Mickey M. at the Freedom Trail Convention – 2021

About This Speaker Tape

Freedom Trail Convention - 2021

A suspected heart attack at 26 and a childhood spent drinking since age five set the stage for Mickey M.'s arrival at the doors of 1311 York Street. He describes a brutal early sobriety in 1974 where talking about feelings was dismissed as 'psychobabble' and a 'tough love' group pushed him toward a 32-automatic pistol in his dresser. The turning point arrived through a gay Navy medic named George who walked him out of the valley and taught him that he wasn't a 'machine gun Mike' but a human being. After a terrifying relapse that left him lying on a floor of artificial grass with a knife Mickey found a second wind through a sponsor named Cookie. He maps the transition from a 'mummy' wrapped in ego bandages to a 'Higher Power-bearer,' eventually helping found the Fellowship of the Spirit conferences in the Colorado mountains.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Mickey M. opens with a geography lesson on Boston and his love for Louis L'Amour books.
• 2:15 Discussion of early drinking since age five and the suspected heart attack at 26.
• 5:40 The 'psychobabble' era: Mickey describes the abuse he suffered in a 'tough love' group and his suicidal ideation.
• 8:20 Introduction of George, the gay Navy medic sponsor, and the struggle with Mickey's identity.
• 11:30 Laughter: The 'half-eaten cheese sandwich' prayer and the realization that alcoholism is a disease.
• 15:10 A dark turning point: Mickey describes a relapse and lying on artificial grass with a knife.
• 18:45 The role of 'Cookie' as a temporary sponsor and the metaphor of the ego as a mummy's bandages.
• 22:10 Mickey discusses the 'fourth dimension' and his experience with the Hail Mary during airplane turbulence.
• 25:30 The founding of the Fellowship of the Spirit conferences in the Colorado mountains.
• 28:15 Closing thoughts on being a 'Higher Power-bearer' and his love for the people of the East Coast.