He Thought He Had More Class Than a Common Alcoholic – Kip C.

About This Speaker Tape

1964, Haight-Ashbury. Kip C. arrived in the center of the psychedelic explosion with a bag of drugs and a lifelong habit of acting crazier than everyone else just to be left alone. He spent decades smuggling pot across the Mexican border and dodging 27 felonies, convinced he had more class than a common alcoholic. He lived in a world of high-stakes scams and mansions, but the wreckage followed him: a son run over by a truck while Kip was stoned on a bike, and a brother who blew his head off in a trailer.

For Kip, alcohol wasn't the problem; it was the solution that stopped the screaming in his brain. He drifted through flop houses and bamboo patches, panhandling for wine until he tried to put a bullet through his own heart. After surviving a hole in his chest and a brutal wake-up call from a former gangster, he finally stopped fighting his Higher Power. He traded the "desert of loneliness" for a sobriety date of May 12, 1984.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Kip C. introduces himself and his home group, the Vista Men's Hole in the Wall.
• 2:15 Childhood memories of his father's drinking and his mother's bravery in the face of domestic violence.
• 8:40 The first experience with marijuana and port wine at age 12, describing it as the first time he felt like a 'whole human being'.
• 15:20 The tragedy of September 6, 1976: Kip's son is run over by a truck while Kip was high.
• 21:10 The discovery of his brother's suicide and the subsequent descent into deep trauma and alcohol use.
• 28:45 Laughter: The story of waking up in Fort Lauderdale after drinking Mad Dog wine.
• 36:10 The encounter with Steve H. from Santa Monica, a former prostitute who hugs and kisses him in a meeting.
• 44:30 The failed suicide attempt and the subsequent hospital stay.
• 48:15 The confrontation with Charlie T., who exposes Kip's fear and tells him he isn't tough.
• 54:20 The spiritual awakening on May 12, 1984, and the realization of powerlessness (Step 1).
• 1:02:10 Working the steps with Charlie T. and the discipline of the early recovery process.
• 1:18:40 Reflections on the death of his son and the serenity found in total acceptance of a Higher Power's will.