Tradition NINE & TEN p172-179

Hey guys,

It's come to my attention, after several subtle hints were dropped during the meetings, that the traditions are not as compelling to the individual as the rest of the AA literature is. On one hand, the traditions are a central part of the collective AA program and key to its continued success, but on the other hand we've been fortunate to have several new comers participate and the traditions are most decidedly NOT newcomer material.... So after careful consideration I believe we've found a compromise to finish the traditions thoroughly and hopefully get on to more captivating material sooner.

Instead of combining all of the remaining four traditions into one meeting or going through each tradition individually, we'll be doing them in groups of two. This way we'll finish the traditions by next week instead of a month. So this week we'll be discussing TRADITIONS NINE & TEN both.

Tell all your friends about it!!

In other news, I'm sure most of you have heard about Robin William's death of an apparent suicide in the news. I only knew a little bit about his recovery, I knew he'd been sober for 20 years and relapsed in 2006 but came back to the fellowship. So... I Googled it. I found this interview about his relapse,  I found this part a particularly outstanding caveat for anyone who thinks they may be in their last 30 days;

Famously sober for 20 years after battling the drink and cocaine for most his adult life, Robin Williams has revealed how he succumbed to his demons again - and destroyed his marriage.

"I was filming in Alaska," he says

I was away from everything, I was kind of isolated from things I normally get to do, like ride my bike, seeing friends and family.

All of a sudden I thought, 'I've been 20 years sober, I can drink a little'. It's like, 'I can be somewhat circumcised.

It's that idea that you can have one drink - and no you can't. Within a week I was drinking heavily. It was so quick that even I was like, 'Wow'.

Because you have that initial warm feeling going, 'Oh, I remember this'. And your body does, too. And your body goes, 'Yeah, so do I'.

"Then the demon voice comes, 'Yeah, so do I. You know what would be great? You know we bought a little bottle before? A full bottle would be wonderful'."

You can find the whole thing here (LINK)

ONE MORE THING, some of you may have been familiar with DOUG GLOVER from the ZU Group. He passed away last week in Canada, today was his 42nd AA Anniversary. As my good friend Fred said; "We now have another friend in the Fellowship of the Spirit." He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. The Friday morning cookie man. May his infectious laughter and love of life will always be remembered. 

Happy 24 hours everyone,

David t