An honest-to-God, real live drunk showed up at our meeting last night followed closely by the men in blue…
He’s been here before. A few years ago. He was disruptive then and he was disruptive last night – but not too bad, thankfully. Our meeting went along with just a couple of bumps, then the policeman showed up. It wasn’t over…
He’d shown up late. During the meeting we discovered he’d driven himself to the church because the officer popped into the room and asked who was driving a particular vehicle. What became apparent later was that there had been reports …read more

I’m going to direct you to a page at the Alcoholics Anonymous web site where there are Twelve questions only you can answer relating to whether you may have a problem with booze… first though, from Alcoholics Anonymous;
IS A.A. FOR YOU?
Only you can decide whether you want to give A.A. a try — whether you think it can help you.
“We who are in A.A. came because we finally gave up trying to control our drinking. We still hated to admit that we could never drink safely. Then we heard from other A.A. members that we were sick. (We thought so …read more

And society continues to misperceive…
Lary Sorensen, no longer anonymous, cannot hide from the aftermath of another alcoholic episode. One which ought to, but might not, prove beyond any doubt that he is powerless over alcohol.
“It was 3:12 on a Saturday morning, Feb. 2, when Roseville police officer Brian Dobrzycki approached a gray 1998 Ford parked on the shoulder of I-696, near I-94, a man slumped unmoving over the steering wheel.
Dobrzycki hammered on the windows and the windshield to no avail, and called emergency medical services. Moments after they arrived the man stirred, and eventually was able to unlock his door.
Dobrzycki …read more

And then I’ll be back…
Meanwhile, this is where my heart is;

And this is what my brain tells me;

Another to be filed under – “I couldn’t resist!” Aaaah – what our minds produced and such a shame his talent didn’t live – but, we learned…

For those who’ve been around for a few 24 hours and who’s skin has thickened a bit…
WHY GO TO MEETINGS
Shortly before his death in 1950, Dr. Bob was asked why he still went to meetings.
His three reasons should give every A.A. member pause to reflect deeply as they are the very essence of A.A. service. Dr. Bob said:
“The first reason is that this way is working so well, why should I take a chance on any other way.
The second reason is that I don’t want to deprive myself of the privilege of meeting, greeting and visiting with fellow alcoholics.
The third …read more

Do you concern yourself with the “appropriateness” or the “intelligence” or the worth of something you might want to share in a meeting?
I continue to subscribe to the principle the oldtimers taught me – that is that there is nothing you can share in an AA meeting that is truly wrong. Even if you are completely out of line, you, or someone else, will learn something from what you shared. If you are approached and chastised about what you shared that might have been inappropriate, in an inappropriate manner, please, by all means, say so, probably to your sponsor. If …read more

Okay… we’ve had two consecutive meetings where we’ve discussed choice and defense against the first drink.
To begin the first meeting, we quoted from page 24 in the Big Book;
“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.”
To begin the next meeting we quoted from page 43;
“The alcoholic …read more

If I ask for a lead on anger, the topic is anger, right?
If I ask for a lead on acceptance, the topic is acceptance, right?
If I ask for a lead on feeling left out, the topic is feeling left out, right?
And then, from my experience, the discussion will probably flow along the lines of solutions from the Twelve Steps that will help me/us get through these times, right?
Then why, oh why, oh freakin’ why, when a lead is given for the First Step, does everyone have to practice “Can you bottom this?” Or, more precisely, “become drunkalog infested contests of …read more

From today’s Daily Reflection;
“He cannot picture life without alcohol. Some day he will be unable to imagine life either with alcohol or without it.”
The writer (I imagine, Bill W.) speaks of the double standard “that held me captive as an active alcoholic… filled with terror and confusion,”
“If I don’t get a drink I’m going to die,” which was competing with “If I continue drinking it’s going to kill me.”
Yet this became the “absolute essential” for recovery!
“Both compulsive thoughts pushed me ever closer to the bottom. That bottom produced a total acceptance of my alcoholism – with no reservations whatsoever – …read more