Don P. on Big Book Workshops, Sponsorship, and the Baffled Mind

About This Speaker Tape

22nd Maryland State Convention - 1992

Don P. traces a life of wreckage from a youth spent bouncing off the walls of East Colfax to a stint in a federal penitentiary in Tokyo at age 19. He describes a pattern of 'drinking his way out' of every job and marriage, eventually hitting a bottom of total uselessness on Christmas 1967. After a failed attempt to die, he was hand-carried into AA while incarcerated in the Colorado State Penitentiary. Don maps out the slow process of chipping away the 'block of stone' that wasn't him, moving from a sociopath certification to a man who can finally thank his son, Terry T., for the bravery he showed as a child. He emphasizes the necessity of a rigorous Big Book study and the miracle of becoming useful, moving from a life of lies to a reality where he can finally find his way home.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Don P. introduces himself and describes the 'basic' nature of his home group in Denver.
• 10:15 Story about the 'rite of passage' drinking bonded bourbon at 15 and the subsequent alcohol poisoning.
• 18:30 Details on his Navy service and the federal penitentiary in Tokyo at age 19.
• 28:45 The Christmas 1967 bottom: the 'pitiful' tree and the moment his mother refused to let him in the house.
• 36:10 The 'surrender process' and his failed attempt to end his life.
• 45:20 Entering the 12-step study school in the Colorado State Penitentiary; mentions the 'mean sponsor school'.
• 52:15 Discussion of the 'physical allergy' to alcohol and the nature of the disease.
• 1:02:00 Laughter: Don P. discusses his inability to do 'small talk' with his neighbor.
• 1:15:30 The 'green liqueur' incident and the realization that a single muscle twitch is the difference between life and death.
• 1:28:00 The process of the Fourth Step inventory and the '22 reasons' he hated a narcotics agent.
• 1:42:15 The story of the $2 bills and the lesson of anonymity.
• 1:55:00 The emotional reconciliation with his son, Terry T., and the metaphor of the sculptor's chisel.