Tom O. at the Memphis Area Meeting – 1986

About This Speaker Tape

A high-flying army dentist with a president for a patient is a world away from the street bum Tom O. became in San Antonio. He cuts through the vanity of his two college degrees which he describes as a hurdle to sobriety and recalls the physical wreckage of a 'continuous drunk' who spent years in a half-sleeping fog.

Tom dismantles the idea of willpower replacing it with a simple gritty ritual of saying 'please' in the morning and 'thanks' at night in the bathroom. He describes the 'time bomb' of memory—the dangerous recollection of how good the first drink felt—and the slow physical softening of the alcoholic's face as they move from clenched teeth and suspicion to a genuine spiritual awakening.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:45 Tom O. jokes about the Serenity Prayer as a 'grant' with no matching funds.
• 4:12 Laughter: Tom describes the 'self-educated drunk' who had to learn how to keep the liquor down.
• 8:20 Tom discusses the 'time bomb' of memory and the danger of remembering the relief alcohol provided.
• 11:45 Tom describes the 'clenched teeth' of the newcomer and the refusal to laugh in meetings.
• 15:30 Tom explains the physical signs of a spiritual awakening: the softening of the face and the light in the eyes.
• 17:10 Tom discusses his 'Gorsab' sponsor and the danger of academic arrogance (two college degrees).
• 21:00 Tom recounts his career as a dentist and treating a president as a patient.
• 25:40 Tom describes hitting bottom as a street bum in San Antonio and hitchhiking on a poultry truck.
• 28:15 Tom discusses the difference between 'quitting' and 'not drinking' a day at a time.
• 32:10 Tom explains his simple bathroom prayer ritual: 'please' in the morning and 'thanks' at night.
• 36:45 Tom discusses Step 3 and the act of turning his will over to a Higher Power.
• 39:20 Tom quotes the Big Book on spiritual awakenings and thanks the fellowship for taking in a 'no good drunk bum'.