The Delusion That He Was a High-Bottom Drunk – Tom S.

About This Speaker Tape

Tom I. traces a jagged line from the cotton fields of South Carolina to the warden's office of a state prison. He describes a 'high-bottom' existence defined by a 'home bar' and a series of absurd slick failures—from T-boning a brick wall and dancing on crutches to stealing a Jeep in Alaska only to drive it in a circle.

The wreckage peaks in Flint Michigan where he kills two people in a drunk driving accident and is sentenced to 15 years in a maximum-security penitentiary. In the depths of self-loathing and Thorazine he fumbles through the Steps discovering a freedom that transcends the prison walls. He maps out a life of unexpected restitution including a harrowing face-to-face meeting with the families of his victims and a career in corrections that proves the walls come down when a Higher Power has work for a person to do.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction and Tom's thoughts on the purity of open speaker meetings.
• 6:15 Laughter: Tom describes his 'high-bottom' drinking and the time he woke up in a fetal position on a shuffleboard table.
• 12:40 Tom recounts his childhood in Oconee County and his resentment toward his stepfather, Alvin.
• 20:10 The 'ludicrous' military evaluation that labeled him a leadership candidate despite his incompetence.
• 28:30 Discussion on the physical allergy and the 'phenomenon of craving' in alcoholism.
• 35:15 The story of the stolen Jeep in Alaska and his subsequent undesirable discharge for alcoholism.
• 46:20 The turning point: Waking up in jail to find he had killed two people in a drunk driving accident.
• 54:10 Tom's experience with the 12 Steps and the 'transforming experience' while incarcerated in Jackson Penitentiary.
• 1:05:00 The 'miracle' of his driver's license and his transition into a career in prison rehabilitation.
• 1:18:45 Detailed account of making direct amends to the families of his victims in a Michigan courtroom.
• 1:28:10 Tom's ascent from ex-con to prison warden and his reflections on the AA Traditions.