Sponsorship at the Primary Purpose Weekend in Camp Hill, PA

Y'all all in? Let's go. My name is Chris Ramer. I'm an alcoholic. Good.

How y'all doing? Good. Good. I'm also a recovered drug addict. I'm gonna tell you that right now.

It was interesting, you know, we get a chance to spend some time with you over dinner and, between bites, You know, you'll have these little eyes peering at you. You know, you talk. I, a lot of y'all have have asked some some great questions, and I think a lot of the stuff we're gonna talk about this afternoon might clear that up. And I realize some of you get kinda frustrated with it because here's what takes place is exactly what Peter said was gonna happen is happening now. Some of you guys are hearing some things, and it's like, I'm not real sure I wanna take responsibility for what you're hearing.

You you all witnessed? I mean, what I'm saying and what you're hearing may be 2 different things. But in the in the event that it's not, I wanna make sure that we get crystal clear on some stuff. Alright? One, we're not sharing opinion up here.

If I If I'm gonna share opinion with you, and I do sometimes, I'll be sure to tell you this is my opinion. Okay? What we're trying to share with you is the information that's out of the book. Again, that's the thing you don't have to defend is the book. Y'all y'all down with that?

I know we've got some people from from other fellowships in this room. I know we've got some cats that are not real sure what they are, alcoholic or manic. I know we've got some alanine in here, and, I we we're not all on the same page. So I I wanna, again, go back to where we're coming from. We're directing a lot of this rigidity towards the real alcoholic.

If you're not an alcoholic, and you wanna take some of this with a grain of salt, but, by all means, do. But for the alcoholic that's gonna die, by all means, do. But for the alcoholic that's gonna die if they don't have this spiritual experience, we're pretty rigid about this. Okay? We're we're trying to take a pretty hard line with this.

And and you can interpret any way you want to, I suppose, and you probably will. A lot of you guys will be at Denny's tonight, taking our inventories. I trust me. Because I've done this long enough, I know. You know, thank you so much for coming, asshole.

You know, if you watch that. Some of the things we talked about this morning, I really wanna get clear about. You know, the traditions get quite quite clear. We talked about the requirement for membership in this fellowship as being an alcoholic. Y'all down with that?

It's called singleness of purpose. One of the reasons that we have this thing called singleness of purpose is is that I can't share with you what I don't know. I I had an interesting, experience, last couple of weeks. One of the guys that I sponsor who's a who's a alcoholic and a drug addict is also a sex addict. And, in the process of, I just need to tell you right now, I just love sex.

So Patty can attest to that. But, bless her heart, I'm gonna wear her out. But it's, I don't know anything. Now he's bragging. I I don't know anything about, sex addiction other than what I've read because I've never experienced that.

I believe that there's a huge problem in our fellowships when people start talking about stuff they don't know. It's like it's like somebody comes and talks to me about, Vietnam. Buddy, all I know about Vietnam is what Walter Cronkite taught me on the news. I've never been there. I don't have anything to share with that.

I don't know anything about childbirth. You with me? Nor do I want to. I mean, what what's this placenta thing? I I'm just, I don't wanna go I You know what I'm saying?

But if you're fixing to have a baby and you wanna talk to somebody about childbirth, don't come see me. But, you know, we got a fellowship full of men and women that are sitting in rooms talking about shit they don't know nothing about. You've never had a spiritual experience, you've never done a 4 step, but you wanna share about a 4 step. Well, this is what I think Bill Wilson meant. Excuse me?

But have you ever done it? No. Then shut up. Because all you're doing is sharing opinion. You haven't had the spiritual experience, your life is still in shambles, you hate yourself, you don't you don't you don't you don't even wanna be here, but you're here because the court system sent you here.

And so we're we're gonna talk about God and all this, that, and the other, and you wanna come up here and you wanna talk non stop about what you think this is all about. But I'm telling you, in a meeting, you know, what you think it's about, I I don't wanna know what you think about. I wanna know what you know. This is called identification in our fellowship. This is why Alcoholics Anonymous was started.

In 1953, 3, there was a bunch of drug addicts that were dying in AA and decided to start a thing called Narcotics Anonymous. And thank God they did. Because they had an an an avenue for the drug addict to identify with another drug addict. In 1982, cocaine was sweeping this country, crack addiction was rampant. The cats were dying in our fellowships of Alcoholics Anonymous because nobody could relate to them.

Crack pipe? Brillo pad? What are you talking about? Dig? The the 3 people that laugh are crack addicts.

Y'all understand? Y'all understand? It's called identification. It's it's That that that's what we're trying to say. You don't have to you don't have to A little crack addict walks into an AA meeting.

His little lips are all burned up and he's just got this look like he's just, you know, like, what voice do I listen to? You know, and he's just, you know, and he sits at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, and everybody looks at him just like, and they they they don't know what's going on. You with us? If that little crack addict is allowed to sit in this meeting and stay in this meeting, and we don't get him connected with some people that can help him, he's gonna die. At the very least, he's gonna go back out and use again, and then say, a a doesn't work.

You know why a a didn't work for you? Because you weren't an alcoholic. A a is for alcoholics. Listen, guys. I'm gonna talk about this real quick.

And if I don't I mean, I try real hard not to speak in tongues, and I don't wanna offend anybody. We've kept it pretty low key up to this point. But I'm gonna say this right now, I am not gonna walk on eggshells around anybody's sensitive feelings about this. If you are an alcoholic in an attic, you can come to but we will talk about alcohol, we will not talk about the drugs. If you were just a drug addict, and you're not an alcoholic, you are not welcome in a closed meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Whether you talk about alcohol or drugs or not, you're not welcome. Go away. I don't understand why everybody find that so controversial. We are not here to help every person in the world. Over 212 step groups out there, folks, from For sex addicts, for gamblers, for overeaters, for for for bipolar folks, for Vietnam recovery folks, for every there are so many groups out there that you can find your little niche in.

And I'm gonna tell you what happens. It's downright disrespectful for those, those of us sitting in Alcoholics Anonymous to roll over and let this stuff take place. It's disrespectful to our brothers and sisters in Narcotics Anonymous that are busting their ass ass out there tonight, today, trying to help other alcoholics get sober. It is disrespectful to our friends, brothers and sisters in Cocaine Anonymous, when we take a drug an alc a drug addict and let him stay in AA. Because we think we can do the job better.

That's pretty absolute arrogant. Almost said it, didn't I? I I For the little drug act drug addict, our responsibility is to qualify this cat. We can't guarantee who's gonna walk in that door. We don't know who's gonna come down those steps next.

Maybe it's an alcoholic, maybe it's a drug addict, maybe it's somebody just looking for freaking directions. We've got a responsibility to find out, hey, why are you here? Oh, prescription medication? We have got a fellowship for you. It's just not here.

We think we can save the world? We can't. Here's what we can do. We can save alcoholics. That's not my opinion.

That's what these traditions teach us. And if it makes you uncomfortable, buddy, come aft after and let's talk some more about it. We're not kicking anybody out of AA. We're qualifying them and helping them get into the room they need. We got too many people in Ipolic synonymous that think that they know everything.

Oh, I went to treatment. I can help you with that. Oh, please. I mean, please. Opinions kill, folks.

Well, this is what I think you should do about that. Excuse me? You think you should do or you know I should do? I think you should stop stop taking those antidepressants. I don't think you're sober if you're taking antidepressants.

Where where's that in the book? What's that about? You don't know for sh your shared opinions. Are you a doctor? No?

Then shut up. I just divorced that some bitch. Oh, I didn't know you were a marriage counselor. No? Then shut up.

Because we're here for one reason. Y'all down with that, guys? Everybody walks in. Nobody knows what they're gonna be faced with. You should know what you're gonna be faced with in a meeting, and that's what we're gonna talk about.

First thing that we gotta do when an alcoholic addict gets here is qualify the cat. There was some confusion this morning talking about the difference. There's a difference between a a 12 step call and sponsorship. Can y'all get down with that? There's a huge, huge difference.

Big Book spends most of the pages in in working with others talking about a 12 step call. What happens when you're out there in the real world, and some cat comes down the pike, and he's drinking a lot, and a family member says, man, can you talk to this guy? We think he's got a problem with alcohol. Y'all with us? My first job is to qualify him a little bit and help him get in the right room.

And it tells us exactly how to do that. Someone was talking about talking about the spiritual stuff. It says specifically, when we're working with a newcomer like this, somebody just coming off the street, don't talk about the God stuff. Don't don't hit him with religion and spirituality and all this right off the bat. Let's let's get some identification going first, and then let's get him.

You with us? Look at look at what the history says. Look at look at There was a a cat named Roland h. Y'all know the story. It's in the book.

Roland, is a is a young man that can't stay sober. And he ends up getting with Carl Jung, and Carl Jung works with him a year. Great psychiatrist. He was one of Freud's proteges. And he he spends a year in psychoanalysis with Carl Jung, comes back to United States, gets loaded.

You know what I mean? Goes back to Carl Jung and says, buddy, what's up? You know, I mean, I've been working hard on this for a year. We stayed in and now I'm loaded again. What's up?

And Carl Jung tells him the truth. He said, buddy, what you're gonna need is a thing called a spiritual experience. I've been trying to cause this to happen to you. It hasn't happened yet. My best suggestion to you is to go to people of of of of the spirit and see if this will work for you.

You with us? Roland goes back to the Oxford Movement in New York and gets sober, and stays sober. It's a pretty amazing deal. He begins to work in the tenants. This was our roots of Alcoholics Anonymous was in the Oxford Movement.

So he he he gets sober and stays sober. Part of their tenant is active working with others, helping them get get get out of the dump. And so the little skinny guy named Eddie Thatcher comes along. Right? Y'all know this.

And Roland takes him to his house and spends a couple of weeks with him, working him through what was then to become the 12 steps. There were 6 steps then. But it was all about basically the same thing. Ask God's help, clean house, look at your inventory stuff, go make amends, and go work with others. That was the original 6 steps.

And so he he works with Eddie. Eddie gets sober, and with just a few weeks under his belt, Ebby gets on a bus and goes find Bill what? Bill Wilson. Y'all with us? Now here's what Ebby does.

He walks into Bill Wilson's kitchen, and the first thing they do, Bill Evie didn't walk in with a with a big book. There was no big book. He didn't walk in with a bible and start to stick it up Bill's butt. He he didn't talk about God. I've been saved.

He he didn't do that. They went in and started talking about some some old drinking stories. Remember the time we rented that plane and got loaded and didn't come back for remember the time we remember that what was that old girl's name? They just got comfortable with each other talking about the old stuff. You with us?

And then what did Ed, what did, Abby do? Then he told him the solution. It's it's like fishing, folks. We've we've used this analogy a 1000 times from these podiums. It's like fishing.

You don't You cast it out there in the first time you get a nibble. If you give it this, you know, it's All you're gonna catch is a hook in your cheek. You gotta you gotta wait till the fish gets on there and then set the hook. You you you down with that? It's just as simple.

That's what Eddie did. Eddie went in there and talked to you about about the stories, got Bill comfortable, and then he said, Bill finally says, well, what did you do? You're different. You're not drinking. He's got it clear in his mouth.

And Eddie sets the hook. I got religion. He tells him, I I I found God. You you down with that? Had he gone in 1st and talked about God, Bill Wilson would have, na na na na na na na.

I don't wanna listen to this, you know? But he didn't. So so what does Bill Wilson do? Bill Wilson experiments with it, tries it the wrong way a few million times, and about 6 months later, he's in Akron, and he goes to doctor Bob's. Y'all know the story.

After the after the hotel, and he goes to doctor Bob's house, and he sits down. What's what does he do? Same thing that Evie did with him. He starts talking about some of the war stories. He starts visiting about about the old drinking days, and, you know, and and doctor Bob Scott, I drank like that.

I felt like that. I acted like that. You with us? Click, click, click, click. Got the hook.

Ribbit? And then and then what happens? Doctor Bob says, but what did you do different? Sets the hook. You know, everything.

And then, we got us another one. And they did the same, Bill and doctor Bob, after after doctor Bob gets sober in June 10th when he had his last drink. The next day, they said, we gotta go find another another another doozy to work with. They found Bill d. They did the same thing.

They got him in a hotel up in in the hospital, set him down, started talking about some of their drinking escapades, got him comfortable. Click, click, click, click, click. Set the hook. We caught a lot of fish back then. Can y'all get down with that?

What do we do today? Now, here's the point I wanna make. Here's the point I wanna make. This is where it gets so controversial and everybody gets upset. War stories, our singleness of purpose, you know, our our common solution, our common problem, the book says on page 17, our common problem is one element of cement that binds us.

Y'all with it? That's why it's so important to be sitting next to another alcoholic so that, y'all, they can understand what the drinking's about. But, guys, once we've got him in this room, the hook has been set. He's here. Shut up already with the war stories.

When are you gonna reel him in the boat? I'm in Alcoholics Anonymous for 7 years, folks, listening to people tell their war stories, because everybody thinks that's what we do in AA. We sit around rooms and tell our war stories. These rooms were never intended for war stories. These rooms, in a speaker meeting, I'm not talking about from the podium, you're getting up to give your pitch, tell your war story.

That's what it's for. Y'all down with that? But in a discussion meeting, in a literature based meeting, we don't wanna hear your freaking war stories. The book says on page 24, I'm not even gonna remember the consequences of a week or a month ago. I'm not even gonna remember remember my chicken shit horror stories.

What makes you think I'm gonna remember yours? Are you, for some some chance, thinking that your war story is going to scare me into recovery? Loser. Come on, buddies. It's not gonna.

Is is your worst I hear people all the time, and me, all we have is our story. Guys, shame on us if it's all is that all Abby had? Absolutely not. Evie knew how to get well. Is that all doctor Bob had?

Is that all Bill Wilson had? Of course not. It's one element of what we have is our history, our story, our ability to identify with a newcomer. But once you get them here, guys, I'm going to say it again, shut up with war stories. This This is the number one reason that we can't keep women in our fellowships, because we got too many old hairy legged boys standing around trying to scare each other into sobriety.

That's why we can't keep the young adults in there, because we're too busy trying to scare them into recovery. I've got identification going, I've got you in the room, now let's spend what little time that you have in here before the obsession returns, telling you the solution. Pulling you with a vision of how cool life can be in sobriety. You wanna sit there one more time and tell me one more stupid story like that's gonna scare me in here? Folks, I was eating out of dumpsters in 1976.

I gotta tell you something, that's a pretty scary thing to do. Crawl in that damn thing and and fight a cat for your dinner. I still hate cats today. I don't know. Did that stop me from drinking?

The DWIs, did that stop you? Being on a liver transplant list, did that stop you? Did our great athletes of the day, who are threatened with expulsion from the NFL, did that stop them? But, guys, fear will not keep you sober. Somebody mentioned earlier, doctor Bob and the good old timers, there's a quote in there from this, 1940.

We did not tell our drinking histories in meetings back then. We didn't need to. A man's sponsor already knew the details. Frankly, we did not think it was anybody's business. We all knew how to drink.

What we wanted and needed was how to get sober and stay sober. Now that's in the literature. Time is so precious, folks. I've said this a 1000000 times. We've got a little window of opportunity called God's grace.

And I believe a lot of y'all have experienced that, where you come in, you pick up a chip, and you sit there for a minute, and you feel pretty comfortable, says, man, I I think I can do this. But you're not working the steps. There's not gonna there's not gonna be any permanent return to this. You're just gonna you're just in a moment of of grace when the obsession to do that crazy stuff leaves you. Now, what how are we gonna fill that?

Are we gonna fill it with instructions on how to get well? Are we gonna sit there and try to impress each other with our stupid chicken shit war stories? Some of you, you know why you wanna talk about it so much? Because that's all you've got. Because you never got to the solution part of this program.

At least at least own it. All we have is our story. Read page 17. Next. Alcoholics Anonymous, in the book, on page 160, it says that we set aside 1 night a week for the newcomer to bring their problems.

I've said this from the podium a 1000000 times, and it's always misquoted, and it's it's it's got it's kept me in hot water, eternally in hot water. I believe a newcomer coming in with a problem that wants to talk about it probably should be allowed to talk about it a bit. You're with us? Preferably before or after the meeting. That's when I talk about my problems.

Why should you be any different? But during the hour, what we need to do is understand that we are not there to help you with your chicken shit problems. And I think everybody in this room, before the hackles come completely up off your neck, need to hear what I'm saying. I have done this. I've gone to meetings and talked about my problems, endlessly.

Everybody in here has done it, and we think it's our God given right to do that. I'm just trying to suggest to you, for your open consideration, that in a meeting, where where we're supposed to be talking about the solution, it is not a place for you to go dump your problems. The book clearly states Here Little book called as Bill sees it in a letter in 1966 Bill Wilson writes Bill Wilson wrote extensively about this, because he started seeing lots of problems with this business. In the early days, Alcoholics Anonymous was a pep rally. We'd get together with the guys that were trying to get sober, we'd encourage them, and we'd help them work through the steps, and we'd so that we could go help some other alcoholics and get the good the gravy, you know?

But but we we stopped doing that. Thank you again to the treatment centers. We turned this into a process group. Treatment centers, I was talking to Dave and some of the other guys, treatment centers still to this day tell you when you leave treatment, if you have a problem go to AAN and talk about it. The little one eyed guy visiting from Texas is telling you very quite sternly from this podium, if you have a problem, do not come to a meeting and talk about it.

Go to your sponsor and talk about it. Come see me before the meeting and talk about it. Stay after and let's go talk about it. Let's go to Denny's, eat a grand slam and talk about it. But in a meeting, let's talk about the solution.

Because I know because of selfish and self centeredness, you think that the world is revolving around you, and this problem is fixing to kill you. Trust me, the guy that's just walked in the back door that's fixing to go into the DTs, and is and is fixing to need some real help, he needs to hear some hope. But we're not gonna get a chance to give him some hope, are we? Because we're too busy trying to fix your chicken shit marriage one more time. Here's what the book says.

An AA Group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone these non alcoholics in the world around us. AA Group is not, for an example, a mediator of domestic relations, nor does it furnish personal financial aid to anyone. Though a member may sometimes be helped in such matters by his friends in AA, the fellowship Y'all with us? The primary responsibility for the solution of all his problems should, of living and growing rest squarely upon the individual himself. Should an AA group attempt this sort of help, its effectiveness and energies would be hopelessly dissipated.

And that's I'll call it synonymous is in the shape it's in. We've gotten away from trying to help people get spiritually connected to, let's fix your stupid life. We're not counselors. We're not therapists. We're alcoholics who have survived the bullet.

We know how to help you do one thing, not drink. Page 98. Peter started to read this this morning. It is not First real paragraph. See it, guys?

It's not the matter of giving that's in question, but when and how to give. That often makes the difference between failure and success. The minute we put our work on a service plane, the alcoholic commenced to rely upon our assistance rather than upon God. He clamors for this and that, claiming he cannot master alcohol until his material needs are met. Nonsense.

Some of us have taken very hard knocks to learn this, learn this truth. Job or no job, wife or no wife, we simply do not stop drinking so long as we place dependence upon other people ahead of our dependence upon God. You're with us? Guys, this is what I did for years. You see this little cat up here issue, man?

That's what these little pins are that some of us are wearing. I got little issue woman pins there too, for for you socially correct individuals. Yes. Genderly correct perfect people. Issue man, issue woman.

We use these as a little teaching tool up at the hospital, because we want we're not making fun of your issues, but we want you to see what the truth is. You see the little guy, you see right here about his about his heart area, there's a little dark spot we've drawn there. That's the spiritual malady. That's where alcoholism lies. That's what we need to treat.

The little x's on the outside represent all your chicken shit issues that you refuse to stop talking about. And this is listen. This is my experience. I know a bunch of you in this room, and I've talked to you, and you've all done this. How many times did we chase this idea that if I could just get that relationship fixed, I could get sober?

We get the relationship fixed, and we're still drinking. And if I could just get that job, everything would be okay. And we're still drinking. If I could just move to the country, if I could just sell the house, if we could just get the kids, if we could just graduate from school, if we could just start the business, if we Y'all with us? I did this for years, 10 years in therapy, talking about that crap.

All of it was important, I benefited from every bit of the therapy, but nothing ever changed spiritually inside. That's why the book says, we're gonna have a spiritual experience, you're gonna recover internally, you're gonna get taken to a place of neutrality around the alcohol, you're gonna be take it's gonna be wonderful. Then, not only are you gonna have enough power to deal with the alcohol and drugs, you're gonna have some power to go out there and kick butt with all that other stuff. You wanna get perfect and then go to god. You you you got the cart in front of the horse.

If I could do that, why in the hell do I need you morons? Why do I need to work the steps? They said, Chris, come on, buddy. Just work the steps, and you're gonna have an experience with God, and you're gonna have the power to deal with all that other stuff. You guys are getting grindy.

Some of you guys back there grinding your teeth now, buddy. I pushed you over the edge. He can't talk to us like that. Go ahead, you selfish. You know what?

Go ahead. Selfish and self centeredness is the root of the problems. And you think it's your right to go into a meeting and talk about that stuff, so you can get a little temporary comfort. A little temporary relief is all you're looking for. That's why you come into a meeting and dump it.

Did it have anything to do with the guy in the back trying to stay sober? No. But you think it's your God given right to do it. My question to you is, where do you think that arrogance comes from? How many of you guys drank when you had lots of money?

Raise your hand. How many of you drank when you had no money? Same hands. How many when you was in a great relationship? How many when you was dating Satan's sister?

Or brother? I know. I know. 10 seconds. Fever pitch.

I don't So here's the deal. The point I'm trying to make is that all of us have problems, and I'm not making fun of it with a little issue man deal. I'm just saying, when I finally saw in 1987, when I went back in that room, they kept saying, Chris, you keep wanting to talk about all this external stuff. And and the immediate thing is, I mean, you're drowning, and yet all you wanna do is try to fix all this external stuff. It's it's it's like, why don't we get you on some solid ground with sure foot under you, and then we can start dealing with the relationships and the money and all this other stuff.

But we think in Alcoholics Anonymous that our service is to help you with all your chicken chip problems. And I'm telling you, Alcoholics Anonymous is not therapy. It was never intended to be therapy. It was intended to be the spiritual entity that it is. We we here's the the gist of where I'm going with this.

A lot of times when I speak from the podium, I don't, I don't really make this point clear, and I'm looking forward for the next few minutes to make this perfectly clear. The problem is never about personalities. I I get lots of calls from you cats and you said, we you need to come up here and talk up here because we we got this guy and every time he's in a meeting, he talks war stories and he's telling us about his problems and and it's it's not about this guy. Why is this guy doing it in this meeting? It's because the format allows him to.

You you with us? We just do what we're taught. Why did I sin spend 7 years sitting in AA talking about my problems? Because I listened to you do it, and the format allowed me to do it. We started every discussion meeting in North Texas with, well, we just read how it works.

It's your meeting. Who's got the problem? Oh, oh, oh. Pick me. Pick me.

Everybody wants a chance to share their problem of the day so that we can try to give this guy some temporary relief so he won't have to go out and drink over it. Rub absolute rubbish. Absolute rubbish. Because the guy's not drinking over the problem. The guy's drinking because he's spiritually dead.

What we gotta do is get these cats connected to God. So why ask at the beginning of the meeting who's got a problem? Everybody in here's got a problem. What I wanna know is who's got the solution? You know?

And that's why we we bring in our group in in Ingram Ingram Solution Group, We have a a format that's clearly states in the front that we're are in a literature based meeting. And it says in a in a paragraph, we don't read the blue card, green card, any card. We we have a little preamble that we came up with ourselves. Our 4th tradition allows us to do that, and we came up with this preamble that says, we are not here as a dumping ground for your problems. Please feel free to visit with us before or after the meeting if you just need to talk.

But during the meeting, we're gonna discuss the topic being presented by the chairperson, which is get which is discussed in our group conscious to come out of the first 164 pages. That means every meeting we go to at that at that club, Ingram Solution Group, is gonna be a literature based meeting where we talk about the solution. After the meeting, if I'm having trouble with with Myers or Peter or or feeling low or just need somebody to talk to, there's plenty of people around that I can visit with. But during the meeting, we're gonna talk about the power of God. And a newcomer coming into my group is gonna hear some solution, guaranteed.

I I am so passionate about this. Somebody said it a minute ago, too, you know, it always sounds like we're taking shots at AA. I I come from this treatment center background, years around it, drunk, and then 10 years now working for this hospital. And I just need to tell you, we get a 1000 patients through their year, and some of them are in this room right now, graduates from that, from that, hospital. And and most of these people, when they come in, it was like we get mostly chronic relapses.

We don't get the cat that just comes off the curb and wants to get sober. These guys have been to treatment a 1000 times, and they walk in and they see the steps on the wall, and you can just see the the blood drain from their face. This is, oh shit, more AA. They say, buddy, why do you feel that way? She says, AA doesn't work.

I've tried it. All they do in those AA meetings is tell war stories and piss and moan about their problems. Now, folks, I'm not making that crap up. That's what they're saying. That's what society believes AA is about.

You see it parodied on every comic show out there. Every it says, AA becomes a a butt of a bunch of jokes out there because we've allowed it to happen. Why I get so passionate about it is I know that the one hope for these patients is not whether they complete treatment, it's whether they get connected to a good solution based meeting when they leave treatment. Guys, we have a 100% success rate coming out of our hospital for at least 20 minutes. The I mean, these I mean, we crank out a lot of dry people, people who the phenomenal craving has been treated.

But the mental obsession with many of them is still there, and will continue to be there till they have the spiritual experience. If we can get them hooked up to a good group where they can come talk about the solution, their chances of staying sober are a 100%. I've never seen it fail. And I don't give a rat's butt what happens in their life. Everybody wants to come tell me how their case is different because their issues are worse than everybody else's.

My experience of being around this thing for 20 years is is quite simple. I don't care what your issues are, if you work the steps, you're gonna stay sober. That's been my experience. Myers was talking Susan earlier, one of the most abused per people I've ever known in my life. She's sober, happy, joyous, and free.

What about the banker that comes to our hospital, or the doctor that's insulated with tons of money? How come they don't stay sober? Because they think they're different, they don't need to work these steps, they don't, they don't stay sober. Alcoholics Anonymous is the last house on the block. Alcoholics Anonymous quickly in this country is becoming the only house on the block.

They just cut state funding again 2 months ago in the state of Texas, and we lost 100 of state funded beds in the state of Texas. Treatment centers are closing daily. They just closed another big one up in Dallas, 3 months ago. Where are these cats coming? Right here.

Right here, into our fellowship. Thank God. We got a solution for them, if we can get past our arrogance. And this idea, this delusional idea that we can solve every problem in the world. My job is to get them to God.

That's our job. Question and answer on this should be interesting.