Why AA Spells Yes Instead of No – Joe K.

About This Speaker Tape

A childhood spent tasting homebrew and a youth spent pretending to be a college man or a military pilot leads Joe K. into a life of high-stakes fantasy and actual combat. After washing out of US flight school he flies Spitfires for the RAF survives a crash in Tunisia and endures a brutal POW camp in Germany where he makes prune brandy out of a trombone.

He returns home to a cycle of cirrhosis and surreptitious puking eventually finding a sponsor who carries him into a meeting by the elbow. Joe moves from a self-righteous 'halo' of early sobriety to a genuine surrender realizing that his lifelong search for freedom wasn't about the booze but about accepting the gift of existence without the constant weight of his own will.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Joe K. opens with a joke about his beard and his history as an alcoholic.
• 2:30 The surreal story of the drunk man with the wooden leg and the Norwegian girlfriend.
• 8:15 Joe discusses the commonality between alcoholics, Marines, and prisoners at San Quentin.
• 13:40 Childhood memories of tasting homebrew and the 'no-no's' of upbringing.
• 22:10 The transition from a 'foolproof fence' to being arrested and joining the military.
• 31:00 Combat flying in the RAF and the 'epitome' of glamour in the Eagle Squadron.
• 36:45 The crash in Tunisia and the spiritual experience of accepting death.
• 44:20 Life in Stalag Luft 3 and the creation of prune brandy using a trombone.
• 53:10 The death march in 40-below zero and the struggle for survival.
• 1:01:15 The 'surreptitious puker' phase and the diagnosis of cirrhosis.
• 1:07:30 Meeting his sponsor and the initial realization of the disease of alcoholism.
• 1:14:00 Discussion of Step 3 and the difference between a history and a fearless inventory.