Tom F. on the 12 Steps and Mending the Family

About This Speaker Tape

1st Costa Dorada Convention - 2002

Alcohol became a dangerous hobby for Tom F. during his career as a Marine Corps pilot, a fascination that began in childhood with a drinking uncle. He recounts the wreckage of his drinking—losing a sports car in town speeding in reverse in a Corvette and a desperate attempt to trick a flight surgeon into removing his appendix just to get a detox. The turning point arrives on a cold January morning in 1972 when his eight-year-old son asks why he smells so bad and sleeps on the couch. Driven by pure disgust Tom finds AA through a borrowed dime and a husky-voiced operator. He maps out the transition from being an 'AA angel and house devil' to finding a mirror in the 12 Steps eventually healing his family over a five-year stretch of sobriety. He concludes with the necessity of daily vigilance and the simple habit of getting on his knees every morning to stay a drunk away from a drink.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Tom F. opens by discussing the relaxed atmosphere of the convention in Spain.
• 5:15 Childhood memories of a drinking uncle and the first taste of whiskey at age 12.
• 11:40 Marine Corps flight school and the Corvette incident in Florida.
• 16:20 The 'appendix' story: attempting to get a detox via surgery in the Far East.
• 21:10 The breaking point: his son's questions about why he smells and sleeps on the couch.
• 25:30 The first call to AA and the encounter with the husky-voiced operator.
• 28:45 Laughter: The 'whips and jingles' at his first meeting and spilling coffee on his suit.
• 33:10 The encounter with sponsor Neil S. and the promise that he'll never have to sober up again.
• 38:20 Working the 12 Steps: Moving from being an 'AA angel' to fixing the 'house devil' within.
• 44:15 The 50th Anniversary convention in Montreal and the sight of the motorcycle gang.
• timecode Discussion on the family disease and the struggles of his children.
• 48:30 The daily habit of getting on his knees to ask his Higher Power for enthusiasm and sobriety.