Not Saints. Just Drunks Who Do the Deal – Matt G.

About This Speaker Tape

This speaker shares from the tail end of his talk at the 1999 Florida State Convention in Daytona, focusing on how the program taught him to show up and serve others even when it is uncomfortable. He describes caring for his dying father at home when his siblings could not bear to do it, crediting his AA program and his wife's Al-Anon involvement for giving them the willingness to just do the deal whether they liked it or not.

He recounts a deeply emotional moment at his father's deathbed. After making amends years earlier, they had built a beautiful relationship. As his father lay dying, the speaker ran to the bed and asked him to tell Higher Power about their special nickname. His father, who had not opened his eyes in days, opened them one last time before passing. The speaker calls these moments spiritual experiences that come directly from working the program.

He also shares about his old-timer best friend who was dying and would ask the speaker to climb into the hospital bed so they could reminisce about years of service together, driving around the country to speak and attend meetings. The speaker emphasizes that these privileges of being present for others in their final moments mean more than any material possession.

He closes with a humorous story about getting his driver's license back in California despite being blind, and shares a 10th step inventory list that ends with the question: Am I the kind of person my dog thinks I am?

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Reflects on the meaning of a stranger asking him about prayer, contrasts spiritual growth with material wealth
• 1:00 Both parents died last year four months apart, describes caring for his dying father at home when siblings could not
• 2:30 Credits AA program and wife's Al-Anon for teaching them to show up and do the deal whether they like it or not
• 3:30 Deathbed scene with father, the nickname Shiny, father opens his eyes one last time
• 5:00 Old-timer best friend dying, asks speaker to climb in bed and talk about the good old days of service together
• 6:30 Prays he never gets so selfish he steps aside from service, calls these deaths spiritual experiences
• 7:30 Humorous story about California restoring his driver's license despite being blind
• 9:00 Shares a 10th step daily inventory list ending with Am I the kind of person my dog thinks I am
• 9:45 Closing remarks, thanks the audience