Friends of Bill Wilson? enter here

And, best of all, we get to do {{{HUGS}}}

I have two B'days 3/82-10/95 and now 9/98 to the present. Time off for bad behavior I guess I would call it.

Joanne,

Welcome back! :wink:

I still only claim one day at a time and if that's too much, then go to one hour or just 5 minutes! Whatever it takes!

Friends of Bill Wilson? enter here
For anyone who is interested, check
out in the Forum Index, under the category of
Announcements, the 1st post is "who can see what"
posted by Jespah. The possibility of a having a closed
meeting is an upcoming feature of the A2K site and
although it is not yet available at this time, it will be in the
future. Also under category of Forum Help is another message
regarding setting up of meetings, although these will be
open to anyone who wants to join. So the availability of a
closed meeting is a yet to come. So, we may continue in
whatever fashion we all wish to for the time being.
*If someone wants to repost the opening and How It Works
and The Traditions it is going to take up some serious space.
So ... in the interest of brevity at this time:
*A great big welcome to everyone who
passes by here today and
(((((((((((hugs))))))))))))
*Let us begin this open meeting of AA@A2K
with a moment of silence followed by
the serenity prayer
*WHO HAS A TOPIC(S) FOR
DISCUSSION TODAY?

Today is Friday, December 13 and here are the readings for today:

Daily Reflections

by A.A. Members for A.A. Members

THINKING OF OTHERS

Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 20

Thinking of others has never come easily to me. Even when I try to work the A.A. program, I'm prone to thinking, "How do I feel today. Am I happy, joyous and free?"

The program tells me that my thoughts must reach out to those around me: "Would that newcomer welcome someone to talk to?" "That person looks a little unhappy today, maybe I could cheer him up." It is only when I forget my problems, and reach out to contribute something to others that I can begin to attain the serenity and God-consciousness I seek.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day
by Hazelden

A.A. Thought for the Day

We come now to A.A. fellowship. It is partly group therapy. It is partly spiritual fellowship. But it is even more. I t is based on a common illness, a common failure, a common problem. It goes deep down into our personal lives and our personal needs. It requires a full opening up to each other of our inmost thoughts and most secret problems. All barriers between us are swept aside. They have to be. Then we try to help each other get well. The A.A. fellowship is based on a sincere desire to help each other get well. The A.A. fellowship is based on a sincere desire to help the other person. In A.A. we can be sure of sympathy, understanding, and real help. These things make the A.A. fellowship the best that we know. Do I fully appreciate the depth of the A.A. fellowship?

Meditation for the Day

The Higher Power can guide us to the right decisions if we pray about them. We can believe that many details of our lives are planned by God and planned with a wealth of forgiving love for the mistakes we have made. We can pray today to be shown the right way. We can choose the good, and when we choose it, we can feel that the whole power of the universe is behind us. We can achieve a real harmony with God's purpose for our lives.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may choose aright today. I pray that I may be shown the right way to live today.

Tx Bill for the readings
Last evening I was so distraught with concern over my 6yr
old grandson Jade, who had broken his arm & his mom
(my daughter?!?) did not take him to the doctor for TWO
WHOLE DAYS, & when she did, found out that it was indeed
broken & not sprained as she had hoped.
I tried to get in touch with one of my sponsor/peer group
people - but no one was at home....so when one of our
newcomers called me to let me know that she didn't need
a ride to the meeting last night - I unloaded on her, told her
my long sobbing story & that I had been in tears and just
going nuts. You know what she did?
She just listened. :wink:

Thanks Babs, how is Jade today. Thank goodness he was so young, those young bones heal so much better than these old bones.

Remember when I was in 9th grade I broke my thumb (granted, not an arm) in summer football practise. About 2/3 days later, when I was getting pre-school physical and shots, had it xrayed. It was broken - the doctor had to rebreak it to set it. He suggested I not have drugs so it would be easier on me, ouch.

Little did I know that just a few years later I would never turn down a chance like that! May you go with your HP!

Just listining right now just got up from my morning nap. Post later after a couple of cups of java.

*Thanks for asking after my darling boy, Bill.
He sounds much more perky, like his old self again.
God bless him....I don't know how bad it hurts, I
have yet to break a bone...but yes, the MD expects
the cast to be off in 3 to 5 weeks. All he needs for
the pain is Motrin/Tylenol back to back.
*Well Good Mornin Joanne honey, getcha some
java and we'll be hanging around, waiting to
hear from Texas today.

Bill W
I am elated at the prospect of a meeting among folks that I am becomming accustomed to. A recent move has takekn a chunk out of my usual attendance at meetings - in that with the exception of a Saturday night meeting several miles away most meetings are 1/2 hr to 1 hr away and that's a lot of gas on a daily basis.

I just started an AA service job last night. I will be securing speakers and taking them into a women's prison facility once a week, and all i could think of was "There for the grace of God go I".

I ask for your prayers for these ladies that they hear the message.

with gratitude

SG

Thank you for starting us out BillW. Being self centered and only interested in my self is an easy row to hoe for me. And then I have that door mat thing going on at the same time, union advocate, care taker for parents, and weird as this my sound I tried to be the best public servant an elderly person ever encounterED in an SSA office.

Guess what that type of behavior does not work and is way to stressful. So at one point in my life I choose to self medicate with alcohol and things got worse. Then I got to the rooms of AA and was sober for 13 wonderful years. In November 1995 I suffered through a home invasion and I was alone at that time in my life. Having not kept up my contact with the program I choose the easy way out and started drinking again. This time it was way worser because I also retired, sold my house, and moved to Austin, TX, to finish my education and UT. Unfortunately although registered and scheduled for the fall semester in 1996 I was unable to attend because it is easier to stay home and drink.

This drinking spell was not fun but I have to admit it did help me not be aware of the passage of time. And I must admit I was thinking suicide by alcohol might be a great way to go. Boy was I wrong. Finally in September 1998 I realized I probably was not going to die anytime soon and in the mean time I had not life, was even more isolated than ever, and was losing touch with all of my friends, especially my best friend in Philly. Jill is a black belt Alanon and if I called her when I was drinking she would say I don't talk to drunk and hang up on me.

Finally I had a really bad drinking day which caused me great emotional harm and effected the people I was living with so I gathered all the courage I had and made the call to AA central in San Diego. The 28th of September that year was a Saturday and the on duty AA said there was a meeting within a mile of where I lived starting at noon that day, it was 10:00 a.m. when I called and I could not figure out a way to get out of going.

So off I went and at that AA meeting a fellow we always called Motorcycle Don, an elderly guy, but still riding his hog talked about how he tried to drink himself to death and had a number of car accidents in which he survived and other incidents. I realized that was my story - I was not going to die, I was hurting myself and others and that I only had one real choice, stop drinking.

I took a 24 hour medal (I always call the medals) and kept on going back. I attend meeting regularly now and keep the program close. And I always start my day with meditations from AA and reading in the Big Book of AA. And as I brush my teeth I look at my favorite AA saying which I have taped to the mirror, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO STAY SOBER OR IN AA - YOUR MISERY WILL GLADLY BE REFUNDED AT THE DOOR.

Ah yes, refunded in doubles. I am fortunate Joanne and have not had a slip; or, another way I look at it, I asked a friend in about 1980 if maybe we were alcoholics. He said no, and since I didn't consume as much as him - I couldn't be either. Right? For another 11+ years anyway.

Anyway, I digress. I understand that it don't take long to get back to where you were and advance lower. As Richard Farina wrote, "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me". Thanks Joanne that helped a lot!

**Hi Seaglass, I hear you....I have been there done
that, still do that sometimes although I DO
believe that these service jobs should be shared
among a group, and we seem to be BLESSED with
a large womens group (at least 25 of us - on a regular
basis) yet NO ONE will go out to the county jail. It
surely does inspire me with gratitude. Sometimes
they drive me nuts, they want to talk about their
crazy crack stories. So - to stop that crap, I
tried using a speaker meeting format. But, once
again, could not get speakers. No one is going at
all right now, but I am planning to get several good
tapes of women speakers & I will just go out there with
my Big Book, my tape player, & my tape. Then, all I
need to do is pray for a little quiet. Maybe I can
get the officers to tell them to go sit in their cells
& clam up if they don't want to participate.
**Joanne, How very kind of you to be good to people
at the SSA. I know I appreciate it a great deal
when I get a "real" person to speak to on the phone,
and a pleasant person to speak to also. Same goes
for seeing someone in person. I have actually had
very pleasant experiences with the individuals who
I met during my disability claim, which of course
dragged on for 4 years. Anything medical - 4 years.
If it is psychiatric - you may get it in 6 months! I
should have clued them in to how crazy I am
Your friend Jill, in Philly- now she's a terrific sponsor!!
Tell it like it is - there IS no other way, is there? I try
to NEVER co-sign anyone else's BS anymore. AlAnon
is an absolute necessity for THIS alcoholic. I often
see other AA members trying to carry the alcoholic,
rather than carry the message. At times, our entire
AA group seems like one huge codependent family,
have you ever had that feeling? It is weird - yet
for most of us who grew up in alcoholism, it seems
as natural as apple pie and vanilla ice cream. Joanne,
your decision to return IS courageous, and it does
deserve a medal. You EARNED that one my dear.
I'll bet that the price of it was very high.
Today.....no .... NOW! Now is all that we have,
this moment, & in this moment my life is all I could
ever dream for and so much more. All thanks to AA.
We will not regret the past. We will not want to shut
the door on it. Soon, when you are sponsoring all the
many women who will come to you for help, your
history is going to come in very handy indeed. You
will no doubt spot a person heading for a slip in no
time flat! There are some harsh & disgusting & ugly
things that occurred in my drinking history that I
would have liked to erase from my memory, but
what it says in the promises is so true. For every
instance that I wanted to wash away - there has
been a woman come into my life - who needed to
hear me share that, so that she could feel safe in
confiding & sharing with me. Every experience in
our "drinking careers" gives us one more tool, a
tool that we can use in helping another suffering
alcoholic find their way to sobriety. Nothing is
EVER wasted Joanne!! Those years served a
purpose. That purpose may not be clear right now,
but as the sober years pass by, I sincerely do
believe you will find in those years a "wealth" of
experience, strength and hope to share.

Babs, thanks - you are so true. Tonight was my night for the Treatment Center. Go about 2 or three times a month. One of my most favorite meetings. I lot the electricity, the power of one new or newly returning person to a meeting. Here I can be in the midst of 20 to 30-really powerful. Reminds me of why I must continue the course. Also, another group is usually invited to speak - so I get a lot of good mini speaker meeting stuff. Well, I'm heading for the sack now so I'll take my rejoicing - one more day almost complete, can't wait til tomorrow. They always get better, hasn't failed me yet. And also say good night to my HP, without I would be nowhere. Night all!

bill wilson
I would like to get everyone's take on sponsorship.

I lost my sponsor this past year. She had 34 years sobriety and was one of the most amazing ladies I have ever know. Needless to say the loss has been devastating to me. I have not been able to find a new sponsor that I can relate to, she shared from the gut and was totally sincere.

I guess what I really want to say is that I trusted her and that none of my stuff went out on the AA gossip mill - and now I don't have anyone I feel I can trust to talk to.

I live on an island, the total population is roughly 140,000. I got sober on the mainland and possibly have not adjusted to AA island style. It's just different.

I truly believe that sponsorship is a major key in maintaining good sobriety.

I need a sponsor!!!!

I hear that seaglass, about the gossip mill. that's what keeps me away from aa. small world here also.

16 dry ones here, but still just learning.

Congrats Slimmerson. You should be proud of that.

I have friends still learning after 20 yrs. The newbies have it all figured out and know all the answers in a month tho. Makes me think tho...
no, i don't want to do to much of that.



stinkin thinkin

Would you mind to explain to me who is this Bill Wilson? The only Wilsons I have ever heard about are the 28th U.S. President Woodrow Wilson and former British PM Harold Wilson (1964-70 and 1974-76). But none of them had first or middle name William or Bill...

Bill W was the founder and Guru of AA,