He Was Born on Third Base and Thought He Hit a Triple – Jerry E.

About This Speaker Tape

24th Annual North Coast Roundup - 2006

A bank president who started at the top and worked his way down Jerry E. describes a life of chemical experimentation with bourbon Valium and Percocets that nearly landed him in a state asylum for the rest of his life. He recounts the moment of total surrender in a chapel where he realized he was a 'hopeless alcoholic' with a mind that didn't work right. After thirteen years of 'off-the-wall' sobriety he faced a crisis on the 32nd floor of a Denver hotel leading him to a conscious surrender and a deeper dive into the Big Book. He speaks of the shift from wanting to be 'good' to accepting the grace of a Higher Power moving from a business-deal approach to relationships to a life of giving without expectation. He emphasizes the necessity of a psychic change and the danger of the progressive nature of the disease even when dry.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Jerry E. opens with gratitude and mentions his sobriety date of January 17, 1977.
• 5:45 Discussion of the 'constant slippers' in small-town meetings and the nature of the progressive disease.
• 11:20 Jerry describes his 'chemical experimentation' with bourbon and pills, and the feeling that oblivion was the best option.
• 16:10 A story about the Governor's Club in Oklahoma City and the arrogance of thinking he had 'arrived'.
• 24:30 The meeting with the county attorney and doctor where it is decided he is a 'hopeless alcoholic' and should be committed to the state asylum.
• 31:15 Laughter: Story about smuggling vodka into a treatment center and the subsequent crash.
• 35:40 The moment of total surrender in the chapel and the 'gift of physical sobriety'.
• 42:10 Jerry discusses the difference between 'off-the-wall' steps and a true spiritual awakening.
• 48:50 The crisis on the 32nd floor of a Denver hotel and the concept of conscious surrender.
• 5:30 Mention of the Big Book and the necessity of a psychic change.
• 56:15 Discussion of Step 2 and the logical consequence of the existence of a Higher Power.
• 61:20 The 'Personal Bill of Rights' and the realization that alcoholics have no rights after the Third Step.