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Intergroup News
Inside
Box 459 notes ..........page 2
A Member’s Story .page 2
Announcements ....page 4
A Snapshot of AA .page 4
‘‘
I am the wisest man
alive, for I know one
thing and that is that
I know nothing.
’’
Socrates
About this publication
The Wiregrass Intergroup Newsletter is published on the first day of
the month. Should you wish to in-
clude something in the next edition,
please contact Peter P.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (334) 585-1014
Deadline for submissions is 10 days
prior to publication.
Contact AA
www.aadothan.org
Phone: (334) 792-3422
National: (800) 920-3236
Wiregrass Intergroup News | April 2015
Forging Friendships in Akron
Bill W. joins the Smiths at the weekly Oxford Group meetings held in the home of
T. Henry Williams and his wife Clarace,
both particularly sympathetic to the plight
of alcoholics. Soon, at the suggestion of
Dr. Bob’s wife Anne, Bill moves to their
home at 855 Ardmore Avenue (right).
Men on a mission
Dr. Bob lapses into drinking again but
quickly recovers. The day widely known as
the date of Dr. Bob’s last drink, June 10,
1935, is celebrated as the founding date of Alcoholics Anonymous. Dr. Bob
and Bill spend hours working out the best approach to alcoholics, a group
known to be averse to taking directions. Realizing that thinking of sobriety for
a day at a time makes it seem more achievable than facing a lifetime of struggle, they hit on the twenty-four hour concept.
Bill’s return to New York
Bill returns home to New York to seek a job, but his need to help other alcoholics is no less urgent. He begins to look for prospects at Towns Hospital,
where he finds Hank P., an ambitious businessman who becomes his first success from Towns. Another success is Fitz M., a Southerner and the son of a
minister. Both become Bill’s close friends and allies.
Source: www.aa.org/pages/en_US/aa-timeline
SAVE
THE DATE
SATURDAY APRIL 18 - 5:30 p.m.
Wiregrass Park Recreation Ctr.
Food, Fun & Fellowship
Sobriety Countdown
50/50 Raffle
Speaker - Jerry M.
From Troy, Alabama
Pre-registration $5.00 | Includes name tag and entry in 50/50 Raffle
To pre-register Contact Peppi (334) 648-7903 or Andy (334) 405-1333
April 2015 | Wiregrass Intergroup News
The Language of the Heart
A Member’s Story
News and Notes from the General Service Office of A.A.®
At fifteen I was a big lad and hung
around with a bunch of big guys. So,
on a busy Saturday night, it wasn’t
difficult to pass the scrutiny of the
overworked barman and buy my first
‘real’ drink. I was shaking inside and
had a lot of regret later. I discovered
that I was the guy in our group who
could get drunk on the least amount
of beer. Two pints and I was well
gone, three and I would be legless
and totally out of it. As you can
imagine, I was the source of a bunch
of jokes for a lot of years.
Available soon as an audio book
Between 1944 and 1970, Bill wrote 150 articles for AA Grapevine, helping to
unite the Fellowship’s new groups and hammering out
the principles of A.A. These articles give us a living
history of Alcoholics Anonymous and the story of
Bill W.’s emotional and spiritual growth. 2013 marked
the 25th anniversary of The Language of the Heart.
Coming soon as an audio book, The Language of the Heart comes in many
formats: hard cover, softcover, large print and e-book. A limited quantity of
the Commemorative softcover print edition is available.
To order go to: aagrapevine.org/books; phone: (800) 631-6025
Country
Round-Up
April
24•25•26
Friday
4:00 p - Open Discussion Meeting
6:30 p - Country Round Up Pickers
8:00 p - Speaker Meeting
Pre-registration $20 Saturday
7:00 a - Open Discussion Meeting
At the door $25
Children 12 and under $5
9:00 a - Speaker Meeting
10:30 a - Old Timers Panel -“I am Responsible”
1:00 p - Workshop - Emotional/Spiritual Sobriety
2:30 p - Al-Anon Speaker Meeting
4:00 p - Country Round Up Pickers
5:30 p - Eating (Included with registration)
6:30 p - Raffle
8:00 p - Speaker Meeting, 50/50 raffle to follow
Speakers
Glenda Mc D., AA of Moultrie, GA
Forrest N., AA of Woodstock, GA
John L., AA of Pine Apple, AL
Kitty L. Al-Anon of Pine Apple, AL Sunday
Bob H., AA of Tallahassee, FL
7:00 a - Open Discussion Meeting
Voice - Larry K. AA of Dothan, AL 9:00 a - Speaker Meeting
Questions? Call (334) 372-7979 or (850) 769-1929
More details and download a registration form online.
aadothan.org/district-10-announcements.html
Page 2
By George an Alcoholic
I served an apprenticeship as a manufacturing engineer, married, and
with my wife’s help, bought a house
in Aberdeen. We then had a couple
of kids. At forty, my life seemed
okay, but money was always tight so
it was hard to afford booze. Boy, was
I lucky? I discovered home brew
(homemade alcohol) and, better than
that, I started to get a ‘taste’ for
drink. Out of all my home brewing
attempts, I discovered that the lager
was drinkable. I was now able to
consume a ‘ration’ of four pints a
night while my wife was out and I
was left to baby-sit.
The answer to my prayers seemed to
come in 1978. Oil had been discovered in the North Sea in the late ‘60s
and by ‘78 the oil industry was
screaming out for qualified guys like
me. So I joined an American service
company in April 1978 and it was
then that my drinking career really
took off. I joined this small company
just the right time because, as it expanded, so did the number of job titles I had. Starting as a simple
instrument technician, I went on to
work offshore, then back onshore to
become an operations supervisor,
marketing rep., trouble shooter, international operations supervisor and
lastly, training manager. In each of
these positions drink played its part,
from the heavy sessions with the boys
when we came ashore, through the
drinking with clients as we entertained them while looking for work,
to my fautorite excuse for a glass STRESS - that wonderful excuse that
just about everyone could understand.
I could write pages and pages of my
drinkalog, but it would probably be
the same as every other alcoholic’s
tale. I drank, on a daily basis, what I
felt to be enough alcohol to survive.
My life was one hundred percent
dominated by alcohol. I had to drink
all the time, even though it now gave
me no ‘kick’. By this time, even I realized that I had to stop - but hadn’t I
tried dozens of times - and failed? I
couldn’t stay sober and fell off the
wagon quickly. Worse, on a few occasions when I had tried, I suffered
badly with DT’s. My best attempt was
in December of 2000. The dates are
hazy, but I stopped drinking early in
the month and had a bad case of
DT’s. I was talking to the furniture,
thought it was raining inside the
house, saw flowers revolving and
heard them talking to me and I was
presenting a play with the window sill
as the stage! Fortunately, this was observed by my doctor and I was admitted to hospital. I got out on
Christmas Eve and stayed sober until
January the ninth, my birthday. I felt
that, for my efforts, I deserved a
drink on my birthday. Nobody
agreed, so I stormed off to the pub
where I got absolutely paralytic. I got
home from there and fell asleep.
When I awoke, I knew I was beaten.
So, I emptied our bottle of vodka
into a glass and drank it, knowing that
it might be my last drink for a very
long time. I was beaten and agreed to
go in to a detox. unit the next day.
Mag signed me into the clinic, which
was thirty or so miles from Aberdeen.
I was to join a class just about to undergo a six week long detox. session.
In the first week I was fed Librium to
help me stop shaking and suffering
DT’s. Over the next six weeks we
were introduced to AA meetings,
which we attended three times a
week. As well as attending meetings,
we studied and attempted to do the
first five steps of the AA recovery
program.
Six weeks after entering the clinic I
was let out. Mag picked me up and
took me home, but had to leave
shortly afterward to go back to work.
So, there I was, alone, scared, sober
(at least, having no alcohol in my
bloodstream) and thinking that this
was one of the most important moments of my life. I wasn’t in pain
now, so wouldn’t it be alright if I just
took a wee drink? Or should I take
this sobriety business seriously and
give the ‘no drinking policy’ a chance?
I chose the sobriety route and started
to attend AA regularly. I have to be
honest and say that the first year was
hard, but, year on year, my life has
changed for the better. I’ve been
sober for just over six years now and
can honestly say that I’ve got back
most of what drink took away from
me - except that flipping job. Never
mind, I got another job. Although not
as well paid, it suited me much better
for, as well as enjoying my days work,
I could go home without any worries
flying around in my head. This, in itself, was worth a few quid. Money, or
should I say, the pursuit of money,
Wiregrass Intergroup News | April 2015
was always high on my list of priorities when I was drinking. I thought
that, without it, happiness would be
difficult to find. However, over the
six years of my sobriety, I’ve gained
things in my life that no amount of
money could buy.
I’ve won back the love and trust of
my family, who, at one time, would
have been glad to see the end of me.
I have a little two year old grandson
who loves to play with toy cars with
his granddad, especially in the toy
garage that Granddad had great fun
making. He also thinks that Granddad
is the best person to head for if he
needs comforting after a fall or wants
a comfy pair of arms to fall asleep in.
I have a seven year old granddaughter
whom, when I was performing, I was
banned from seeing alone in case I
dropped or hurt her. Now, I’m a
trusted babysitter and one of the best
at telling stories, although Gran is still
her fautorite.
Now I have real friends around me.
During all the time I drank and
worked, my head never seemed to
stop calculating all the things that
could go wrong. In fact, I can safely
say that I worried for Scotland. I was
that guy who would worry if he didn’t
have something to worry about. Now,
I can honestly say that I have found
true peace of mind because I have a
better understanding of what’s important in life.
‘‘
One day at a time.
’’
George is a member of AA Great Britain
Page 3
April 2015 | Wiregrass Intergroup News
Announcements
miracles, meetings and miscellanies
Saturday 4th
7 p.m. - The New Beginnings Group
Alano Club - Mathew L. 3 yrs.
Tuesday 7th
7 p.m. - New Hope Group
Triumphant Cross Lutheran Church - Sharon S. 16 yrs.
Saturday 11th
1 p.m. - Alano Club Bake Sale Fundraiser
Begins after the Nooner’s meeting..
Friday 17th
8 p.m. - The Big Book Group
Wiregrass Club - Karen S. 2 yrs., Paul V. 19 yrs.,
Jewonia W. 25 yrs., Doug P. 27 yrs., James C. 27 yrs.,
Nate S. 27 yrs.
Saturday 18th
9:30 a.m. - The Early Bird Group
Financial reports
The financial reports for Area 1 District 10 and The Wiregrass Intergroup were not available at the time of publication. When available, both will be published for review
online at www.aadothan.org.
A Snapshot
In 2011 more than 8,000
A.A. members from the
U.S. and Canada participated in a random survey
of the membership. Such
studies have been conducted every three to four
years since 1968 by the
General Service Office.
Composition
Wiregrass Club - Cody B. 1 yr., Kevin D. 2 yrs.,
Patti H. 2 yrs., Larry K. 10 yrs., Bill M. 12 yrs.
9:30 a.m. - 24/7 Group
The House of Fellowship - Sam M. 4 yrs., Mr. Ed. 12 yrs.,
Edward Charles Sr. 25 yrs.
5:30 p.m. - Dothan AA 70th Anniversary Party
Wiregrass Park Recreation Center on 6th Avenue.
Food, Fun & Fellowship. Sobriety Countdown, 50/50
Raffle and Jerry M. from Troy will be speaking.
Age
7 p.m. - The New Beginnings Group
Alano Club - Joe B. 7 yrs.
Wednesday 29th
8 p.m. - The Acceptance Group
The House of Fellowship - Clifton E. 6 yrs.,
Sam B. 2 yrs.
The 24th - 26th don’t miss
the Country Round-Up!
Details and pre-registration online
at www.aadothan.org
Page 4
The average age is 49
Sponsorship