ALKIESPEAK

[admin]

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Alcoholics Anonymous has the best record for recovery from alcoholism in the world. Why not avail yourself of the best. - Bede.

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3/4

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


We're all here because we're not all there.- Fr Joe M.

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3/5

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I look inside these bars and know that seconds and inches are between me and that girl sitting on that barstool, or that person vomitting on their shoes, or that one getting beat up around the corner. It's just seconds and inches. - Sharon B.

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3/6

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Being a speaker is not the measure of an alcoholic. Some of the finest speakers I've heard in AA died drunk. And some of the finest AA members I've ever known never spoke from podiums. - Gayle W.

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3/7

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I had an open mind; everything went right through. - Anon.

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3/8

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Serenity is being able to stand still and sit amidst the storms and conflicts of life - And we're going to have plenty.
If we're not having storms and conflicts, we're not living. - Kate B. ( Quoting Fr. Barney. )

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3/9

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


God washed my eyes with tears until I could finally see. - Anon.

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3/10

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I'd drink to get relaxed but by the time I got relaxed enough I was unconscious - Dave.

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3/11

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


You may be the only copy of the AA Big Book that someone ever reads. - Unknown origin.

[admin]

3/12

Quotes from "Alkiespeak"
- a book by Andy A.

It's clean and sober across the board. I don't get to take chips in AA for 60. or 90 days or a year, if I'm smoking pot or doing a little social heroin between meetings. Even if pot wasn't my drug of choice. - - Earl H.

[admin]

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Put the cork in the bottle and let your conscience be your guide. - Anon.

[admin]

3/14

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


How many alkies does it take to change a lightbulb? Change? What do you mean, change? - Anon.

[admin]

3/15

I got so depressed at being a guru in AA that I came home from a meeting, left the car running in the garage, went in the house wrote three suicide notes, went back out, laid in the back seat of the car. Then I discovered I had to go to the can- I'm not going to be found with wet pants. While I'm there, the phone rings - on my death bed I will answer the phone, I'm nosy. And it was a newcomer in depression - He's interrupting my suicide. Naturally I had to tell him how wonderful life was...So you see they do save your life. - Serenity Sam.

[admin]

3/16

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


It's not what you drink, or where you drink, or how much you drink; It's what it's doing for you.

[admin]

3/17

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I'm never going to forget about self, but the Big Book tells me that I'm supposed to be of maximum service to God and my fellows - I'm not even mentioned. And in that process, I'm of maximum service when I'm focused on others; folding chairs, emptying ashtrays, making coffee, a commitment at my home group. As it says: 'Our very lives as ex problem drinkers depends on our constant thought of others.' What do they mean by that? They can't possibly mean that we're supposed to constantly think of others. Could they? Who's going to think about me? - Chris C.

[admin]

3/18

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


They say there are no 'musts' in AA, that it's a 'suggested program'. That's right. The same way that when you jump out of a plane, it's suggested you take a parachute. Unknown origin.

[admin]

3/19

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


A sober alcoholic is like a turtle on a fence post - You know it had help. - Anon.

[admin]

3/20

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


"When you think that you've lost everything. You find that you can always lose a little more." - Bob Dylan. Tying To Get To Heaven'

[admin]

3/21

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


For an alcoholic, drinking alcohol is like dancing with a gorilla; you're only finished dancing when the gorilla says so. Tom W.

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3/22

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


He said he was going to kill himself. He owed these heavies some big gambling debts. I suggested he approach them with an amends deal; offer to pay them back a bit at a time. He said, no he couldn't, if he went to them, they'd kill him. I said; "Well, nothing to lose, at least you wouldn't have suicide on your mind." - Chuck C.

[admin]

3/23

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Weird things they tell you; "How do you do this?"
"Hold on."
"How do you surrender?"
"Just let go." - Bea.

[admin]

3/24

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


The first time I drank alcohol, I was about 12 years old, and it made me feel so good that the way I felt without it was never really OK again. Never really. - Bob D.

[admin]

3/25

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Which way did they go? How fast are they moving? How many are there? - I must find them, I'm their leader. ( Favorite of Ken D's )

[admin]

3/26

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


If you're new, take off your pack and stay with us for a while. Because you are going to have a life that's beyond your wildest dreams. You will get closer to knowing yourself, you will be introduced to yourself in this programme. - Sharon B.

[admin]

3/27

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


Drinking 'Near Beer' is like going to a house of prostitution to listen to the piano player. - Steve B.

[admin]

3/28

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I don't have a drinking problem, except when I can't get a drink. - Tom Waits. 'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart.'

[admin]

3/29

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I can't control and enjoy my drinking. If I control it, I'm not enjoying it and vice versa. - Liz J.

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3/30

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


The highest rank in AA: Chief Servant. - Danny T.

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3/31

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I've had some lousy days sober. Some-down-in-the-dirt, drooling-on-myself, miserable low-life ugly days sober - But I've had fifteen and a half wonderful years. - Earl H.

[admin]

4/1

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I only need one meeting a week, but I go to seven because I don't know which one I need. - Anon.

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4/2

This deal is as simple as A.B.C. - Accept, Begin and Continue. It doesn't take a lawyer or some intellectual gorilla to decipher that. And you can do it downtown or uptown or anywhere else. It doesn't make any difference. And if you'll hold on to the God of your understanding, the truth about yourself - namely that you cannot take one drink - and hold on to your AA friends, you'll hold on to total abstinence. And that's the name of this game. - John C.

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4/3

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

We can't discover new worlds until we have the courage to let go of the shore. - Anon.

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4/4

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

If you can't turn over everything, turn over 'right now.' - Tom W.

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4/5

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

In the book 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest', the Indian man describes a vision he had watching his father drinking; He saw that as his father drank out of a spirit bottle, the bottle was drinking the spirit out of his father. That resonated with me - a lot. - Trip S.

[admin]

4/6

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I never drank to get drunk. I never got up in the morning and said: 'God, it's gorgeous outside. I think I'll just get drunk and pee all over myself, maybe I'll just shame my family - Y'know what? It's so pretty, I'll just pass some bad cheques too.' - Charlie C.

[admin]

4/7

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

We're blessed with a disease where we're forced to love people.
- Terry

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4/8

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I thought controlled drinking was; you drink all you can and then try to control yourself. - Sean A.

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4/9

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

If I don't let go, I lose my grip. - Anon.

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4/10

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I remember that first drink and feeling so surprised and amazed and delighted. And I think of how many alcoholics are dying right now trying somehow, some way to re-create that moment. - Charlie C.

[admin]

4/11

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

My drinking had so isolated me that it was as if I was in a cave. And my family, over the years, and my wife in particular, had stood outside that cave asking me to come out, and I couldn't find my way out. Finally Ebby showed up outside the cave, and after being captive in a similar cave, he entered mine - he knew the way - and he took me by the hand and led me out. One cave-dweller helping another. And I knew that's what I wanted to do; I wanted to help other people like myself. - Bill W.

[admin]

4/12

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Twelve Steps in six words: I can't. God can. Let Him. - Unknown origin.

[admin]

4/13

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

There are thousands who have come to AA and tried to change that Big Book. The key is David; Let that book change you.' - David O's sponsor.

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4/14

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I sat on the steps of that liquor store, with my broken jaw, raccoon eyes, unwashed, uncombed hair. And I sat there waiting for.. I don't know what. And this VW pulls up, and these beautiful Californian AA's; bright smiles, bright eyes - I immediately hated them - got out and walked toward me, like I was a piece of gold, like I was an emerald sitting there on that sidewalk. - Sharon B.

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4/15

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I never heard a better name for booze than Lunatic Soup. - Trip S.

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4/16

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The person I was drank. The person I was will drink again. - Anon.

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4/17

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Resentment, fear and anger are related; resentment is the feeling I have when I remember that I didn't get my way in the past. Fear is the feeling I have when I don't think I'll get my way in the future. And anger is the feeling I have when I don't get my way right now! - Doug D.

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4/18


Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

If you hate the whole human race yet demand it's approval at the same time...Welcome to Alcoholics Anonymous. - Charlie C.

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4/19

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Gratitude is a verb. - Unknown origin.

[admin]

4/20

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Put the cork in the bottle and let your conscience be your guide. - Anon.

[admin]

4/21

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I came into AA with no conditions on my sobriety. Not to save a job or a marriage, or my standing in the community. I came here to save my life, and I'm real grateful for that. I see so many people come in here for other reasons and when that works out and it still doesn't fix them ...a lot get drunk. - Sean A.

[admin]

4/22

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I hate 12 Step calls. I complain all the way to the house.. I hate every minute of it. Until the door opens and I look in the eyes and see the pain, the fear, the degradation and the incomprehensible demoralisation. I see what was in my eyes when I walked through the doors of AA. And I look in the eyes and it becomes the greatest gift you've ever given me; the ability to give a little bit of my dark, sleazy past and turn it into the greatest gift that I have to give to another human being. - Patti O.

[admin]

4/23

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm just grateful for a door that opens from both sides. - Sailor Bill.

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4/24

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I couldn't handle the grog - and I was no longer my own boss. - Koori 1st Step. Australia.

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4/25

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Do I want to drink, get esophagus lesions, pee blood until I die a horrible death in a flophouse? Or do I want to go to AA, do some meetings, do some steps, live a certain way and stay sober? Ah... Can I get back to you on that? - Charlie C.

[admin]

4/26

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It takes a lot of courage to stay sober. And if you don't have it, get it from the person sitting next to you, so you can recover for one more day. - Patti O.

[admin]

4/27

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It's AA or Amen. - Anon.

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4/28

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The primary problem for the alcoholic is ego - the primary solution is surrender. - Barney M.

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4/29

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Beauty is in the eye of the beerholder. - Phil E.

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4/30

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I have no medical evidence that I have brain damage, but I know this; that good feeling I got after about four beers or a couple of shots; that complete feeling of well-being, self confidence and self acceptance - happy, joyous and free. That's the exhilaration of brain cells dying. - Doug D.

[admin]

5/1

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The secret to long sobriety: Don't drink and don't die. - Anon.

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5/2

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


The secret to long sobriety: Don't drink and don't die. - Anon.

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5/3

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


The doctor had patched up the young boy, who thanked the doctor for healing him. The doctor said; "No, I just treat the wound, God heals it." - A favorite story of Dr. Bob's.

[admin]

5/4

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


I looked up "Willing" in the dictionary. It said: "Cheerfully ready" - Cindy F.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The first drink I ever had I realized what my problem was: I had an alcohol deficiency. - Trip S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Alcoholism is a disease which tells us we don't have it. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I had an unusual childhood....and a long one. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



My sponsor said; 'OK, the only way to disprove a belief system is to adopt it. You can't stand outside the experience and say it doesn't work. So, for six months, live this program, really live it. And a t the end of that time if you say: 'It doesn't work, my life's still in the toilet.' Then I'll be happy to say; 'You're absolutely right, for you it doesn't work, bon voyage.' And I've tried that with a lot of guys and there's no way you can do that and say AA doesn't work - Because it does. - John L.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Between any two alcoholics there's probably one good brain left. - Doug D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



No matter how bad things are, eventually drinking will make them worse. That's a flat out guarantee. - Cubby S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Say what you mean, but don't say it mean. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I put my head in the oven and turned on the gas. But nothing happened... They'd turned the gas off, I hadn't paid the bill. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



One foot in yesterday, one foot in tomorrow, peeing all over today. - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was living on the streets, drinking. I'd sit in the meetings and listen to them talking about this 'phenomenom of craving', but I can't see that it applies to me. I mean, I would drink and get drunk but it didn't seem like a craving to me. I'd seen 'Lost Weekend' and 'Days Of Wine and Roses'. I don't claw the walls to get another drink. - But the funny thing about a craving is that you don't realize you have it until it's interrupted. - Bob D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Alcoholic's National Anthem; 'I was always on my mind...I was always on my mind' - Ken D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Only those who have traveled the road know where the holes are deepest. - Chinese Proverb.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I didn't know who I was. I would be the type of person you wanted me to be at that particular time. A few minutes later I'd be the type of person someone else wanted me to be. I had so many personalities I could have gone into group therapy on my own. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I don't think it's a coincidence that the word 'spirit' means God and it means alcohol. - Cubby S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I drank that first drink and all my Irish DNA said: 'Yes!' - Nancy N.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. - Thomas Edison

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I had nowhere else to go. I crept into the meeting I'd gone to before I'd decided I could still drink. I'd hit rock-bottom. Drinking and sobriety were both unbearable. I sat in the back row, ready to flee again. There was an odd man who I'd seen before at the meeting. He never mixed with anyone. He'd spotted me come in and after a time he came and sat closer than I'd seen him sit next to anyone - still a few rows away, but close for him. Anyway, I stayed through to the end of the meeting. I didn't hear much, I sat there, lost, not knowing what to do, where to go. I noticed this man had moved closer, four or five seats away, and he said: 'Are you all right?' I said, ' It hurts.' And he said; 'I know.' Then he moved off. That's all I could have taken then. And that's all it took: One alcoholic reaching out the hand of AA to another. No matter how shaky either hand was. - Anonymous woman. Australia.

[catlady]

this reading really touched me this morning...I could literally feel it. Thank you..:42:

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Change only happens when the pain of holding on is greater than the fear of letting go. - Unknown origin.

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I agree with the first speaker in that any answer you may want may be in the Big Book but sometimes the book may send you outside of AA to get the things you need to survive here. - Bob E.

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I try never to underestimate the destructive power of alcoholism. Or the healing power of Alcoholics Anonymous. - Trip S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was always trying to find a balance between being a doormat or a bulldozer. - Bea M.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



When I look back over my childhood, all I really remember is...Me. - Bob D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I started my next big quest to avoid being an alcoholic; My first was self-knowledge, with therapy, now I began the quest of self-will. I drank 'til I didn't want to be a drunk, I overcame my drink problem with marijuana, I was victorious over marijuana with pills, I triumphed over pills with cocaine and then I drank until I didn't want to be a drunk. I swapped addictions and I used self-will to avoid catching alcoholism. - Scott R.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



My father was the kind of drunk who made anybody you put next to him look sober. Nobody really knew my mother was alcoholic until my father died - You can't see the moon while the sun's out. - Angie D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Resentment is a poison I take to hurt you. - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I got so depressed at being a guru in AA that I came home from a meeting, left the car running in the garage, went in the house wrote three suicide notes, went back out, laid in the back seat of the car. Then I discovered I had to go to the can- I'm not going to be found with wet pants. While I'm there, the phone rings - on my death bed I will answer the phone, I'm nosy. And it was a newcomer in depression - He's interrupting my suicide. Naturally I had to tell him how wonderful life was...So you see they do save your life. - Serenity Sam.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I drank to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



You take alcohol out of my life and living with my mind is like traveling cross country in a van full of eight year olds who have overdosed on sugar.. and none of them like you. - Bob D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was half Irish and half Scot. It was A real dilemma in my life; one half of me wanted to get drunk all the time and the other half didn't want to pay for it. - Tom M.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I never had it so good. And if I'd had it my way I'd have short-changed myself, because all I wanted out of this deal was to stay out of jail. - Patti O.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



It's amazing how much we can learn after we think we know it all. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



People talk about an invisible line that you cross and become an alcoholic. Some of us were born on the other side of that line. - Danny T.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Robert Louis Stevenson nailed alcoholism with 'Dr. Jekell and Mr. Hyde'. He was either an alcoholic or he did very extensive research. Trip S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



When I was new, I was sure that what was wrong with me was that I was not loved enough. A lot of people tried but what I didn't know about me, is that there isn't enough. I'm the Black Hole of Lovedom. My little sponsor knew that my problem was I never loved enough. And he knew that I didn't know how to start to love. So he made me do loving things; go pick up members, stand at the door and greet everybody: 'Hi there, I'm Cliff. What's your name - (under breath) like I really give a ...' And somewhere along the way I learned to love newcomers. - Cliff R.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



We have fought this fight as long, and as well as we know how. We have been defeated There is but one course to pursue; We must accept the situation. - Robert E Lee.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



They've got me stretched out - the paramedics who are dedicated to saving your life when you don't want your life saved - and next to the bed are two nuns; one old, one young. The old one walked away, she's had me because I was giving her a lot of lip - I always gave a people a lot of lip when I was the most afraid - but the young nun stayed. She looked down at me, so beautiful. I've come to believe in earth angels. She had on a white habit, and all I could see was her face. Her eyes were a blue as the heavens. And this young nun started to cry over me as she looked down at me, the spiritual being that she was. She had never seen me before. The tears were falling on the covers of that bed. And she said, ' How did you ever let your life get into such a state?' and I heard her. No one had ever asked that before. They'd always told me how I should stop drinking; do this, do that, do this.... - Clara S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



A lot of alcoholics say: 'Well there's us, and then there's normal people.' Read my lips: There are no normal people. There are just people who haven't shared with you yet. - Ken D

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was so full of fury and I loathed people but I wanted everybody to like me ...which really creates torque. - Charlie C.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Detach = Don't Even Try To Change Him/Her. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'd call him up and say; Norm, my prograam ain't working.' He'd say, 'Yea, why don't you try ours.' - Johnny H.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should be as happy as kings. - Robert Louis Stevenson

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm never going to forget about self, but the Big Book tells me that I'm supposed to be of maximum service to God and my fellows - I'm not even mentioned. And in that process, I'm of maximum service when I'm focused on others; folding chairs, emptying ashtrays, making coffee, a commitment at my home group. As it says: 'Our very lives as ex problem drinkers depends on our constant thought of others.' What do they mean by that? They can't possibly mean that we're supposed to constantly think of others. Could they? Who's going to think about me? - Chris C.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



They say there are no 'musts' in AA, that it's a 'suggested program'. That's right. The same way that when you jump out of a plane, it's suggested you take a parachute. Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



A sober alcoholic is like a turtle on a fence post - You know it had help. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



'When you think that you've lost everything. You find that you can always lose a little more.' - Bob Dylan. Tying To Get To Heaven'

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

For an alcoholic, drinking alcohol is like dancing with a gorilla; you're only finished dancing when the gorilla says so. Tom W.

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

He said he was going to kill himself. He owed these heavies some big gambling debts. I suggested he approach them with an amends deal; offer to pay them back a bit at a time. He said, no he couldn't, if he went to them, they'd kill him. I said; 'Well, nothing to lose, at least you wouldn't have suicide on your mind.' - Chuck C.

[Jeff W]

Wow, isn't that the truth. About two years ago I thought I could fool myself with Near Beer. I even read the label ahead of time, and noticed it had a very small amount of alcohol in it. I drank it anyway. So I had to change my sobriety date from Feb. 2nd 2005 to Aug. 26th 2006. Ever since then I will touch briefly on this whenever I tell my story in AA.

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Weird things they tell you; 'How do you do this?'
'Hold on.'
'How do you surrender?'
'Just let go.' - Bea.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The first time I drank alcohol, I was about 12 years old, and it made me feel so good that the way I felt without it was never really OK again. Never really. - Bob D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Which way did they go? How fast are they moving? How many are there? - I must find them, I'm their leader. ( Favorite of Ken D's )

AA 'Big Book'
Big Books & other books may be ordered HERE Misc. AA Literature Quote

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If you're new, take off your pack and stay with us for a while. Because you are going to have a life that's beyond your wildest dreams. You will get closer to knowing yourself, you will be introduced to yourself in this programme. - Sharon B.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Drinking 'Near Beer' is like going to a house of prostitution to listen to the piano player. - Steve B.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I don't have a drinking problem, except when I can't get a drink. - Tom Waits. 'Bad Liver and a Broken Heart.'

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I can't control and enjoy my drinking. If I control it, I'm not enjoying it and vice versa. - Liz J.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The highest rank in AA: Chief Servant. - Danny T.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I only need one meeting a week, but I go to seven because I don't know which one I need. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



You can tell an alcoholic - but you can't tell him much. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Daily meditation for about twenty minutes is recommended for all in recovery - unless you're very busy, then you should do half an hour. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



My mind would have killed me but it needed me for transportation. - Bob E.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If you catch the disease of alcoholism you stay alive. If you don't you die. - Scott R.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



He asked how she could tell if her husband was lying. She said; 'Watch his lips. If they move, he's lying. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If everything is coming your way...you're in the wrong lane. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm not much, but I'm all I think about. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Habit is habit. And not to be flung out the window by man, but coaxed downstairs, a step at a time. - Mark Twain.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The counselor said: 'You're full of denial.' I said; 'No I'm not.' - Tony.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



A definition of an alcoholic: A drunk with a conscience. - Keith D

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Selfishness, self-seeking and self-centeredness sound the same but I learned they're different: Selfishness is 'It's all for me.' - Self-centeredness is 'It's all about me' - Self-seeking is 'What's in it for me?' - Scott R

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I'm the type who, if he has to shift a refrigerator up 15 flights of stairs, and sees a guy with a refrigerator mover's uniform on, who says; 'Can I help you bring that up the stairs? I'll do it for free.' I'm the type who say: 'Nah, I think I've got it.' - Charlie C.

[allaflutter]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
NUTS = Not Using The Steps. Mickey B.

[admin]

8/30


Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I've had some lousy days sober. Some-down-in-the-dirt, drooling-on-myself, miserable low-life ugly days sober - But I've had fifteen and a half wonderful years. - Earl H.

[allaflutter]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote
Take heart; it came to pass, it didn't come to stay. - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



AA bumper stickers belong on the dashboard, not on the back bumper. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If it smells like a duck, looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... Chances are it's a duck. Unknown origin

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If it smells like a duck, looks like a duck, walks like a duck and talks like a duck... It's probably an alcoholic. - Unknown origin ( Probably Duck. )

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Being a little bit alcoholic is like being a little bit pregnant. ( And the longer you go, the more it shows. ) - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I want my way. That's 90% of my Fifth Step. - Doug D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I always had that long line of destruction right there in my face every time I got sober. So I couldn't stand sobriety. - Allen F.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Alcoholics Anonymous is an utter simplicity which encases a complete mystery. - Bill W.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Step One is pretty straight forward; I can't drink - and I have trouble not drinking. - Clancy I.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If a newcomer calls at 2 am, I say: 'Your answer's on page 63 of the Big Book.' - I don't know what's on page 63, but this guy will start reading and if his answer's not there, he'll think; 'Well he must have given me the wrong page.' and keep reading until he finds his answer. - Serenity Sam.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I wouldn't put myself in situations where I can only have two drinks and then can't get anymore. Not because I'm an alcoholic. It's just sort of an intuitive thing with me. - Bob D.

[janbear]

HOME

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm not the type who came out of blackouts screaming: Cover me I'm going in! I came out at the dry cleaners with the assistant saying; 'Boxed...or wrapped?' With an expression which said that he'd been asking this for some time and hadn't had any response - What do you say? 'Could you repeat that? I just got here myself.' - Charlie C.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



There are not too many people too stupid to get this program but there have been a lot too clever. - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I drank like eight pigs. - Mike.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Turn my stumbling blocks to stepping stones. - Jerry Jeff Walker - 'Getting By'

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Ninety per cent of what I do on first contact with a new drunk is to spoon feed him Traditions. 'Cos if you get a guy in your car and you're on your way to a meeting and you say: 'Look, you're going to have to take a searching and fearless moral inventory.' you'd better not hit a red light, 'cos they're gone. - Doug D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Carry the message not the mess. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



We have an approach called the Dumb Guy Approach to sobriety. We follow the directions that are in the AA Big Book. We don't make up any directions, there are already directions in here. If the book says we should read, we read. If it says to pray, we pray. If it says write, we write. Simple as that; 'Duh dum, ah what the hell, I can do that.' - Milt L.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



'Analysis' has 'anal' in there. That tells me something. - Trip S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I got side-tracked; it wasn't that I was born needing six drinks, just Twelve Steps. - Trip S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Extreme remedies are very appropriate for extreme diseases. - Hippocrates.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was worried about stuff I couldn't remember for my 4th Step. My sponsor said: 'Let's just do the fridge, we'll get to the freezer later. - Tony.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I know my capacity for drink but I keep getting drunk before I reach it. - Oliver R.

[admin]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

You go to a meeting and in ten minutes you're telling a complete stranger things you wouldn't tell a priest. - Doug D.

[catlady]

omg, this is so true! and the reason is...we relate to one another, we are amog those who know what it is to feel as we do and act as we do. I am one very grateful gal!
!:29:

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Denial - Don't Even Notice I Am Lying. - Mickey B.

[janbear]

Thanks for sharing with us catlady :smile:

[catlady]

I read these daily and get so much out of it. Just me, my cats and my coffee...starting the day out with inpsiration and motivation. I do not always post a reply, but I am here...:smile:

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm not one who says that sobriety is a life beyond my wildest dreams - I could have dreamed up something far wilder than this. - Lorna K.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



We all came on different ships but we're on the same boat now. - Martin Luther King.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Why I tell you how long I've been sober is that there are so many new things happening in AA that one day we might get a pension plan going here, and I want to get my full benefit! - Norm A.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I don't wish to become a member of any club which will have me as a member. - Groucho Marx.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I looked around the room and I could not figure out what it was that you had which was so hot I should be willing to go to any lengths to get. Some of you had nice jewelry - and if your rings were loose and you held my hand during the Lord's Prayer.. they were mine. - Patti O

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I heard this guy sharing and he said : 'I ended up drinking wine, alone, in an alley.' I started out drinking wine, alone, in an alley. - Danny T.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm not responsible for my next thought, only my next action. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The elevator to sobriety is broken. Please take the steps. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I didn't know how you could see that I was a newcomer. The fact that I'd been wearing the same dress for a week might have been a little tip-off. And that I came in festooned with jewelry, and had gobs and gobs of make-up on - which I didn't take off at night - I was like Elizabeth the First, I just put more and more on every day. - Lorna K.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Us looking for God is like a fish looking for water. David C.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



It was like: 'Hi, we are Alcoholics Anonymous, we're a fellowship of self-admitted alcoholics and pathological liars; we want you to trust us. If you can believe that, you can start getting well. - Doug D.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote




After all is said and done. More is said than done. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I try to keep my words palatable - I never know when I may have to eat them. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



You can't save your face and your butt at the same time. - Unknown Origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I realized I had a body which can't tolerate alcohol, which is OK. except that I had a mind that can't leave it alone. I'd always said that I could take it or leave it alone - I couldn't do either. - Doug D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Those who can't forget are worse off than those who can't remember. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



It doesn't matter so much who is right but what is right. I don't get indigestion from swallowing my pride. Anon

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I don't have to figure out God's will for me anymore. God's will is defined for me by taking Steps 10 and 11. Because it's all a process of weeding out everything which isn't God's will. - Cindy F.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I play the ball from where it lies - not where I wish it was. - Arnold Palmer.

[janbear]

YET = You're Eligible Too. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The bigger my head. The bigger the target. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The bridges you cross before you come to them are over rivers which aren't there. - Gene Brown.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Until I make peace with what I am I'll never be content with what I have. - Burt S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I'm so grateful to be here fully clothed and in my right mind and not crawling around in a jail cell on my hands and knees like an animal. - Johnny H.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



A question to see if you're alcoholic: Have you ever been sunburned on the roof of your mouth? - Wino Joe.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If you take alcohol out of my life, I'm left with emptiness, darkness, despair, and all-consuming hopelessness. If it's not replaced with something of value, I must drink. And I know absolutely, from my experience, that Alcoholics Anonymous is that something of value that fills that hole and fulfills every need I shall ever have. - Cubby S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



God doesn't need much; whatever we have left is enough.- Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Worrying is like being in a rocking chair; it gives me something to do but it doesn't get me anywhere. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Denial isn't a river in Egypt. - Unknown origin.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


The meeting was at a church, there was a man standing at the door, he had a tie on and he was handsome. And I thought: 'He must be the minister, now he'll tell me to leave.' And he stuck out his hand and said, 'Welcome.' And I wasn't ready for that; the welcome I got from Alcoholics Anonymous. One drunk relating to another. - Sharon B.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

If you say the Lord's Prayer, be careful of saying the lines: 'Forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who trespass against me.' if there are people you haven't forgiven. Because you'll be asking God to do the same.'

- Un-remembered source ( paraphrased )

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Most of my problems today are in areas that I didn't even have areas when I was drinking. - Earl H.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was furious. I looked up at the ceiling and screamed; 'I don't believe in you and I think you're a jerk!' then I realized, if I didn't believe in God, who in the hell was I yelling at? Then, being a good ex-Catholic, I waited for three weeks to see if I was going to be punished for calling Him a jerk. - Ken D.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

It seems a sponsor's job is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. - Bob E.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Diabetics watch what they eat and take insulin. I watch what I drink and take the steps. - Anon.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


With the 12th Step we have this great guarantee; 'Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps.' It's the only thing we're working for, or towards; a spiritual awakening, And it's a flat out guarantee; you cannot take the Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous without having a spiritual awakening It is impossible, So relax. Cubby S.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


Alcohol was my comforter, my friend, my lover...My God. -Margaret.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Alcoholism is the only disease they lock you up for. Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If alcoholism is a three-fold disease; mental, physical - and the mental and physical mix together and create a soul sickness - and psycho therapy is mental, which is one-fold. I'd be trying to treat a three-fold illness with one fold, which would leave me two fold short. Which would explain why I felt like I was bringing a knife to a gunfight my whole life. - Scott R.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


You don't have to want what we have - You just have to not want what you have. - Eddie C.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


Life is fragile - Handle with prayer. - Unknown origin.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



There's a line in 'Alice In Wonderland': 'You have to run as fast as you can to stay where you are.' And it seems like that's the way I spent most of my life and the first few years of my sobriety.- Gayle W.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Speaking from the podiums at meetings and possibly embarrassing myself was way more than I wanted to do. I believe today that my willingness to be embarrassed was the key to me getting a life. - Steve A.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Laughter is the music of Alcoholics Anonymous. - Angie D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Success consists of getting up one more time than you fall. - Anon

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


It's not just the 'yets' I worry about if I pick up a drink - it's also the 'agains'. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



People think that they're going to get sober by osmosis and going to 90 meetings in 90 days. But there's only one way to obtain and maintain sobriety and that's through the progam folded within these 164 pages. - Ted H.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



If you went to a critical AIDS ward and said 'I've got a deal for you; would you come with me to some meetings, meet and chat with some people, take some actions that seem strange to you - would you do that if I could arrest your AIDS? They'd sign over their homes to you. But, go to the alcoholism ward where they're dying from this disease, and they won't go to an AA meeting two doors down the hall. - Clancy I.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Knowing why I was an alcoholic doesn't help. The ship hits an iceberg, it's sinking, everyone is rowing away. But you're on the deck saying; 'I'm not leaving this baby until I understand what happened.' - Clancy I.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


I was waking up with someone I didn't like - and I was sleeping alone. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I spent fifteen years out there looking for my girlfriend. Then I came to the program and got sober, and I went home one day and I found her; She was my wife. And ain't that the story of the alcoholic? I spent all that time looking for something I had all along. - Norm A.

[Norb]

I am especially grateful for this message. This is the first time I am home totally sober. My wife of 21 years still has taken me back into the family that I love.
She is my wife, my friend and my soulmate.

Norb

[janbear]

Thanks norb.
My husband loved me through my addiction and we are still together, next April will be 26 years.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



The more my head swells the less my mind expands. - Anon

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I was cool when I got to AA - If I'd have been any cooler I'd have frozen to death. - Eddie C.

[letgo]

I sure wasn't...I thought I knew it all; grandiose and full of pride. Not surprising I didn't get sober from my first AA meeting really!

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Resentments are like replay cameras at football games; 'Let's take a another look at that in slow motion and close-up - Oh yes, that was worse than I thought.. let's look at that from another angle!' - Joe McQ.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


The measure of my anxiety is the measure of my distance from God. - Unknown origin. Aust.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


Courage is fear that has said a prayer. - Anon.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



After a few drinks I was capable of doing anything. As a result of which I stand before you tonight with no fantasy unlived. I have done everything that it has ever occurred to me to do - I'm deeply grateful that there are some things I never thought of. - Sean A.

[janbear]

Quotes from the book 'ALKIESPEAK'
by Andy A. of Australia


"When you think that you've lost everything. You find that you can always lose a little more." - Bob Dylan. Tying To Get To Heaven'

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I know if I take a drink, I'm gone. It's going to just keep feeding itself. But I secretly suspected that everybody who drinks must surely get that same fired-up feeling and want more, but because they don't have a problem with it they can control it. But in the AA Big Book Dr. Silkworth says that's not true; non alcoholics never experience that phenomenon of craving. - Bob D.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



It's fine to drink like a fish.
If you drink what fish drink. - Jim M.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


I ran out of the meeting screaming; 'You're not going to railroad me into being happy!' A while later I realized what I'd said. - Serenity Sam.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



I went outside and leaned up against the wall. I was throwing up on my shoes. And a man came out and he brought a towel and he cleaned me up, put his arms around me and said: 'Honey this is the last drunk you'll ever have to shake out.' - Gayle W.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



You hear all kinds of nonsense. Like: 'If you're in pain you're not working the program.' 'If you're afraid, you're not working the Steps.' Believing that nearly tore me apart for years. How can you possibly practice spiritual principles without going through periods, not only of pain, but of suffering and unbelievable agony? It's impossible. Because what I'm doing is uprooting illusions that I've based my very life on; all those old ideas, those lies I believed, and I'm wrenching them out. Like having six teeth pulled with no sedative - And I'm going to feel good? - Cubby S.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote


I told the operator I wanted to talk to Alcoholics Anonymous - this was 28 years ago - so instead of giving me the Central Office she gave me the local Alano Club. The person picked up and said: 'Hello.' and gave the phone number. I said: 'I want to talk to whoever's in charge.' - I always believed in going immediately to the top. And there was a hell of an argument on the other end, as they snatched the phone away from each other while they decided who was in charge. Finally, one guy got on and said - and doesn't this make sense? Listen to this; he said: 'Our Higher Power can't speak to you on the phone right now, but I have been authorized to speak in His behalf on any issues of recovery.' - Franny S.

[janbear]

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote



Other drugs; I never stopped doing one thing to do something else, I just kinda 'added to'. - Allen F.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote


Prayer is talking to God. Meditation is listening to Him. - Unknown origin.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

The most effective prayer I ever said had only five words, the longest word being a swear word. God didn't seem to mind. Trip S.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

Self Will: An alkie ship's captain at night sees a light dead ahead, on collision course and sends a signal; 'Change your course, 12 degrees west.' A signal comes back; 'Change your's 12 degrees east.' The captain begins to get angry; 'I'm a captain.' The reply: 'I'm a seaman, 2nd class.' The captain is furious now: 'I'm on a destroyer, change your course, and call me sir!' The reply; 'I'm on a lighthouse, your call.. sir.' - Jack K. (Amended)

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

My folks know how to push my buttons,
they installed them. - Anon.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

I thought; 'I won't just read the 4th Step, I'll chant it, like a Greek Tragedy; 'I resent my mother!!' and as I rip the pages out after I chant it, I'll throw it on a fire, signifying the connection between heaven and earth. The smoke and ashes will carry away my sins and my purified soul will be lifted to the heavens.' I didn't mention this to my sponsor, 'cos like I said, he's kind of a rigid guy. So he picks me up and says 'You can start reading now.' And I thought; 'In your Camaro?' - I was going to read the greatest spiritual treatise ever written, in a Camaro? - Chris C.

[francie21805]

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_1_211.gif (http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=_undefined)





http://www.smileycentral.com/sig.jsp?pc=ZSzeb097&pp=ZNxdm801YYUS (http://smiley.smileycentral.com/download/index.jhtml?partner=ZSzeb097_ZNxdm801YYUS&utm_id=7925)

[catlady]

:smile:

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

Using will power to control drinking is about as effective as using will power on diarrhea. - Steve M.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

He drank not as an epicure, but barbarious, with a speed and dispatch, as if he were performing a homicidal function, as if he had to kill something inside himself; a worm that would not die.' - Baudelaire talking of Edgar Allen Poe.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

It's not what you drink, or where you drink, or how much you drink; It's what it's doing for you.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

If carrots would do what alcohol did for me, I'd be a carrotolic. - Al A.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

The reality of AA is like an invisible boat that you only see when you start rowing. - Clancy I.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

If you don't believe that the AA Big Book was written with the assistance of a divine editor, ask yourself; 'Could my home group have written it?' In my group it takes us twenty minutes to elect a G.S.O - And that's when we have a volunteer. - Doug D.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

Look to the sun and the shadows fall behind. - Anon.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

They didn't make a glass big enough for me to have one drink.- Anon.

[letgo]

...which is probably why most of us end up knocking it back straight from the bottle..well I did!

[francie21805]

I just didn't want to be the first to admit it. :mrgreen: Thank God we don't have to live that way today!!

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

There are no chemical solutions to spiritual problems. - Ron K.

[francie21805]

Alkiespeak - Book – Quote

If I point the finger at anyone, I have three pointing right back at me. - Unknown origin.