He Decided to Remain an A**hole for His Neighborhood’s Sake – Sandy B. 😂

About This Speaker Tape

East Coast Convention - 1997

Sandy B. maps out the paradoxical nature of recovery where setbacks often serve as the only way to move forward. He recounts a devastating marriage collapse and the loss of his home describing how the program allows a person to exist in two places at once: enduring extreme grief while remaining profoundly grateful. Sandy B. dismantles the illusion of 'controlled drinking' and the 'middle step' of the chain reaction arguing that the only solution is the simple gritty act of not drinking. He uses the image of a .45 caliber pistol cocking behind his head to describe the fatal nature of the illness and the analogy of a child with a toothache to explain why some resist the 'full package' of spiritual growth because they fear the total overhaul of their lives.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Sandy B. opens with his sobriety date: Pearl Harbor Day, 1964.
• 4:15 Laughter: Story about the 'champion ashtray maker' in the Bethesda Naval Hospital nut ward.
• 7:30 Sandy B. discusses the collapse of his marriage and the loss of his house.
• 10:15 Description of the 'Technicolor' of the world fading to gray during a crisis.
• 14:45 Discussion on the 'problem with Higher Power' and the shift from 'Higher Power' to 'Higher Power' after seven years.
• 18:20 Analysis of the 'Chapter to the Agnostic' and the necessity of changing one's mind.
• 23:10 The analogy of the .45 caliber pistol as the fatal illness of alcoholism.
• 27:45 The 'toothache' analogy regarding the reluctance to accept the full spiritual package.
• 31:20 Closing thoughts on the power of 'one day well lived' to change the color of the past and future.