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The Viscous Cycle p219-231

Good afternoon everyone,
First off, I'd like to share some great news we received today; Ann Bender was found Not Guilty and all charges were dropped!! There was a mention of it in today's mid-day news on local TV you may have seen. I'm so happy for Ann and her family, as I'm sure we all are. I can just see Greg's blue-eyed giant smile mounted on that freakishly herculean neck of his looking down in relief!!
This week we'll be reading The Viscous Cycle p219-231, an excellent story and a much easier read than the last one in case you were wondering. This one gives a really marvelous picture of what AA was like early on. I often hear so much said about the early days of AA, about how hard-charging, unfiltered and un-watered-down they were... I wonder If we as a fellowship were better off then or now?
I don't generally like hypotheticals (coulda, woulda, shoulda does nothing for me today), but the fundamental question is an interesting one. Which context was more conducive for sobriety? True, they may have had higher recovery rates back then than we do today, but they were also generally only able to reach those on the brink of total physical, emotional and spiritual annihilation.

Truly its apples & oranges in my opinion, so much has changed in society at large between the 40s and today. I'm only 32 years old, so my guess is that if I had been born in that era I'd still be out there searching for a way to get a hold of that 800-pound gorilla on my own, alone in the dark, up a creek without a paddle...

Ultimately, I'm grateful for yesterday's sacrifices and I'm grateful for the fellowship we have today. On the other hand, maybe we really haven't changed very much at all. "Boy, what a circle of confused idealists! But we all had one really sincere purpose in our hearts, and that was not to drink" (p227).  
Happy 24hrs,
David t.

2015 Meeting Dates

09/24/14 Speaker Meeting <Larry H>
10/29/14 Speaker Meeting <David t>
11/26/14 Speaker Meeting <Roy M>
-->Reading: Being Sober and Becoming Happy
01/28/15 Speaker Meeting <Steve W.>
02/25/15 Speaker Meeting <Gerard P>
03/25/15 Speaker Meeting <Mark D.>
--> Reading: A New Pair of Glasses by Chuck C. 
04/29/15 Speaker Meeting <Russ W.>
05/27/15 Speaker Meeting <Omar P.>
06/24/15 Speaker Meeting <Ricardo A.>

--> Reading: Personal Stories back of Big Book of AA <--
07/29/15 Speaker Meeting <Adam S.>
08/26/15 Speaker Meeting <Kevin M.>

09/02/15 Our Southern Friend p208-218
09/09/15 The Viscous Cycle p219-231
09/16/15 Jim's Story p232-245
09/23/15 The Man Who Mastered Fear p246-257
09/30/15 Speaker Meeting
10/07/15 He Sold Himself Short p258-267
10/14/15 The Keys of the Kingdom p268-280
10/21/15 The Missing Link p281-288
10/28/15 Speaker Meeting
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Location: San José Province, Escazu, Costa Rica

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