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> > > > hi history lovers, > > > > > > > > Page 140 of To Employers says: "Can it be > > > appreciated that he has > > > > been > > > > a victim of crooked thinking, directly caused by > > > the action of > > > alcohol > > > >
> > > > on his brain?" > > > >
> > > > One of our members asked why would Bill put such > > > an important piece > > > of > > > >
> > > > information in the chapter to employers,instead of > > > perhaps one of > > > the > > > > chapters at the beginning of the book. > > > > > > > > Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. > > > > > > > > Thanks from Tracy > > > > The Barking Big Book Study Group > > > > England > > > > > > > >
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10/Openmindedness From: Mitchell K. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2006 10:47:00 PM
1967 confirms that Bill wrote the text of the Big Book....
nothing. Documents mean nothing. Oral histories mean nothing. All of the work done by historians, researchers, archivists, librarians etc are for nothing.
historians and archivists after extensive review of the documents confirmed that Bill alone wrote the text of the Big Book. The fact that Bill himself wrote that he was more of a referee than author counts for nothing. The fact that the manuscript chapters were reviewed, re-written and debated by virtually all the founding members means nothing. Bill, in a vacuum wrote the Big Book by himself.
prejudiced views expressed denegrates this group and its value in the study and bringing forth of factual AA history vs so-called conference approved sanitized versions.
conference approval prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the world was flat?
From: James Blair . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2006 6:20:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII The questioning of the authorship of "To Employers" sent me to reread my copy of Lois Remenbers.
write the chapter "To Wives" and perhaps the following one, "The Family Afterward." When I shyly suggested this, he said no; he thought the book, except for the stories,
should all be written in the same style. I have never known why he didn't want
me to write about the wives, and it hurt me at first; but our lives were so full
that I didn't have time to think about it much." If Bill W. has assigned the writing of "To Employers" to Hank P., he could not have used writing style as a reason to not allow Lois to write a chapter or chapters and Lois would have noted this in her history book. Maybe we have a case of something being repeated often enough that it becomes
the truth, sort of. Cheers Jim
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3291. . . . . . . . . . . . Circle and triangle on poker chips in "The Sting" From: george cleveland . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/24/2006 10:10:00 PM
well
and one can find them in many places. I saw the symbol on a gas station fill cover the other day. And the state where I live actually uses it for the Alcoholic Beverage Commission. So when you go to a State Liquor Store, you see
the AA logo. However I am not sure of the exact reason or origin for the appearance on poker
chips. George Cleveland Jari Kokkinen must tell you about an incident that relates to poker chips. About a year ago
I saw the film "Sting" and in it the players in a poker game used chips that had the symbols of AA - the circle inside the triangle on their reverse side. I wonder if anybody would have any comments clarifying that coincidence or would just have noticed the same thing? In Sobriety, Jari - an AA from Finland IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3292. . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10: Bill or Hank? From: Jeffrey Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/25/2006 4:18:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Messages from Jeffrey Johnson, Rick Tompkins, rriley9945, Arthur Sheehan, John
Lee, and Edgar C. ______________________________ FROM: Jeffrey Johnson (jeffrey_h_johnson at yahoo.com) While not wanting to sound overly repetitive relative to statements made by other posters, it appears to me that there is a very subtle yet critical issue which is being overwhelmed with strong rhetoric and exaggerated counter claims regarding the ‘validity' of differing research methodologies. As the antagonists in this ‘argument' become more entrenched in their varying postulations, the key historical facts are becoming obscured, and to some degree ignored.
that one of the critical customs of this group is being ignored by certain participants in this debate - in absence of concrete, IRREFUTABLE facts, we can agree to disagree. Clearly, neither ‘side' in this discussion has produced any irrefutable "articles of fact" which definitively settle this controversy. The use of ‘text comparison' is no more (or less) valid than citing one source (Pass It On), since neither methodology / source fully or with any level of reliable
accuracy ends the debate. In my way of thinking there is ample evidence to support a middle ‘ground'
position on this topic. Bill Wilson stated in a talk he delivered in 1954 in Fort Worth, TX that he was the "author..." of the Big Book. However, in this same talk - and in support of Arthur's previous statements - Bill goes on to provide a much more detailed account of how the Big Book was written. "So, the preparation started and some more chapters were done and we went into AA in New
York with these chapters in the rough. It wasn't like chicken-in-the-rough; the boys didn't eat those chapters up at all. I suddenly discovered that I was in
this terrific whirlpool of arguments. I was just the umpire...So, we fought, bled and died our way through one chapter after another. We sent them out to Akron
and they were peddled around and there were terrific hassles about what should
go into this book and what should not." Therefore, given Bill's comments, the claims made by each side regarding some type of definitive evidence that Hank did or did not ‘author' Chapter 10 are unsubstantiated by any relevant fact. While not wanting to sound overly pedantic, another key issue appears to be the definition of ‘authorship', especially as Bill Wilson would have understood it. Inasmuch as the term author is used synonymously with writer today, Bill may have understood ‘author' to have a different connotation; when used as a verb, Bill may have understood the following connotation: To assume responsibility for the content of a published text. Moreover, from the reflections Ruth Hock wrote in 1959 (at Bill's request), there is some support for the postulation that Bill may have understood the connotation of authorship as previously defined. "So far as I know there was never any doubt that you were the one to write it, Bill, and I know that you spent endless hours discussing its general form with everyone who would listen
or offer an idea - especially with Doc Smith , Fitz and Hank. As soon as you began to feel you had at least a majority agreement you began to arrive at the office with those yellow scratch pad sheets I came to know so well. All you generally had on those yellow sheets were a few notes to guide you on a whole
chapter! My understanding was that those notes were the result of long thought
on your part after hours of discussion pro and con with everyone who might be interested." (Ruth Hock's Recollections, Nov. 10, 1959, p. 4) Indeed, it seems to stretch credibility to the extreme, given Bill and Ruth's
VERY definitive statements, to state unequivocally that Hank had no part in writing Chapter 10, nor would it be supportable to say he was the primary writer either. All available and historically accurate evidence indicates that Bill was responsible for the overall content and context of the Big Book, but that
numerous individuals influenced different sections and / or information which
was included (and excluded) from the book. The a priori result, based on all relevant facts, is that Bill developed a general outline of each chapter then dictated the actual wording to Ruth. Then a VERY lengthy review process occurred wherein numerous individuals provided critical feedback, which at times resulted in material alterations to Bill's
original intent and wording. Clearly Hank was involved in, and was a PRIMARY source of feedback regarding the development of the entire book, not just chapter 10. Given Hank's physical proximity to Bill during this period - they
were confined to a very small workspace while Ruth was taking dictation - an
intuitively appealing conclusion is that Hank had substantial influence on Chapter 10 as a result of his professional background and experience. In summary, I conclude that all relevant historical evidence supports the conclusion that Bill was the primary ‘author' of the Big Book. However, to conclude from this evidence that Hank was NOT influential in the development of the ideas and / or wording included in Chapter 10 by stating that "The claim that Hank Parkhurst authored Chapter 10 of the Big Book is an AA myth. The myth was initiated by the boastings of Hank, and perpetuated by the anti-Bill Wilson faction of AA" is nothing more than speculation and personal opinion. Ample evidence indicates that many key individuals, including Dr. Bob, Hank and Fizthugh Mayo had substantial influence on the content and information included
in the book. However, barring new evidence, it CANNOT be stated irrefutable whether or not Hank was the PRIMARY source / WRITER for the ideas and information included in Chapter 10.
(ricktompkins at comcast.net) That settles it! Now I need to read the Advisory Actions booklet again to see self-protection in action. Intellectual property-type lawsuits went on in that decade, too, so why shouldn't the Conference vote that the Text section be completely attributed to Bill? Off the records, Bill would honestly defer to others as literary sources.
take our own stock as AA historians. From what I've come to understand, Parkhurst created the outline for the Big Book, brought the editors on board, fine-tuned a great deal of the text, and was an integral part of the NYC+Akron teams that roundtabled the final text that was published in February 1939. "The Unbeliever" reads like scenes in the movie "The Lost Weekend" and could have been Hank's last foray into creative writing. If Wilson said Parkhurst wrote "To Employers" let's take him at his word! Parkhurst was once an employer's Administrator, remember... I truly believe that Wilson did not write our Twelve Steps, he just wrote them down after a spell of astounding serendipity: a mix of Oxford Grouper principles, Dale Carnegie courses, and the fledgling Alcoholic Squads' attempt to close every loophole that a conniving drunk could try to sneak through. The collective vision of our pioneers found a great deal of its conduit with Bill's activity of writing it all down. To me, that vision, expanded and separated from Oxford Movement principles, set about to close all loopholes that brought recovery to drunks in their disease. The principles of AA are repeated innumerable times and many different ways throughout our Big Book, just think of the simple example 'wrongs, defects of character, shortcomings.' Same idea, different sentences. Our AA authorship appears to be subject to myth until proven otherwise, while
our AA principles are just as much derivative. Bill was never a Pulitzer-Prize-grade writer, and many editors, right down to the linotype operator at Cornwall Press, are facts of our AA history. Tom Powers is no longer alive to reaffirm the fact that Bill needed much assistance in his writing, and Nell Wing also attested to that reality. When speaking of writing the history of my home Area 20, I would always defer to the panels who reviewed my effort and I still share that when it came together, the facts drove it to the point where it just about wrote itself! To this day, some believe it was written by a committee and that perspective continues to sit well with me. Love and serenity to all here, Rick, Illinois ______________________________
(ArtSheehan at msn.com) An interesting bit of information from Bill W is in "AA Comes of Age"
(pgs 165-166). Bill writes: "... But as the book-naming discussion went on, I began to have certain doubts and temptations. From the start the title "The Way Out" was popular. If we gave the book this name, then I could add my signature, 'By Bill W.'! After all why shouldn't an author sign his book? I began to forget that this was everybody's book and that I had been mostly the umpire of the discussions that had created it ..."
person narrative and in the context of the narrator being an employer. The profile narrated does fit Hank but not Bill.
Arthur
______________________________ FROM: John Lee (johnlawlee at yahoo.com) Response to James Blair Jim, Good point about the "writing style" pretext used by Bill. I'd forgotten that exchange with Lois. As you know, the Alanon preamble tracks the language of "To Wives".
written part of the Big Book, he would have been legally entitled to royalties, irrespective of Hank tendering his Works Publishing shares to Bill for a redundant $200 payment.
pure fiction. Bill knew that. Hank even knew it, in his sober moments. Bill worked out a deal with the Trustees, whereby Bill would get royalty payments for the Big Book. Bob wasn't an author of the Big Book but Bill still tried to get royalty payments for Bob. If Hank's claim to authorship had had the slightest validity, Hank would have been awarded royalties for the Big Book.
issue in Cleveland, where Bill was confronted with Clarence's charges that Bill was making a fortune on AA. Hank had gone crying the blues to Clarence about the Big Book royalties. If Hank had kept his cool, he would have been awarded Big Book royalties. Bill was always deferential to Hank, who had been Bill's business partner and first successful pigeon in NYC. Ruth Hock wrote a long 1955 letter to Bill Wilson, detailing the writing of the Big Book. Nowhere in that long letter does Ruth suggest that Hank wrote Chapter 10 of the Big Book. You're absolutely correct. These AA fables keep getting repeated for decades, and eventually assume the truth. Nobody bothers to check the original documents, such as the AMA Convention Program, Spencer's Principles of Biology, or James' Varieties of Religious Experience. If anyone would take the time to read "The Unbeliever", they would be convinced that Hank didn't concurrently write "To Employers". Hank couldn't write a lucid paragraph about alcoholism. john lee
pittsburgh ______________________________ FROM: edgarc@aol.com (edgarc at aol.com) Response to James Blair Maybe we have a case of something being repeated often enough that it becomes the truth, sort of. Cheers Jim
Well said, Jim. That's the reason why we all know what space aliens look like. I even have salt and pepper shakers in their likeness.
Lois do it as she asked, it's hard to imagine her using the patronizing, forgiving tone of the chapter, especially such sentences as, "The first principle of success is that you should never be angry..." and "Patience and good temper are most necessary.". I think you can make a case for it being an oblique way for Bill to say to Lois, "Get off my case, Lois..."
______________________________ FROM: rriley9945@aol.com (rriley9945 at aol.com) If I remember correctly....didn't some sort of conference approval prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the world was flat?
______________________________ IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3293. . . . . . . . . . . . Poker chips and AA symbols From: Doug B. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/25/2006 6:11:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Messages from Doug B., Kimball, and M. Eaton ______________________________ FROM: "Doug B." (dougb at aahistory.com) Jari, I have lots of the circle/triangle chips that you mention. They are from about 1910 per a poker chip dealer I spoke to. The reason there are so many symbols and styles of the old clay chips is because there are were so many establishments that wanted chips that could be their own style and denomination.
want to so there are even more variations available and they don't have to use the antiquated symbols anymore.
______________________________ From: "Kimball" (rowek at softcom.net) I know that poker chip were used as AA tokens, or at least in Germany. When I was there they had a chip system based on the plain poker chip (no circle, no triangle): BEGINNER - WHITE The first poker chip was called the surrender chip. It was white and was given to all new comers. The new comer was told that "White is the International color for SURRENDER. Now would be a good time to surrender yourself and place your care in the hands of God. However, should you return to drinking it may also represent the color of the sheet that will place over your cold dead body." Often we had to order rolls of "just white" poker chips.
period. People with one month were told that "Red is the international color for STOP. Now would be a good time to stop your stinking thinking, stop your old behaviors, stop playing with your old friends. However, should you return to drinking, then the color red could represent the color of your front windshield as you're ejected from the car."
month period (we had no two month chip). People with three months were told that "Green is the international color for GO. Now would be a good time for you to go to more meetings, go read your Big Book, go and talk to a sponsor, or go and help another. However, should you return to drinking, then the color green could represent the color of your liver during autopsy."
month period. People with six months were told that "Blue is the international color for PEACE. By now, you've been off the sauce long enough for the 'fog' to lift, the steps have begun to change you, and you may be at last experiencing moments of serenity. However, should you return to drinking the color blue could represent the emotions felt by family and loved ones who knew that behind the booze was a fine human being." NINE MONTHS - YELLOW The fifth and the last poker chip was yellow and was given at nine months of sobriety. People with nine months were told that "Yellow is the international color for CAUTION. By now you know a lot about AA and staying sober. In someways, you may actually know enough to be dangerous. This is a time to exercise extreme caution in what you do and think, stay close to the fellowship and pray. However, should you return to drinking, then the color yellow could represent the color of your jaundiced eyes the mortician preps you for viewing." ______________________________
(meaton1287 at rogers.com) I was watching a tv episode one day and it was set in a classroom. On the blackboard in the background was "Homework - Chapter 5 - How It Works". It is always possible that one of our legion of members was sending a "hello" message. Just a theory - Murray Eaton IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3294. . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 10: Bill or Hank? Another clue...
From: johnlawlee . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/26/2006 2:58:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII AA History Lovers: I took another look at the December 1938 Big Book "Prospectus" developed by Hank and Bill. The first part sounds like Bill Wilson, the second half, Hank P. The non-alcoholic Trustees weren't keen on financing a basic text, reasoning that Hank and Bill had no experience in publishing. Tell a drunk he can't do something, and what happens? Hank and Bill made of tour of publishing houses, to get background and troll for an advance. Hank and Bill were both autodidacts [self-taught]. They were innovative guys. A third of the Works Publishing stock was given to Bill as author and a third to Hank as business manager. Hank tried to hawk the remaining third at meetings, with very limited success. Ruth apparently got shares, in lieu of some of her wages. It should not be surprising that the AA members were unenthusiastic about buying stock in a book that hadn't been written. Many of these same members had already been ruined financially by the stock market collapse of 1929. There is an important clue about Chapter 10's authorship in the December 1938 Prospectus. The last line of the page entitled "The Present Program" indicates that "ten chapters [of One Hundred Men] have now been written." The missing chapter was either Chapter 5 or Chapter 10. Everyone agrees that Chapters 1 and 2 were the first ones finished, and the drafts of those chapters were used to try to coax an advance from publishers. Bill's talks indicate that the last Chapter he finished was Chapter 5, How It Works. The Prospectus does not indicate the name or subject matter of the missing chapter. Can anyone in this forum identify the month Bill wrote up the 12 steps? If Bill's quick writeup of the 12 steps on his bed occurred prior to December 1938, then it is probable that Chapter 10 was the missing chapter. love+tolerance john lee
speaking? From: George Cleveland . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/27/2006 9:52:00 PM
Listening to the spoken words of Bill and other long-timers (in some cases before they were long-timers) is a wonderful resource. Thanks to our technology these days, we can hear these people breathing in our ears. And the message of 50 years ago is the same as today.
others have provided. Can someone direct me to where I might find downloads of Lois' talks? Are there recordings of Anne Smith?
From: Dean C . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/28/2006 2:10:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII I've searched the text in the front part of the book ("Alcoholics Anonymous") and don't find the phrasing "working the Steps" or "work the Steps" or "work the program" anywhere. What I find is "the steps we took," "practice these principles," "accept and practice spiritual principles," "apply spiritual principles," "spiritual answer and program of action which a hundred of them had followed," "follow
our program," "following the program ," "give themselves to this simple program," "let up on the spiritual program of action," "a practical program of action," "go through with the Twelve Steps of the program of recovery," "Let the alcoholic continue his program," "he may go for the program at once," "try our program," "falling down on his spiritual program," "the wife who adopts a sane spiritual program, making a better practical use of it,"
and so on. The word "work" is used to convey a result, as in "It worked!" Or, it's an action based on what we've learned, as in "if an alcoholic failed to perfect
and enlarge his spiritual life through work and self-sacrifice for others. Or "a design for living that works in rough going." Or "we try to put spiritual principles to work in every department of our lives." (And so on.)
what's in the book. It sounds difficut, unattractive, for one thing. And "work the
program" sounds, to me, well, conniving, as in "work the system," or like what a comedian or salesperson or politician might do: "work the crowd,"
"work the room." Perhaps in other geographical areas, "work the Steps" isn't heard. It's
pretty much all that is heard here. Does anyone know when these "work" phrases crept into our AA vocabulary? (Or where it appears in Conference-approved literature?)
Monterey Peninsula, California IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3297. . . . . . . . . . . . Author of "It Might Have Been Worse" From: edgarc@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/30/2006 7:56:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII We are working thru all the stories in our bb and step weekly meeting. The West Baltimore AA site has been most helpful in providing information about the authors, but not all of them. Next week, we read It Might Have Been Worse. West Baltimore gives us Chet Rude as the author, but little more beyond what is in the story. Anyone have more information I can bring to the meeting? Or another source for the authors of those stories?
Edgar C, Sarasota, FL IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3298. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Are there recordings of Lois Wilson speaking? From: Cindy Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/29/2006 8:20:00 PM
______________________________ FROM: Cindy Miller (cm53 at earthlink.net) Greetings! In answer to your question: I don't know if there are any recordings of Anne Smith--but I do have at least one recording ("Classic Talks"-Dicobe Tapes) of Lois in my vast Al-Anon collection! ;-) -cm ______________________________ FROM: "Robert Stonebraker" (rstonebraker212 at insightbb.com) George, The Akron Intergroup offers an album with five historical CDs, one of these is titled: "A Message To Bill And Lois." At this point Ann Smith, Dr. Bob, Smitty and his wife are making a recording to be delivered to Bill and Lois Wilson on a then new fangled recording device. Each of them speak only a few sentences but it is a charming recording. Also, on this CD is two of Dr. Bob's talks: (1) at Detroit in 1948 and (2) at Cleveland in 1950.
775 North Main Street Akron, OH 44310
______________________________ FROM: Joe Adams (sober_in_nc at yahoo.com) I, too, love to hear the voice that gave use the words, and I download many many many free files in MP3 format from http://www.xa-speakers.org, including historic Bill, Bob, Lois and other key speakers. Another good library to hear things online in real-audio format from http://www.aaprimarypurpose.org/speakers.htm. I am not aware of any recordings by Anne ... and will be watching the list to see if anyone has better information. ______________________________ FROM: "K D Dew" (kddew at bardstowncable.net) I know of one free recording try this link: http://www.aaprimarypurpose.org/speakers.htm Down the page about 3/4 of the way there is a link to "Lois W." it is Lois Wilson. Here's another link: http://amottapes.com/ but they charge Kevin IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 3299. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Working the Steps/Program From: emily baker . . . . . . . . . . . . 3/29/2006 7:44:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII From Emily Baker, Lynne, Kimball, Jaime Maliachi, Jon Markle, John Lee, Anders, and K D Dew ______________________________
(EBAKER at bak.rr.com) Or, Participate in the discipline of the steps. ______________________________
(Gotogo2002L at aol.com) faith without works.........is dead? It is an action word........how does one improve his spiritual life, without thoroughly following the steps as laid out in the big book.
nothing...................... LOL Lynne ______________________________ From: "Kimball" (rowek at softcom.net) LMAO took practice
accept apply
action follow
following give themselves go through with go for
try falling down adopts practical use If you can't see work here, you're not looking! ______________________________
(jmaliachi at megatopexercise.com) Dear Dean: good day and 24 hours of sobriety to you.
anonymous since 12 years. You are right in one sense about your point of view. But I remember some expressions of Dr. Bob and good Veterans, that book include "if your man drink, he help you to show how do not work the program, if he does not drink he help you too because he show you how it work..." May be in Akron area was the site where it start to be the phrases with "work".
program, and "work" the defects of character. BUT work the steps means (to me), to practice them. There are not difference between those w ords, at least, it just is important one thing: How I change my way to be, to think and to live. Make it simple. Thanks a lot for your tolerance. Jimbo.
servidor y amigo. ______________________________ From: Jon Markle (serenitylodge at bellsouth.net) I realize that in some areas, the word "work" has some awful and negative connotations. I think that's just a matter of attitude and not necessarily scientific . . . And that aversion appears to me to come directly out of treatment clinics where in groups, the word "work" is often suppressed and substituted with "suggestions", or similar.
excuse for getting someone else to do the work for the alcoholic. But, that's just my personal opinion and not based on any sort of fact, except my own experience! way, "Jon, if you work it, it's yours, you own it. If I work it, it's mine and I'll take it with me when I go." Somehow that made sense to me . . . So, I "work it"! LOL
is page 88, (Third Ed), "It works--it really does. We alcoholics are undisciplined. So we let God discipline us in the simple way we have just outlined. But this is not all. There is action and more action. 'Faith without works is dead.' The next chapter is entirely devoted to Step Twelve."
though. But, it seems clear to me, at least, that "working" is a semantic expression of the process that involves, learning, practicing and putting to use the skills necessary to enable the sufferer to have the desire to drink permanently removed, become not only sober, to recover, but also to remain sober, recovered and usefully whole.
Raleigh
______________________________ From: "johnlawlee" (johnlawlee at yahoo.com) Dean: We hear "working the program" constantly in Pittsburgh. It's street slang, oily politician rhetoric. Similar to "working the crowd" or "working the room". Very manipulative language. The only place I've seen "working the steps" in the basic literature is ONE reference in 12and12, near the beginning of the chapter on step 10. 12and12 basically says that as we worked the first nine steps, we now begin to LIVE them. I've long believed that the better view is that the steps "work" us, they transform us, irrespective of our original motives. The 10th step promises in the Big Book seem to bear that out ["it happens automatically..."]. john lee ______________________________ From: anders (serenityodaat at yahoo.se) Hiya Dean! I did a very quick and rough word count of the basic text (first eleven chapters and doc's opinion) and found some 60 references. At least 75% of them was in the term "action" or "labour", simillair to the examples below:
as he had worked with me. Faith without works was dead, he said" - p. 24
"...We had a new Employer. Being all powerful, He provided what we needed, if we kept close to Him and performed His work well..." - p.75 "But this is not all. There is action and more action. 'Faith without works is dead.' The next chapter is entirely devoted to step twelve." - p. 100
PRACTICAL experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail." - p. 101 ______________________________ From: "K D Dew" (kddew at bardstowncable.net) I'm not claiming to be any kind of expert, of course, but it was explained to me that the term "working the steps" comes from the phrase in the 9th step promises..."they will always come true if we work for them."
big book. There are 101 references to the word "work." One might derive "working the steps" from some of the sentences in the BB in which the word work is used.
History
From: chesbayman56 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/4/2006 1:43:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII April April 1935 - Dr. Silkworth told Bill to quit preaching at drunks and tell them of obsession and allergy. April 1950 - Saturday Evening Post article "The Drunkard's Best Friend" by Jack Alexander. April 1958 - The word "honest" dropped from AA Preamble, "an honest desire to stop drinking". April 1966 - Change in ratio of trustees of the General Service Board; now two thirds (majority) are alcoholic. April 1970 - GSO moved to 468 Park Ave. South, NYC. April 1, 1939 - Publication date of Alcoholics Anonymous, AA's Big Book. April 1, 1940 - Larry J. of Houston, wrote "The Texas Prayer", used to open AA meetings in Texas. April 1, 1966 - Sister Ignatia died. April 2, 1966 - Harry Tiebout, M.D. died. April 3, 1941 - First AA meeting held in Florida. April 3, 1960 - Fr. Ed Dowling, S.J., died. He was Bill W's "spiritual sponsor." April 7, 1941 - Ruth Hock reported there were 1,500 letters asking for help as a result of the Saturday Evening Post Article by Jack Alexander. April 10, 1939 - The first ten copies of the Big Book arrived at the office Bill and Hank P shared. April 11, 1938 - The Alcoholic Foundation formed as a trusteeship for A.A. (sometimes reported as May 1938) April 11, 1941 - Bill and Lois finally found a home, Stepping Stones in New Bedford. April 16, 1940 - A sober Rollie H. catches the only opening day no- hitter in baseball history since 1909. April 16, 1973 - Dr. Jack Norris presented President Nixon with the one millionth copy of the Big Book. April 19, 1940 - The first AA group in Little Rock, Arkansas, was formed. First 'mail order' group. April 19, 1941 - The first AA group in the State of Washington was formed in Seattle. April 22, 1940 - Bill and Hank transfer their Works Publishing stock to the Alcoholic Foundation. April 23, 1940 - Dr. Bob wrote the Trustees to refuse Big Book royalties, but Bill W insisted that Dr. Bob and Anne receive them. April 24, 1940 - The first AA pamphlet, "AA", was published. April 24, 1989 - Dr. Leonard Strong died. April 25, 1939 - Morgan R interviewed on Gabriel Heatter radio show. April 25, 1951 - AA's first General Service Conference was held. April 26 or May 1, 1939 - Bank forecloses on 182 Clinton Street. April 30, 1989 - Film "My Name is Bill W." a Hallmark presentation was broadcast on ABC TV.
From: Mel Barger . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/2/2006 8:58:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hi Friends: I would like to know the exact source of a wonderful quotation on dealing with resentment that appears in "Freedom From Bondage," a personal story in the Big Book. The personal story was first used in the 2nd edition, published in 1955, and has been retained in the 3rd and 2nd editions, which indicates that the editors felt it was of superior quality. Here's the quotation, which can be found on p. 552 of the 4th (latest) edition. The author said she found it in a magazine article and that it was about getting rid of resentment. It was by a prominent clergyman He said, in effect: If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you will pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free. If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free. Ask for their health, their prosperity, their happiness, and you will be free. Even when you don't really want it for them and your prayers are only words and you don't mean it, go ahead and do it anyway. Do it every day for two weeks, and you will find you have come to mean it and to want it for them, and you will realize that where you used to feel bitterness and resentment and hatred, you now feel compassionate understanding and love." The author went on to say it worked for her then and worked for her since and
worked every time she was willing to work it. Who was the prominent clergyman who authored this quotation? My guess is that it was Norman Vincent Peale, who became very prominent with his 1952 publication of that blockbuster, "The Power of Positive Thinking." He was a good friend of AA and even devoted a large part of one chapter in that book to AA. But does anyone know where the above quotation appeared? It had to be before 1955, because that's when it first appeared in the Big Book. It was in a
magazine with the word "resentment" on the cover, as this is what caught the Big Book writer's attention. It might have been in Guideposts magazine and slightly
different from the quotation shown above, as the author used "in effect" in presenting it. It's a great quotation, by the way, and ought to be put on a card and passed around at meetings, especially when resentment is the topic. Come to think of it, I think I'll do that for my group her in Toledo and any of the History Lovers could easily download it from this message and circulate it in their own
groups. LOL to All, Mel Barger, Toledo, Ohio
Mel Barger melb@accesstoledo.com
From: Mike Custer . . . . . . . . . . . . 4/3/2006 7:16:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Sad to report that Jack Holt passed away. Jack's sobriety date was March 6, 1958. 48 years of sobriety. There is a memorial site with information about his service here Download 13.83 Mb. Share with your friends:
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