For History Buffs and those who like to read

August 23rd, 2008

The Tablemate

The Tablemate, whose official title is "Alcoholics Anonymous:  An Interpretation of the Twelve Steps," was known under a variety of different local names in early A.A. circles. It is sometimes also called the Table Leader's Guide, the Detroit pamphlet, the Washington D.C. pamphlet, and so on. It was based on the four-week Beginners Lessons that began to be used in early Detroit A.A. in June 1943. It is the best surviving set of A.A. beginners lessons, and can be used with enormous effectiveness today. In spite of its deceptively short length, it in fact not only leads beginners into an understanding of how to work the steps, but also gives them a quiet introduction to the spirit of some of the early recommended literature (Emmet Fox, James Allen, and so forth) which went more deeply into the underlying spiritual foundations of the early program. In fact, if you are charge of introducing a group of A.A. newcomers to the program, there is nothing else which even begins to be as effective.

Although there are people who are almost fantically devoted to Wally P.'s Back to Basics: The Alcoholics Anonymous Beginners' Meetings, the only parts of that long book which actually work effectively are the parts which he took over and quoted verbatim from the Tablemate. But the original Tablemate pamphlet from Detroit is far shorter and easier to understand, far less expensive to provide to the newcomers, and far less confusing to them. Our experience in A.A. in northern Indiana in recent years has been that people who go through lessons based on Wally P.'s book do no better in fact than people who go to any other kind of A.A. meetings, but that if you take a group of newcomers and have them spend an entire year working through the Tablemate over and over, at the end of that year, 90% of the newcomers who have attended each week without fail will still be sober. And even some years later, 90% of those are still sober today, which is around an 80% success rate overall. This is one of the ways which can be used today to achieve the kind of success rate that was reported in early A.A. (there are also other successful methods).

The Tablemate also gives a far more sophisticated and useful set of virtues than the Four Absolutes. The four Oxford Group virtues — Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, and Absolute Love — are certainly worthy goals, but as Bill W. warned, the alcoholic ego does not do well trying to be absolutistic about anything (except not drinking). In fact one central problem in dealing with alcoholics is in trying to get them to quit being so absolutistic about every single thing they believe!

Even more importantly, the typical alcoholic in fact has a good many other virtues that he or she also ought to be striving for in addition to those four:  as the Tablemate points out, Humility for starters (!!!), along with Generosity, Simple Justice, Honest Pride in work well done, Simplicity, Patience, Industry (go to work and really work), Faith, Hope, Trust, Willingness, Open-Mindedness, and so on.

And as the Detroit Pamphlet warns, we also need to avoid a whole series of common alcoholic vices: Egotism, False Pride, Impatience, Jealousy, Envy, and Laziness. The Tablemate can serve as one of the best guides to doing the Fourth Step ever written, and discusses a set of character defects which "fit" a good many more alcoholics than the seven deadly sins or breaches of the four absolutes, if we restrict ourselves to either of those two short lists and look at those four (or seven) issues alone.

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Cliff Note Steps from Otto at FL State Convention

August 22nd, 2008

Fess Up

Look Up

Clean Up

Pay Up

Keep it Up

Keynote Speaker Replacement Troops

August 22nd, 2008

    Fortunately, God has lots of beautiful people He has blessed with the gift of articulation. Liz B., the only woman of color on the planet to stay sober 56 years, just got out of the hospital and will not be able to join us on the Halloween Gratitude Cruise. Angie P. from Cincinnati, OH, who spoke at the International Convention in Toronto, will take her place. Also, Lorna K. who spoke at the International in 95 will take the place of Scott R. who went to that big meeting in the sky with Bill W.

     Cruisers don't forget…this years group costume is "Birds of a Feather!"

PS. One Oceanview cabin left a group rate for Alaska Cruisetour, May 25-June 5, 2009.

www.sobercelebrations.com

 

52nd Florida State Convention was a blast

August 18th, 2008

     If you made it, you know that 3,700 people plus were lucky enough to spend last weekend on the ocean in  joy and celebration of sobriety. It was a grand event at a magnificent hotel with  many great speakers. The Archives had  way too many treasures to digest. All you could do was take notes and hope to see some of them again in your lifetime. In Dr. Bob's notes:

I sought my God-My God eluded me

I sought my Soul-My Soul I could not see

I sought my brother- I found all three.

Remember, there was no Big Book for the first members  to read. They read the really Big Book every day for years and claimed their spirituality from the Bible.

My heart sang everytime I saw one of my sponsees doing service. It is truly the glue that binds us together and to this miraculous program.

A small God moment….For some reason, one of the Keynote Speakers wound up at my dinner table. He was not supposed to be there. He already started eating his dinner when the young man in his twenties showed up who was gifted with a banquet ticket and supposed to be sitting there. I found an empty seat for him. It was probably where the Keynote was supossed to be sitting, between the Voice of the Convention, a man with over 50 years of sobriety,  and Ray G. with 42 years. This young man had only 30 days of sobriety and they grabbed him like the best hor d'oeuvre in the room!  

Get in the middle of the pack so you can continue to see the miracles!

 

YTB hustle was in the rooms too

August 7th, 2008

  I was asked several times in the rooms by  people to become involved in the "travel" business with YTB (YourTravelBiz.com) I know a hustle when I smell one and tried to politely decline. One guy continued to get in my face and went so far as accusing me of not working a good program and told me that  I should go read page such and such in the Big Book so I could get an open mind and listen to his pitch. It was appalling to me that anyone could use the Big Book to try to manipulate like that. Coming from a guy with long term sobriety it confirmed how truly sick with self centeredness we can get.

   Thank God I am sober and can safely listen to my instincts. I continued to politely back away from any conversation on the subject. I am a professionally trained travel agent catering to the sober community and don't need any get rich quick schemes. I need peace of mind above all else to insure sobriety. Unfortunately for 200,000 people who became involved in YTB, instead of getting all the free travel they were promised, they got roped into a going nowhere. The State of California is now sueing YTB for an alleged Pyramid Scheme. Here is the news:

A day before 20,000 members of YTB (YourTravelBiz.com) were about to convene for the company's annual meeting in St. Louis, California Attorney General Edmund Brown Jr. announced a lawsuit against the company. The lawsuit, which seeks $25 million in fines and restitution, charges YTB with operating a "gigantic pyramid scheme" that recruited tens of thousands of members with deceptive claims that members could earn huge sums of money through their own online travel websites and agencies.

"YourTravelBiz.com operates a gigantic pyramid scheme that is immensely profitable to a few individuals on top and a complete rip-off for most everyone else," Brown said. "Today's lawsuit seeks to shut down the company's unlawful operation before more people are exploited by the scam." The attorney general's office issued a statement that said YourTravelBiz.com and its affiliates operate an illegal pyramid scheme that only benefits members if and when they find enough new members to join the scam. Once enrolled, the attorney general's office said, members who join the pyramid scheme earn compensation for each new person they enlist, regardless of whether they sell any travel. The company lures new members by offering huge income opportunities through online travel agencies yet the typical person actually makes nothing selling travel.

The attorney general's office said that, according to company records, there were over 200,000 YTB members in 2007 that typically paid more than $1,000 per year — $449.95 to set up an "online travel agency" with a monthly fee of $49.95. In 2007, only 38 percent of the company's members made any travel commissions, according the attorney general's office. For the minority of members who made any travel commission in 2007, the median income was $39 — less than one month's cost to keep the YTB website. There are at least 139,000 of the company's travel websites, all virtually identical, on the Internet.

YourTravelBiz.com's extensive marketing materials include videos of people driving Porsches and other luxury cars, holding $10,000 checks, and claiming to be raking in millions of dollars in profits. The company advertises through its website, www.ytb.com, and at conventions, workshops and nationwide sales meetings, many of which have been held in California locations such as Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco and San Diego.

The California attorney general's office charged YTB, its affiliates and the company's founders, J. Lloyd Tomer, J. Scott Tomer, J. Kim Sorensen and Andrew Cauthen, with operating an "endless chain scheme," an unlawful pyramid in which a person pays money for the chance to receive money by recruiting new members to join the pyramid. The attorney general also charged the company with unfair business practices and false advertising practices, including deceptive claims that members can earn millions of dollars with the company, operating without filing legally mandated documents with the attorney general and the Department of Corporations, and selling an illegal travel discount program

Under California's unfair business practices statue, the company is liable for $2,500 per violation of law. Attorney General Brown is suing YourTravelBiz.com to get a court order that bars the company from making false or misleading statements and assesses a civil penalty of at least $15 million and at least $10 million in restitution for Californians who were allegedly ripped off by the company. The California attorney general said consumers who believe they have been affected by the alleged pyramid scheme should send a written complaint with copies of any supporting documentation to: Office of the Attorney General, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, Calif. 94244-2550. Alternately, consumers can fill out an online complaint form at http://ag.ca.gov/contact/complaint_form.php?cmplt=CL. For more information on YTB, visit www.yourtravelbiz.com

Florida State Convention Parking Lots

August 6th, 2008

It's going to be a challenge to park for this event. Here are the lots available in Ft. Lauderdale next week for www.52FLStateConvention.com:

http://www.vacationquestinc.com/ShuttleFL52.pdf

The Great I am and the Poor Me

July 31st, 2008

   I spoke at an open meeting this week and all I can do is keep telling myself "what a horse's ___ you were! You didn't really deliver the message". Beating myself up seems to be an old dog that hounds me black and blue sometimes. I have to accept that I can only do as well speaking on any given day as I am spiritually fit to deliver.

Today's "A Day at a Time" book reads:

"I pray that my preoccupation with self, which is wound up tight as a Maypole, may unwind itself and let its streamers fly again for others to catch and hold. May the thin, familiar wail of me-me-me become a chorus of us-us-us, as we in the fellowship pick apart our self-fulness and look at it together."

I am sure they wrote that one for me.

Great travel news for US Citizen on Alaska Cruises

July 17th, 2008

US Direct Program for Alaska Cruise Ship Passengers

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority (VFPA), cruise lines and the Vancouver International Airport Authority (YVR) have launched a successful "Onboard Check-in” and “U.S Direct" strategic initiative that streamlines Alaska cruise ship passenger processing and improves transit times between the Port and Airport.

The US Direct initiative allows passengers arriving at YVR to transfer directly to a same-day-departing cruise ship by participating in expedited immigration and customs clearance process.

The Onboard Check-in initiative allows passengers arriving on a cruise ship and flying out of YVR on the same day to transfer directly to YVR by participating in an expedited immigration and customs clearance process.

The Onboard Check-in and US Direct initiatives do not apply to passengers who are planning a pre or post stay in Vancouver.

Features and Benefits

  • Sterile and secure passenger and baggage transfer between the Port and Airport.
  • Embarking passengers - baggage transferred direct from the plane to your ship.
  • Disembarking passengers – baggage transferred to ‘final’ airport destination.
  • Significantly reduced wait times and congestion for departing and arriving passengers.
  • Expedited U.S / Canadian immigration and customs process.
  • Works in conjunction with a cruise line pre-purchased bus transfer to airport / ship.
  • 100% security screening for all passengers and baggage in a designated area for participants only.

Program participants

Cruise Lines

  • Carnival Cruise Lines
  • Celebrity Cruises
  • Holland America Line
  • Norwegian Cruise Line
  • Princess Cruises
  • Royal Caribbean

Airlines

  • Air Canada/Jazz
  • Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air
  • American Airlines
  • Northwest Airlines
  • United Airline
  • U.S. Airways

SOBER CRUISE ON YOU TUBE

July 13th, 2008

CLICK HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kkg6pwpqDA

San Antonio for 2010

July 9th, 2008

          I just spent the 4th of July weekend in San Antonio to get a feel for what it will be like in 2010 when we attend the 75th International Convention. The was a wonderful welcome sign was hanging on the wall at Club 12 where I attended a couple of meetings. The folks there can't wait for us all to come on down. Texas  was wonderful, hot, friendly and scary to visualize 60,000 alcoholics strolling down the Riverwalk! It's not so much a city, as a really big town. There is a  Texan superstician that no building should cast a shadow over the Alamo, so there are not that many tall buildings as in other large cities.

     The Alamodome where the convention will be, is across the highway from the downtown action. We will have to walk about a half mile to get there. There is a large Convention Center closer where I imagine there will be meetings also.

     I did all the touristy things so I could get the Texas flavor of it all. I took the trolley to Guenther House and had the best bisquits in the world at the converted home of the family who owns Pioneer Flour. Carb freaks, don't miss this one! I rode out to Gruene and had lunch at "Rudy's, the wurst barbque in Texas," and had a soda tray full of smoked meat with a side of a loaf of bread. It was an experience! Also in Gruene, I sat on the wooden bench of the oldest Dance Hall in Texas where John Travolta filmed the movie "Michael." Ahh….I smelled cookies!

     I would highly recommend seeing the IMAX movie in the RiverCenter Mall about the Alamo, then walking down the street to stroll quickly through the real Alamo, a large empty, then on to a really cool gift shop! I waited online for an hour to get into the actual Alamo, rented a 55 min. tour on headphones but due to the crowds couldn't make it to the last empty side room. Although I live in the tropics,  I was about to pass out from the heat. Not a breeze in the Alamo, no a/c or any movement in the stiffling day.

    Best food, Boudros…they make the guacamole right out of the skin at your table. The waiter confided in me that they sell a million dollars in guacamole every year.

    Although I have a wait list for guests at the Gratitude Cruise Hotel, General Service has not made announcments yet on properties that they have locked up. Registration will be open Fall, 2009. Save your pennies for this one! It is not to be missed.