March Readings + Contest

[Thumper]

Hey folks. Dale, an alcoholic and your Grapevine Rep. I could link you to the exclusive online stories, but you will get one of those, “Log in to Read More” messages from the Grapevine. Bummer. You have to subscribe to get “the whole story”. I will post one them of them here in full (with permission) so you can see what you are missing. Want a subscription? Enter the e-AA contest at the end of the reading. It is our gift to you.
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Tom
A message of gratitude to the selfless friend who made sure he got to treatment and started him on his way to a quarter-century of sobriety.

Twenty-five years ago, a great, selfless guy asked me on the phone: “If money were no object, what kind of car would you drive?”

I stammered and said: “I guess a Mercedes.”

“Great!” the selfless friend replied. “I’ll call you back in 10 minutes. Don’t leave the phone!”

I hung up and waited, without a clue as to what would come next. It was all very mysterious. Then, in far less than 10 minutes, the phone rang again. It was that selfless friend.

“You need to have your bag packed and you need to be ready at 9:00AM tomorrow. There is going to be a dark green Mercedes that will pull down your street. Do you know Brook? She is going to be taking you to treatment. Don’t make her wait for you. Don’t smoke in her car. Be nice to her! Remember she’s doing you a favor!”

My mind was racing even more with all the mysterious unknowns of the next day. My arms were heavy, my palms were sweaty and I was very thirsty. I couldn’t imagine what life was going to be like for me in the next few days, but the fear of getting another DUI, along with the threat of going to jail again, coupled with the undeniable truth that I was one of those people with no control whatsoever when I took the first drink, sent my mind reeling with thoughts and emotions.

Brook did arrive the next morning, April 6, 1988. Promptly. She was very kind but firm. I knew she smelled the liquor and cigarette smoke on me, it must have been oozing out all my pores. The drive seemed to take forever. After the first few miles, she gave up on trying to carry on a civil conversation. My mind was so far into fearful thoughts and so foggy from all the booze I’d drank last night, that I would have made bad company even for a houseplant.

We finally arrived at the treatment center. Brook got out to make sure we had stopped at the right place while I was getting my bag out of the car. As I shut the back door, holding my bag in my hand, she came right back out, walking quite fast, and saying over her shoulder: “ This is the right place. Good luck and I’ll be seeing you around.” Without slowing her pace, she got back into her car, put it in reverse, waved quickly and left.

Little did I know, I was already well into a journey that would completely change every aspect of my life. It certainly didn’t feel like it at the time, but I had indeed ‘hit the lottery’ of a lifetime. I have been collecting the rewards, every day since. I can’t give every single bit of credit to my selfless friend who arranged all that, but I believe without a doubt, that my life would look a whole lot different without him. I honor him and his selfless actions of that day, and on so many others.

I like to tell that story, because it’s a story of how one person can change the world. He made it possible for me to find the tools to change mine. Because my life is so much richer, the lives of all the people I’ve been in contact with over these years have had the opportunity to be richer as well. I celebrate the fruits of my friend’s acts of selfless kindness every day.

Thank you, Tom!

John B., Peacham,Vt.
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These are the stories that impact our lives. Every month e-AA provides a chance to win a free one year subscription to AA’s “our meeting in print”, the AA Grapevine. You get to choose whether you want a printed version (to share with your sponsees and home group). An online version (special cool stuff) and even a mobile version that is now available on both Android and iOS.

You need to play to win in March. Awesome sobriety stories and motivation is yours courtesy of e-AA. It is our gift to you for being a part of e-AA and sharing your ESH with us.

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Peace and Sobriety,
Dale B.
E-AA GVR

[Thumper]

The Grapevine Story Archive is a treasure trove of AA history, members' reflections on the principles and practices of the program, and of course, thousands of personal stories of recovery.

Although e-AA offers a free subscription contest every month (enter to win) Grapevine.drawing@e-aameetings.org

Maybe you just might just want to subscribe on your own. Pick your preference: https://store.aagrapevine.org/Subscript ... aspx?PC=AG

E-AA fully supports the Grapevine. Resources are http://www.e-aa.org/grapevine.php

Here is a sample. Reprinted with permission.

A Portable Program
Wherever you have to go, you can take it with you

AFTER TWO years of continuous sobriety in the program, I sat in my office one day and wondered, "Am I ever going to get a good job? My life isn't really going anyplace. Sure, I'm glad to be sober, but am I ever going to amount to anything?"

Of course, I was glad to get that job after having been sober only four months and out of work for eight. It wasn't much, granted, but it was a job--office manager for a small agency. Many of the staff were recovering people; it was a built-in support system for my tentative, early sobriety. Since I had lived on unemployment for nearly eight months, the meager salary looked good in the beginning. My superiors tolerated my intermittent blue days--or weeks. But on that particular day, I felt stuck.

My sponsor had warned that praying for oneself was counterproductive, so I had not overtly asked my Higher Power for a better job. But oh, how I wished!

One day, it happened. The director of a state agency called and asked whether I would be interested in coming on board. The salary would be nearly double my current one.

"Would I?" I demurred. "Would I!" my insides screamed. Then my old running mate, fear, grabbed me. What if. . .?

The new job meant moving to a remote little town, midstate. New job, new AA, new church, new friends, new apartment. What if. . .? Fear. Could I stay sober somewhere else?

At the final interview, my soon-to-be boss asked the critical question. "I know that you are a recovering alcoholic," he said. "Will it be difficult for you to maintain your sobriety here in a new place?"

I guess it was one of those days when my Higher Power chose to be eloquent in His simplicity. The response came easily, naturally. No one could have been more surprised than I when I heard my mouth say, "Mr. Smith, my sobriety and my peace of mind are portable. I am able to take them anywhere."

The interview over, I was on my way back home. While I was sitting on the train for the 125-mile trip, my reflections of the day centered largely on the changes that had taken place in my sobriety. Two years before, I had been unemployable. There would have been no interview and certainly nothing that resembled peace of mind or sobriety.

What a gift--a portable program!

I took the job; my hypothesis proved correct. It was back to basics for a while, but I stayed sober and continued to grow in the Fellowship.

Six months later, the whole process repeated itself: another job offer, another city, another big raise in salary, and another opportunity to test "portability."

It works. The program is as sound on the East Coast as it was in the Midwest. Peace of mind and sobriety can be taken anywhere as long as I pack my Higher Power and the program first.

D. C.
Washington, District of Columbia
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Peace and Sobriety,
E-AA Grapevine Rep.
Dale B.