) and the big weekly
open meeting they were holding in St. James Cathedral by 1948. It will also
be wise, for the sake of younger people, to describe some of the primitive
racial taboos in the United States in the 1940's.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An article in the South Bend Tribune in 1964 (marking the twenty-first
anniversary of the A.A. movement in that city) explains how the site of the
big weekly open meeting was moved around during that twenty-one years.
Beginning in October 1943, they held them for a while as occasional
breakfast sessions at the LaSalle Hotel, which was at that point one of the
city's two major hotels, located on Michigan Street in downtown South Bend.
Late in 1944 however, they turned it into a regular Sunday afternoon meeting
held at the former South Bend Civic Planning Association building on East
Madison Street. Late in 1945, they set up the first Alano Club in the
basement of that building. People were already coming from all over the
surrounding areas of northern Indiana and southern Michigan -- places like
Mishawaka, Elkhart, Goshen, Plymouth, LaPorte, Niles, Dowagiac, Benton
Harbor, and St. Joseph -- learning how to set up an A.A.
program from the people in South Bend, and then going back and setting up
similar groups in their own home towns. So South Bend's example in dealing
with problems like this one had an impact that extended far beyond its own
city limits, up and down the St. Joseph river valley and around the
southeastern coast of Lake Michigan (one of the five Great Lakes which
divide the United States from Canada).
At some point -- it is difficult to reconstruct the exact date, but probably
sometime between 1946 and 1948 -- they moved the big weekly open meetings
from the Madison Street building to St. James Episcopal Cathedral on Main
Street in downtown South Bend, where they used the meeting room in the
church basement for their weekly get together. Ken Merrill, the factory
owner who was the founder of A.A. in South Bend, was a member of that
church, and presumably used his influence to help secure this site.
(Although Ken Merrill, when he was a teenager, had been kicked out of high
school in Chicago for fighting, he educated himself past that point, and not
only rose to become the president and co-owner of a very successful factory
operation in South Bend, but also was a highly talented musician, and wrote
short stories which appeared in the major national magazines of the period.
His factory produced industrial pipe fittings which were sold all over the
world, including the British Isles and France. He was a church goer, but he
was typical of that branch of early A.A. which emphasized the psychological
aspects of the program. For more about his life and his interpretation of
the program -- people came from cities and towns many miles away to hear his
beginners lessons on the steps -- see The Factory Owner & the Convict.)
The dispute over whether black members would be allowed to attend the open
meeting dates from this point when it started being held in the basement of
St. James Cathedral. This is where the Anglican (Episcopalian) bishop for
that part of Indiana presides. It is a small but quite beautiful Gothic
style church where you can easily imagine you are back in a rather high
church setting in old England: in the main sanctuary, which has a quiet,
medieval Catholic feeling, the bishop dons his miter and ceremonial robes to
preside over mass, while the choir chants the ritual and clouds of incense
billows from burning censers. They have the Stations of the Cross on the
walls, and people cross themselves with holy water on entering the sanctuary
and genuflect before taking their seat in one of the pews.
The meeting room in the church basement is underneath the sanctuary:
although the ceiling is fairly low, the room is quite large and can hold a
large number of people on folding chairs, arranged around long tables or
however one wishes. This basement room was the site of the weekly open
meeting which was now the point of controversy: some of the white A.A.'s did
not want Bill Hoover, Jimmy M., or any other black people coming to that
gathering.
Now Bill Williams was aware that the real issues here were arising from a
set of strange taboos that still dominated racial relations in the United
States back in the 1940's, a set of deeply felt but primitive and irrational
superstitions which operated somewhat like the rules of the caste system in
ancient India. In the north, it was not formalized in the way of the
American south, with signs posted indicating separate drinking fountains for
black and white people, separate waiting rooms in train and bus stations,
and so on, but many white people still felt this to a degree down at a
visceral level. This taboo applied both to eating and drinking from the same
cups and plates and glasses, and sitting in chairs right next to one
another. Bill was also aware of the bizarre myth, believed by many whites in
both north and south, that all black men continually lust in their hearts
after white women. This sexual myth was embarrassing to
talk about openly, but it was not only nonsense, it was dangerous nonsense
-- the fuel that had fed more than one anti-black lynch mob.
Evans Avenue Bill had decided that spiritual principles required that the
black and white A.A.'s gathered in Bill Hoover's house bring these taboos
and myths out into the open, and discuss them in the light of the spirit,
and in terms of the basic principles of the program. They could not "talk
around" the real issues forever, and ever hope to heal any of the wrongs
that were being done.
===================================
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++++Message 2078. . . . . . . . . . . . Part 4 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/30/2004 11:44:00 PM
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Part 4 of 5
BILL WILLIAMS
CONTINUES HIS STORY
BILL WILLIAMS: I said, "The thing of it is, and I know -- I ain't dumb, I
ain't stupid -- I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid. The point is, if there's
only one seat here -- that's just this one seat that's open -- your wife
come to this meeting, you don't want her sitting there close to me." I said,
"That's it." The guy looked at me! And .... I said, "She's not thinking
about me, and I'm not thinking about her. I got my wife at home. I'm not
thinking about [your wife]."
So further come to further. Look at me, and they smile. They say, "Yeah,"
said, "that's it, Bill."
I said, "I know it is ...."
JIMMY H.: And that made it better there in South Bend when you guys got
together.
GLENN: Do you remember? -- does anybody know? -- were they having the open
meetings at St. James church at that point, or was it at the Hotel LaSalle?
RAYMOND: Bill [Hoover] said it was at St. James Cathedral.
JIMMY H.: Yeah, I think he told me that -- that was later on. When did he
die? Bill, Bill -- cause I met Bill Hoover.
RAYMOND: He just die about '85, '86.
JIMMY H.: Yeah, cause I was up there before he died. And he came to that
meeting -- that was Brownie -- but didn't they have a meeting named after
him there, didn't they have a . . . ?
BILL WILLIAMS: Bill Hoover?
JIMMY H.: Bill Hoover.
BILL WILLIAMS: Yes, there's a group named after Bill Hoover.
RAYMOND: "Interracial Group."
===================================
THE INTERRACIAL GROUP
& BROWNIE'S
Two early South Bend answers to racism
The two most influential black leaders in South Bend A.A. during the early
period were Bill Hoover, who died in 1986, and Brownie (Harold Brown), who
came into A.A. around 1950, shortly after these events, and died in 1983.
Brownie
Brownie was a quite flamboyant speaker who did powerful leads, spent more
time doing things with the white A.A. members, and was perhaps better known
by them. There was a weekly group meeting in South Bend which was known even
after his death simply as "Brownie's meeting." Bill Williams and Jimmy H.
were partially confusing Brownie and Bill Hoover. But Brownie was also
extremely important. The large basement meeting room at 616 Pierce Street,
just off Portage Avenue near downtown South Bend, is currently referred to
as "Brownie's," because of its linkage with Harold Brown's heritage. One can
see the old barber's chair (no one remembers where it originally came from)
in which Brownie would sit during meetings. There are a number of A.A.
meetings held there every week, attended by a relatively equal mix of white
and black people.
There are also A.A. groups still making month-long pilgrimages to Brownie's
every year from many miles away, to do honor to him and Nick Kowalski (a
Polish brick layer and ex-con who had found A.A. while imprisoned in the
Indiana state penitentiary at Michigan City for murder). These are white
A.A.'s, who received the message either from Red K., who had had Brownie and
Nick as his sponsors, or from some of the people whom Red in turn had
sponsored. The spiritual message which one heard from Brownie (who was
black) and his friend Nick (who was white) was so powerful that it could
bring alcoholics from drunkenness and anger to sobriety and serenity of life
even at second and third hand. There is a group from Ann Arbor, Michigan,
making this pilgrimage every year, as well as several groups from Chicago
and its suburbs. There is also a group in Lansing, Michigan, which sometimes
comes to South Bend, and another group in Bloomington in
southern Indiana, which invites people from Brownie's like Raymond to speak
to them. There are also supposed to be groups as far away as Florida and the
New York City area composed of people who continue to honor Brownie's and
Nick's memories.
Bill Hoover and the Interracial Group
The meeting with which Bill Hoover was most closely associated was
officially called the "Interracial Group," to signal clearly, to anyone
reading through the list of A.A. meetings, that there would be numerous
black people present at that meeting. When there were enough black members
in South Bend, they rented a building on Ardmore Trail and set up what they
called an Interracial Club House, to continue the work that had been begun
in the house meetings in Bill Hoover's home.
A later version of the Interracial Group was revived around 1975, when some
of the black A.A.'s in South Bend again were feeling unwanted and out of
place in many of the white groups. Some blacks felt that they could not talk
openly in white meetings about many of their deepest resentments and fears:
as this faction among the black A.A.'s perceived it, the white dominated
meetings allowed white alcoholics, especially if they were newcomers, to be
angry and obnoxious on occasion (at least up to a point), whereas black
members were expected to be genial, smiling Uncle Toms at all times. This
revived Interracial Group continued on for a few years after Bill Hoover's
death in 1986, but the last mention of it in the meeting list put out by the
South Bend-Mishawaka A.A. Central Service Office was in 1990 -- it seems to
have died off at the end, because certainly by the 1990's there were many
A.A. groups in the area which had both black and white members and where
everyone present felt
comfortable talking about anything they wanted. Some had just a few black
members, but there were other groups where some of the black members played
the major leadership role and at least 40% of the people present would be
black. A group which was specially labeled the "Interracial Group" seemed
like an anachronism by then.
===================================
SOUTH BEND IN 1948 AND 1949
Raymond and Jimmy H.'s Summary
EDITOR'S NOTE: Raymond I. and Jimmy H. then summarized what they felt
was the real significance of what happened in South Bend back in 1948
and 1949, based upon what they already knew, and what Bill Williams had
talked about so movingly today.
RAYMOND: Tell me, here's something I never got straight. Bill say it was
either you or Earl Redmond, one of you all made the statement, "Same whiskey
as get a white man drunk, 'll get a black man drunk."
BILL WILLIAMS: Earl made that one.
RAYMOND: That was Earl ....
JIMMY H.: Yeah, one of the main reasons, I believe, after they came -- I'm
just carrying around, cause he told the story already. But I'm just saying,
after he came -- after they came -- and then they got in harmony, and they
said "You're right," and so they got together, and I think they open up the
doors. Everybody got in the spirit, and ... that's the main thing ....
RAYMOND: After he left, after he came and talked, Ken Merrill, he played
piano, and in playing the piano, this was the way of accepting blacks into
the program -- Ken Merrill. I wasn't there now.
BILL WILLIAMS: I was there.
RAYMOND: But you said, after they played the piano, this was making the
amends.
JIMMY H.: And I hear what was said, and so I know now how it got started,
how that integration came about -- spiritually -- not officially through
politics. Because I found out something here today, and I've heard it leaped
through, but I heard it talked though and lived through here.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The small black (or actually interracial) A.A. group in
Chicago was for two or three years an absolutely vital support to Bill
Hoover and Jimmy Miller in South Bend, and the small group of black
A.A.'s that started to form around them there in north central Indiana
beginning in 1948, 1949, and 1950. Bill W. made a few more comments
about that period, and how he and the Chicago people had helped.
BILL WILLIAMS: Oh, about three years one of us came -- one, two, or three of
us -- came over here every Sunday afternoon ... whatever time it was.
GLENN: To support the people in South Bend. To support those people in South
Bend.
BILL WILLIAMS: Yeah. Cause, see at points it was just Bill and some woman --
I forget her name -- black woman.
RAYMOND and GLENN: Jimmy.
BILL WILLIAMS: That was the only two it was.
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++++Message 2079. . . . . . . . . . . . Early Black AA -- Part 5 of 5
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 11/30/2004 11:57:00 PM
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Early Black AA -- Part 5 of 5
===================================
CHICAGO IN 1945
The first black people to join A.A.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Then Glenn C. asked Bill Williams to talk about something
that happened a few years earlier: how the first black people came into
the A.A. program in Chicago in 1945.
GLENN: Now just to make sure I got it all straightened out, you were born in
nineteen oh ...
BILL WILLIAMS: Four.
GLENN: 1904. Now what year did you come into A.A. in Chicago?
BILL WILLIAMS: I think it 'uz, umn ....
JIMMY H.: Forty-five .... It was December '45. Cause Redmond came in in
March, you told me ....
BILL WILLIAMS: But anyway, I know Redmond came in in March, and I came in
that following December.
GLENN: So when you came to South Bend, then, you had about four or five
years sobriety behind you? You had a good program by then.
BILL WILLIAMS: Oh yeah, I was pretty solid. I knew by that time that it was
going to work. Cause the first -- see, when I first came in, it was my
intention to only stay three years. [Laughter] And I knew that I would get
it, and I would know anything to do in three years.
Because I'm a tailor by trade, and I went to school, and they wanted me
three years to finish tailoring. I finished it in one year. I said, if I can
finish tailoring in one year, and I can make anything now to be made out of
cloth -- and I still do a little of it -- well, I could get this in three
years. So I figured in three years, I'd have this -- and I planned to stop
going to the meetings! [Laughter] . . . .
GLENN: And you're twenty-nine years old now [Bill had joked earlier that he
told people he was twenty-nine], and you're still working at it!
JIMMY H.: I'm still working on it!
BILL WILLIAMS: See, this is -- see, Alcoholics Anonymous isn't something
that you get.
GLENN: Yeah.
BILL WILLIAMS: It's a principle that we practice. I been in church since
1911. I been a member of a Baptist church since 1911. I still go to Sunday
School and church every Sunday. I haven't finished it!
GLENN: Yeah.
BILL WILLIAMS: You can't complete that .... A.A. isn't something that you
will get. It's a principle that we practice. And the word practice is we
haven't completed it. You never heard a doctor yet -- how long he's been in
business -- there's a sign up there, he's "practicing medicine." He's
practicing.
What Alcoholics Anonymous .... It's something said, and I hear people say,
and you probably have heard it in your group, that they've been around a few
years, and they're "cured." Ain't no such a thing as an alcoholic being
cured! There is two incurable diseases, two known incurable diseases.
There's alcoholism and ... diabetes .... They are arrested. If I was
"cured," I could drink this alcohol now and go on and do all right. But see,
alcoholism is one of the progressive, incurable diseases. The disease
progress even though you don't drink. You don't have to drink to make it get
worse! All we have to do is to stay alive [laugher] and it will get worse.
Two diseases like that, alcoholism and diabetes. Nobody -- doctors are
smart, but they've never found a cure for diabetes .... It's something with
our system .... I can drink anything [else] I want to, but I can't drink
alcohol ....
GLENN: Now when you came into A.A. in Chicago, in 1945, did you hit trouble
there too? Was there a color bar .... there in Chicago in 1945? I don't know
anything about Chicago.
BILL WILLIAMS: Oh yeah! Yeah, it was the same thing. It's still prejudiced,
even now.
GLENN: How did you deal with that? In Chicago, in 1945?
BILL WILLIAMS: Well, I was born in Texas.
RAYMOND: He's a cowboy! [Laughter]
JIMMY H.: You all got into A.A., and you had to go out to Evanston, and Joe
Diggles and all of 'em, and the guy said, Earl Treat, said and all, "Give us
ninety days." Tell us about that ....
===================================
CONCLUDING EDITORIAL NOTE
Preserving the History of Early Black
A.A. in Chicago and Gary, Indiana
There is more discussion on this tape which has still not been transcribed.
The Evans Avenue Group in Chicago, the first A.A. group in that city, is
still in existence. Evans Avenue, where it was originally located, is near
the lake, running north and south between 69th Street and the southern edge
of the University of Chicago campus. Raymond I. took Frank N. and me to
visit their present building -- they still call it the Evans Avenue Group,
but it is now in a slightly different location -- and they have a lot of
memorabilia from the days of early black A.A. in Chicago, which would be
helpful in writing a fuller history.
We have on tape Bill Williams' lead which he gave at the Kentucky State A.A.
Convention (which Frank N. located for us), and also a tape recording of
some of the profound things Bill said on spirituality at a regional
conference held in South Bend, Indiana, several years ago. It would be
extremely useful if someone in Chicago A.A. would write up an account of his
life, and combine it with material about one of the great white A.A. figures
from early Chicago A.A., Tex Brown.
In Tex Brown's case, we not only have tape recordings of leads which he
gave, and a good deal of information which his widow knows about his life,
but also many of his writings, including one of the best descriptions I have
ever read of how to engage in the kind of meditation where the mind is
emptied (as far as possible) of all images, concepts, and words. This would
be an extremely important and enormously valuable historical project.
Jimmy H. in Chicago, who was one of the people at the meeting at Frank N.'s
lake house, is still active -- he is going to be the main speaker at the New
Year's Eve Dance in South Bend at the end of 2004 -- and Jimmy knows a good
deal about early black A.A. in Chicago which needs to be tape recorded
and/or put down in writing.
The Northern Indiana Area 22 Archives Committee (and its Northern Indiana
Archival Bulletin) have a tape recording of a lead given by John Shaifer,
one of the great black old timers from Gary, Indiana. This was obtained by
Beth M., a member of the Archives Committee, who also interviewed John and
got that interview down on tape. He died not long after that, so we are very
fortunate to have that material at all.
Past Delegate Ben W., and Mozell (who runs a very successful A.A. meeting
place in downtown Gary), have between the two of them a lot of information
about early black A.A. in Gary which has never been recorded or transcribed.
In the heyday of the great steel mills in Gary, airline pilots would find
their way to Chicago's two airports and other places in the area by looking
for the huge plume of smoke rising up into the air from the smelters, which
could be seen from an enormous distance away. It was a very important
industrial city.
Jimmy Miller and Bill Williams have both died within the past three years.
Raymond I., Frank N., Brooklyn Bob Firth (also now dead, a good Irish
Catholic, see some of his sayings in The Higher Power of the Twelve Step
Program: For Believers & Non-Believers), and Glenn C. represented A.A. at
Jimmy's funeral. She left the special request that someone sing at her
service, "I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free. His eye is on
the sparrow, and I know he watches me." This was Jimmy's great spirit
expressed perfectly.
And we've lost that marvelous man Bill Williams now too. Raymond I., a
younger man he sponsors named Charles, Frank N., and Glenn C. drove to
Chicago to represent South Bend A.A. at Bill's funeral.
So we are losing these people rapidly. Tape cassettes and pieces of paper
get lost or damaged. One can only hope that one or two A.A. folks in Chicago
and Gary will begin collecting and writing up this material while the
people, the tape recordings, and the documents are still around. Otherwise
the rest of this inspiring story will be lost forever.
There are things that A.A. people all around the world can learn from the
courage and dedication of Bill Williams, Bill Hoover, Jimmy Miller, Brownie,
Goshen Bill, and their friends. It does not matter how badly you believe the
cards are stacked against you when you come into A.A. You can get sober and
your spirit can learn to soar to the heights. They showed us how to do it.
Their lives were God's message to all of us.
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++++Message 2080. . . . . . . . . . . . RE:
From: Corky Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/4/2004 12:07:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"Courier New";color:black;"> Hi,
12.0pt;font-family:Verdana;">I'm a lurker and I hope I'm doing this right.
Can anyone tell me who
Verdana;color:navy;">was the minister's son in "We Agnostics"? (pg.
56.)
Appreciate
any help. Thanks.
Verdana;color:navy;">
I
appreciate all the posts as they have helped me understand so much about AA
history. Also, I share them with
my AA friends.
God
bless you and have a great day.
Corky
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++++Message 2081. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: RE:
From: Tom Perdoni . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/4/2004 4:01:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Corky- I believe this was Fitz M. or John Henry Fitzhugh M. who was the 2nd
man to recover from Towns Hospital in 1935. He was the author of "Our
Southern Friend" story in the BB.
Tom P.
Corky Forbes wrote:
Hi,
I'm a lurker and I hope I'm doing this right. Can anyone tell me who was
the minister's son in "We Agnostics"? (pg. 56.)
Appreciate any help. Thanks.
I appreciate all the posts as they have helped me understand so much
about AA history. Also, I share them with my AA friends.
God bless you and have a great day.
Corky
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail [88] - Helps protect you from nasty viruses.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2082. . . . . . . . . . . . RE: RE:
From: Corky Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/4/2004 5:10:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Thanks Tom,
I appreciate your help. I read most of the posts from
AAHistoryLovers; but, have trouble remembering them.
Wingdings;color:black;">J :-) Keep up the great job your doing.
God bless you and have a great day.
Corky
-----Original
Message-----
*From:* Tom Perdoni
[mailto:tomper99@yahoo.com]
*Sent:* Saturday, December 04, 2004
3:01 PM
*To:*
AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
*Subject:* Re: [AAHistoryLovers] RE:
Corky-
I believe this was Fitz M. or John Henry Fitzhugh M. who was the 2nd man to
recover from Towns Hospital in 1935. He was the author of "Our
Southern Friend" story in the BB.
Tom
P.
_Corky Forbes
_ wrote:
Hi,
I m
a lurker and I hope I m doing this right.
Can anyone tell me who was the minister's son in "We Agnostics"? (pg. 56.)
Appreciate
any help. Thanks.
I
appreciate all the posts as they have helped me understand so much about AA
history. Also, I share them with
my AA friends.
God
bless you and have a great day.
Corky
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do
you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail [88] - Helps
protect you from nasty viruses.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2083. . . . . . . . . . . . The Dr.`s Opinon
From: Tommy . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/5/2004 6:26:00 AM
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On page xxix is the story of a man,hid in a barn determined to die.
Is that man Fitz M.?
Thanks,Tom
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++++Message 2084. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Dr.`s Opinon
From: Warren Pangburn . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/5/2004 8:42:00 PM
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No. Ebby, I believe.
Tommy wrote:
On page xxix is the story of a man,hid in a barn determined to die.
Is that man Fitz M.?
Thanks,Tom
Peace & Love
Warren Pangburn
6637 Gatehouse Lane
Las Vegas NV 89108, 702-395-0172
"It's In The Book"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you Yahoo!?
The all-new My Yahoo! [112] - Get yours free!
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++++Message 2085. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: The Dr.`s Opinon
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/5/2004 10:33:00 PM
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Nancy - are you still moderating?
These kind of messages should not be circulated. Ebby never spent any time
in Towns Hospital. Simply pulling a name out of the air and circulating an
opinion is not history. Is AAHistoryLovers going to be a chat room?
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: Warren Pangburn
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2004 7:42 PM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] The Dr.`s Opinon
No. Ebby, I believe.
Tommy wrote:
On page xxix is the story of a man,hid in a barn determined to die.
Is that man Fitz M.?
Thanks,Tom
Peace & Love
Warren Pangburn
6637 Gatehouse Lane
Las Vegas NV 89108, 702-395-0172
"It's In The Book"
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++++Message 2086. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 1 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 12:16:00 AM
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INTRODUCTION
The Books the Good Old-Timers Read
Early A.A. in the St. Joseph river valley region of
Indiana and Michigan in the 1940's and 50's
A summary of their basic principles
Number 1. When Brooklyn Bob Firth (a much loved old timer from South Bend)
was asked whether there were any rules in good old time A.A. about what
books A.A. people could and could not read, he just laughed and snorted, and
said, "We read anything we could get our hands on that might get us sober!"
That was a good summary of the first basic principle they followed. Good
old-time A.A. was totally pragmatic ("what works?") and not an authoritarian
system of countless doctrines and dogmas and endless rules which had to be
followed blindly.
Number 2. Nevertheless, it was usually assumed that any piece that was
authored or sponsored by one A.A. group could automatically be used to read
from in meetings by any other A.A. group which chose to do so. This was an
extremely important principle, and meant that a number of books and
pamphlets were automatically assumed to be appropriate for use without
further discussion, such as the Big Book, Twenty-Four Hours a Day, The
Little Red Book, and the Detroit or Washington D.C. Pamphlet. This was the
official position taken by Bill Wilson and the New York A.A. headquarters
(as recorded in letters from that period), in addition to being the common
practice all across the United States and Canada.
Number 3. The question of whether a particular book or writing was
"conference approved" was irrelevant in old time A.A. Nobody ever talked
that way. The rigid idea that nothing can be read in an A.A. meeting which
is not conference approved was the invention of a small group of people
later on -- it did not appear in any widespread fashion until the 1990's --
and it would totally destroy traditional A.A. if it were actually practiced.
Number 4. In addition, one could read from works at A.A. meetings which were
written even by non-A.A. authors -- people looked mainly to the wisdom of
the more experienced A.A. members concerning which ones were useful and
which ones were either trash or even outright dangerous -- and groups and
intergroups had these books available for loan or sale.
A special note for AAHistoryLovers
This is a study which is primarily focused on early A.A. in the St. Joseph
river valley region, which centers on north central Indiana but extends up
into part of Michigan and the areas along the southeastern shore of Lake
Michigan. Although it is a local study, many of these observations seem to
have been typical of early A.A. all across the United States and Canada
during the 1940's, 50's, and early 60's.
Some names which may not be familiar to most readers are the names of the
great old-timers from this St. Joseph river valley region: Ken Merrill, Nick
Kowalski, Brownie, Bill Hoover and his wife Jimmy Miller, Ellen Lantz, Ed
Pike, Goshen Bill, Brooklyn Bob Firth, Submarine Bill, and Raymond I. We did
briefly meet several of these people though in the materials posted on the
AAHistoryLovers about the early A.A. prison group at the Indiana state
penitentiary and about early black A.A. along the Chicago-Gary-South Bend
axis.
For members of the AAHistoryLovers from other parts of the world, it is
frequently easier to visualize what is going on when one has some idea of
the geographical scale and distances involved. The state of Indiana is not
one of the bigger states, but it is roughly the size of Ireland or Portugal
or Lithuania, with a population about the same as Scotland. So I suppose
that if it were transplanted to Europe, it could be a small country on its
own, even if it does not feel like that big a place. People who live in
Indiana are called "Hoosiers," although no one has the slightest idea where
that word came from. Even though the people of Indiana are sweet, gentle,
pleasant and friendly folk nowadays, at least for the most part, the name
Hoosier may be a corruption of the word Hussar, a Hungarian word that
originally meant freebooter or pirate and later referred to ferocious light
cavalry units.
The St. Joseph river valley area lies between the huge cities of Chicago on
the west and Detroit to the east, but is a region all its own. The
Potawatomi tribe (which still lives in the area) originally owned it, and
then the French came in and used it as a bridge between their settlements
along the Great Lakes in the north and the Mississippi river in the south.
It was part of French Canada until the English won the French and Indian war
and took it away from them in 1763. Otherwise the area would be
French-speaking today.
It has a chain of large industrial cities running along the river and the
lake coast, with the rest of the area filled with green rolling fields of
corn and soy beans, and fruit orchards filled with trees that become a mass
of flowers in the spring. The countryside is dotted with countless
individual farm houses and barns, and a number of small lakes which
sometimes have along their shores some very expensive summer homes built by
wealthy people from Chicago or elsewhere. There are also a large number of
small towns, which in spite of their size are always guaranteed to have at
least one or two bars and taverns serving alcoholic beverages well into the
evening. In their own way, these establishments help to keep Hoosier A.A.
meetings full and prospering.
A few portions of this material have been posted on the AAHistoryLovers
before, but this is an attempt to give a broad and comprehensive account of
all the books which the good old-timers used in their meetings or gave to
newcomers to read, so that we can get a general overview of the full range
of material involved, and how they decided what to use and what not to use.
One major concern here is to look at the reasons they had for using certain
kinds of things and not using others. I apologize however for any small
portions of this that may just seem like a repeat of something I have
already posted. I do not want to seem like a fanatic who has only one drum
upon which to bang away, however merrily.
SOURCE: This posting is based on the appendix that will appear in the second
edition of the two-volume work on Lives and Teachings of the A.A. Old Timers
in the St. Joseph river valley region: The Factory Owner & the Convict and
The St. Louis Gambler & the Railroad Man, due to appear in January or
February of 2005. See http://hindsfoot.org The first edition was printed up
for the groups in South Bend and Mishawaka as a single volume (in two
columns with rather small type) for a memorial celebration of the founding
of A.A. in this part of Indiana, held on October 26, 1996, at the Scottish
Rite Temple in South Bend. One of the children of Ken Merrill, the founder,
came out on stage to receive the first copy. All the A.A. people present
rose to their feet almost simultaneously, in honor of her father's memory,
for all of them knew that, directly or indirectly, he had saved their
lives.
====================================
The Books the Good Old-Timers Read
The Big Book
In early A.A. in the St. Joseph river valley region, the book which
completely surpassed all others in importance was always Alcoholics
Anonymous, published in 1939 and referred to simply as the Big Book. In
fact, it proved to be impossible to establish A.A. groups anywhere in
Indiana until this work came out. One of the original Akron people actually
came to Indiana in 1938, a year before the Big Book was printed. This was
John D. Holmes (they called him "J.D."), who had gotten sober in Akron in
September 1936, and was the tenth person to get sober in the new A.A.
movement.
When Dr. Bob's son Smitty came to speak in South Bend at our annual Michiana
Conference a few years ago, I got to eat dinner with him, and I asked him
whether he recalled J. D. at all. Smitty smiled with delight as the old
memories returned, and told me that he not only remembered him very well and
very fondly, but that he had been the one who had driven over and picked up
J. D.'s wife Rhoda to bring her back to his parents' house when his father
(Dr. Bob) made his first contact with the couple.
J. D. came to Indiana in 1938 after the newspaper in Akron which he worked
for was sold and he was left jobless. His wife Rhoda had originally come
from Evansville, Indiana, and they decided to make a trip to visit her
family there for the Memorial Day holiday which came at the end of May. He
found a new job on the newspaper there and they simply stayed and did not go
back. Evansville was a city on the Ohio river in the southern part of the
state. Although Rhoda was not an alcoholic, she and J. D. held something
like an A.A. meeting every Wednesday night in their home in order to help
him keep sober.
The Upper Room
Like so many A.A.'s from the extremely early period, J. D. and Rhoda used a
little work called The Upper Room for their private daily meditation and
also to provide a discussion topic for this little Wednesday meeting. The
spirit and philosophy of this meditational guide had almost as big an
influence as the Oxford Group on early A.A. One can see this especially in
the Big Book, where the ideas taught in The Upper Room shaped many of the
most basic theological principles and assumptions. As far as is known, no
one who played a shaping role in early Indiana A.A. was connected in any
strong way with the Oxford Group or used any of their literature for A.A.
meetings anywhere in the state. So the Oxford Group influence lay in the
deep background in numerous ways, including the basic ideas behind many of
the twelve steps, but was not an actual presence in Indiana A.A., even at
its beginning.
The Methodist Episcopal Church South had begun publishing this extremely
popular devotional manual called The Upper Room in the Spring of 1935 in
Nashville, Tennessee, about the same time A.A. itself was founded. The Upper
Room was a product in part of the Protestant liberals of the early twentieth
century, who drew inspiration from works like Adolf Harnack's What Is
Christianity? (1900) and Horace Bushnell's Christian Nurture (1847).
Bushnell argued in that book that although some Christians might be brought
to faith by a sudden conversion experience of great emotional intensity (of
the sort which were seen so often in the American frontier revivals of the
early nineteenth century), that most Christians would gain spiritual
awakening through a process which was more of the educational variety.
The Upper Room was designed to provide that "educational experience." Each
page had one day's meditation. There were bible verses and readings, and a
meditation for that day, and a prayer. Most important of all, however, The
Upper Room was shaped by the fundamental Wesleyan and Methodist belief that
real spirituality was not a matter of outward, formal religion but "the
religion of the heart" (NOTE 1). So The Upper Room was written in a way
which could cross the normal denominational boundaries, and it talked about
spirituality in a way which any sincere and tolerant person could
appreciate, no matter what his or her religious background. It continued to
be the work used for daily meditations by most A.A.'s in the United States
down to 1948.
J. D. made numerous twelfth step calls after he moved to Evansville, but was
at first unable to get any other Hoosier alcoholic to join him. Things
improved when Dr. Bob sent him a copy of the newly published Big Book right
after it came off the press, and armed with this new tool, J. D. had a good
deal more to work with than just his own claims about what their little
group had accomplished in Akron. The first A.A. meeting in Indiana was held
by him and a local surgeon, Dr. Joe Weldorn, after Dr. Joe's drinking
finally landed him in the county jail in April or May of 1940, and he
finally became willing -- sitting there in his cell staring at the bars --
to do something about his problem.
A.A. quickly began spreading through Indiana from that point. On October 28,
just a few months later, an A.A. group was started in Indianapolis, after
Doherty Sheerin, a retired businessman there, traveled down to visit J. D.'s
group and see how it was run. Dohr in Indianapolis and J. D. in Evansville
continued working together through the years that followed, and eventually
established A.A. groups over much of the rest of the state.
Dohr was a good Irish Catholic, and on November 10, 1943, he brought a young
priest named Father Ralph Pfau into the A.A. program. Father Ralph was not
only the first Roman Catholic priest to get sober in A.A., he also became
one of the four most published A.A. authors when he began writing his famous
Golden Books, published under the pseudonym of Father John Doe.
The only part of Indiana which did not initially receive A.A. from that
Indianapolis-Evansville axis was South Bend in the north where A.A. got
established when Ken Merrill (a factory owner) and Joseph Soulard "Soo"
Cates (an engineer who worked as a sales representative for a large national
corporation) started a meeting in South Bend on February 22, 1943, using
just the Big Book for their guide. They do not seem to have had any contact
during the first year or two with the Indiana A.A. groups further south.
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++++Message 2087. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 2 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 12:30:00 AM
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Fulton J. Sheen
Presumably many A.A.'s in South Bend and the surrounding St. Joseph river
valley area continued to use The Upper Room for their daily meditations, and
to provide meeting topics. But Marty Gallagher in Elkhart, whose memory went
back further than any other old-timer in the area, said that other things
were used too, and that some A.A. meetings, for example, would be set so
that everyone could sit and listen to Fulton J. Sheen speak over national
radio on the Catholic Hour. They would then use his talk to provide the
discussion topic.
Sheen, a Roman Catholic priest and theologian who taught at Catholic
University, first went on the radio program in 1928. By the time A.A. came
along, Father Sheen had over a million loyal listeners tuning in to hear him
every week. He was eventually made a bishop in 1951. His style of preaching
was attractive to A.A. people: Bill W. received instructions in Catholicism
from him at one point, when Bill was flirting with converting to that faith
(NOTE 2).
It would be wrong to speak of Sheen as a liberal, but he knew how to speak
about spiritual matters in a way which non-Catholics could also appreciate
and understand. So his radio talks were useful for the same reason that the
Upper Room was useful: it was a way of talking about spirituality which
crossed many of the normal Christian denominational boundaries.
The Move Away from Exclusively
Christian Language
Many A.A. people however eventually began to be uncomfortable with the use
of meditational literature which was so exclusively Christian, even if it
was a very liberal or non-denominational version of Christianity. Already in
the Big Book, the name of Christ was only mentioned once, on page eleven,
where he was referred to merely as "a great man" who had an excellent moral
teaching which was nevertheless not always wholly practical.
In the United States, going back at least as far as the New England
Transcendentalists like Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) and Henry David
Thoreau (1817-1862), there were many who believed that a serious pursuit of
spirituality required going to all the great spiritual classics for
inspiration and help. The Bible was one great spiritual classic, but there
were many other equally ancient and inspired spiritual classics found around
the world: the writings of Confucius, various Hindu religious works, and so on.
And behind the Transcendentalists lay the great thinkers of the eighteenth
century Enlightenment -- people like Voltaire, Kant, Benjamin Franklin, and
Thomas Jefferson -- who believed that good spirituality had to reject the
world of authoritarian religious doctrines and dogmas and infallible holy
books, and speak in terms which would be intelligible to rational human
beings anywhere in the world. A.A. from the beginning was deeply affected by
the spirit of the Enlightenment and its morality of knowledge: it was
fundamentally dishonest, it was believed, to ask intelligent people to take
things on blind faith -- as dishonest as lying or stealing or trying to pass
bad checks. Real knowledge always had to be based on either (1) rational
explanation or (2) personal experience.
Also, up until almost the middle of the twentieth century, most Americans
and Europeans who had any kind of education past the simple grammar school
variety were taught Latin, and the brighter ones learned Greek as well. So
all educated westerners were also influenced by the spiritual teachings of
the ancient pagan Greeks and Romans, and particularly by the philosophical
ideas of Plato and the Stoics. Many early A.A. people were professionals,
who had learned at least a little about the classics as part of their
college educations, and they sometimes found some sort of Platonic or Stoic
concept of God more congenial than what they were hearing in the Christian
churches: the higher power was the divine unity of all things (in which our
spirits too were participants), or the creative divine Mind or Reason of
which this material universe was an expression.
Twenty-Four Hours a Day
In May 1942, a once wealthy Boston businessman named Richmond Walker who had
lost everything due to his drinking, went to his first A.A. meeting and
never had another drink again in his life. The little Boston A.A. group
which he joined had barely gotten started, and had just split off from the
Jacoby Club, to which it had been closely attached at the beginning (NOTE
3). Rich also had a home in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was also
actively involved in the A.A. movement. He began writing some meditations
for himself on little cards, which he would carry around with him, and
finally in 1948, the Florida A.A. people persuaded him to print these up in
book form. He printed some copies, under the sponsorship of the Daytona
Beach A.A. group, and began distributing them from his basement. He gave it
the title Twenty-Four Hours a Day.
Rich had been educated at a private school and then at Williams College, an
old East Coast men's college (founded in 1785), located in Williamstown,
Massachusetts, just a few miles from the Vermont border. He was an honors
student who won a gold medal in classical Greek, and not only knew a good
deal about the New England Transcendalists and nineteenth century German
idealism, but also had a thorough knowledge of the philosophy of both Plato
and Kant. His meditational book started with a quotation from a Hindu author
and made no reference to Christ or to any specific Christian doctrines. His
idea, as he said in his Foreword, was to produce a book which expressed
"universal spiritual thoughts" and carefully avoided using too much language
which was too closely tied to any particular one of the world's religions.
It was a book designed to be read and appreciated by intelligent people from
any part of the globe.
The book was first printed just for the program people in Florida, but A.A.
members from all over the country quickly began requesting copies. Jimmy
Miller, who came into the program in South Bend in 1948, could not remember
ever using any other meditation book. Publication figures show that there
were soon probably more A.A. people in the United States as a whole who
owned their own personal copy of the Twenty-Four Hour Book than there were
people who owned a Big Book. At least half the A.A.'s in the country had
their own copy of the little meditational book.
The two basic A.A. books
All the old-timers in the St. Joseph river valley who came in after 1948
report that they got sober on two books: the Big Book and the Twenty-Four
Hour Book. The first book gave them the steps, bu this also of course
included the eleventh step: "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve
our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for
knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out." It told us to
pray, but did not tell us how.
The Twenty-Four Hour book told us how. It showed in its little daily
readings how to do all three things mentioned in the eleventh step: improve
our conscious contact, obtain guidance as to God's will for us, and draw
upon the power of the divine grace. Many early A.A.'s in the St. Joseph
river valley carried the little black book around with them everywhere they
went. Partly this was because it was so much smaller than the Big Book
editions of those days, and could be slipped into a pocket or a small purse.
But probably the most important reason was because when mental upsets
occurred -- resentment, anxiety, fear, despair -- and they felt their
spirits beginning to fall to pieces, the little black book contained the
kind of message which could, as a kind of instant spiritual first aid, often
calm the troubled soul better even than reading in the Big Book. They read
from both the Big Book and the Twenty-Four Hour Book in their meetings, and
regularly used the Twenty-Four
Hour book to provide topics for discussion meetings.
The Little Red Book
The Little Red Book (originally titled An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps
of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program, first published in 1946) was also read
from and used for topics in A.A. meetings in parts of the United States and
Canada. It was written by A.A. member Ed Webster in Minneapolis, Minnesota,
and sponsored by the Nicollet Group there. Dr. Bob helped Ed Webster write
it and strongly supported it: we can learn a lot about Dr. Bob's strategies
for working with beginners by studying this book. It was one of the four
most read books in early A.A. It was not used for A.A. meetings in the St.
Joseph river valley, but one old timer told me that there were strong
supporters of this book in other parts of Indiana, such as in some of the
A.A. groups in Fort Wayne, for example, and in Indianapolis.
Like the Twenty-Four Hour book, it does not talk of prayer to Christ or
obtaining salvation through Christ, but speaks always of praying directly to
God or "the Power Greater than Ourselves." The A.A. program was never in any
way hostile to Christianity (or to any other of the great religions of the
world), but it was nevertheless a firmly held belief that A.A. books and
A.A. meetings had always to use language which everyone could use, not just
devoted Christians.
The Detroit or Washington
D.C. Pamphlet
There was a little pamphlet, laying out a set of four beginners lessons for
newcomers to A.A., which was also very important in many parts of the
country. Its actual title was "Alcoholics Anonymous: An Interpretation of
the Twelve Steps." Our best information is that it was put together in its
commonly used form in Detroit by the North-West Group at 10216 Plymouth
Road, which began conducting Beginners Meetings for newcomers on June 14,
1943, so it is often referred to in the midwest as the Detroit Pamphlet. The
first printed version however was sponsored by the A.A. group in Washington,
D.C., perhaps in late 1943 or the first half of 1944, so on the east coast
it is often referred to as the Washington D.C. Pamphlet. It was also later
reprinted under the sponsorship of various local A.A. groups in Oklahoma,
over on the West Coast, and so on.
In the 1990's, some of the old-timers in both South Bend and Elkhart used
the Detroit Pamphlet for working with newcomers in A.A. meetings, and had a
good deal of success. They regarded it as the best, clearest, and most
effective set of A.A. beginners lessons they had ever seen.
The South Bend Beginners Classes
Early South Bend A.A. gave beginners lessons, but unfortunately no notes or
handouts have survived. According to Nick's List, it started out as a set of
three classes, then went briefly to four classes, but ended up as a set of
five classes, where Ken Merrill did the fifth class. According to Ellen
Lantz however, it was a three class series in the mid 1950's, each one
lasting two or three hours, and Ken taught all three classes. However it was
done, the early South Bend beginners lessons do not seem to have been simply
duplicates of the four-class format used in the Detroit Pamphlet.
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++++Message 2088. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 5 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 1:11:00 AM
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The old-timers in the St. Joseph river valley say that there was enormous
excitement when Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age appeared in 1957. As one
old-timer put it, a woman who remembers those days clearly, "it was the
first chance we got to learn something about our history." But the
interesting thing is, that although this book was approved by the delegates
in New York and published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services in New
York, the A.A. people in South Bend met in small private groups in people's
homes to read and study this work.
The Third Principle
In other words, in early A.A. in the St. Joseph river valley, A.A. meetings
which were listed on the official meeting schedule would often read and
study books which were not published by the central New York A.A. office,
and on the other hand, they believed that some of the books which were
published in New York and "conference approved," were nevertheless not
appropriate for general A.A. meetings. What this meant was that the question
of whether a particular book or writing was or was not "conference approved"
meant nothing in and of itself about whether it might or might not be judged
as appropriate for reading at A.A. meetings.
Books by non-A.A. authors
Going back to the very beginning of A.A. in the St. Joseph river valley,
there were important books written by non-A.A. authors which good sponsors
recommended to the people whom they sponsored, which were made available for
loan or purchase by A.A. groups and intergroup offices, and which could be
studied at private unofficial meetings in people's homes or at spiritual
retreats.
Ellen Lantz in Elkhart told a story which was similar to that of many other
early A.A. members in the St. Joseph river valley. A book written by a
non-A.A. author played a crucial role in enabling her to get sober and stay
sober. In fact in her case, after she first came into the program, she had
to go through three and a half years where she was having periodic relapses
before she finally gained permanent sobriety in March of 1951. From the
beginning apparently, she was reading Twenty-Four Hours a Day every morning
(which she continued to do all the way down to her death in 1985). But then
Ed Pike's wife Bobby started meeting with her regularly to read in Father
Ralph's Golden Books, and then, in particular, they made a very thorough
study of Emmet Fox's Sermon on the Mount. This helped Ellen finally turn the
corner, and stop the continual relapsing. In South Bend, the Sermon on the
Mount continued to be highly recommended by people like Grouchy
John and Rob G., and a number of other good old-timers, all the way down to
the 1990's.
Emmet Fox was not an alcoholic. He was a Protestant pastor who was a major
leader in what was called New Thought, a form of Christian spirituality
which stressed the ways in which the thoughts which run through our minds
shape our lives and can even affect our physical health and the material
world around us, for good or ill. A.A. people found his writings uniquely
effective in helping alcoholics learn basic spiritual principles, and free
themselves from authoritarian and dogmatic forms of traditional religious
teaching.
Another book by a non-A.A. member which the old timers in Indiana and Ohio
frequently mention is Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking,
which came out in 1952. Peale came from a Methodist background, and combined
New Thought principles with a very sophisticated knowledge of psychiatry and
psychotherapy. He also believed that A.A. was the most important spiritual
movement of the twentieth century, and was very impressed by the A.A.
program.
The Akron List
In the A.A. program, Fox's book was the most widely known and recommended
book written by a non-A.A. author, but there were also other important
works. The Akron Manual, a pamphlet that was written and published in Akron
in 1940 or thereabouts, and that was intended to be handed out to newcomers
when they were admitted for detoxing at St. Thomas Hospital in Sister
Ignatia's alcoholic ward, gave a list of ten works in all, which were
recommended reading for beginners. At the top of the list came the Big Book
of course, and then the Bible, with specific mention of certain key
portions. In the New Testament, it was recommended that alcoholics going
through detoxification read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), 1
Corinthians 13, and the letter of James. Then in the Hebrew Bible (the Old
Testament), the pamphlet advised reading and re-reading the 23rd Psalm and
the 91st Psalm (both of which are very good for people who are scared to
death and coming to pieces). The
other eight works were all by non-A.A. authors:
Henry Drummond, The Greatest Thing in the World.
The Unchanging Friend, a series published by the Bruce Publishing Co. in
Milwaukee.
James Allen, As a Man Thinketh.
Emmet Fox, The Sermon on the Mount.
Winfred Rhoades, The Self You Have to Live With.
Ernest M. Ligon, Psychology of Christian Personality.
E. Stanley Jones, Abundant Living.
Bruce Barton, The Man Nobody Knows.
Mel B. from Toledo has just come out with a reprint of two of these books,
the ones by James Allen and Henry Drummond (NOTE 8). Mel says that when he
first came into the program back in 1950, these two works were made
available for purchase by A.A. groups all over the country, and that when he
started reading and studying them, they helped save his life.
Again, early A.A. was flexible and pragmatic. Many of the good old-timers
found that these particular books were extremely useful and helpful, and so
they recommended them to beginners, and they went to the effort to make sure
that newcomers could purchase them at their A.A. groups if they desired.
Encouraging A.A. Members to Read
The Detroit/Washington D.C. Pamphlet stated at the beginning of each lesson
that studying their class material was not intended to eliminate the need
for such things as "the careful reading and re-reading of the Big Book" and
the "reading of approved printed matter on alcoholism." This reference to
other printed materials on alcoholism meant that the good old timers who had
discovered particularly useful things for alcoholics to read would take
steps to make sure that this material was available for the other A.A.
members to look at.
This is the practice which is still followed today in A.A. in the St. Joseph
river valley by both Mable (the secretary at the Michiana Central Service
Office in South Bend) and Alice (the secretary at the Central Service Office
in Elkhart). Mable and Alice work on the general principle that everyone in
town does not have to agree that a particular book is good -- this is very
important -- but that if a particular work is recommended by some at least
of the wiser and more knowledgeable A.A. or Al-Anon old timers -- people
with quality experience in the program -- they will carry the book. So they
have a wide variety of volumes, including meditational books and materials
on spirituality, works by both A.A. and non-A.A. authors, studies by
psychologists and other experts on alcoholism, and important books on
various topics in A.A. history. If it is a decent book you can almost
guarantee that it will be available there, but if for any reason they do not
have a copy
in stock, they will cheerfully order one for you, and phone you the moment
it arrives.
Varieties of Spiritual Experience
One book written by a non-A.A. author that was cited over and over again by
A.A. writers from the very beginning, was a book by the psychologist William
James called The Varieties of Religious Experience. He stressed the fact
that there were a number of very different kinds of spirituality. There was
a type based on a sudden highly emotional conversion experience. There were
other types in which a long, gradual educational experience took place.
There was the religion of healthy mindedness, as James called it (New
Thought was one version of that), and another form designed to deal with
what he called the torment of the divided self. In addition, James pointed
out, at all points in religious history all over the world, there had been
various kinds of spirituality involving mystical experiences of the divine
realm which could be felt but not described in words.
It was necessary to have different kinds of spirituality, James said,
because human beings fell into different kinds of psychological types. A
small percentage of people were of a psychological type which could only
make a significant spiritual breakthrough by having a dramatic conversion
experience. When psychologically tested, among other things, many of them
tended to be people of the sort who were especially susceptible to
post-hypnotic suggestion. But it was futile to try to produce a spectacular
conversion experience of this sort among people of other psychological
types. The attempt to make born-again Protestant revivalists or Catholic or
Hindu mystics out of everyone was doomed to failure from the start.
Any attempt therefore to enforce a rigid uniformity upon everyone in A.A.,
even if it were, for example, a meditational book where each reading was
voted on by all the delegates assembled in New York, would either drive
large numbers of people out of the program, or be so bland and trivial that
it would be no more than a kind of pre-chewed spiritual baby food which
would be of little help to people desiring real spiritual meat and potatoes.
So when A.A. is healthy in any particular locality, there will be different
kinds of A.A. meetings reading different things and using different
approaches. To give a simple example, the first division in South Bend A.A.
after it had begun was a split (involving the formation of a separate
breakaway meeting) between those who followed Ken Merrill and preferred a
type of A.A. which stressed the psychological aspects of recovery (NOTE 9),
and those who followed Harry Stevens (NOTE 10) and wanted a variety of A.A.
that was more oriented towards traditional religious language. This did not
weaken A.A. in South Bend, but in fact helped it grow and flourish.
Newcomers could decide which approach made the most sense to them.
There are A.A. people who are round pegs, and others who are square pegs,
and others who are triangular pegs. Trying to force square pegs into round
holes, and so on, does nobody any good.
The historical roots of A.A.
Only a very small portion of the traditional A.A. reading matter was
published by the New York A.A. headquarters. Attempts by a few people
nowadays to create rules saying that only New York A.A. literature can be
used in A.A. meetings or sold by A.A. groups or intergroups, are dangerous.
They would, if they were successful, totally cut A.A. off from most of its
historical roots. What would result would not in fact be A.A. anymore, at
least not in any form which the good old-timers would have recognized. It
would be some sort of dogmatic, rule-bound neo-fundamentalism. Following
mechanical rules, no matter how well-intended the authors of these rules,
never got anyone sober. People who turn to authoritarian fundamentalist
systems are excessively fearful but also extremely lazy people who do not
want to take personal responsibility for themselves or their lives. And
alcoholics who refuse to deal with both their many fears and their aversion
to hard work and taking responsibility for themselves do not get sober.
With all its richness and variety, genuine old-time A.A. flourished and
spread all over the United States and Canada, and then to all the other
countries of the world. This was the period of A.A.'s rapid growth, and the
period which saw incredibly high success rates in getting alcoholics sober
and keeping them sober. If we want to see a true revival of the old A.A.
spirit, one of the best ways to accomplish this is to sit at the feet of the
good old-timers, and read what they read, and do the things that they report
that they did.
The good old-timer Ed Pike the railroad man probably put it as well as
anyone. When he first started going to A.A. meetings, "I just made a deal
with myself," he said, "that I will do anything that they tell me they do --
anything -- and if I'm big enough, I'll do it."
====================================
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++++Message 2089. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 6 of 6 (notes)
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 1:25:00 AM
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NOTES
NOTE 1: It is a serious mistake to regard all evangelicals as the same. Even
at the very beginning, when the modern evangelical movement first began in
the 1740's (in England and the Thirteen Colonies) there were two basic
strands, which held many principles and practices in common, but
nevertheless strongly disagreed on others. Jonathan Edwards, a
Congregationalist pastor in colonial Massachusetts (who was elected
president of Princeton University at the very end of his life), was the
greatest early representative of the variety of evangelical thought which
tended to be strongly Calvinist, and drew most of its fundamental
assumptions from Augustine, the great African saint who wrote at the
beginning of the middle ages.
John Wesley, a priest of the Church of England who taught Bible and
classical Greek and Latin at Oxford University in England, was the greatest
early representative of the other kind of evangelical thought. He was
strongly anti-Calvinist, regarded himself as a member of the Anglo-Catholic
tradition instead, and drew most of his fundamental theological assumptions
not from Augustine, but from the Greek and Syriac fathers of the early
church: Clement of Alexandria, Macarius the Egyptian, Ephraim Syrus, and so
on. (John Wesley could read and speak French, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Syriac,
and Aramaic, as well as the classical Arabic of the Koran, a book which he
greatly admired. He also learned Spanish at one point in order to learn
about Judaism from a group of Spanish Jews whom he met while trying to do
missionary work among the Native Americans in colonial Georgia.)
This Wesleyan tradition gave rise to the various Methodist denominations and
influenced many other Protestant evangelical groups as well. This
Wesleyan/Methodist tradition strongly rejected the Calvinist idea of
predestination, and spoke instead of a synergistic (co-operative)
relationship between God's grace and human will power, of the sort which one
saw among the early Christian teachers from the eastern end of the
Mediterranean in the first five or six centuries. We were healed by God's
grace alone, but we human beings had to co-operate with God, and God gave us
the power to reject his grace if we chose to do so, and go our own way. The
Big Book characteristically speaks in this way, and Hoosier folks when
talking to an A.A. group will often speak of being sober today due to "the
grace of God, the help of you people, and a little bit of footwork on my
part." The last phrase was the synergistic or co-operative element.
The Wesleyan/Methodist tradition also emphasized that true religion was "the
religion of the heart," not "outward formal religion." Scrupulously and
legalistically following church rules and rituals, and mechanically
believing in all the officially enforced doctrines and dogmas which my own
particular church taught, was not real spirituality. Real spirituality arose
down in our hearts, at the level of our deepest feelings and desires. What
God was concerned with was what was going on in our hearts, not all of those
outward things. John Wesley insisted (on well-argued New Testament grounds)
that Jews and Muslims, for example, who loved God in their hearts, and who
not only treated the other human beings around them with love at all times,
but also were able to teach other people to love, had clearly done so only
by the help of God's greatest of all gifts of grace (see 1 Corinthians 13 in
context), which meant not only that they were saved, but that God loved them
fully and unequivocally. These kinds of assumptions also helped to
fundamentally shape the Big Book.
The Upper Room came from this Wesleyan type of evangelicalism in its
strongly Catholic-leaning old-time Southern Methodist variety, which
celebrated sung eucharists every month with medieval chants, using
Archbishop Cranmer's English translation of the full medieval Catholic Latin
mass. Their ordained clergy, who were called "traveling preachers in full
connection" (from the old frontier days when they were sent out on horseback
into the wilderness as "circuit riders" searching for little settlements
where they could preach) were under the iron rule of the Southern Methodist
bishops, who could appoint them to any church post or send them into any
missionary situation which they chose, and these pastors were informed
quietly during their seminary training that they were priests, even though
they were also expected to preach the gospel wherever they were sent.
They were an interesting combination of things. They saw no reason why one
could not combine the best of the Catholic tradition with the best of the
Protestant tradition, although they were extremely liberal on most
theological and social issues of the period, and the Catholicism was fairly
low-key. During the early twentieth century, some American Methodist
conferences went through a period when they officially denounced the
capitalist system, and declared that socialism was the only political
structure which true Christians could promote and defend.
NOTE 2: See "Pass It On," the story of Bill Wilson and How the A.A. Message
Reached the World (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1984), pp.
281-282 and 335.
NOTE 3: Richard M. Dubiel, The Road to Fellowship: The Role of the Emmanuel
Movement and the Jacoby Club in the Development of Alcoholics Anonymous,
Hindsfoot Foundation Series on the History of Alcoholism Treatment (New
York: iUniverse, 2004), pp. 132-135.
NOTE 4: In the year 1944 "in New York City a few literary and newsminded
A.A.'s began to issue a monthly publication. This original group consisted
of Marty, Priscilla, Lois K., Abbott, Maeve, and Kay. Besides this, Grace O.
and her husband turned up among its moving spirits." Alcoholics Anonymous
Comes of Age (New York: Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, 1957), p. 201.
NOTE 5: As quoted in Bill Pittman's Foreword to The Little Red Book: An
Interpretation of the Twelve Steps of the Alcoholics Anonymous Program, 50th
Anniversary Edition (Center City MN: Hazelden, 1996), pp. xiii-xiv.
NOTE 6: Ibid., pp. xvi-xvii.
NOTE 7: He died sober. His niece told me that a physician gave Ralph a shot
for airsickness, and inadvertently used a contaminated needle. Father Ralph
contracted hepatitis, and all the efforts made by the doctors at Our Lady of
Mercy Hospital in Owensboro could not save him.
NOTE 8: Mel B. (ed.), Three Recovery Classics: As a Man Thinketh by James
Allen, The Greatest Thing in the World by Henry Drummond, and An Instrument
of Peace the St. Francis Prayer, Hindsfoot Foundation Series on Spirituality
(New York: iUniverse, 2004).
NOTE 9: The best spokesman from the early days for this important strand of
A.A. thought was Sgt. Bill S., a protege of Mrs. Marty Mann who got sober on
Long Island in 1948. Bill was not an atheist or agnostic, but felt more
comfortable talking about the principles of the program in psychological
terms. See Sgt. Bill S., On the Military Firing Line in the Alcoholism
Treatment Program, Hindsfoot Foundation Series on the History of Alcoholism
Treatment (New York: iUniverse, 2003), which also describes how he and
psychiatrist Louis Jolyon "Jolly" West, M.D., developed the Lackland Model
for alcoholism treatment during the 1950's.
NOTE 10: Harry Stevens, who had been one of the first four members of the
South Bend group, was the outside sponsor of the A.A. prison group at the
Indiana state penitentiary at Michigan City during its early years. See the
earlier posting on Harry and Nick Kowalski and the A.A. prison program
there.
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++++Message 2090. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 4 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 12:57:00 AM
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In other words, based on the principle of group autonomy, an A.A. group can
in fact choose to read anything at its meetings which it wants to, if a
group conscience has been held. Even if there are other A.A. groups which
are convinced that they are wrong, a long-standing principle in the New York
A.A. office, repeated over and over, is "the right of a group to be wrong."
This is an extremely important principle which has even further
ramifications: even if 51% of the A.A. groups in a particular area are
convinced that the other 49% are wrong, they cannot force them to read what
they want that minority group to read. Too many A.A. people came out of
religious traditions where the leadership tried to stuff things down their
throats in this fashion -- "you will read only what we order you to read" --
and they will not tolerate A.A. organizations trying to operate that same
way.
But if the book or pamphlet or reading was sponsored by some other A.A.
group, it was especially true that any other A.A. groups in the country
could borrow and use that piece without having to go into any long debate
about its appropriateness. So the Twenty-Four Hour book, The Little Red
Book, the Detroit Pamphlet, the Tools of Recovery, and Bar-less (the little
magazine produced by the prison A.A. group) were sort of automatically
considered as appropriate for reading at meetings if a particular group
chose to do so.
The Upper Room and Fulton J. Sheen's talks and other heavily
Christian-oriented materials (such as God Calling by Two Listeners, the
prayers of the Rosary, and so on) have continued to be employed by numerous
A.A. people in the St. Joseph river valley for their own personal use. In
fact nearly all of the most deeply spiritual members regularly use
traditional religious materials in their private devotions and in their
studies of spiritual issues. But things which were too obviously totally
Christian, particularly if they spoke of salvation as only being possible
through accepting Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior, stopped being used
in meetings on the simple pragmatic grounds that it drove an excessive
number of newcomers away, did not in fact prove to be necessary for getting
people sober and leading them into the paths of true serenity and the
greatest depths of love, and seemed to ultimately involve the group in too
much pointless debate and
endless hostile disputing over narrow Christian theological issues that did
not help anyone get sober.
The last time someone tried to set up an A.A. meeting in the St. Joseph
river valley on an explicitly Christian basis, with Bible readings and
scripture verses studied at the meeting, was around ten years ago, and the
group did not even last a year. This was in spite of the fact that Indiana
is often regarded as part of the American "Bible Belt." Everyone except the
old-timer who started it finally quit or went out and got drunk. That is why
I am skeptical about trying to run A.A. meetings that way today. But
everybody agreed that the good old-timer who tried this experiment had a
perfect right to do so. There may be places in America or elsewhere where it
would work. It certainly did not violate any A.A. "rule," and if it had
actually worked, we would now have additional meetings in northern Indiana,
I am sure, organized in this way. A.A. is pragmatic, not doctrinaire.
The St. Francis Prayer and the Lord's Prayer are still heavily used however,
even though they were originally Christian prayers, because it is felt that
they set out universal spiritual truths that any recovering alcoholic is in
need of. A few people do not like the use of the Lord's Prayer at the close
of meetings (an almost universal practice in the St. Joseph river valley),
but some suspect that part of their objection is to the line which says
"forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." It
may be a very hard and uncomfortable teaching indeed, to be reminded
constantly of this universal spiritual truth, but if we refuse to forgive,
resentment will continue to fester in our hearts, and we will eventually end
up going back out and drinking again. All the great spiritual traditions of
the world -- Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Native American religion, and so on
-- make clear that forgiveness and compassion and mercy and
the restoration of harmony (different religions use different technical
terms here) are necessary to living a good spiritual life.
The Golden Books
Ralph Pfau, who wrote under the pen name of Father John Doe, was one of the
four most published A.A. authors. He was a Roman Catholic priest who got
sober in Indianapolis on November 10, 1943. He conducted a weekend spiritual
retreat for A.A. members on June 6-8, 1947 at St. Joseph's College in
Rensselaer, Indiana. Eleven people from the South Bend A.A. group attended
the retreat, a very large contingent: Harry Stevens (who sponsored the A.A.
prison group at the Indiana state penitentiary), Johnnie Morgan the barber,
Ray G., Jack [Q?], Jim McNeil (who was extremely active in all sorts of A.A.
service work), Art O. [A?I?], Russ S., Fred Clements, Joe R., Ed Young the
newspaperman, and Les Beatty the electrician. Father Ralph gave everyone who
attended, as a souvenir of the retreat, a 56-page pamphlet with a shiny gold
foil cover, called The Spiritual Side, where he talked about how all of the
twelve steps (except for perhaps the first step) were essentially
spiritual in their nature.
People who had not been at the retreat began asking for copies, Father Ralph
had to do another printing, and over the years that followed, produced
thirteen other pamphlets of this sort on different spiritual topics. They
came to be called the Golden Books because of the gold foil covered
cardboard covers which most of them had. He traveled all over the United
States and Canada, giving talks and conducting weekend spiritual retreats,
all the way down to his death on February 19, 1967, which caught him on the
road in Owensboro, Kentucky (NOTE 7).
One good old-timer, Larry W., told me that, in his early days in the
program, those A.A. people in Michigan and Indiana whose serenity and
sobriety most impressed him were invariably great fans of Father Ralph's
books.
Specialized meetings
In the St. Joseph river valley, Father Ralph was certainly the third most
read A.A. author. But a different kind of procedure was followed with his
writings. Those members who were deeply interested in the spiritual life
would form small private meetings in their homes to read and study the most
recent Golden Book. Copies of these pamphlets were (and still are) sold at
the Central Service Office in South Bend. Good old-timers like Submarine
Bill would give copies to the people whom they sponsored, and tell them to
read them carefully. But there was a kind of tacit understanding that it was
not usually appropriate to read from one of the Golden Books or use it for
meeting topics in official A.A. group meetings.
Part of this arose from the fact that Father Ralph's books were not
officially sponsored by the Indianapolis A.A. group. He wrote and published
those totally on his own. Writings which were not sponsored by a regular
A.A. group or intergroup were not automatically regarded as necessarily wise
for other groups to use for official A.A. meetings. The Golden Books also
were not for everyone in the program (some people liked them and others did
not), and perhaps even more importantly, they dealt with fairly advanced
issues in the spiritual life which would have probably been greatly
confusing to a lot of newcomers who had just walked into their first A.A.
meeting.
We are talking here about the question of what sorts of things were
appropriate to read in officially scheduled A.A. meetings, that is, those
which were listed in the meeting directory for that town or county. These
were meetings where one expected struggling alcoholics to stagger through
the door, just having chosen a meeting at random off the list, seeking
blindly for help, and too new and befuddled to understand anything except
the most basic A.A. material.
But there was in fact a whole tradition of specialized meetings which were
not A.A. meetings in the formal sense -- particularly in the sense that they
were not listed in the local meeting directories that were handed out to
those who were brand new to the program. Private study groups meeting in
people's homes were one sort of specialized meeting. For a long time,
Submarine Bill had all the people whom he sponsored meet once a year to
study the twelve steps, sometimes using a tape recording of Father Ralph's
talk on the steps or something else of that sort to start off each session.
A private study group of this sort could read any sort of book which the
participants wanted to, and groups sometimes chose very interesting sorts of
materials to read and study. The general understanding, for example, was
that A.A. people needed to be familiar with all sorts of different kinds of
spiritual works, from various religious traditions, and other things that
were important to the understanding of A.A. history. I have heard of groups
on the West Coast, for example, meeting to study the medieval spiritual
writer Meister Eckhart, or my own book on The Higher Power of the
Twelve-Step Program.
In the St. Joseph river valley region, Father David G. Suelzer, O.S.C.,
Prior of the Crozier Fathers and Brothers at Wawasee, Indiana, conducted
weekend spritual retreats for A.A. members. He was not an alcoholic himself,
but he was a consultant at Hazelden during the 1960's and was very much a
friend of the A.A. movement. There never were any rules saying that non-A.A.
members could not speak to A.A. groups. Over the last ten or fifteen years,
I have heard people try to claim that this was an ancient and sacrosanct
A.A. rule, but that is just silly and historically ignorant. A closed A.A.
discussion meeting is not supposed to have anyone present who does not have
a desire to stop drinking (unless the group conscience decides otherwise),
but this is not the same as an A.A. convention, conference, workshop, or
international, which is an open meeting.
Or, to mention a different kind of specialized meeting, a group of A.A.
people might set up their own private weekend spiritual retreat. For the
people in the St. Joe river valley region there were for a long time
well-attended annual retreats of that sort at Fatima House retreat center at
Notre Dame University and at the Yokefellow retreat center in Defiance,
Ohio. In the 1990's, meetings began being set up, bringing people together
from various parts of Indiana -- and also large meetings at the national
level where people came from all over the United States and Canada -- to
hear talks about A.A. archives and A.A. history. These were not necessarily
sponsored by any particular A.A. group, intergroup, or Area organization,
but were the ad hoc creation of a group of interested A.A. members.
There were also workshops set up by the Elkhart intergroup at
mini-conferences, where the A.A. people who attended could hear
psychotherapists talk about specific psychological problems which recovering
people often had to deal with, and where A.A. members could attend Al-Anon
workshops and vice versa, and where all sorts of other topics could be
discussed, on A.A. history and other subjects.
In other words, real old-time A.A. was always pragmatic and flexible. About
the only real rule which was followed, was that it was usually considered
inappropriate to take an official weekly A.A. meeting which was listed in
the official meeting schedule, and use any kinds of readings or topics
except those which would be of general benefit to everyone in the program,
including especially newcomers who had just walked in the door. On the other
hand, the more specialized meetings which were intended for people who were
beyond the newcomer stage, were often listed in monthly intergroup
newsletters and on flyers which were distributed to all the groups in that
city or county.
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and
Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age
There are well-meaning people today who sometimes mistakenly think that the
issue was whether or not a particular book or pamphlet was "conference
approved." We remember that when Brooklyn Bob was asked about this, he
simply snorted and laughed and said, "We read anything we could get our
hands on that might get us sober!" When one says that a particular
publication is "conference approved," all one really means is that a group
of delegates meeting in New York decided to spend New York headquarters
money on publishing it. New York never ever had enough funds to print
everything that could be useful to alcoholics trying to get sober and stay
sober. The principle of institutional poverty means that A.A. as such cannot
set up a publishing house of the sort which one sees among various American
religious denominations: the Methodists' Abingdon Press, the Lutherans'
Fortress Press and Augsburg Press, and other such publishing houses which
require a large
investment in buildings and printing presses and large staffs of editors and
so on, which are financially supported by denominational funds.
With enormous difficulty, the New York A.A. office finally assembled enough
money to print the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions in 1953. A number of
A.A. meetings were subsequently created in the St. Joseph river valley
called "step meetings," which would read through the part of the book
dealing with one of the twelve steps every week, and then discuss that step
as a group. Sometimes the traditions were also studied in the same fashion
by the group.
(It should also however be said that there are some good old-timers in
Indiana who still believe that The Little Red Book -- which was Dr. Bob's
baby -- and the Detroit or Washington D.C. Pamphlet are actually better
introductions to the steps for newcomers. They believe that the material on
the steps in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions is too philosophical and
complicated for newcomers, and that it just confuses alcoholics when they
first come in.)
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++++Message 2091. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 3 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 12:46:00 AM
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The A.A. Tools of Recovery
A good old-timer named Don Helvey in Elkhart put together a short piece
called the A.A. Tools of Recovery, which is still read at the beginning of
many A.A. meetings in Elkhart, Mishawaka, South Bend, and other parts of the
St. Joseph river valley region along with reading the twelve steps:
"ABSTINENCE: We commit ourselves to stay away from the first drink, one
day at a time.
MEETINGS: We attend A.A. meetings to learn how the program works, to
share our experience, strength and hope with each other, and because
through the support of the fellowship, we can do what we could never do
alone.
SPONSOR: A sponsor is a person in the A.A. program who has what we want
and is continually sober. A sponsor is someone you can relate to, have
access to and can confide in.
TELEPHONE: The telephone is our lifeline -- our meetings between
meetings. Call before you take the first drink. The more numbers you
have, the more insurance you have.
LITERATURE: The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is our basic tool and
text. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and A.A. pamphlets are
recommended reading, and are available at this meeting.
SERVICE: Service helps our personal program grow. Service is giving in
A.A. Service is leading a meeting, making coffee, moving chairs, being a
sponsor, or emptying ashtrays. Service is action, and action is the
magic word in this program.
ANONYMITY: Whom you see here, what you hear here, when you leave here,
let it stay here. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our program."
Many of the good old-timers, like Submarine Bill and Raymond I., believed
that it was important to repeat these basic principles over and over, until
newcomers had them instinctively drilled into their heads, and could repeat
them almost like a litany. The first principle made it clear that the way an
alcoholic kept from getting drunk was not to take even the first drink. The
next five were the things that not only got people sober but kept them
sober. Good sponsors like Bill and Raymond noted that those who relapsed and
returned to drinking had almost invariably failed to do one or more of these
five things in any serious and dedicated way. And the seventh principle was
a constant reminder that A.A. meetings could not function properly unless
members could talk about all of their feelings and anything that was
bothering them, in an accepting and shame-free atmosphere, without worrying
about whether it was going to be repeated outside of the group. That was a
solemn pledge which
the members of the group had to make to one another.
If we want to ask what was the basic foundation of A.A. in the St. Joseph
river valley, it was the Twelve Steps and the Seven Tools of Recovery.
Everything else was based on these.
The Grapevine and Bar-less
In the 1950's, according to Ellen Lantz's reminiscences, they always read
from something at the Elkhart closed discussion meetings, and frequently
used this reading to provide the discussion topic. She said that it had
become very common during this period to use an article from the Grapevine,
the magazine which was published by the New York A.A. office (it first began
coming out in 1944, under the editorial guidance of Marty Mann and some of
her friends). (NOTE 4) But Ellen said that they would also sometimes use an
article from Bar-less, the little magazine which was published by the A.A.
prison group. Some of these articles were written by people who were not
prisoners. Ken Merrill, for example, the founder of A.A. in South Bend,
wrote a very good article for the magazine once, about the way alcoholics
get locked into behavior patterns during their childhood years, and because
of a traumatic event or a general dysfunctional family situation, are unable
to grow
past that stage, and continue to throw two-year-old temper tantrums, or
become lost in ten-year-old daydreaming fantasies of romance and heroism, or
whatever, even after they are adults.
The First Principle
When I asked Brooklyn Bob, one of the South Bend old-timers, whether there
were any rules in good old-time A.A. about what books A.A. people could and
could not read, he just laughed and snorted, and said, "We read anything we
could get our hands on that might get us sober!" Good old-time A.A. was a
totally pragmatic program, not an authoritarian system of doctrines and
dogmas and endless rules which had to be followed blindly, and were imposed
upon the membership by self-important people who thought they had the right
to boss other people around ("for their own good" was these arrogant
people's standard alibi).
In early A.A., people simply experimented and tried various things, and if
they worked, they recommended them to other members. As is always the case
in A.A., the recommendations of people who had a good deal of time in the
program were taken more seriously. Pragmatically, if they had that many
years of sobriety, they must have been doing something right! So on matters
of what sorts of books and writings should be read in meetings and made
available for loan or purchase by groups and intergroup offices, people
looked to the wisdom and experience of those who had time in the program and
quality sobriety.
The Central Service Offices in South Bend and in Elkhart both still follow
that principle. They have a variety of books on spirituality, recovery, and
A.A. history available for loan or purchase -- books printed by various
publishing houses and usually (but not always necessarily) authored by A.A.
members. There are Al-Anon books as well. But the selection of books which
are provided is made on the recommendation of responsible people who have a
good deal of quality time in the program.
They do not have the sort of pop recovery books that can lead newcomers
seriously astray or involve them in psychologically dangerous schemes (like
one notorious book encouraging people to "get in contact with their inner
child" in a way which actually produced in some cases total psychotic
breakdowns requiring long hospitalization in mental facilities). But the
South Bend office has carried some materials which were purely
psychological, such as offprints (distributed by the National Council on
Alcoholism) of scholarly papers written by Dr. Harry M. Tiebout for
psychiatric journals and journals on alcoholism studies. Tiebout was not an
alcoholic, but he was one of the most important of the handful of
psychiatrists in the early days who appreciated and understood and backed
the new Alcoholics Anonymous movement, and his statements about how A.A.
works are still extremely insightful today.
The commercial bookstore chains do not have good material for A.A. people on
their shelves, and the small commercial operations which sell "recovery
materials" such as t-shirts and coffee mugs cannot be totally depended upon
to have quality literature for sale either. If groups and intergroups do not
make good books available for A.A. members, no outside commercial venture is
going to take over that responsibility. Learning that we have to be
responsible for ourselves, instead of just depending on others and demanding
"to be taken care of," is a vital part of recovery from alcoholism.
The Second Principle
The first principle was that A.A. groups and intergroups, as well as
individual members, have to make their own responsible decisions about which
books and writings are going to be helpful for recovering alcoholics.
However, there was a generally assumed principle that seems to have been
followed, not only in the St. Joseph river valley, but in early A.A. all
across the United States and Canada: It was usually assumed that any piece
that was authored or sponsored by one A.A. group could automatically be used
to read from in meetings by any other A.A. group which chose to do so.
That was also a guiding principle followed at New York A.A. headquarters. On
November 11, 1944, for example, Bobby Burger, the secretary at the Alcoholic
Foundation in New York (what is today called the General Service Office)
wrote a letter to Barry Collins, who had helped Ed Webster in assembling and
publishing the Little Red Book (NOTE 5):
"Dear Barry,
. . . The Washington D.C. pamphlet [a.k.a. the Detroit Pamphlet] and the
new Cleveland "Sponsorship" pamphlet and a host of others are all local
projects, as is Nicollette's "An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps"
[the Little Red Book]. We do not actually approve or disapprove of these
local pieces; by that I mean that the Foundation feels that each Group
is entitled to write up its own "can opener" and let it stand on its
merits. All of them have good points and very few have caused any
controversy. But as in all things of a local nature, we keep hands off,
either pro or con. I think there must be at least 25 local pamphlets now
being used and I've yet to see one that hasn't some good points. I think
it is up to each individual Group whether it wants to use and buy these
pamphlets from the Group that puts them out.
Sincerely, Bobby (Margaret R. Burger)"
Bill Wilson felt the same way. In November 1950, he wrote a note to Barry
Collins about The Little Red Book making the same basic point, only even
more strongly. Such locally sponsored works "fill a definite need" and their
"usefulness is unquestioned." Most importantly of all, Bill went on to say
in that letter: "Here at the Foundation we are not policemen; we're a
service and AAs are free to read any book they choose." (NOTE 6)
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2092. . . . . . . . . . . . What old timers read, Part 3 of 6
From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 12:46:00 PM
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The A.A. Tools of Recovery
A good old-timer named Don Helvey in Elkhart put together a short piece
called the A.A. Tools of Recovery, which is still read at the beginning of
many A.A. meetings in Elkhart, Mishawaka, South Bend, and other parts of the
St. Joseph river valley region along with reading the twelve steps:
"ABSTINENCE: We commit ourselves to stay away from the first drink, one
day at a time.
MEETINGS: We attend A.A. meetings to learn how the program works, to
share our experience, strength and hope with each other, and because
through the support of the fellowship, we can do what we could never do
alone.
SPONSOR: A sponsor is a person in the A.A. program who has what we want
and is continually sober. A sponsor is someone you can relate to, have
access to and can confide in.
TELEPHONE: The telephone is our lifeline -- our meetings between
meetings. Call before you take the first drink. The more numbers you
have, the more insurance you have.
LITERATURE: The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is our basic tool and
text. The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions and A.A. pamphlets are
recommended reading, and are available at this meeting.
SERVICE: Service helps our personal program grow. Service is giving in
A.A. Service is leading a meeting, making coffee, moving chairs, being a
sponsor, or emptying ashtrays. Service is action, and action is the
magic word in this program.
ANONYMITY: Whom you see here, what you hear here, when you leave here,
let it stay here. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of our program."
Many of the good old-timers, like Submarine Bill and Raymond I., believed
that it was important to repeat these basic principles over and over, until
newcomers had them instinctively drilled into their heads, and could repeat
them almost like a litany. The first principle made it clear that the way an
alcoholic kept from getting drunk was not to take even the first drink. The
next five were the things that not only got people sober but kept them
sober. Good sponsors like Bill and Raymond noted that those who relapsed and
returned to drinking had almost invariably failed to do one or more of these
five things in any serious and dedicated way. And the seventh principle was
a constant reminder that A.A. meetings could not function properly unless
members could talk about all of their feelings and anything that was
bothering them, in an accepting and shame-free atmosphere, without worrying
about whether it was going to be repeated outside of the
group. That was a solemn pledge which the members of the group had to make
to one another.
If we want to ask what was the basic foundation of A.A. in the St. Joseph
river valley, it was the Twelve Steps and the Seven Tools of Recovery.
Everything else was based on these.
The Grapevine and Bar-less
In the 1950's, according to Ellen Lantz's reminiscences, they always read
from something at the Elkhart closed discussion meetings, and frequently
used this reading to provide the discussion topic. She said that it had
become very common during this period to use an article from the Grapevine,
the magazine which was published by the New York A.A. office (it first began
coming out in 1944, under the editorial guidance of Marty Mann and some of
her friends). (NOTE 4) But Ellen said that they would also sometimes use an
article from Bar-less, the little magazine which was published by the A.A.
prison group. Some of these articles were written by people who were not
prisoners. Ken Merrill, for example, the founder of A.A. in South Bend,
wrote a very good article for the magazine once, about the way alcoholics
get locked into behavior patterns during their childhood years, and because
of a traumatic event or a general dysfunctional
family situation, are unable to grow past that stage, and continue to throw
two-year-old temper tantrums, or become lost in ten-year-old daydreaming
fantasies of romance and heroism, or whatever, even after they are adults.
The First Principle
When I asked Brooklyn Bob, one of the South Bend old-timers, whether there
were any rules in good old-time A.A. about what books A.A. people could and
could not read, he just laughed and snorted, and said, "We read anything we
could get our hands on that might get us sober!" Good old-time A.A. was a
totally pragmatic program, not an authoritarian system of doctrines and
dogmas and endless rules which had to be followed blindly, and were imposed
upon the membership by self-important people who thought they had the right
to boss other people around ("for their own good" was these arrogant
people's standard alibi).
In early A.A., people simply experimented and tried various things, and if
they worked, they recommended them to other members. As is always the case
in A.A., the recommendations of people who had a good deal of time in the
program were taken more seriously. Pragmatically, if they had that many
years of sobriety, they must have been doing something right! So on matters
of what sorts of books and writings should be read in meetings and made
available for loan or purchase by groups and intergroup offices, people
looked to the wisdom and experience of those who had time in the program and
quality sobriety.
The Central Service Offices in South Bend and in Elkhart both still follow
that principle. They have a variety of books on spirituality, recovery, and
A.A. history available for loan or purchase -- books printed by various
publishing houses and usually (but not always necessarily) authored by A.A.
members. There are Al-Anon books as well. But the selection of books which
are provided is made on the recommendation of responsible people who have a
good deal of quality time in the program.
They do not have the sort of pop recovery books that can lead newcomers
seriously astray or involve them in psychologically dangerous schemes (like
one notorious book encouraging people to "get in contact with their inner
child" in a way which actually produced in some cases total psychotic
breakdowns requiring long hospitalization in mental facilities). But the
South Bend office has carried some materials which were purely
psychological, such as offprints (distributed by the National Council on
Alcoholism) of scholarly papers written by Dr. Harry M. Tiebout for
psychiatric journals and journals on alcoholism studies. Tiebout was not an
alcoholic, but he was one of the most important of the handful of
psychiatrists in the early days who appreciated and understood and backed
the new Alcoholics Anonymous movement, and his statements about how A.A.
works are still extremely insightful today.
The commercial bookstore chains do not have good material for A.A. people on
their shelves, and the small commercial operations which sell "recovery
materials" such as t-shirts and coffee mugs cannot be totally depended upon
to have quality literature for sale either. If groups and intergroups do not
make good books available for A.A. members, no outside commercial venture is
going to take over that responsibility. Learning that we have to be
responsible for ourselves, instead of just depending on others and demanding
"to be taken care of," is a vital part of recovery from alcoholism.
The Second Principle
The first principle was that A.A. groups and intergroups, as well as
individual members, have to make their own responsible decisions about which
books and writings are going to be helpful for recovering alcoholics.
However, there was a generally assumed principle that seems to have been
followed, not only in the St. Joseph river valley, but in early A.A. all
across the United States and Canada: It was usually assumed that any piece
that was authored or sponsored by one A.A. group could automatically be used
to read from in meetings by any other A.A. group which chose to do so.
That was also a guiding principle followed at New York A.A. headquarters. On
November 11, 1944, for example, Bobby Burger, the secretary at the Alcoholic
Foundation in New York (what is today called the General Service Office)
wrote a letter to Barry Collins, who had helped Ed Webster in assembling and
publishing the Little Red Book (NOTE 5):
"Dear Barry,
. . . The Washington D.C. pamphlet [a.k.a. the Detroit Pamphlet] and the
new Cleveland "Sponsorship" pamphlet and a host of others are all local
projects, as is Nicollette's "An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps"
[the Little Red Book]. We do not actually approve or disapprove of these
local pieces; by that I mean that the Foundation feels that each Group
is entitled to write up its own "can opener" and let it stand on its
merits. All of them have good points and very few have caused any
controversy. But as in all things of a local nature, we keep hands off,
either pro or con. I think there must be at least 25 local pamphlets now
being used and I've yet to see one that hasn't some good points. I think
it is up to each individual Group whether it wants to use and buy these
pamphlets from the Group that puts them out.
Sincerely, Bobby (Margaret R. Burger)"
Bill Wilson felt the same way. In November 1950, he wrote a note to Barry
Collins about The Little Red Book making the same basic point, only even
more strongly. Such locally sponsored works "fill a definite need" and their
"usefulness is unquestioned." Most importantly of all, Bill went on to say
in that letter: "Here at the Foundation we are not policemen; we're a
service and AAs are free to read any book they choose." (NOTE 6)
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2093. . . . . . . . . . . . To a moderator
From: dan . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 2:20:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I posted a question a couple of days ago about the examples in the
chapter, "More About Alcoholism." and it never got posted. Was it
not a good enough question to post? Did I do something wrong? I
would appreciate a response from a moderator to let me know.
Thanks- Dan
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++++Message 2094. . . . . . . . . . . . Is there anybody there ????
From: jsto1958 . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 3:06:00 PM
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Hi my fellows history lovers, # 2
I posted a question a couple of days ago about the examples in the
chapter, "More About Alcoholism." and it never got posted. Was it
not a good enough question to post? Did I do something wrong? I
would appreciate a response from a moderator to let me know.
John S. Montreal cdn
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++++Message 2095. . . . . . . . . . . . To the Moderator
From: jedlevine . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/7/2004 8:23:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I also submitted a post a few days ago and it never got posted. If I
wasn't within the guidelines (I think I was), then it would be
helpful if I got that feedback so that I can be clear on what's
appropriate and what's not. Thanks.
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++++Message 2096. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Is there anybody there ????
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/8/2004 3:57:00 PM
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Dear AAHistoryLovers Members
I'm taking a bit of liberty in speaking up for our moderator Nancy O.
In August Nancy distributed a posting advising the group of her terminal
illness. In a recent message to me, dated December 6, she advised that she
is currently in hospice care and is expected to live for only a short while.
Let's send her messages of love and gratitude. She is a pioneer in helping
to reform the US Federal Code to have alcoholism recognized as an illness,
she is a distinguished author and speaker and she is the respected founder
of this special interest group.
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: jsto1958
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 07, 2004 2:06 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Is there anybody there ????
Hi my fellows history lovers, # 2
I posted a question a couple of days ago about the examples in the
chapter, "More About Alcoholism." and it never got posted. Was it
not a good enough question to post? Did I do something wrong? I
would appreciate a response from a moderator to let me know.
John S. Montreal cdn
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
++++Message 2097. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Is there anybody there ????
From: Joe Petrocelli . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/8/2004 6:53:00 PM
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Hi Arthur,
I would be very happy to send Nancy O a message. Please tellme how to do it.
have misplaced the instructions lon how to do this.
Thanks and God Bless
Joe Petrocelli
jopet34@yahoo.com
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Yahoo! Mail - Easier than ever with enhanced search. Learn more. [113]
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++++Message 2098. . . . . . . . . . . . (no subject)
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/4/2004 7:02:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Hi,
Ernie Kurtz here. *Not-God,* which was researched 1974-1979 and
published in 1979 (the later “revision” added only a chapter on AA’s
history after Bill W’s death), is now very much out of date. I would
like to think that my book was one thing that sparked the immense
interest in AA history that we have seen since and especially recently.
For the younger among you, when I was hunting through New England book
barns during my research, I found many copies of first editions of the
Big Book, priced from $.50 to $1.25. Of course I never bought one â€" I
had my own copy already! This may perhaps explain why scholars are poor.
Anyway: the ongoing research has uncovered many matters that I omitted
or got wrong in *Not-God*” Bill W’s exact sobriety date, the
shenanigans around the original stock certificates and other matters
relating to finances, what happened in Akron after Dr. Bob’s AA left the
auspices of the Oxford Group and began meeting at King School . . . .
and many more. And many new resources have turned up: the Clarence
Snyder and Sue Smith Windows papers now at Brown University, the Marty
Mann papers at Syracuse University, the new information turned up in the
Browns’ story of Marty Mann and Nancy Olson’s study of the politics
behind alcoholism treatment reform, for just a few examples.
It thus troubles me a bit when I hear *Not-God* referred to as “the
authoritative history of AA.” Surely from a scholarly point of view
that is not true: there is too much later knowledge that is available
and should be part of any “authoritative history.”
I am not sure who will undertake this task â€" it will almost certainly
not be me. It may be Bill White or Rick Tompkins or one of our many
younger hobbyist-historians. The choice of that individual will be made
by the then-editors of the AAHistoryLovers and ASDH listservs and
myself, though we may choose to include others in our deliberations.
Anyone, of course, is welcome to try to be the updater, but because the
original *Not-God* was a scholarly endeavor and accepted as such, we
hope to preserve that credibility.
What I am asking is that if you know of any errors or omissions in
*Not-God,* you send a notice of them to me. I will try to be the node
that gathers together all the new information. My present intention is
to insert the new or revised information in brackets at approximately
the place I think it may fit in the original manuscript (which I have on
computer through the kindness of friends) so that someone else can
construct a new book, a more accurate history of AA that will be as
“authoritative” as we can make it in for AA's 70th birthday in 2005. [I
do not require that the new book be titled “Not-Ernie.”]
Please note that to achieve that end, the ultimate writer will need the
source material behind your new information. Historians always ask: “1.
What is my evidence? 2. Is there any other evidence that I am
overlooking or ignoring? 3. What else was going on at the time â€" what
is the context of this event?” Please be sure to answer at least the
first question when you send your information submission.
Please send your contributions and thought to either the AAHistoryLovers
or the ASDH listserv and, I hope and ask, please, also directly to me at
kurtzern@umich.edu.
It is time to bring into general knowledge the many important things
that so many of you have so devotedly worked to explore and discover.
[To those few of you who received this as a "bcc" message, I ask that
you please allow the listservs to take the initiative in replying.]
ernie kurtz
kurtzern@umich.ecu
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++++Message 2099. . . . . . . . . . . . Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
From: pennington2 . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/9/2004 11:12:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
A recent discussion on another AA-related mail list brings about this
query.
I know that revisions and changes to the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions has not always been as closely as it appears to be today.
Older printings of the Twelve and Twleve have such things as
paragraphs ending in different places from other printings, words
changing, punctuation changes, different pagination, and different
pagination and paragraphs from the regular book to the "gift edition"
even within the same year.
Does anyone know when consistency was brought to the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions, and was it a conference item, what are the
guidelines, etc.
Thank you for any information you can offer.
Penny P.
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++++Message 2100. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12X12 New and old version?
From: Jani . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/9/2004 11:52:00 AM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

My name is Jani C. and I have been receiving AAHistoryLovers posts from all
of you for quite some time, I just read and learn, no sharing, so thank you
for all the information.
I finally have a question: I had heard there is a "new" and an "old" version
of the 12x12, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions book? Does anyone know this to be
true? I heard the numbers of pages are different, I heard there is a "gift"
version. Just very curious, because I love that book and am interested, not
that it matters, well, I guess it does matter, because if I am missing
out...
Thanks in advance. Jani C.
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++++Message 2101. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12X12 New and old version?
From: C. Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/9/2004 5:37:00 PM
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
I have a 1973 edition of the 12x12. It is a little different. I found this
out when I was looking for the part of step 10 that talks about 'nothing
pays off like restraint of pen and tongue. I was looking on page 91 where
I've always found it. In my book it's on page 93. So yes, the older books
are a bit different.
And yes there are 'gift' 12x12's. They are a little smaller than the regular
hard cover, and a little bigger than the pocket sized soft cover.
C. Cook
Jani wrote:
My name is Jani C. and I have been receiving AAHistoryLovers posts from
all of you for quite some time, I just read and learn, no sharing, so
thank you for all the information.
I finally have a question: I had heard there is a "new" and an "old"
version of the 12x12, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions book? Does anyone know
this to be true? I heard the numbers of pages are different, I heard
there is a "gift" version. Just very curious, because I love that book
and am interested, not that it matters, well, I guess it does matter,
because if I am missing out...
Thanks in advance. Jani C.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Yahoo! Mail - Find what you need with new enhanced search. Learn more. [114]
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++++Message 2102. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/9/2004 9:21:00 PM
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Hi Penny
The reason the page numbers of early printings of the 12&12 are different
from later printings is because the typeface (or font) was changed. Early
and newer printings are about 2 pages off in their numbering as you progress
through the books page by page.
The 12&12 is still a "1st edition" with numerous printings. Most, if not
all, other changes were to the book's dimensions. It took a fair amount of
Conference activity to approve the small "gift edition" of the 12&12 as well
as the "pocket edition" and the large print and soft cover editions. I don't
believe there have been any wording changes to the book.
The early 12&12 dust cover had a darker background color. Initially there
were two publishers - one was Harper & Brothers for the books sold in
commercial book stores - the other was what is today AAWS for books sold at
a discounted price within the Fellowship.
There is supposedly a project underway to write a preface to the 12&12 to
respond to past requests to change its wording to be gender neutral and
other matters of political correctness. The Conference, however, has
maintained a position to keep the books that Bill W wrote worded the same
way Bill W wrote them.
Cheers
Arthur
----- Original Message -----
From: pennington2
To: AAHistoryLovers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 10:12 AM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions
A recent discussion on another AA-related mail list brings about this
query.
I know that revisions and changes to the Twelve Steps and Twelve
Traditions has not always been as closely as it appears to be today.
Older printings of the Twelve and Twleve have such things as
paragraphs ending in different places from other printings, words
changing, punctuation changes, different pagination, and different
pagination and paragraphs from the regular book to the "gift edition"
even within the same year.
Does anyone know when consistency was brought to the Twelve Steps and
Twelve Traditions, and was it a conference item, what are the
guidelines, etc.
Thank you for any information you can offer.
Penny P.
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++++Message 2103. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: 12X12 New and old version?
From: Susan B . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/9/2004 9:37:00 PM
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Hi Jani, I am like you - I read and learn. I have The Little Red Book For
Women. It is the 12 steps and it is pretty much the same, but with some
footnotes added. It is by Hazelden.
Susan
My name is Jani C. and I have been receiving AAHistoryLovers posts from
all of you for quite some time, I just read and learn, no sharing, so
thank you for all the information.
I finally have a question: I had heard there is a "new" and an "old"
version of the 12x12, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions book? Does anyone know
this to be true? I heard the numbers of pages are different, I heard
there is a "gift" version. Just very curious, because I love that book
and am interested, not that it matters, well, I guess it does matter,
because if I am missing out...
Thanks in advance. Jani C.
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++++Message 2104. . . . . . . . . . . . Nancy O''s Desire
From: Arthur Sheehan . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/11/2004 10:13:00 AM
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Dear AAHistoryLovers Members
As you should now be aware, Nancy O, the founder and moderator of
AAHistoryLovers, is in hospice care and expected to live for only a short
while. When this was recently announced, many of you sent in messages asking
for a way to send expressions of gratitude and love to her through an e-mail
message or other means.
After conferring with Nancy, she requested that no special action be taken
and that the AAHistoryLovers forum not be used to distribute such e-mails.
Although she very much appreciates the desire of the members to communicate
with her, the best expression on our part would be to honor and respect her
wishes.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Arthur S
PS
In keeping with Nancy's request, please do not reply to this message if it
will be sent to AAHistoryLovers@aol.com. You can send direct replies to me
if you wish, I'll volunteer to consolidate them with those I've received so
far and keep Nancy informed about them.
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++++Message 2105. . . . . . . . . . . . "Large Community" BBook p.163
From: hjfree2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/11/2004 5:19:00 PM
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Is the "Large Community" Known
.. an AA member who lives in a large community... he found that the
place probably contained more alcoholics per square mile than any
city in the country"
This is my first inqury so this might already be asked.
blessed2bsober
rob
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++++Message 2106. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: "Large Community" BBook p.163
From: NMOlson@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/11/2004 4:49:00 PM
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The man was Hank Parkhurst who lived in New Jersey. It was probably
Montclair, New Jersey, as that is where the doctor he referred to lived.
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++++Message 2107. . . . . . . . . . . . New Jersey AA History
From: Ernest Kurtz . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/12/2004 2:50:00 PM
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Does anyone have any contact with or know the whereabouts of Merton
Minter? A New Jersey attorney some years ago, he was researching the
history of AA in northern Jersey and especially Hank Parkhurst's
contributions to AA. He took me around the old 17 William Street
building just before they demolished it. None of the online
people-finders have been helpful. I would appreciate any information at
all that might help me get in touch with Merton.
Along the same line, is there a published history of AA in New Jersey,
by anyone?
ernie kurtz
kurtzern@Umich.edu
NMOlson@aol.com wrote:
> The man was Hank Parkhurst who lived in New Jersey. It was probably
> Montclair, New Jersey, as that is where the doctor he referred to lived.
> Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
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++++Message 2108. . . . . . . . . . . . Joe and Charlie Big Book Study Tapes
From: caseyosh . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/14/2004 2:11:00 AM
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Can a member of this group provide me with authentic documented
research information concerning the original venue and date of the
first time these tapes were used in an instructional format for AA
members. Also, please supply the type format they were first
recorded on. I am assuming they were first compiled on
audiocassette tapes but would like confirmation of that assumption.
Thanks,
Casey O
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++++Message 2109. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Joe and Charlie Big Book Study
Tapes
From: CBBB164@AOL.COM . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/14/2004 1:26:00 PM
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According to Joe McQ. & Charlie P., the first recording of them sharing
their experience and knowledge of the Big Book was at an AA Group in
Anadarko, OK. It was recorded on a reel to reel recorder. A taper in Little
Rock learned of its existence and transferred the real to reel on to four
cassettes. I am in possession of a set of that first "The Big Book Comes
Alive" cassettes and they did a great job even back then.
Cliff Bishop - The Primary Purpose Group - Dallas, TX
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++++Message 2110. . . . . . . . . . . . Victor C. Kitchen''s "I Was A Pagan"
From: Kim . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/19/2004 1:42:00 PM
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Does anyone here have any excerpts from this book? Could you please
tell me which parts of the Big Book were influenced by Kitchen
besides the origin of the term "higher power?"
Love,
Kim
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++++Message 2111. . . . . . . . . . . . Stools and Bottles
From: Victor . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/19/2004 5:58:00 PM
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I was looking for info on the book titled "Stools and Bottles". I
was wonder if anyone new who the author was and when it was first
publish.
Thank you in advance
Victor F.
Austin, Texas
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++++Message 2112. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Stools and Bottles
From: jst4tdy . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/25/2004 6:00:00 PM
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Hi Victor,
The Book "Stools and Bottles" was copywrite 1955 as a companion to "The
little Red Book"(c)1946 which evolved from The Crawford's Men's Training in
Cleveland. There isn't credit given to any one Author in the editions I
have. But they were both Coll-Webb Co. copywrites. Coll-Webb, PO Box 546,
Minneapolis 40, Minnesota. Hope this helps. Bill M.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Victor"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 4:58 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Stools and Bottles
>
>
> I was looking for info on the book titled "Stools and Bottles". I
> was wonder if anyone new who the author was and when it was first
> publish.
>
> Thank you in advance
>
> Victor F.
> Austin, Texas
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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++++Message 2113. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Stools and Bottles
From: Corey Franks . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/26/2004 8:18:00 PM
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HI. This is Corey. Look at our new webite at....
archivesinternational.org...
under portraits and you will see for yourself Barry C. and Ed W. and what
they
and did and were as we move ahead with our website . We will be factually
display what it is we have found for many of our Pioneers. Put this in your
favorites and let us know also what you think of out site, with suggestions,
comments, requests or whatever. THX! Corey F.
Hi Victor,
The Book "Stools and Bottles" was copywrite 1955 as a companion to "The
little Red Book"(c)1946 which evolved from The Crawford's Men's Training in
Cleveland. There isn't credit given to any one Author in the editions I
have. But they were both Coll-Webb Co. copywrites. Coll-Webb, PO Box 546,
Minneapolis 40, Minnesota. Hope this helps. Bill M.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Victor"
To:
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 4:58 PM
Subject: [AAHistoryLovers] Stools and Bottles
>
>
> I was looking for info on the book titled "Stools and Bottles". I
> was wonder if anyone new who the author was and when it was first
> publish.
>
> Thank you in advance
>
> Victor F.
> Austin, Texas
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
Yahoo! Groups SponsorADVERTISEMENT
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AAHistoryLovers/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
AAHistoryLovers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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++++Message 2114. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Victor C. Kitchen''s "I Was A
Pagan"
From: spokann24@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/26/2004 6:51:00 PM
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Merry Christmas,
In reply to _sleuthgrrl@yahoo.com_ (mailto:sleuthgrrl@yahoo.com) 's email
dated 12/26/2004--Does anyone here have any excerpts from this book? Could
you please tell me which parts of the Big Book were influenced by Kitchen
besides the origin of the term "higher power?" Love,Kim ----
I have a copy of Victor C. Kitchen's book, "I WAS A PAGAN," Harper &
Brothers, New York and London, 1934. He dedicates it "To The Oxford
Group...that
disciplined army of life changers who helped to give my life new meaning."
For your interest, here is an excerpt from the Chapter IX (titled "This
Business of Living The Other Way Round"). I think it sounds in several
places quite similar to our Big Book.
“I WAS A PAGAN,” by V. C. KITCHEN
Harper & Brothers
New York and London
1934
An excerpt from pages 81-87 of CHAPTER IX
"THIS BUSINESS OF LIVING THE OTHER WAY ROUND --
RE-DIRECTION"
In the post-War days of dizzy peaks and dizzier slumps I decided I was
living in a world turned upside-down. I now see, however, that it was I who
was
upside-down. In most areas of my life I let myself be guided by a force that
was pulling in the very opposite direction from God. Forces working in
opposite directions nullify each other. That, I think, is why the selfish
indulgence of my desires cancelled out their own satisfaction. That is why
my
self-directed thinking led nowhere, either for myself or others. And, since
both
my senses and my understanding were continuously dulled by back-pedalling
against God, they were never sharpened to the point of sensitivity needed
for a
spiritual experience.
God handled these blocks in the physical area of my life by removing
sensuous desire, as I tried to explain in my last chapter. He stopped the
flow
of
my mis-directed forces and gave me His force to flow within me unopposed. I
thus found the peace that comes when conflict ceases. And I found the joy
that comes through sharpened senses and a righted under-standing when these
subjects of the human will are subjected to God's will instead, and brought
within the pattern of His plan and within the consciousness of His
affection.
I
did not, however, stop there. The purpose of the Oxford Group is to hold one
always to the highest, and they did not let me hesitate half-way.
The Oriental mystic, for example, is content to submerge himself in God just
to gain cessation of desire and the peace and joy that self-forgetfulness
invariably brings. But the Oxford Group is a Christian body. And Christian
mystics are working mystics. They “seek Godâ€"not joy” and they submerge
themselves in God, not so much for the happiness that results as for the
usefulness. They contact God in order to implant His purpose in and transmit
His power
to the lives of others and thus, individual by individual, to bring about
regeneration of the world.
I could not, therefore, stop with the mere cessation of my old desires, nor
linger to bask in the new peace and joy thus gained. Identification with the
Oxford Group meant my acceptance of the new desire Christ wanted to plant in
place of the old. And it meant taking up the new direction He gave to my
life when I permitted His force to flow unopposed.
I became most definitely conscious of this new direction one night as I was
praying some six months after my change. I realized that my prayer had been
little but wishful thinkingâ€"that I had prayed God chiefly to bring about
the
things I wanted, in the way I wanted them to come. I then and there asked
God to take over my prayer and guide it, so that I might pray for what He
wanted to bring about and so that He might use me for that purpose instead
of
my
trying to use Him. At that moment I became distinctly conscious of a force
flowing through me. At first, while I was praying for the things I wanted,
this force seemed to gather within me. It generated from the wish of my
being
and flowed upward and outward as though I were broadcasting my wish to God
and
asking Him to do something about it. The moment that I asked Him to take
over, however, that flow definitely stopped. And then it started in the
opposite direction. It was as though an idea generated outside of me had
been
broadcast from space, entering my mind and flowing downward to become the
wish
of
my being. I was not only changed, but completely turned around.
Before this, in other words, I had been passively obedient to god. I was
now put actively and creatively to work for God. And while, with my first
surrender, my life had been greatly altered, this new surrender completed
the
reversal and started me in a direction which lay absolutely opposite to all
my
old ways. I took up a re-directed path, not only in the physical or sensuous
environment, but in all the social-intellectual and spiritual-volitional
areas of life.
In the physical area, as already suggested, I used to be guided only by the
pull of my desire for a sensual indulgence. I would boorishly, for instance,
refuse to give or to go out for an evening party unless I saw there some
chance to excite my senses through conquests at bridge, to dull my senses
through the conquest of more alcohol than others could drink, or to gratify
my
senses through flirting with some lady who was not my wife. To-day I give
parties or go to them, not because I hope for sensual excitement, but
because
God
has told me to do so. And He tells me to give or go to a party because, at
that party, He has some definite and creative work for me to do.
It may beâ€"much as in the old daysâ€"that He guides me to a party simply
because He knows I need the rest or relaxation I will find there. I am
seldom,
however, as tired as in the old days. More often, I believe, God guides me
to
a party to show my old crowd that giving one’s life to God does not make
one
queer. It is to show them that working, “guided” Christians do not
become
down-in-the-mouth cranks, but that they actually outlive, outlaugh and
outlove the pagans. Again (and this seems usually the case) God may guide me
to a
party because He knows some man or woman will be there who is in spiritual
need. He knows that my experience and victories in Christ will help them. He
guides me when to speak and whom to speak to, and thus uses me to win
another
person to His kingdom. Stupid as this may seem to those who have not tired
it, I can assure you that going to a party to make a “conquest” for
Christ
is far more exciting, satisfying and gratifying than any of my old attempts
to
make a conquest of my own.
I can even, these days, put on my dinner coat and go with a smile to parties
that my wife used to have to drag me to if I consented to go at all.
Following god’s guidance is by no means a drearily submissive form of
obedience.
It is something you can always do willingly and gladly. God, in fact, has
never called upon me to do anything without giving me the power, courage,
words,
wisdom, money, love, patience, foresight, stimulation, or whatever else I
might need to accomplish the desired result. Just as in my “B.C.” days I
never faced unpleasant things without a hip flask to see me through, God
never
calls me to a difficult or boring task without giving me new spirit to take
the
place of that flask and to do a 1,000 per cent better job.
This re-direction of old desires and substitution for old stimuli has
extended not only throughout my sensual life, but into my social and
intellectual
life as well. It enters into all of my thinking and into all of my dealings
with other people. When, for instance, I only thought about Godâ€"when He
existed only in my mind as a beliefâ€"I could reach Him only as an
intellectual
conclusion. I concluded that there must be some Higher Power to account for
all
the things taking place in space much as scientists concluded that there
must
be an atom to account for all the things taking place in physics. Knowing
Him only as a conclusion, however, I could only conclude what He wanted me
to
do in my relations with other people. And since these conclusions took place
entirely in my own mind, I usually concluded that I was just about perfect,
but that something should be done about other people to make the world a
more
comfortable background for my personal exploits, and to remove the various
obstructionists who disturbed the even tenor of my ways.
Even before I was married I had decided to “reform” my future wife. I
decided, among many other changes obviously needed, that I would “ring her
up
to
my intellectual level” in order that she might form an intelligent and
complementary foil to my philosophical discourses during the (anticipated)
“long
winter evenings.” Once, however, she fell asleep as Iâ€"reading
aloudâ€"waded
through the fourth volume of a history of civilization. I decided to abandon
the attempt and contented myself in later years with merely pointing out her
faults.
She should, I told her, check her tongue a bit. She should speak less
sharply to the children. She should prove less diligent in inventing
tiresome
errands for me. She should look with greater tolerance on my drinking
companions and with less interest on social affairs. She should spend less
money on
practically everything and keep the children from pounding the piano and
playing the radio simultaneously while I was giving the world the benefit of
my
great wisdom and trying to write. Everything, I was sure, would turn out
much
better if she would correct these erroneous ways. And everything would have
been much betterâ€"for my ego. Nothing, however, would have happened in the
world I was so nobly trying to help. And nothing would have happened in my
wife.
Here, I think, has been my most conspicuous redirection. I see now the
utter futility of trying to reform the other fellow without starting to
reform
myself. I see the utter uselessness of trying to work out systems which
would
solve the world’s economic and social problems if I myself am of such a
nature that no systemâ€"other than self-satisfactionâ€"could work out for
me.
I therefore no longer tell my wife to check her tongue. I, as God directs
and empowers me, check my own. And when I find myself, not my wife, speaking
sharply to the children, I realize that it is because some element of
selfishness is not yet dead within me and that I have further surrenders to
make.
When I see her spending too much money I realize that I have been too
preoccupied to seek guidance in the matter with her. Or too utterly lazy to
sit
down
with her and work out the budget by which God wants us to expend His funds.
As for drinking companions, I no longer happen to drink while, as for
society, we both have learned to think of people’s worth rather than to
think
how
much they are worth, and to move in circles where God has use for us rather
than with the people we think we can use.
* * * * * * * * * * *
The Table of Contents list the following chapters:
I. THIS BUSINESS OF CHASING FALSE GODS: PAGANISM
II. THIS BUSINESS OF THINKING THINGS OUT: PHILOSOPHY
III. THIS BUSINESS OF MEANING WELL AND DOING BADLY: MORALS
IV. THIS BUSINESS OF "MAKING CHARACTER": SCIENCE
V. THIS BUSINESS OF THE SUPERNATURAL: METAPHYSICS
VI. THIS BUSINESS OF THE OXFORD GROUP: APPLICATION
VII. THIS BUSINESS OF BEING REBORN IN LIFE: TRANSFORMATION
VIII. THIS BUSINESS OF GETTING NEW BEARINGS: ORIENTATION
IX. THIS BUSINESS LF LIVING THE OTHER WAY ROUND: RE-DIRECTION
X. THIS BUSINESS OF STARTING IN SCHOOL AGAIN: EDUCATION
XI. THIS BUSINESS OF BEING REMARRIED: WEDLOCK
XII. THIS BUSINESS OF MAKING A LIVING: ECONOMICS
XIII. THIS BUSINESS OF "NEW DEALS": POLITICS
XIV. THIS BUSINESS OF REMAKING THE WORLD: SOCIOLOGY
XV. THIS BUSINESS OF GOING TO CHURCH: RELIGION
XVI. THIS BUSINESS OF BEING OF USE TO PEOPLE: CREATIVENESS
XVII. THIS BUSINESS OF GETTING AHEAD IN LIFE: GROWTH
XVIII. THIS BUSINESS OF GETTING BACK TO GOD: DESTINY
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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++++Message 2115. . . . . . . . . . . . Trying to source hard to find
material, please help. thanks
From: mhaydenbiko . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/27/2004 10:51:00 PM
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Hi,
I am trying to source an elusive audiotape of Father Martins talk on
the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism". Kelly Productions which
supplies AA related audio tapes has a version but it is not the
version I'm looking for and I'm trying to find other sources?
Kelly Productions told me they know of no other resources for Father
Martin material. I know another version exists, it starts with the
Zebra and Rhino's playing football (he uses that story in the Kelly
Production version but this particular audiotape begins with that
Zebra/Rhino story) (It's also before Ashley was built or opened, he
refers to what Ashley will be like one day). It's a great tape and
I've been looking all over the place for info.
Please ask around and be as creative as possible to
help source this material. It is a live audience talk on
the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism" (1 hour plus) and I've been
searching for it everywhere. thanks
P.S. (I tried mentioning it through a few chat rooms and people
responded like I had three heads, I need some experienced assistance
here. thanks)
M. Hayden
973.452.9727
mhayden@opcenter.net
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++++Message 2116. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Trying to source hard to find
material, please help. thanks
From: William Cox . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/28/2004 6:44:00 PM
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Try this link http://www.sobrietytalks.com/Father%20Joseph%20Martin.htm
mhaydenbiko wrote:
Hi,
I am trying to source an elusive audiotape of Father Martins talk on
the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism". Kelly Productions which
supplies AA related audio tapes has a version but it is not the
version I'm looking for and I'm trying to find other sources?
Kelly Productions told me they know of no other resources for Father
Martin material. I know another version exists, it starts with the
Zebra and Rhino's playing football (he uses that story in the Kelly
Production version but this particular audiotape begins with that
Zebra/Rhino story) (It's also before Ashley was built or opened, he
refers to what Ashley will be like one day). It's a great tape and
I've been looking all over the place for info.
Please ask around and be as creative as possible to
help source this material. It is a live audience talk on
the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism" (1 hour plus) and I've been
searching for it everywhere. thanks
P.S. (I tried mentioning it through a few chat rooms and people
responded like I had three heads, I need some experienced assistance
here. thanks)
M. Hayden
973.452.9727
mhayden@opcenter.net
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++++Message 2117. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Trying to source hard to find material, please help. thanks
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 12/29/2004 7:49:00 AM
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Hi Folks,
I suspect that this was a talk Father Martin gave somewhere at an anniversary or other AA affair. Have you tried Dicobe tapes out in Nebraska? They have 50,000 talks in their library and must certainly have something by Father Martin. Their toll-free is 1-800-999-3381.
Mel Barger
Mel Barger melb@accesstoledo.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "William Cox"
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 6:44 PM
Subject: Re: [AAHistoryLovers] Trying to source hard to find material, please help. thanks
Try this link http://www.sobrietytalks.com/Father%20Joseph%20Martin.htm
mhaydenbiko wrote:
Hi,
I am trying to source an elusive audiotape of Father Martins talk on the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism". Kelly Productions which supplies AA related audio tapes has a version but it is not the version I'm looking for and I'm trying to find other sources?
Kelly Productions told me they know of no other resources for Father Martin material. I know another version exists, it starts with the Zebra and Rhino's playing football (he uses that story in the Kelly Production version but this particular audiotape begins with that Zebra/Rhino story) (It's also before Ashley was built or opened, he refers to what Ashley will be like one day). It's a great tape and I've been looking all over the place for info.
Please ask around and be as creative as possible to help source this material. It is a live audience talk on the "Spiritual Aspects of Alcoholism" (1 hour plus) and I've been searching for it everywhere. thanks
P.S. (I tried mentioning it through a few chat rooms and people responded like I had three heads, I need some experienced assistance here. thanks)
M. Hayden
973.452.9727
mhayden@opcenter.net
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AA History Lovers 2004 — moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut — page 1