Step 1 and the Delusion That She Was Like Other People – Virginia T.

About This Speaker Tape

Florida State Convention - 2004

A ghetto bee with a low tolerance for BS Virginia T. describes a recovery path that began in 1966 with a total surrender to the fact that she had been licked. She recalls the rigid no-nonsense discipline of the old-timers who forced her to wash china cups clean the club and sit in the front row to keep her from hunting for 'Mr. Goodbar' in the back of the room. Between the fantasies of being a princess in Morocco and the reality of hiding liquor in toilet bowls she found a structure that demanded she be fearless and thorough. She speaks of a sponsor Quinn who ruled her with an iron thumb for 27 years teaching her that the demons were just bad habits cultivated over time. Now a seasoned alcoholic she maintains her sanity by keeping five books on her desk and returning to the tapes of the old-timers to keep from jumping off the cliff again.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Virginia T. discusses the foundation of the AA path and quotes the Big Book regarding the obsession of the abnormal drinker.
• 3:15 Laughter: Story about her sister's distaste for Coors beer.
• 5:20 Virginia T. describes the 'newcomer's drill' and the early days of washing china cups and cleaning the club.
• 7:40 Mention of the Higher Power: Virginia T. discusses the necessity of finding a Higher Power to remove the demons of habit.
• 9:10 Laughter: The 'old bitties' in the home group policing her skirts and her search for 'Mr. Goodbar'.
• 12:30 Virginia T. describes her 'board of directors' meetings with the escorts of death row: depression, bewilderment, and frustration.
• 15:40 Virginia T. discusses her 'assets and liabilities' and her low tolerance for BS.
• 18:10 Virginia T. describes her first meeting, arriving completely ossified and lost.
• 21:00 Story about her sponsor Quinn and the requirement to crawl across the bed to change habits.
• 24:30 Laughter: The matchbook phone number incident and the 'nosy old bitty' in the meeting.
• 27:10 Virginia T. emphasizes the importance of returning to the tapes and the Big Book for re-centering.
• 29:40 Closing: The Lord's Prayer and final reflections on the road of happy destiny.