Jim H. Drifting Through Alabama Mountain Towns Until a Birmingham Flop House Ended the Run

About This Speaker Tape

Sowega Roundup - 1983

A filthy octagon-tiled hotel restroom in Birmingham becomes the site of a total surrender for Jim H. after years of floating 'phony' in the rooms. He recounts a childhood spent as an 'oddball' in a small Alabama mountain town feeling a deep spiritual misalignment that eventually led him to the bottle at fourteen. The wreckage includes a near-fatal car wreck in Mississippi and the haunting image of his young daughters' faces—filled with 'deathly fear'—as he pulled into the driveway in a smashed car. Jim describes the grueling process of getting sober the support of sponsors like George G. and Peggy P. and the realization that true wealth isn't found in a checkbook but in the love and fellowship of the rooms. He contrasts the stagnant Dead Sea with the Sea of Galilee arguing that the only way to survive in recovery is to give away everything one receives.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction and discussion of the 'love in' experience at the roundup.
• 2:30 Jim H. introduces himself and shares his sobriety date: December 8, 1955.
• 4:15 Laughter: Story about Whistlar W. and the 'necessary' drink.
• 8:20 Jim describes his childhood in Jackson County, Alabama, and feeling like an 'oddball'.
• 13:40 The 'pretty bottles' of whiskey and the decision to check into a hotel for a 'slip'.
• 17:10 The story of the car wreck in Mississippi and the fear in his daughters' eyes.
• 22:30 Surrender: Praying on the filthy floor of a hotel restroom.
• 26:10 The experience of being 'loved home' into the rooms and the welcome from the group.
• 31:00 The role of Peggy P. and the 'flat-nosed son of a bitch' comment.
• 35:40 The metaphor of the Sea of Galilee versus the Dead Sea.