Page 275 - The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

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260 ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS
reached the bar, he was willing to buy me a quart with
his own money. Then when we got back to the apart­
ment, he was willing to wait two or three days until
I got my health back to be paid off for the liquor and
fare. I was a good salesman. My wife could not un­
derstand the next morning why I was drunker than
the night before, when she had taken my bottles.
After a particularly bad Christmas and New Year’s
holiday, Dad picked me up again early in January
1937 to go through the usual sobering up routine.
This consisted of walking the floor for three or four
days and nights until I could take nourishment. This
time he had a suggestion to offer. He waited until I
was completely sober, and on the day before I was to
head back for Chicago, he told me of a small group of
men in Akron who apparently had the same problem
that I had but were doing something about it. He said
they were sober, happy, and had their self-respect
back, as well as the respect of their neighbors. He
mentioned two of them whom I had known through the
years and suggested that I talk with them. But I had
my health back, and, besides, I reasoned, they were
much worse than I would ever be. Why, even a year
ago I had seen Howard, an ex-doctor, mooching a
dime for a drink. I could not possibly be that bad. I
would at least have asked for a quarter! So I told Dad
that I would lick it on my own, that I would drink
nothing for a month and after that only beer.
Several months later Dad was back in Chicago to
pick me up again, but this time my attitude was en­
tirely different. I could not wait to tell him that I
wanted help, that if these men in Akron had anything,