Wed Night AA Riverside Men's Group

Good evening folks, This week we put down the book for our end of month speaker meeting. So get your popcorn and soft drinks at the concession stand and  enjoy! I love these speaker meetings 'cause it kinda feels like we get to take a little break from all the seriousness of AA Big Book Study. I remember Jon P. once told me he'd gone to the beach and taken a few days to go soak in the sun to get away from AA for a little while. Now he was a  very  active member so it kind of shocked me to hear him say that but he told me that AA needed to be "worn like a loose garment". Our primary purpose isn't to convert the masses. We help those who  seek  help and those we  can  help. So a little reminder of  Rule 62  once in a while is in order. Happy 24hrs, David t. 2016 Meeting Dates -->Reading:  Being Sober and Becoming Happy 01/28/15 Speaker Meeting <Steve W.> 02/25/15 Speaker Meeting <Gerard P> 03/25/15 Speaker Meetin...

Good evening fellas, This week's reading is  Flooded with Feeling p369-374.  This a great short story (or maybe it's great because its short?). I've always felt there's no point in using many words when few will do and I think this story makes the case. It's true that this guy's drinking career didn't sound like there was all that much to tell to begin with but he's precise with his descriptions and I identified with several of his points. One of those points was this vague undefinable feeling of  not belonging . The idea of facing those moments alone kept me in sauce for awhile longer. Neither was coming to AA an immediate remedy for me. It took some time but eventually I walked into a meeting and I knew everybody's name and they all knew mine. I'd heard enough of everybody's story to know that they felt like I did and it finally dawned on me I was not alone and right there in that room  I belonged !! I went online earlier today to chec...

Hi folks, Here is your reminder for this week's Wednesday night meeting. We will be reading  Tightrope p359-368.  I found it curious that in the opening paragraph the speaker says  "As long as a person held down a job, didn't embarrass his family or friends too frequently, and kept out of trouble, he was entitled to get drunk on a regular basis" (p359-AA).  Surely many of us held this belief once too at some point or another, I think it was my life's opening paragraph too. I've met many people who are asleep or unconscious to their drinking problem, hiding behind their job, relationship, status, title, education, bank account or what have you in order to justify their behavior. Some people might call that denial (they wouldn't be wrong), but I remember making these "I can't be an alcoholic because..." statements myself and I don't recall trying to "hide" my behavior so much as I  really   didn't believe  there was...