Step 12 and the 21-Day Crash Program – Gene D.

About This Speaker Tape

New York City, elementary school: a kid who never gets picked to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. Gene D. recalls that ego trip, comparing it to the "masochist" way some people read Chapter 5 in meetings—scratching their asses or eyeing new chicks while the words drift by.

He strips the Big Book of its holiness, calling it a text, not a novel, a continuous source of learning written by 100 people who were just as rotten as the men in the room. He doesn't promise sainthood; he admits he'd still buy a stolen TV for twenty bucks if it showed up at the back door. For Gene, sobriety isn't about becoming a saint, but about the "thoroughness" of the crash program.

He warns against half-measures—like drinking Seven-Up in a saloon, which he calls "going into a whorehouse to buy a newspaper." He argues that only a Higher Power, not any human power, can pull a man out of the wreckage.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Gene D. discusses the assumption of permanent sobriety for those entering the facility.
• 4:15 Discussion on the history of the Big Book and the 40th anniversary in Denver.
• 7:30 The definition of a 'text' versus a 'novel' regarding the Big Book.
• 12:45 Laughter: Gene D. describes his own boredom and distractions during the reading of Chapter 5.
• 16:20 The 'hard-nosed' nature of the Logan Square group in Chicago and the requirement to identify as an alcoholic.
• 20:10 Analysis of the first sentence of Chapter 5 and the concept of 'thoroughness' in recovery.
• 24:50 Gene D. shares his experience with rigorous honesty and listing his own 'rotten' qualities.
• 28:15 Story about a Black police officer and the Hawaiian cop's intervention.
• 33:40 Discussion on the 'any length' requirement and the danger of 'half measures'.
• 37:10 Gene D. admits he's no saint and discusses the triggers of harness racing and card cheating.
• 41:00 Closing thoughts on the belief that no human power can relieve alcoholism.