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Help Offered To Perryans
Alcoholics Anonymous
Escape Drinking Woes
"God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I
' — \
An Invisible Wall
Alcoholism is often referred to as a lonely disease and I can testify to the descriptive
accuracy. It is lonely because we build an impenetrable wall around us to protect us
from reality and so no one can reach us, no matter how hard they try.
For the foundation of the wall there are many satisfactory ingredients, but in
security is one of the best so we drink excessively to make us someone else or to build
false security into the base. To that we add a layer of fear, generally caused by mixing
alcohol with insecurity. Fear for what we may have done or not done yesterday, fear
of what we may or may not do today and fear of tomorrow. We build the next layer of
resentment, always justified because someone else got the girl, money, job or praise
which we should have enjoyed. This is a good solid wall we are building now, so we
add the next course of jealousy brought on by the resentments mixed with excessive
amounts of booze.
The wall is getting taller and thicker so a good layer of intolerance, particularly
directed at those who are trying to help brings the wall up to a point where dishonesty
is needed to continue building our destruction and we mix this with more booze so that
the noose is getting tighter all the time.
At this point we don’t come up for air very often and safely snuggled in our solid cell
of character defects, what could be more appropriate than a solid roof of lies. We have
to lie to ourselves and to everyone else so that this wall will stand against the world of
reality because by this time the universe is turning backwards and everyone is
meddling in our business and our life. We need more protection so we seal the whole
mess with a coat of anger - anger at ourselves for what we have done and anger at the
world for what it has done.
After varying periods of time behind this self-made wall, solitary confinement
becomes unbearable and insanity or death seem inevitable and at times more
desirable. We come to one day in a hospital or de-tox unit, cell and all, but a crack has
developed in the wall and a ray of light seeps through. There is some guy or gal from
Alcoholics Anonymous sitting there talking who seems to know all about walls and
they are trying to tell us that they understand and will show us how to remove this
solid invisible wall one day at a time. Shaky hands rub blood-shot eyes in disbelief as
we try to seal the crack in the wall with more lies which have proved so effective in the
past, but truth has ruptured the wall and it will not re-seal.
Reluctantly we go to our first meeting and see many happy sober people, with
bright eyes and dry hands and someone describes our wall and says it was theirs and
they share their experience, strength and hope one day at a time and offer us the tools
of Faith, Honesty, Humility and Love which they say wrecked their wall of horror.
Shakily at first, I start on the steps, and as they help melt away my wall, confidence
begins to return and by climbing some of these 12 Steps daily, I know that the wall is
no longer needed.
-and we have not yet found an easier, softer way.
A Warner Robins Member
. J
JUST ARRIVED!
WORLD FAMOUS
ADIDAS SHOES
We Have All The
Styles And Colors
In All Sixes
Edwards-Harper
Downtown Perry
■
cannot change,
Courage to change the
things I can,
And Wisdom to know the
difference,”
This simple but beautiful
"Serenity Prayer” is used to
begin each meeting of an
organization with 17,000
chapters and 575,000 members
scattered throughout the
world. The organization is
ENTIRELY self-supporting,
yet charges no dues or fees as
a prerequisite for mem
bership. It accepts ANYONE
who has one simple
qualification - the desire to
end a practice which usually is
a well-established habit.
The group is called
Alcoholics Anonymous and the
sole qualification for mem
bership is the desire to quit
drinking alcoholic beverages.
It has no religious affiliation of
any kind, will not become
entangled in politics, and has
as its sole goal for its mem
bers to stay sober and to help
others achieve sobriety.
Alcoholics Anonymous is “a
fellowship of men and women
who share their experience,
strength and hope with each
other in order to solve their
common problem and to help
others recover from
alcoholism.”
FOUNDED IN 1934...
Alcoholics Anonymous was
founded in 1934 by a New York
City stockbroker and an
Akron, Ohio, physician. Both
were alcoholics and both had
almost completely “lost it all”
to the effects of “booze”. The
broker helped the physician to
completely abstain from
alcohol, at the same time
helping himself.
The two men were in
precarious financial positions
at the time, and remained so,
but not due to alcohol. Instead
of drinking themselves broke,
they began to spend most of
their time helping others, thus
neglecting, for the most part,
their professions. Their idea
caught on rapidly and A.A,
spread to other large and
small cities throughout the
United States.
HOUSTON COUNTY’S
“A.A.”...
The Houston County chapter
of Alcoholics Anonymous is
located in Warner Robins at
117 Market Place. (This street
is one block off Watson
Boulevard, and is a one way
street which connects with
North Davis Drive at it’s in
tersection with Watson
Boulevard,) The build
ing is next door to the Warner
Robins U.S.O. Club. The A.A.
phone number is 923-7576, and
is tied in with an answering
service which then phones
A.A. members.
The Houston A.A. chapter
meets each night except
Tuesday. Meetings open to the
general public are scheduled
each Friday and Saturday
night. Other meetings are
' available only for A.A.
members. Attendance varies
from around forty (40) to over
one hundred and fifty (150)
members.
The Home Journal talked
with two members of the
Warner Robins chapter last
Thursday. Both were mid
dleaged men, dressed well,
and both bore no outward
traces of ever being tainted
with the disease of alcoholism.
Both talked matter-of-factly
about themselves and A.A.
itself. Anonymity is
precious to A.A. members,
due to the unfounded stigma
placed by society on
alcoholics. The Home Journal
will protect all identities,
realizing the courage requird
to discuss such a sensitive
matter freely with a member
of the news media.
QUITTING NO PROBLEM...
“Chuck” says
that members of Alcoholics
Anonymous attempt to stay
sober “24 hours at a time”.
Fighting the mental and
physical disease is a day-by
day basis. Chuck says,
“Quitting is no problem...
Slaying quit is the problem.
Why I know one fellow who
quits smoking at least twice a
month.”
"Willie” hasn’t had a drink
in twelve years, and is
justifiably proud of that fact.
Yet he says, “If I ever take a
drink, 1 could be back in a
condition as bad as if I’ve
drunk all the time. I know,
I’ve seen it happen too many
times!”
Asked about any effect
availability of liquor has on
alcoholics, Willie answers,
"None at all. I was an
alcoholic before Houston
County ever legalized liquor.
An alcoholic will go as far as
he has to, to get a drink. It’s
both a mental and physical
compulsion.”
Nationwide, Alcoholics
Anonymous says that seventy
five (75) percent of those
people who come to more than
one meeting recover from the
depths of alcoholism. Os
course, many people come to
one meeting and never return.
A.A. realizes that some of its
members, although a small
minority, has "relapses" or
short returns to drinking. One
member says, "Sometimes a
relapse is needed to convince
an alcoholic that he cannot
safely drink any kind and any
amount of alcoholic
beverage.”
THE TYPICAL
ALCOHOLIC...
The typical alcoholic is
black, white, man, woman,
young, old, rich, poor, smart,
dumb, employed, unem
ployed. THERE IS NO
TYPICAL ALCOHOLIC.
People from all walks of life
are known to have drinking
problems. There was a time
when A.A. membership
consisted mostly of ‘‘skid
row” umemployed types who
spoke of losing jobs and
families... to say nothing of
time spent in hospitals, jails
and missions.
Nowadays members of A.A.
come in speaking of DAYS lost
from work, rather than lost
jobs. They still have families.
They have never seen the
insides of jails, never lived in
a fourth-rate hotel, never slept
in a rat-infested alley. Yet
they are alcoholics, and
realize they have a serious
problem with alcohol
ingestion.
National statistics con
cerning Alcoholics
Anonymous indicates: (1) one
out of every four members is
female; (2) the largest per
centage of members are
ATTENTION ALL MOTORISTS!
DO NOT WAIT ANY LONGER
TO GET YOUR CAR INSURED
UNDER NEW GEORGIA LAW:
YOU MUST HAVE I
AUTO LIABILITY
INSURANCE AFTER
JAN. 1,1975 IN
ORDER TO GET
| YOUR CAR TAGS |
LET U$ HANDLE THIS FOR YOU, TODAY
HOUSTON COUNTY'S FULL SERVICE - FULL
LINE INDEPENDENT INSURANCE AGENCY.
TUGGLE & JENNINGS
INSURANCE AGENCY
1013 B MAIN ST. PERRY, GA. PH. 987-1951
/'™ 1 -
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL THURS., OCT. 17. 1974,
The
TWELVE
STEPS
J a We admitted we were powerless over alcohol .. . that our
" lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could
restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care
of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being
" the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of
character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing
to make amends to them all.
Q a Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except
when to do so would injure them or others.
io. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong
promptly admitted it.
J a Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious
contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for
knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. -laving had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps,
we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice
these principles in all our affairs.
V >
between 31 and 50 years old—
(50 percent); (3) practically
all occupations are
represented; (4) sixty percent
of all members have been
sober for a full year; and (5)
sixty percent of members
achieve sobriety within one
year after becoming members.
AL-ANON AND ALATEEN...
Two groups closely tied to
Alcoholics Anonymous arc Al-
Anon and Alateen. Both are
programs for those persons
close lo the problem drinker.
Al-Anon is for adults - either
spouses, relatives or friends of
alcoholics; and Alateen is for
the teenager whose life is
affected by alcohol in the
family.
Alateen Warner Robins-
Houston County chapter
meets at 117 Market Street in
Warner Robins, just as do
A.A. and Al-Anon. Alateen
meets Thursdays at »:30 P.M.
Al-Anon meets each night at
8:30 P.M. except Tuesday
- meets with the A.A.
chapter on Wednesdays at
8:30 P.M.
Al-Anon basically gives its
members information on
alcoholism, support for day
to-day living, and motivation.
Most spouses of drinkers
usually lend to unconsciously
support the drinker, “playing
his patsy”, and thus
sometimes just making things
worse. But in Ai-Anon in
formation is shared about
alcoholism, and positive
approaches are taken.
Al-Anon’s primary focus is
assisting the spouse, relative
or friend of an alcoholic -- not
in helping the alcoholic
himself. (A.A. is for the
alcoholic.) Just as staying
sober is a continuing thing for
PAGE 5-B
the’ A.A. member, finding
ways of coping with life is a
continuing thing for Alateens
and Al-Anon members.
All three groups - Alcoholics
Anonymous, Al-Anon, and
Alateen may be contacted by
calling 923-7567. To repeat, the
groups are ENTIRELY self
supporting, and are non
political and non
denominational. They are
available for the ap
proximately 2,500 Perryans
whose lives are affected by
alcohol.
(This has been the fifth in a
series of articles exploring
alcohol problems in Perry and
Houston County. Written by
Home Journal Editor Bobby
Branch and Associate Editor
Joe Hiett, the series treats in
depth the problem. Next week
will see the final part of the six
part series.)