Dear Kevin,
 On Wednesday, 2 October 1996 at 10:02:02 -
 Kevin Quast contacted All, thus showing great enthusiasm
 on the subject of: Hi, Everyone. I'm new
 KQ> Hello, Today's been a remarkable and somewhat scary day for
 KQ> me. For weeks now I've been flirting with the sense that unless I
 KQ> take some definite action, I'm going to hit bottom really hard and
 KQ> lose everything because of my drinking. I have avoided the advice
Oh yes, now aren't we drinkers the best at 'avoiding advice'... that's
why in the Fellowship there is very little direct advice given, we know
the counter-effects of this well meaning device only too well.
Suggestions there are in abundance as well as much sharing of one's own
personal experience, but 'advice' - only leads to more 'vice' as far as
this alcoholic can see!
As for your being concerned about hitting bottom, I really hope that
your bottoms are not as 'springy' as mine were. I hit plenty of rock
bottoms on my way to the Fellowship, trouble is they all contained a
trampoline and I bounced away from my cringing 'kind of' desire to stop
drinking with the inevitable return to a further attempt at steady,
social drinking. Only when the 'spring' went 'out of my bottom' did it
eventually have a chance of manifesting again 'in my step' where it
should have stayed in the first place. However, I had to take 12 Steps
in this Fellowship before the 'spring in my step' travelled to my head!
 KQ> of those who know me that I should go to AA. But, today, as I was
 KQ> driving along the road I prayed that God would "heal me" from my
 KQ> drinking problem. When I parked the car and got out, I noticed a
What was it that they said of Christ when He started His mission -
'...who, him, well he's nothing but a drunkard and a glutton and anyway
there's nothing good ever come out of Nazareth.'
However, it isn't long in the recounting of His story before it is
recorded that He said of Himself - '...I shall drink no more of the
fruit of the vine until my Father's Kingdom is established.'
It has always comforted me in this Fellowship that even though it is not
a religious Programme, still the Spirituality in this Programme reminds
me that there have been many real messengers from God as I understand
Him, who have known the perils of drink and the benefits of having drunk
to excess in order to train the being to eventually be fit enough to
really work in the front line of life after coming off the 'assault
course' of excessive drinking. Even Noah was reported as being very
prone to getting plastered at one stage in his patriarchy!
 KQ> booklet lying on the road. It was an AA directory, with the number
 KQ> of this BBS on it. I may be a bit slow, but even I couldn't ignore
 KQ> this "coincidence." So now I am trying to screw up the courage
 KQ> (humility?) to attend a meeting. There's so much I need to talk
Maybe your 'screw-up' days are about to be relieved! God leads to His
Light whomsoever He wills.
 KQ> about and work through. But I can't let this opportunity slip by
 KQ> now -- I have a feeling that this is has got to be the turning
 KQ> point for me, or else ... ... OFFLINE 1.35
In this Fellowship, God is The Friend - you'll shake His hand at your
first Meeting - whatever his/her name!
Kind regards,
 Andrew D.
Message penned by Andrew D. in Kingston-upon-Hull, England
on Saturday, 5 October 1996 at 20:24.  >>-PGP key available by Netmail-<<
Fido: 2:2502/28.4 - Email: Andrew_D.@p4.f28.n2502.z2.fidonet.org
.!. Memory is a thing we forget with.
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