The Truth About Half-Stepping It – Joe B.

About This Speaker Tape

1994. A glass door. A man blubbering and whining, finally broken after a lifetime of blazing a trail to hell. Joe B. didn't just drink; he lived in the extremes, moving from a "geriatric kindergarten" of early meetings to a "zombolic" haze where he threw his own mother out of the way just to keep the bottle in hand. He recounts the wreckage with a jagged edge: the 87 Camaro lost in some pasture, the deportation from Mexico after trying to drown himself in water that never got above his chest, and a childhood spent drinking Jim Beam to feel like a "real man."

His turning point wasn't a soft landing but a collision with a Higher Power via a hillbilly sponsor named Head. Between a butane tank and a fifth of Jack Daniels used as a threat, Joe stopped half-stepping the work. He trades the "whiskey weight" and the shakes for a life of standing up and being counted, proving that even the "sorry one in the bunch" can find a way out.

Topics

Timestamps

• 2:15 Joe B. recounts his first drink at age 10 and the immediate desire to 'kill somebody' or 'roll around in the hay'.
• 8:40 A story about a faith healer attempting to cast out the alcohol demon while Joe tells him he plans on taking as many people to hell as he can.
• 15:20 Joe describes his 'zombolic drinking' and the moment he shoved his mother out of the way to steal money.
• 18:10 The car wreck in a 1994 Pathfinder and the disappointment of surviving it.
• 22:45 The chaotic sequence of events in Mexico, including urinating in a pool and being deported.
• 27:10 Joe's first real encounter with the Big Book and the 'geriatric kindergarten' of early meetings.
• 32:50 Sponsorship with Head: The Third Step prayer by the butane tank and the 'spiritual enema'.
• 36:10 The realization of a 'dry drunk' period and the struggle of living a double life.
• 41:20 The moment of surrender at the Bay Area club and the decision to finally be gut-level honest.
• 46:10 Laughter: Joe discusses his marriage and the 'solid constructive imperfection' of his relationship.