Michael M. at the Saturday Night Flakey Group – 2025

About This Speaker Tape

Saturday Night Flakey Group - 2025

A residential school for blind children run by the 'Good Sisters of Perpetual Revenge' left Michael M. with a childhood vision of a Higher Power as a judge waiting to toss him into the bowels of hell. He chased a specific early feeling of normalcy and fearlessness through scotch and cocaine eventually becoming a 'loud mouth arrogant drunk' in the Jersey City bars holding court with a Zippo and Marlboros. After a near-death Monday morning call to Whitey M. he fought through a relapse and a disastrous 90-day marriage eventually finding a grounding spirituality through a sponsor who gives him haircuts and Bible study. He argues that many alcoholics stall out after Step Five and that the crushing of self-sufficiency and the rigorous work of Steps Six and Seven are the only ways to survive the long haul without returning to the bottle.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Childhood at the residential school for blind children and the 'Good Sisters of Perpetual Revenge'.
• 2:15 First drink and the lifelong chase for that specific feeling of normalcy.
• 3:30 Life as a 'loud mouth arrogant drunk' in the Jersey City bars.
• 5:10 Laughter: The 'blind man driving' test for sobriety.
• 6:40 The Monday morning call to Whitey M. and the first attempt at surrender.
• 8:15 Relapse after Christmas and the descent into cocaine and scotch in Hoboken.
• 10:20 The barbershop sponsorship with Matt and the importance of spirituality over 'half measures'.
• 12:00 Discussion of the 'gap' in sobriety years and the critical importance of Steps 6 and 7.
• 13:45 The 'Drop the Rock' philosophy and the need to attend meetings for 'thinking' rather than 'drinking'.
• 15:10 The shift in perception of his Higher Power from a judge to a loving presence.