Why He Couldn’t Recapture the Feeling of Victory – 1958 – Ebby T.

About This Speaker Tape

Six bottles of Valentine’s Ale sat cool in the cellar, a siren song after a brush with the law. Ebby T. stood at the threshold, fighting the "damn devil" on his shoulder. He didn't drink them; he carried the basket to a neighbor. That small act of surrender felt like a weight lifting—a victory he spent years trying and failing to recapture.

Ebby's wreckage spans from New York foundries to the stock market crash of '29, leaving him a "bloody mess" and a "yacky son of a bitch" in the eyes of those who eventually pulled him out. He describes the alcoholic's mind as a volcano; the old drunk is always dormant, waiting to go "zoom, boom." After a rugged stint in a Texas clinic where he had to touch a sign at Love Field just to believe he was actually in Dallas, Ebby found a Higher Power. He admits he isn't a hero fighting a daily battle, but a sick man who knows one more drink would be the end.

Topics

Timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction by Dick: Ebby T. is introduced as the man who brought the message to Bill W.
• 3:15 Ebby T. tells a joke about Texas ranchers and 'bullshippers'.
• 7:40 Early drinking history: The first beer at the Hotel de Nicanor in 1914.
• 13:20 The 1929 stock market crash and the loss of his inheritance.
• 18:45 Introduction to the Oxford Group and the concept of letting a Higher Power run one's life.
• 23:10 The 'victory' of giving away six bottles of Valentine's Ale to a neighbor to stay sober for a judge.
• 28:30 The meeting at 182 Clinton Street and the conversation that sparked Bill W.'s recovery.
• 33:15 Bill W. appearing drunk at the Calvary Mission testimonial meeting.
• 38:40 The 1953 trip to Texas: Hallucinations and the Love Field airport sign.
• 44:10 Discussion of the 'alter ego' and the dormant volcano of the alcoholic mind.
• 48:20 Closing remarks on the necessity of staying active in the fellowship.
• 49:30 Closing with the Lord's Prayer.