Do a Fourth Step on Whatever’s Driving You Bonkers — It Works for Life Situations, Not Just Resentments – Priscilla K.
About This Speaker Tape
Priscilla K. tells her story at the Monday Night Blue Chip Speakers meeting at the Nava Club with 36 years of continuous sobriety since March 3, 1981. She grew up around the program — her mother had 37 years in AA when she passed — and attended the very first Alateen group in Memphis, Tennessee at age 13. Despite that early exposure, she still had to walk her own path. She didn't drink until 18, partied through her twenties without crossing the line, and married a man from the program after knowing him just four months. When they moved to Lexington, Kentucky, loneliness and isolation turned her into a daily drinker within months.
By the time they relocated to the Atlanta area in March 1978, Priscilla was a full-blown alcoholic who couldn't drive down I-285 without stopping for beers. She worked at Peachford Hospital, where the A&D unit nurse would give her vitamins and aspirin each morning to get through the day. She eventually stole from her employer, was arrested, and spent two harrowing nights sleeping under a picnic table in DeKalb County Jail — a stone castle of a building packed with twice its capacity. Her mother, director of a women's halfway house in Mississippi, wired bail money through the lieutenant governor, but DeKalb County sent it back.
After getting out of jail on Saturday, she reluctantly went to a meeting Sunday night at Parkway Hospital in Decatur, where her husband's knee accidentally bumped her leg just as they asked for white chips — and she popped up. She found her way to Clarkson, a group of 100-150 people, where women with real sobriety reached out and loved her when she couldn't love herself. They gave her the secret password: don't drink, go to meetings, get a sponsor. She started washing ashtrays and coffee cups, worked the steps multiple times, and helped found the Peachtree Corners group.
Priscilla's sobriety was tested by enormous losses — her husband of 37 years died, she was fired two weeks later, and she lost three siblings in three months. Each time, she leaned into the program rather than picking up a drink. She describes the evolution of her relationship with Higher Power from hostile skepticism to a constant companionship, and credits the tenth step and repeated inventories for keeping her honest. She closes by urging newcomers to stay until the miracle happens, because at 36 years sober, she has a peace and serenity she didn't know existed.
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Timestamps
Full Transcript
Alright, let's have an AA meeting.
My name is Chris Warrick. I'm a Grateful Recovered Alcoholic.
Welcome to the Monday Night Blue Chip Speakers meeting at the Nava Club,
where a member of Alcoholics Anonymous with one year or more of...
My name is Chris Warrick. I'm a Grateful Recovered Alcoholic.
Welcome to the Monday Night Blue Chip Speakers meeting at the Nava Club,
where a member of Alcoholics Anonymous with one year or more of...
Alright, let's have an AA meeting.
My name is Chris Warrick. I'm a Grateful Recovered Alcoholic.
Welcome to the Monday Night Blue Chip Speakers meeting at the Nava Club,
where a member of Alcoholics Anonymous with one year or more of sobriety tells his or her story.
This reading is based on a passage from page 29 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Each individual in our personal story describes in their own language and from their own point of view
the way they establish their relationship with God.
These give a fair cross-section of our membership and a clear-cut idea of what has happened in their lives.
We hope no one will consider these self-revealing accounts in bad taste.
Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women in our room tonight and listening later on aabloochipspeakers.org
desperately in need will hear our speaker, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems
that any of us shall be persuaded to say,
Yes, I am one of them, too.
I must have this thing.
So, I also get the honor of introducing our speaker.
She came, Tinsley played a show here at the Variety, and she came with us and came out to have dinner with us,
and we had a really good time.
I went down to the front to go down there and boogie and shake my ass, take my butt a little bit,
and out there dancing, I feel these hands come behind me and wrap around me, and I was like,
Ooh, who's that?
I turn around, it's Priscilla!
Man, we dance.
We dance for like two or three songs.
It was fantastic.
We had the best time.
But I met her over at Clark's, really not all that long ago, probably about six months ago,
and within ten minutes of meeting her, I said,
Will you marry me?
And she said, Well, of course, darling, but I've got to do something first.
And this is why I know we're going to have a good speaker tonight.
She said, I've got to talk to my sponsor first.
So, with that, I will give you Priscilla, and I, whatever, Priscilla, there she is.
Quite an introduction.
Let me get this started, because Tim said 40 minutes,
so I want to make sure I follow the rules.
Yeah, we started three minutes late, but I don't want to go over.
I'm sort of glad to be here.
Shannon, you survived.
Thank you for that colorful reading of how it works.
I enjoyed it.
My name is Priscilla, and I definitely am an alcoholic.
My sobriety date is March 3rd, 1981,
and I'm a member of the Peachtree Parkway group,
in Norcross, and I've been a member ever since.
There was seven of us that founded that group.
I don't even know how many years ago it was.
But anyway, I've been around AA all of my life.
My mother, on October 3rd, would have had 60 years in this program,
and she died 24 years ago, 23 years ago, with 37 years in the program.
And so I knew about AA, and I still had to walk the path that I had to walk.
I was very blessed at the age of 13 that my mother, very wise, knew I needed help,
because I already had some alcoholic tendencies, my character defects and everything,
and she drove me over to the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She moved to St. Teresa Catholic Church, because she heard they were going,
Al-Anon was going to start an allotine group.
So I went to the very first allotine group in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 13,
and that, I didn't want to go, I was crying in the car,
please don't make me go, please, please, please, you know.
And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Because I was a late 60s, early 70s child.
And it kept me off drugs.
And that was a big deal, drugs and drinking.
And I didn't have my first drink until I was 18.
My brother, my older brother, gave me a beer.
And it was the first time I've ever had a drink.
And I really didn't see what the attraction was.
And at that time, I hadn't crossed that invisible line into alcoholism.
I could take it or leave it.
And I did things that, you know, late teenagers, early 20s did.
I partied a lot, went to a lot of dances, went to nightclubs, had a blast.
Sometimes drank one drink all night long.
And...
And it was okay.
And met a guy, met him through my mother.
He didn't have a lot of time in the program.
I think he had less than 30 or 60 days.
I should have known better.
But my heart pounded when I saw him.
And my heart soared.
And he was such a good-looking guy.
And I do not suggest anybody do this.
I met him in April.
We married in August.
And he stayed sober until that Thanksgiving.
And then he had to go out on a tear.
And he finally sobered up in February.
But...
I was not drinking alcoholically even then.
We went to a lot of AA.
He was involved in the Young People's in AA.
And I can tell you how long ago this was.
He was the registration chairman of the 18th International Conference of Young People in AA.
And I think they're celebrating like 40 or whatever.
He would have had 43 years in February.
But we just hung around with all the young people.
And I didn't find it necessary to start drinking alcoholically.
So you're not going to hear a lot of drunk-a-log from me.
Because I've been around AA all my life.
Well, my husband got an opportunity to go to Lexington, Kentucky with a really good job.
And...
I'm from Memphis, Tennessee.
And I've never lived anywhere but Memphis.
And we moved to Lexington, Kentucky.
And it floored me.
I have never been more lonely.
And out of my comfort zone.
And no family.
No friends.
And trying to get established in AA up there.
And I got a job at a laboratory as an assistant purchasing manager.
And I had always played women's softball.
I called for several years.
And so I joined the women's softball team.
And after every game, we went out for pizza and beer.
Now, at that time, my husband...
What did you have?
Three or four years of sobriety.
And it was okay.
He didn't participate.
He was the coach.
But somewhere after being in Lexington, Kentucky...
Four or five months, I became a daily drinker.
And from a daily drinker, I became...
I had to drink.
I couldn't wait to get home from work and start tying it on.
Well, we were in Lexington 18 months.
And we moved here in March of 1978.
And when we moved here in March of 1978, I was a full-blown alcoholic.
I had to drink every day.
I couldn't survive without drinking.
And...
My husband just called.
I'm sorry, but...
Usually, men do not tolerate women that drink.
That's the reason why you have such a high divorce rate of women in the program and not men.
Us women hang in with you guys.
You're sorry asses sometimes.
Excuse my language.
I was supposed to cuss.
I'm sorry.
Anyway.
But men do not hang in with a woman drunk.
But he was trying to practice his program.
And I'm drinking.
And we move here.
And where does a good practicing alcoholic go to work?
Peachtree Hospital.
As assistant purchasing agent at Peachtree Hospital.
And...
Love the A&D unit.
Because I would go over there every morning.
So hungover.
And Joe...
The nurse.
Joe Crosby, the nurse over there.
She would give me some vitamins and some aspirin to...
Tide me over where I get my day going.
And where I could go out at lunch and get a drink.
And steady my nerves.
And I didn't know how to drive down 285 without drinking.
How do you drive in rush hour traffic without drinking?
You've got to stop and get some beers to tide you over.
Until you can get home and get the real stuff.
I love bourbon over ice.
And...
I messed up big time.
Um...
I had decided...
That in 1981...
After all of this drinking...
And it was taking a toll on me physically, mentally.
And there was no spiritual part of me.
I didn't have anything spiritual.
I gave up on God a long time before that.
And...
I made a mistake of stealing from Peachford.
And they did not like that.
Not only did they fire me.
They had me arrested.
Can you imagine my total alcoholic soul?
And then they took me down to DeKalb County Jail.
And it's not that big beautiful high rise they got up there now.
That was a...
They had like a castle.
A stone castle.
And it was filthy.
And it was dirty.
And I had never even gotten a ticket in my entire life.
I was a good girl.
And here I was in DeKalb County Jail.
And...
My husband came up there and he tried to post bail.
Well, God was trying to get me ready.
Do you know that those...
DeKalb County recognized at that time five bail bondsmen.
And that was it.
They only accepted bail from those five companies.
And nobody would post bail for me.
God was getting me ready.
The matrons couldn't believe that I was still there.
And they had to take me upstairs.
And that was an eye-opening experience.
I got put in a cell that was designed for 25 women.
And there was about 45 of us.
They gave me a mat.
And I got to sleep under the picnic tables.
And that first night, there was a lot of he-in and she-in going on.
And there was nothing but women up there.
Scared the holy crap out of me.
I'd never experienced anything like that.
So...
Now, I'd given up drinking on Wednesday.
I got arrested on Thursday.
And Friday, still couldn't make bail.
And I called my mother.
And she was director of a women's halfway house over in Mississippi.
And was good friends with the lieutenant governor.
And he wired over $250,000 for my bail.
DeKalb County sent it back.
It wasn't the five bail.
It was the five bail.
It was the five bail.
They sent it back.
And I'm calling Mother Collect long distance.
She says, all right, let's cut you the chase.
What did you really do?
We just got $250,000 back.
And they're not going to accept it.
What did you really do?
She didn't believe what I was telling her.
And I says, oh, mama, I promise you, I only did this.
And so, anyway, Saturday morning, late Saturday morning,
after I'd been arrested
on Thursday afternoon
my husband again
asking the bells
bondsman
please bond out my wife
and one of them says sure
hey
I was ready
I had slept under that table
for two nights
and been around there for two days
I was dirty
I stunk
scared to even go to the bathroom
and still wearing
the same clothes that I wore
on Thursday
and got out
got in the car and my husband says
please the first thing you do
go shower
so
I did and that was on Saturday
and on Sunday we usually
went to
and it's no longer in existence
Parkway Hospital
down in Decatur
and
we went to
I think it was a 6 o'clock
family anonymous meeting
and then everybody went down to the
cafeteria and we had
dinner and then we had a speaker meeting
at 8 o'clock
and so my husband asked me
if I wanted to go and I said
I don't want anything to do with AA
and
he said
well I'm going to go on
our next door neighbors were in the program
she was an alcoholic and he was an Al-Anon
so he rode with them
and I laid there for about
an hour
got up and
decided
what the hell I'll go
so I'm looking for my car keys
I got dressed and was looking for my car keys
well I drove a Buick
sedan
very conservative
my husband drove
a Chevrolet
Caprice
that had
is it called glass packs
and when you turned it on
it went
I hated that car
could not find my car keys
but there said his keys
and he didn't have my car keys
on it
so I'm driving
in Decatur
trying to find this hospital
didn't know where it was
and I had to stop
at the Cab County police officer
and ask him
where it was and I was just like two blocks from it
so I went to the meeting
and poor boy Rice was speaking
and
sitting there
and they asked
they started giving out the chips
and
I had no intention of picking up a chip
but God decided that I was ready
so
Harold said
something to my husband
and when he leaned over
to reply to Harold
his knee hit my leg
and they said
does anybody want a white chip
and I popped up
and I said I do
I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack
because he had seven years in the program
at that time
and here I was finally
I guess going to get sober
so I went to
Avondale Estates on that Monday
and I said I'm going to get sober
and I said I'm going to get sober
and talked to the women over there
and I says
how do you do it
how do you stay sober
and they said don't drink
go to meetings
get a sponsor
and I went yeah I know
but how do you stay sober
don't drink
and then on Tuesday
we went to Clarkson
which was my home group
and it averaged anywhere around
100-150 people
back then
in 1981
and it was a big huge group
and a lot of the women
with you know
five or ten years more than me
they were so gracious
and kind
to put their hand out
and love me when I couldn't love myself
and they said
come back
and
at Clarkson
I got a secret password
how to stay sober
they told me
it was about damn time
don't drink
go to meetings
and get a sponsor
they added get a sponsor
that was the secret password
get a sponsor
so I picked out a lady
and I started on the path of
hopefully sobriety
I picked up that one white chip
I have not picked up another since
thank God
because I don't think I'd ever make it back
because I'm such a dishonest person to myself
and I started
working the steps
talking to the women in the program
and at that time
at Clarkson
it was one little
room that's about a fourth of this size
and we would
we would do all the readings
and then we would take all the chairs
and make circles
and it would be about
ten or eleven of us in a circle
and right over here was another
set of circles
and you know at first
I could hear everything that was going on
in all the circles
but then I started hearing
just what was going on in my circle
listening
and because I wanted sobriety
they talked about
I was a dying person
physically I was all beat up
emotionally and mentally
I hated myself
I loathed myself
I had no self respect
I drank myself
up
and I
had given up on God
because he would never help me
when I was drinking
he just let me stay in my mess
and I could tell you
how I prayed on Thursday and Friday
to get out of jail
and he just nothing
he left me there
so I really didn't trust
in this God
and my sweet sponsor
told me
that in the mornings when I woke up
that she wanted me
to ask God
for help
to stay sober
and she wanted me at night
to thank him
and I went
yeah
I'm in control
not this God
and she said
well how's that been going for you
look where you are
look at the mess you're in
and I went
okay
okay
okay
okay
okay
if I have to
and she says
you have to
so in the morning
when I wake up
I went
yeah God
if you're up there
yeah
if you're really watching over me
help me not pick up a drink today
yeah
amen
and then at night
I go
yeah
I know I kept myself sober
but thank you
for keeping me sober
now
I was
now
of course I wasn't arrogant
I was full of resentment
and anger
I came in
a very angry woman
my husband told me later
he said he would look across the room
he would look at me
and he'd go
why don't you just die bitch
you know
at that one time
we were really friends
and
but he was my biggest supporter
and biggest cheerleader
and he wanted me to stay sober
and he was trying to guide me
and my sponsor finally says
Gary do me a favor
stay out of Priscilla's program
he said
but I don't want her to mess up
I don't want her to drink
and I said
and she said
stay out of her program
so
he did
and one of the good things
I could say
that Family Anonymous
did for us on Sundays
at that five o'clock meeting
is I learned
from them
to give him
the right to be
who he was
and he learned
to give me
the right to be
who I am
and
we took a marriage
that was
had gotten to where
we were sleeping
in separate rooms
that we became friends again
and we started rebuilding
our marriage
and when he
he passed away
nine years ago
we had
37 years
of marriage
I'm sorry
but
I hung in there
and I clarked them
for the newcomers
there was two jobs
you could do
you could wash
ashtrays
after you helped
set up the chairs
and then you could
wash coffee cups
no coffee making
God knows
don't mess with me
don't mess with
an alcoholic's coffee
and then when they found out
I didn't drink coffee
which it was hard
for them to believe
I really was an alcoholic
that I drank hot tea
they didn't want me
anywhere near the coffee pot
so
I was the chair setter
upper
and I was the ashtray
setting all the ashtrays out
and at that time
we didn't use styrofoam
we used real coffee cups
and I got to wash coffee
well after a little bit
over two years ago
I was a coffee cup
we moved out
to Gwinnett County
and when we moved
to Gwinnett County
in 1983
there was
there was
Norcross Thirsty Nights
group
George Montgomery's
group
two nights a week
and a real scary
place
that I didn't really like
and it was called
the Gwinnett Room
and the reason why
I didn't like it
and it scared me
was there was a bunch
of good old boys
and they wore boots
and jeans
and they had their cigarettes
rolled up in their t-shirts
and they chewed tobacco
and they were real scary
they were just good old boys
there was nothing scary about them
but they scared me
and I told my husband
I don't want to go to Gwinnett Room
so we would drive back
over to Clarkson
to go to meetings
and
we finally
got tired of that
and we heard about
a couple people
wanting to start a group
and it was
Peachtree Corners
so there was
four
four of us couples
four or five of us couples
when we started
Peachtree Corners
and it was on
Monday and Friday night
and
we would average
four or five
75 to 125 people
every Monday and Friday nights
and it was wonderful
and guess what I did
for service work
I washed ashtrays
and washed coffee cups
I mean coffee mugs
I was still doing service work
with four
four years of sobriety
and
then I started progressing up to
being second in the class
and then I started progressing up to
being second in the class
being secretary
then treasurer
GSR
grapevine rep
and
still wasn't allowed
to make coffee
because when that group heard
I didn't drink coffee
and they let me make it
one time
oh my god
if you had heard
the complaints
says
who made this week
this is like
you can see through it
well I was trying to make it
I was trying to be conservative
and not use a lot of coffee grounds
I didn't know
that was my one stint
of coffee making
because we had these great big urns
that made like 40 or 50 cups
I don't know what it was
but they were huge
and you had to get there
45 minutes
an hour to 45 minutes
to get the coffee going
because it took them a while to brew
but that's how I started
staying sober
one day at a time
don't drink
go to meetings
and unfortunately
after two and a half
almost three years this Friday
my sponsor passed away
and I didn't have a sponsor
for a while
probably about three or four months
of course I was looking
for the perfect sponsor
Anil had taken me
through the steps
and had given me
such wise
wonderful advice
to help me stay sober
and I met this lady
and immediately
I knew I would not like her
because she said
she was from New York City
well I'm prejudiced
I'm sorry
I have a prejudice
and I don't like Yankees
from New York City
so
she made
she said
I hear
and she heard this
from my husband
and she said
I hear
you don't have a sponsor
I think you ought to have me
as your sponsor
and I went
what?
it was the best thing
that ever happened to me
she's been my sponsor
for 30 years
and she's getting ready
to celebrate
this year
50 years in the program
she's a wonderful gal
and she's given me
great wisdom
and advice
to help me stay sober
one day at a time
but I just
you know
I started sponsoring ladies
I did the steps
several times
God
I thought
once I did them
why do you have to do
another four step
why do I have to do
another ninth
well guess what I discovered
it was people
I had left off
that I hadn't even thought about
that I had hurt
and I had to do
another ninth step
and thank God
for step 10
because I always
put my mouth
and
say the wrong thing
and I had to do another nine steps
and
I hate to make amends
I hate to tell somebody
I was wrong
and I'm sorry
but thank God
I've got the tenth step
but I've discovered
learning from my sponsor
that if you've got a situation
that you're perplexed
and it's really driving you bonkers
guess what you can do
you can do a fourth step on it
wow
a fourth and fifth step
on something that's bothering you
that you might drink over
or you have a resentment
so
I learned
to use the fourth step
for life situations
and you know what
when my husband died
nine years ago
what I did
AA saved my life
when I picked up
my first white chip
AA saved my life again
and I started going
to two meetings a week
one thing I looked at
was
it scared me
and I said
what if I don't have
any program
have I been riding
his coattails
you know
and I had to start
and I talked to my sponsor
and started
thinking about it
yes I've done the steps
several times
yes I've gone to meetings
yes I do service work
yes
I do have a program
and yes
I can stay sober
so what I did
to protect my sobriety
is
do two meetings
two meetings
a day
another thing
two weeks after
I lost my husband
I've got to say this
really nice
the witch
that I worked for
fired me
because she said
I was not performing
a hundred percent
and she wasn't going to
put up with this crime
so she fired me
and
she knew that my husband
only had that little
five thousand dollar
insurance policy
I had a mortgage
I had bills
I had a truck payment
I had a truck payment
you know
but you know what
I've never missed
a mortgage payment
I got that truck
paid off
and I paid my bills
and I went to meetings
and God led me
that whole time
and I didn't find it
necessary to pick up a drink
and I used this program
to support me
and lift me up
and then
two years ago
this really hurts
I lost three of my siblings
in three months
two unexpectedly
tried to kill me
when my sister died
and I told God
I can't do this
if I pick up a drink
then I don't have to
hurt
I don't have to hurt
and then God gave me
the second thought
and he said
I want you to call
somebody
and I did
I called another lady
in the program
and I didn't pick up a drink
but they liked to kill me
losing them
and I didn't pick up a drink
and then last March
I lost my
my poor sibling
he got a massive heart attack
wasn't expecting that
if I handled that one
a little bit better
but
you know
I went through my mother's
terminal illness with cancer
and her dying
losing jobs
and sobriety
and found it necessary
not to pick up that first drink
and then losing family members
and found it necessary
not to pick up that first drink
because you see
they say that there's three things
that will happen to you
if you drink
death
get arrested
or institutions
you know
and get arrested
death and institutions
well there's more than the
dirt now
if you take death
because when I was drinking
it was a living death
and I know
that if I drink again
it's going to be a living death
and I don't want to put that
alcohol in me
so
I do
everything possible
to
not pick up the first drink
and in the morning when I wake up
and there's no
yeah God
is going
God
thank you for watching over me
during the night
God
help me today
do your will
not mine
because see
if I don't do that
I'm such a control freak
I think that I can do it myself
so I need to start off my day
with saying
God let me do your will
not mine
and with every fiber of my being
God help me
not pick up that first drink
and I mean it
help me
not pick up that first drink
and tonight when I go to bed
I'll do it like I've been doing it
I will thank God for my sobriety
today and I thank him
for the simplest smallest things
that he does for me in my life
I don't know if I'll
thank him for this
I don't like giving AA talks
but
he watches over me
24-7
and he's with me
and I'm going to tell you
if you're new in the program
please stay until the miracle happens
because it will happen
and I have a peace
and serenity inside me
that I didn't even know existed
and it's because
God is in my life
and he's my constant companion
and him and I have conversations
going down the road
or
like today I was working
in the yard
and doing things
and I started talking to him about something
that was bothering me
and asking his help
so don't stop
and go back out and drink
and you don't get to experience the miracle
because it's there
it's waiting for you
but you gotta
you gotta do the action
you gotta do the work
you gotta do the steps
I'm sorry
it's just
I don't know of anybody
that's had
happy
joyous
free sobriety
that didn't work the steps
you just can't do step 1
and step 12
because in between
there's a whole bunch of other stuff
and
you might survive a little while on it
you might even go a couple of years on it
you know
but you're not happy
and inside you're
there's a
annoying loneliness
or anger
you're quick to anger
you're quick to get mad
you know
it could be somebody
just does something stupid
in the grocery store
and you're pissed
you know
that's the way I was
when I first came in
people pissed me off
didn't they know who I was
and what I was trying to do
for God's sakes
I was trying to get sober
and alcoholics anonymous
get out of my way
so
I was such a delightful person
you can understand my husband
saying what he said
across the room
about me to die
can you imagine living with somebody like that
oh God
God bless us so
thank God we became friends
and we were best of buddies
and we laughed all the time
and we
we did
we did
if you get a chance to go to conferences
I'm not going to say
conferences and roundups
are the dessert of this program
your AA meetings
is the meat and potatoes
but conferences and roundups
and we have traveled
all over the southeast
and we've gone to
international conferences
and we've traveled
to Pennsylvania
and
it's incredible
all the people that I have met
over the years
and
we're all here now
we're all family
and
you know
it's just
I need the dessert
and unfortunately
since my husband passed away
financially I wasn't able to go to conferences
for a lot of years
because I was just busy surviving
to pay the bills
so I couldn't afford to go to AA conferences
but
I'm back now
trying to make some conferences
and I'm looking forward
to the preseason
since you know
to begin talking to your friends
and I'm not telling people
that you don't know
or don't know
yesterday
but from now on
don't ask questions
cook
and
get some –
I will
Dave
you were a first party
MC
that was really fun
time
I had a doctor
had my pastor
my first been
I ring back
and he said
if you wanna come over
yesterday
I'm looking forward to it
today
see you on Monday
Sunday
Sunday
Saturday
used to say when i remember when she picked up her 35 year chip and they said how did you do it
she says well let me think i didn't drink and i didn't die
and when i picked up my 36 year chip this month i didn't drink and i didn't die and i'm going to
tell you right now that i have got happy sobriety and i'm grateful to be sober today and a member of
good standing and alcoholics anonymous i'm grateful i have my fiancee sitting out there in the audience
jim said i don't know how sad i am for you
you'll have to figure it out
it was sort of a consensus but anyway
to see you can have fun like this in this program you can laugh and chris and i were talking earlier
this afternoon we were talking and i was laughing at myself something i said to him
and i says you know what if you don't laugh at yourself it's pretty sad so i try to laugh at
myself and i try to laugh every day so i sort of thank you tim for asking me i've gone let's see
let me see what my timer says
here i've got two minutes and 40 seconds but i'm not going to bore you by saying things over and
over again but i'm glad you're here i'm glad to see so many young people in here hang in there
there is a lot of fun to have in sobriety i have fun that you wouldn't believe i've been going over
to tj's sports bar and grill for the last 18 years my husband was raised in green bay so you know i'm
a fan sorry sorry but my best friend jack brusco is a pittsburgh sealer and i cheer for pittsburgh
but it's um go to baseball games go you know i'm at tj's i'm there for a reason to cheer my packers
on that's the reason why i'm in a sports bar but i don't have a problem going to a nightclub to
watch an act
problem thank you for your wonderful show that i got to experience and chris was so kind to sort
of take me under his wing um i was so afraid seriously because i was out of my comfort zone
doing that and i haven't danced in over nine years and i got i told him it took everything
i could do to get out of my seat and go down there and dance to your music you know so i i
thank you for that because i had a wonderful time that night and you your music touches my soul
so thank all of you for being here and hang in there and i'll give you the secret password
don't drink go to meetings and talk to your sponsor and other people in the program
and my husband used to say this every time he shared in the meeting i love all of you as not a
damn thing you can do about it so god bless all of you and thank you for being patient to listen to
me thank you that was excellent that was excellent uh a good story always finishes on time a great
story always finishes a couple minutes early so thank you for a great story that was great how
about another round of applause that was awesome
oh boy rice i haven't heard that name in a long time is it chip tom mickey why don't you come up
do a chip all right my name is mickey i'm an alcoholic and uh at naba and hey hey in general
we have a chip system so you denote your time in sobriety white chip is a chip of surrender
if you'd like to take a white chip quit drinking one day at a time come on up
all right thank you one and all for joining us
joining the blue chip speakers being
if the river keep rising
water gonna overflow
losing
water will borg
just released
automatic
busy
water
simple
water
water
The bank's gonna hold me up
Everything's gonna fall
The bank's gonna hold me up
Everything's gonna fall
You know I can't quit you
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
My name is Chris Warrick. I'm a Grateful Recovered Alcoholic.
Welcome to the Monday Night Blue Chip Speakers meeting at the Nava Club,
where a member of Alcoholics Anonymous with one year or more of sobriety tells his or her story.
This reading is based on a passage from page 29 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Each individual in our personal story describes in their own language and from their own point of view
the way they establish their relationship with God.
These give a fair cross-section of our membership and a clear-cut idea of what has happened in their lives.
We hope no one will consider these self-revealing accounts in bad taste.
Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women in our room tonight and listening later on aabloochipspeakers.org
desperately in need will hear our speaker, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems
that any of us shall be persuaded to say,
Yes, I am one of them, too.
I must have this thing.
So, I also get the honor of introducing our speaker.
She came, Tinsley played a show here at the Variety, and she came with us and came out to have dinner with us,
and we had a really good time.
I went down to the front to go down there and boogie and shake my ass, take my butt a little bit,
and out there dancing, I feel these hands come behind me and wrap around me, and I was like,
Ooh, who's that?
I turn around, it's Priscilla!
Man, we dance.
We dance for like two or three songs.
It was fantastic.
We had the best time.
But I met her over at Clark's, really not all that long ago, probably about six months ago,
and within ten minutes of meeting her, I said,
Will you marry me?
And she said, Well, of course, darling, but I've got to do something first.
And this is why I know we're going to have a good speaker tonight.
She said, I've got to talk to my sponsor first.
So, with that, I will give you Priscilla, and I, whatever, Priscilla, there she is.
Quite an introduction.
Let me get this started, because Tim said 40 minutes,
so I want to make sure I follow the rules.
Yeah, we started three minutes late, but I don't want to go over.
I'm sort of glad to be here.
Shannon, you survived.
Thank you for that colorful reading of how it works.
I enjoyed it.
My name is Priscilla, and I definitely am an alcoholic.
My sobriety date is March 3rd, 1981,
and I'm a member of the Peachtree Parkway group,
in Norcross, and I've been a member ever since.
There was seven of us that founded that group.
I don't even know how many years ago it was.
But anyway, I've been around AA all of my life.
My mother, on October 3rd, would have had 60 years in this program,
and she died 24 years ago, 23 years ago, with 37 years in the program.
And so I knew about AA, and I still had to walk the path that I had to walk.
I was very blessed at the age of 13 that my mother, very wise, knew I needed help,
because I already had some alcoholic tendencies, my character defects and everything,
and she drove me over to the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She was in the VA.
She moved to St. Teresa Catholic Church, because she heard they were going,
Al-Anon was going to start an allotine group.
So I went to the very first allotine group in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of 13,
and that, I didn't want to go, I was crying in the car,
please don't make me go, please, please, please, you know.
And it was the best thing that ever happened to me.
Because I was a late 60s, early 70s child.
And it kept me off drugs.
And that was a big deal, drugs and drinking.
And I didn't have my first drink until I was 18.
My brother, my older brother, gave me a beer.
And it was the first time I've ever had a drink.
And I really didn't see what the attraction was.
And at that time, I hadn't crossed that invisible line into alcoholism.
I could take it or leave it.
And I did things that, you know, late teenagers, early 20s did.
I partied a lot, went to a lot of dances, went to nightclubs, had a blast.
Sometimes drank one drink all night long.
And...
And it was okay.
And met a guy, met him through my mother.
He didn't have a lot of time in the program.
I think he had less than 30 or 60 days.
I should have known better.
But my heart pounded when I saw him.
And my heart soared.
And he was such a good-looking guy.
And I do not suggest anybody do this.
I met him in April.
We married in August.
And he stayed sober until that Thanksgiving.
And then he had to go out on a tear.
And he finally sobered up in February.
But...
I was not drinking alcoholically even then.
We went to a lot of AA.
He was involved in the Young People's in AA.
And I can tell you how long ago this was.
He was the registration chairman of the 18th International Conference of Young People in AA.
And I think they're celebrating like 40 or whatever.
He would have had 43 years in February.
But we just hung around with all the young people.
And I didn't find it necessary to start drinking alcoholically.
So you're not going to hear a lot of drunk-a-log from me.
Because I've been around AA all my life.
Well, my husband got an opportunity to go to Lexington, Kentucky with a really good job.
And...
I'm from Memphis, Tennessee.
And I've never lived anywhere but Memphis.
And we moved to Lexington, Kentucky.
And it floored me.
I have never been more lonely.
And out of my comfort zone.
And no family.
No friends.
And trying to get established in AA up there.
And I got a job at a laboratory as an assistant purchasing manager.
And I had always played women's softball.
I called for several years.
And so I joined the women's softball team.
And after every game, we went out for pizza and beer.
Now, at that time, my husband...
What did you have?
Three or four years of sobriety.
And it was okay.
He didn't participate.
He was the coach.
But somewhere after being in Lexington, Kentucky...
Four or five months, I became a daily drinker.
And from a daily drinker, I became...
I had to drink.
I couldn't wait to get home from work and start tying it on.
Well, we were in Lexington 18 months.
And we moved here in March of 1978.
And when we moved here in March of 1978, I was a full-blown alcoholic.
I had to drink every day.
I couldn't survive without drinking.
And...
My husband just called.
I'm sorry, but...
Usually, men do not tolerate women that drink.
That's the reason why you have such a high divorce rate of women in the program and not men.
Us women hang in with you guys.
You're sorry asses sometimes.
Excuse my language.
I was supposed to cuss.
I'm sorry.
Anyway.
But men do not hang in with a woman drunk.
But he was trying to practice his program.
And I'm drinking.
And we move here.
And where does a good practicing alcoholic go to work?
Peachtree Hospital.
As assistant purchasing agent at Peachtree Hospital.
And...
Love the A&D unit.
Because I would go over there every morning.
So hungover.
And Joe...
The nurse.
Joe Crosby, the nurse over there.
She would give me some vitamins and some aspirin to...
Tide me over where I get my day going.
And where I could go out at lunch and get a drink.
And steady my nerves.
And I didn't know how to drive down 285 without drinking.
How do you drive in rush hour traffic without drinking?
You've got to stop and get some beers to tide you over.
Until you can get home and get the real stuff.
I love bourbon over ice.
And...
I messed up big time.
Um...
I had decided...
That in 1981...
After all of this drinking...
And it was taking a toll on me physically, mentally.
And there was no spiritual part of me.
I didn't have anything spiritual.
I gave up on God a long time before that.
And...
I made a mistake of stealing from Peachford.
And they did not like that.
Not only did they fire me.
They had me arrested.
Can you imagine my total alcoholic soul?
And then they took me down to DeKalb County Jail.
And it's not that big beautiful high rise they got up there now.
That was a...
They had like a castle.
A stone castle.
And it was filthy.
And it was dirty.
And I had never even gotten a ticket in my entire life.
I was a good girl.
And here I was in DeKalb County Jail.
And...
My husband came up there and he tried to post bail.
Well, God was trying to get me ready.
Do you know that those...
DeKalb County recognized at that time five bail bondsmen.
And that was it.
They only accepted bail from those five companies.
And nobody would post bail for me.
God was getting me ready.
The matrons couldn't believe that I was still there.
And they had to take me upstairs.
And that was an eye-opening experience.
I got put in a cell that was designed for 25 women.
And there was about 45 of us.
They gave me a mat.
And I got to sleep under the picnic tables.
And that first night, there was a lot of he-in and she-in going on.
And there was nothing but women up there.
Scared the holy crap out of me.
I'd never experienced anything like that.
So...
Now, I'd given up drinking on Wednesday.
I got arrested on Thursday.
And Friday, still couldn't make bail.
And I called my mother.
And she was director of a women's halfway house over in Mississippi.
And was good friends with the lieutenant governor.
And he wired over $250,000 for my bail.
DeKalb County sent it back.
It wasn't the five bail.
It was the five bail.
It was the five bail.
They sent it back.
And I'm calling Mother Collect long distance.
She says, all right, let's cut you the chase.
What did you really do?
We just got $250,000 back.
And they're not going to accept it.
What did you really do?
She didn't believe what I was telling her.
And I says, oh, mama, I promise you, I only did this.
And so, anyway, Saturday morning, late Saturday morning,
after I'd been arrested
on Thursday afternoon
my husband again
asking the bells
bondsman
please bond out my wife
and one of them says sure
hey
I was ready
I had slept under that table
for two nights
and been around there for two days
I was dirty
I stunk
scared to even go to the bathroom
and still wearing
the same clothes that I wore
on Thursday
and got out
got in the car and my husband says
please the first thing you do
go shower
so
I did and that was on Saturday
and on Sunday we usually
went to
and it's no longer in existence
Parkway Hospital
down in Decatur
and
we went to
I think it was a 6 o'clock
family anonymous meeting
and then everybody went down to the
cafeteria and we had
dinner and then we had a speaker meeting
at 8 o'clock
and so my husband asked me
if I wanted to go and I said
I don't want anything to do with AA
and
he said
well I'm going to go on
our next door neighbors were in the program
she was an alcoholic and he was an Al-Anon
so he rode with them
and I laid there for about
an hour
got up and
decided
what the hell I'll go
so I'm looking for my car keys
I got dressed and was looking for my car keys
well I drove a Buick
sedan
very conservative
my husband drove
a Chevrolet
Caprice
that had
is it called glass packs
and when you turned it on
it went
I hated that car
could not find my car keys
but there said his keys
and he didn't have my car keys
on it
so I'm driving
in Decatur
trying to find this hospital
didn't know where it was
and I had to stop
at the Cab County police officer
and ask him
where it was and I was just like two blocks from it
so I went to the meeting
and poor boy Rice was speaking
and
sitting there
and they asked
they started giving out the chips
and
I had no intention of picking up a chip
but God decided that I was ready
so
Harold said
something to my husband
and when he leaned over
to reply to Harold
his knee hit my leg
and they said
does anybody want a white chip
and I popped up
and I said I do
I thought my husband was going to have a heart attack
because he had seven years in the program
at that time
and here I was finally
I guess going to get sober
so I went to
Avondale Estates on that Monday
and I said I'm going to get sober
and I said I'm going to get sober
and talked to the women over there
and I says
how do you do it
how do you stay sober
and they said don't drink
go to meetings
get a sponsor
and I went yeah I know
but how do you stay sober
don't drink
and then on Tuesday
we went to Clarkson
which was my home group
and it averaged anywhere around
100-150 people
back then
in 1981
and it was a big huge group
and a lot of the women
with you know
five or ten years more than me
they were so gracious
and kind
to put their hand out
and love me when I couldn't love myself
and they said
come back
and
at Clarkson
I got a secret password
how to stay sober
they told me
it was about damn time
don't drink
go to meetings
and get a sponsor
they added get a sponsor
that was the secret password
get a sponsor
so I picked out a lady
and I started on the path of
hopefully sobriety
I picked up that one white chip
I have not picked up another since
thank God
because I don't think I'd ever make it back
because I'm such a dishonest person to myself
and I started
working the steps
talking to the women in the program
and at that time
at Clarkson
it was one little
room that's about a fourth of this size
and we would
we would do all the readings
and then we would take all the chairs
and make circles
and it would be about
ten or eleven of us in a circle
and right over here was another
set of circles
and you know at first
I could hear everything that was going on
in all the circles
but then I started hearing
just what was going on in my circle
listening
and because I wanted sobriety
they talked about
I was a dying person
physically I was all beat up
emotionally and mentally
I hated myself
I loathed myself
I had no self respect
I drank myself
up
and I
had given up on God
because he would never help me
when I was drinking
he just let me stay in my mess
and I could tell you
how I prayed on Thursday and Friday
to get out of jail
and he just nothing
he left me there
so I really didn't trust
in this God
and my sweet sponsor
told me
that in the mornings when I woke up
that she wanted me
to ask God
for help
to stay sober
and she wanted me at night
to thank him
and I went
yeah
I'm in control
not this God
and she said
well how's that been going for you
look where you are
look at the mess you're in
and I went
okay
okay
okay
okay
okay
if I have to
and she says
you have to
so in the morning
when I wake up
I went
yeah God
if you're up there
yeah
if you're really watching over me
help me not pick up a drink today
yeah
amen
and then at night
I go
yeah
I know I kept myself sober
but thank you
for keeping me sober
now
I was
now
of course I wasn't arrogant
I was full of resentment
and anger
I came in
a very angry woman
my husband told me later
he said he would look across the room
he would look at me
and he'd go
why don't you just die bitch
you know
at that one time
we were really friends
and
but he was my biggest supporter
and biggest cheerleader
and he wanted me to stay sober
and he was trying to guide me
and my sponsor finally says
Gary do me a favor
stay out of Priscilla's program
he said
but I don't want her to mess up
I don't want her to drink
and I said
and she said
stay out of her program
so
he did
and one of the good things
I could say
that Family Anonymous
did for us on Sundays
at that five o'clock meeting
is I learned
from them
to give him
the right to be
who he was
and he learned
to give me
the right to be
who I am
and
we took a marriage
that was
had gotten to where
we were sleeping
in separate rooms
that we became friends again
and we started rebuilding
our marriage
and when he
he passed away
nine years ago
we had
37 years
of marriage
I'm sorry
but
I hung in there
and I clarked them
for the newcomers
there was two jobs
you could do
you could wash
ashtrays
after you helped
set up the chairs
and then you could
wash coffee cups
no coffee making
God knows
don't mess with me
don't mess with
an alcoholic's coffee
and then when they found out
I didn't drink coffee
which it was hard
for them to believe
I really was an alcoholic
that I drank hot tea
they didn't want me
anywhere near the coffee pot
so
I was the chair setter
upper
and I was the ashtray
setting all the ashtrays out
and at that time
we didn't use styrofoam
we used real coffee cups
and I got to wash coffee
well after a little bit
over two years ago
I was a coffee cup
we moved out
to Gwinnett County
and when we moved
to Gwinnett County
in 1983
there was
there was
Norcross Thirsty Nights
group
George Montgomery's
group
two nights a week
and a real scary
place
that I didn't really like
and it was called
the Gwinnett Room
and the reason why
I didn't like it
and it scared me
was there was a bunch
of good old boys
and they wore boots
and jeans
and they had their cigarettes
rolled up in their t-shirts
and they chewed tobacco
and they were real scary
they were just good old boys
there was nothing scary about them
but they scared me
and I told my husband
I don't want to go to Gwinnett Room
so we would drive back
over to Clarkson
to go to meetings
and
we finally
got tired of that
and we heard about
a couple people
wanting to start a group
and it was
Peachtree Corners
so there was
four
four of us couples
four or five of us couples
when we started
Peachtree Corners
and it was on
Monday and Friday night
and
we would average
four or five
75 to 125 people
every Monday and Friday nights
and it was wonderful
and guess what I did
for service work
I washed ashtrays
and washed coffee cups
I mean coffee mugs
I was still doing service work
with four
four years of sobriety
and
then I started progressing up to
being second in the class
and then I started progressing up to
being second in the class
being secretary
then treasurer
GSR
grapevine rep
and
still wasn't allowed
to make coffee
because when that group heard
I didn't drink coffee
and they let me make it
one time
oh my god
if you had heard
the complaints
says
who made this week
this is like
you can see through it
well I was trying to make it
I was trying to be conservative
and not use a lot of coffee grounds
I didn't know
that was my one stint
of coffee making
because we had these great big urns
that made like 40 or 50 cups
I don't know what it was
but they were huge
and you had to get there
45 minutes
an hour to 45 minutes
to get the coffee going
because it took them a while to brew
but that's how I started
staying sober
one day at a time
don't drink
go to meetings
and unfortunately
after two and a half
almost three years this Friday
my sponsor passed away
and I didn't have a sponsor
for a while
probably about three or four months
of course I was looking
for the perfect sponsor
Anil had taken me
through the steps
and had given me
such wise
wonderful advice
to help me stay sober
and I met this lady
and immediately
I knew I would not like her
because she said
she was from New York City
well I'm prejudiced
I'm sorry
I have a prejudice
and I don't like Yankees
from New York City
so
she made
she said
I hear
and she heard this
from my husband
and she said
I hear
you don't have a sponsor
I think you ought to have me
as your sponsor
and I went
what?
it was the best thing
that ever happened to me
she's been my sponsor
for 30 years
and she's getting ready
to celebrate
this year
50 years in the program
she's a wonderful gal
and she's given me
great wisdom
and advice
to help me stay sober
one day at a time
but I just
you know
I started sponsoring ladies
I did the steps
several times
God
I thought
once I did them
why do you have to do
another four step
why do I have to do
another ninth
well guess what I discovered
it was people
I had left off
that I hadn't even thought about
that I had hurt
and I had to do
another ninth step
and thank God
for step 10
because I always
put my mouth
and
say the wrong thing
and I had to do another nine steps
and
I hate to make amends
I hate to tell somebody
I was wrong
and I'm sorry
but thank God
I've got the tenth step
but I've discovered
learning from my sponsor
that if you've got a situation
that you're perplexed
and it's really driving you bonkers
guess what you can do
you can do a fourth step on it
wow
a fourth and fifth step
on something that's bothering you
that you might drink over
or you have a resentment
so
I learned
to use the fourth step
for life situations
and you know what
when my husband died
nine years ago
what I did
AA saved my life
when I picked up
my first white chip
AA saved my life again
and I started going
to two meetings a week
one thing I looked at
was
it scared me
and I said
what if I don't have
any program
have I been riding
his coattails
you know
and I had to start
and I talked to my sponsor
and started
thinking about it
yes I've done the steps
several times
yes I've gone to meetings
yes I do service work
yes
I do have a program
and yes
I can stay sober
so what I did
to protect my sobriety
is
do two meetings
two meetings
a day
another thing
two weeks after
I lost my husband
I've got to say this
really nice
the witch
that I worked for
fired me
because she said
I was not performing
a hundred percent
and she wasn't going to
put up with this crime
so she fired me
and
she knew that my husband
only had that little
five thousand dollar
insurance policy
I had a mortgage
I had bills
I had a truck payment
I had a truck payment
you know
but you know what
I've never missed
a mortgage payment
I got that truck
paid off
and I paid my bills
and I went to meetings
and God led me
that whole time
and I didn't find it
necessary to pick up a drink
and I used this program
to support me
and lift me up
and then
two years ago
this really hurts
I lost three of my siblings
in three months
two unexpectedly
tried to kill me
when my sister died
and I told God
I can't do this
if I pick up a drink
then I don't have to
hurt
I don't have to hurt
and then God gave me
the second thought
and he said
I want you to call
somebody
and I did
I called another lady
in the program
and I didn't pick up a drink
but they liked to kill me
losing them
and I didn't pick up a drink
and then last March
I lost my
my poor sibling
he got a massive heart attack
wasn't expecting that
if I handled that one
a little bit better
but
you know
I went through my mother's
terminal illness with cancer
and her dying
losing jobs
and sobriety
and found it necessary
not to pick up that first drink
and then losing family members
and found it necessary
not to pick up that first drink
because you see
they say that there's three things
that will happen to you
if you drink
death
get arrested
or institutions
you know
and get arrested
death and institutions
well there's more than the
dirt now
if you take death
because when I was drinking
it was a living death
and I know
that if I drink again
it's going to be a living death
and I don't want to put that
alcohol in me
so
I do
everything possible
to
not pick up the first drink
and in the morning when I wake up
and there's no
yeah God
is going
God
thank you for watching over me
during the night
God
help me today
do your will
not mine
because see
if I don't do that
I'm such a control freak
I think that I can do it myself
so I need to start off my day
with saying
God let me do your will
not mine
and with every fiber of my being
God help me
not pick up that first drink
and I mean it
help me
not pick up that first drink
and tonight when I go to bed
I'll do it like I've been doing it
I will thank God for my sobriety
today and I thank him
for the simplest smallest things
that he does for me in my life
I don't know if I'll
thank him for this
I don't like giving AA talks
but
he watches over me
24-7
and he's with me
and I'm going to tell you
if you're new in the program
please stay until the miracle happens
because it will happen
and I have a peace
and serenity inside me
that I didn't even know existed
and it's because
God is in my life
and he's my constant companion
and him and I have conversations
going down the road
or
like today I was working
in the yard
and doing things
and I started talking to him about something
that was bothering me
and asking his help
so don't stop
and go back out and drink
and you don't get to experience the miracle
because it's there
it's waiting for you
but you gotta
you gotta do the action
you gotta do the work
you gotta do the steps
I'm sorry
it's just
I don't know of anybody
that's had
happy
joyous
free sobriety
that didn't work the steps
you just can't do step 1
and step 12
because in between
there's a whole bunch of other stuff
and
you might survive a little while on it
you might even go a couple of years on it
you know
but you're not happy
and inside you're
there's a
annoying loneliness
or anger
you're quick to anger
you're quick to get mad
you know
it could be somebody
just does something stupid
in the grocery store
and you're pissed
you know
that's the way I was
when I first came in
people pissed me off
didn't they know who I was
and what I was trying to do
for God's sakes
I was trying to get sober
and alcoholics anonymous
get out of my way
so
I was such a delightful person
you can understand my husband
saying what he said
across the room
about me to die
can you imagine living with somebody like that
oh God
God bless us so
thank God we became friends
and we were best of buddies
and we laughed all the time
and we
we did
we did
if you get a chance to go to conferences
I'm not going to say
conferences and roundups
are the dessert of this program
your AA meetings
is the meat and potatoes
but conferences and roundups
and we have traveled
all over the southeast
and we've gone to
international conferences
and we've traveled
to Pennsylvania
and
it's incredible
all the people that I have met
over the years
and
we're all here now
we're all family
and
you know
it's just
I need the dessert
and unfortunately
since my husband passed away
financially I wasn't able to go to conferences
for a lot of years
because I was just busy surviving
to pay the bills
so I couldn't afford to go to AA conferences
but
I'm back now
trying to make some conferences
and I'm looking forward
to the preseason
since you know
to begin talking to your friends
and I'm not telling people
that you don't know
or don't know
yesterday
but from now on
don't ask questions
cook
and
get some –
I will
Dave
you were a first party
MC
that was really fun
time
I had a doctor
had my pastor
my first been
I ring back
and he said
if you wanna come over
yesterday
I'm looking forward to it
today
see you on Monday
Sunday
Sunday
Saturday
used to say when i remember when she picked up her 35 year chip and they said how did you do it
she says well let me think i didn't drink and i didn't die
and when i picked up my 36 year chip this month i didn't drink and i didn't die and i'm going to
tell you right now that i have got happy sobriety and i'm grateful to be sober today and a member of
good standing and alcoholics anonymous i'm grateful i have my fiancee sitting out there in the audience
jim said i don't know how sad i am for you
you'll have to figure it out
it was sort of a consensus but anyway
to see you can have fun like this in this program you can laugh and chris and i were talking earlier
this afternoon we were talking and i was laughing at myself something i said to him
and i says you know what if you don't laugh at yourself it's pretty sad so i try to laugh at
myself and i try to laugh every day so i sort of thank you tim for asking me i've gone let's see
let me see what my timer says
here i've got two minutes and 40 seconds but i'm not going to bore you by saying things over and
over again but i'm glad you're here i'm glad to see so many young people in here hang in there
there is a lot of fun to have in sobriety i have fun that you wouldn't believe i've been going over
to tj's sports bar and grill for the last 18 years my husband was raised in green bay so you know i'm
a fan sorry sorry but my best friend jack brusco is a pittsburgh sealer and i cheer for pittsburgh
but it's um go to baseball games go you know i'm at tj's i'm there for a reason to cheer my packers
on that's the reason why i'm in a sports bar but i don't have a problem going to a nightclub to
watch an act
problem thank you for your wonderful show that i got to experience and chris was so kind to sort
of take me under his wing um i was so afraid seriously because i was out of my comfort zone
doing that and i haven't danced in over nine years and i got i told him it took everything
i could do to get out of my seat and go down there and dance to your music you know so i i
thank you for that because i had a wonderful time that night and you your music touches my soul
so thank all of you for being here and hang in there and i'll give you the secret password
don't drink go to meetings and talk to your sponsor and other people in the program
and my husband used to say this every time he shared in the meeting i love all of you as not a
damn thing you can do about it so god bless all of you and thank you for being patient to listen to
me thank you that was excellent that was excellent uh a good story always finishes on time a great
story always finishes a couple minutes early so thank you for a great story that was great how
about another round of applause that was awesome
oh boy rice i haven't heard that name in a long time is it chip tom mickey why don't you come up
do a chip all right my name is mickey i'm an alcoholic and uh at naba and hey hey in general
we have a chip system so you denote your time in sobriety white chip is a chip of surrender
if you'd like to take a white chip quit drinking one day at a time come on up
all right thank you one and all for joining us
joining the blue chip speakers being
if the river keep rising
water gonna overflow
losing
water will borg
just released
automatic
busy
water
simple
water
water
The bank's gonna hold me up
Everything's gonna fall
The bank's gonna hold me up
Everything's gonna fall
You know I can't quit you
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
I can't stand back my heart
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