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Sober Talk SA - Alan · Sober Talk SA

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  Welcome to Sober Talk. I'm Dennis and I've lived
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  experience of alcohol. If you or anyone you know is
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  struggling with alcohol, please call Alcoholics Anonymous on
• 0:10
  1300 double 22222 or check out their website on aa.org dot AU.
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  I'll just run through the preamble of Alcoholics
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  Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous is a
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  fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength
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  and hope with each other. They must solve their come
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  problems and help others to recover from alcoholism.
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  The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop
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  drinking. There are no Jews at fees for a
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  membership. We are self support through our
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  own contributions, is not allied with any second nomination
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  politics, organization or institution, does not wish to
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  engage in any controversy, neither endorses or oppose any
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  causes. Our primary purpose is stay soap
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  and help other Alcoholics achieve sobriety.
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  My name's Alan, alcoholic, and I started drinking the age of 13.
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  I was thinking it for my mum and dad, age of 15.
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  I left school, went to the racing game and thinking Oh
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  yeah, I'm a man now, I can do it or what now?
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  I started blinking my first drink on the car.
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  My first drink was the vodka strike and the playgrounds at
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  the pub in Balaclava, and because of my drinking I lost
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  that job. Then I left and joined up with
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  the circus and that was heaven because I worked harder, drank
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  harder, fought harder and got locked up because of it.
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  I didn't know it was to do that for 18 years in and out of
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  relationships which find out I'm not toying up with AI were work
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  relationships. Haven't you started since years
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  I've had children and now so I've done more time and jogging
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  than when drinking. I got sober in the 1st of
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  November 93 for the first time and I was tired again.
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  A smart when I was dating and all that in meetings that when
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  she's gone through the horrors one person got kept my interest
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  in the fellowship and that was the light Queenie or the older
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  members would remember that where that was Judas those, he
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  said to me, well they believe the press around the kids to
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  cover house and that's what kept me covered.
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  But I'm. I did, but I decided so later on
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  that I was going to be a workaholic instead of recovering
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  alcoholic. Oh, I picked up and in amongst
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  all that, I lost my mum, the cancer, and just took off the
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  old me. Come back quick, sweat.
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  No, didn't drink the light stuff or anything like that.
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  I went straight to the any stuff that I knew I could give him
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  reaction files and Kim kings later, I was busted up and I
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  sent him, my wife, my wife back to then That's I have to go
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  back. And he'd send back bloody time.
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  I went back. I went back to the Toronto
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  beginners, all right and because I knew that group, I knew that
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  person, one of the people that was there and saying people
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  saying city, how far what you do it for, they just turn around
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  and welcomed me back and that was it.
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  I had different attitude on my life and what alcohol did to me.
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  I had a sponsor straight away well people search and sponsor
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  was just caused my friend until I got on spot proper sponsor and
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  Home group and that my groups teaching teaching teaching
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  galley and but one thing I was told and I'm a firm believer
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  don't leave the group that you go chief and applied another
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  homework. Stay with that group until it
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  comes to you and you'll know because you'll light up like a
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  Christmas tree. And the one thing I also hated,
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  hated back then was he was saying that people on
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  medications should get off their medications.
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  And I was situated on the there were meetings.
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  So to me that they're not doctors because I was.
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  I've been on medication and they're not doctors.
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  Yeah, just a bunch of thigh and a butt because I would normally
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  swear on that. But yeah, I'd arrived.
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  I've done different meetings all over the place.
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  We got a firm believer, like the young members used to say,
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  you've got any lengths to get a drink, you've got any lengths to
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  stay. So we're not.
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  Yes. I've ridden a push bike in the
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  rain. I've ridden it in 45° just to
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  get to a meeting. I've got buses, everything, just
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  get to a meeting. I've gone through nasty the wars
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  sober. I've lost more family members, I
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  haven't picked up a drink, I've done the right thing.
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  I've ran with sponsor, I've bumped into a A members and
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  that's just the semi like I live where I am now.
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  I actually live down the road from a pub and my mother knows
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  something in fellowship and I take her all just go to the pub
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  from Canyon mill and she'll mate and she'll always say, do you
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  feel like she asked me do you really feel up to it?
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  And if I'd like I'm another. She says, OK, we'll go.
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  We'll go on the particle builds or we'll go to pass the pass or
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  someone else like that, just to keep me away from temptation and
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  without the fellowship I wouldn't hear of.
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  Because what I said in the beginning was about my children.
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  Well, I have all my children. I thought I only had two or
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  three children where I have a lot more.
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  I'd have grandchildren. I have great grandchildren.
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  I've just found out that I'm going to be a great, great
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  granddad. And I and I was in 63.
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  But I've got all these things in my life that happened because I
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  got off my butt and went to a meeting.
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  Yes, I went to rehab center the first time.
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  The second time I I did it all way home because I had the
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  knowledge from the rehab earlier meetings what to do.
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  The second time around I hung around with the oldest Wise Up
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  members and that's what's got me through.
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  And I'm I'm coming up there next month.
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  I'm coming up 16 years instead of 30 odd years.
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  But I don't. I don't care about.
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  Yes, it was a learning curve for me.
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  But this is my life. Everything I have today is
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  because of a a like my children and my grandchildren come back
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  to my life. There were award or needs that I
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  wanted in my life. They were a blessing from the
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  God of my understanding, Eastern and lagers, he said.
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  You've done the hard work. Yes.
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  A reward. And he don't worry one big time
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  that I'm on the phone all the time with my daughter and what's
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  on all my grandkids. I've found out that I have 2468
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  sons in the fellowship. I have seven daughters in the
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  fellowship. I have granddaughters in the
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  fellowship. And to me, that's the best thing
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  ever, because they're begging on these doors of AI in 1935 South
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  everywhere we can start getting sober, probably eye disease with
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  my grandchildren caught our cancer and I would have it.
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  We never want to be around just to help each other.
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  I did different reasons, different reasons.
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  I didn't. I've done big books, studies,
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  Dennis entire. I've got ID meetings, I've gone
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  on face, I've gone on 12 step calls.
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  I'm volunteering in the for the suburbs and for another place.
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  It's all because I walk in the doors.
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  I put my bum on the seat and the old tower was ringing over this.
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  I put took the corn water out of my ear holes and shoved it in my
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  mouth and listened. Yes, I heard my story.
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  I've actually heard my story again 3 weeks ago, and that was
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  from a 17 year old girl who turned around and told my life
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  story, what it was like for me the first time I come in.
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  Because she's gone through it now and I'm glad to say she's
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  got two years up and we worked out with my family that we have
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  just over 55 years of sobriety in my family alone.
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  Then that doesn't say that this fellowship works in what?
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  In strange different ways for everybody?
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  Then something start not working right in your life.
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  I did what I did with my 4th and like this I did didn't trust an
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  A member because they might go out drink and blab it up.
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  Someone. I went to a church to the church
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  I went to. I was going to him, saw the
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  preacher there. I said to him I need to talk to
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  you privately. And he went, yeah.
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  And I said it's look like it's a confession because I know by law
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  they can't say nothing. We would start at the
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  confession. And I did my fork like this with
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  them. I was still wondering what the
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  emptiness was inside my heart. And that's where what children
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  come in. Because my hole in my heart
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  isn't there anymore. My heart.
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  My head, yes. And at 1:00, because I what I am
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  done was show me the way for a better life.
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  And I've been able to pass it on to my kids, my grandkids, other
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  people out there that want it and it works well.
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  I don't just do it to people that are.
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  Got a drinking problem. I talk to people about normal
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  day problems. That is where I'm lucky because
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  my problem allows me to do it that way.
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  And seeing people getting better just by mentioning a few things
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  from the group from A A. It's great.
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  Obviously people struggling on the streets and actor runs come
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  up to me. 6-7 months later I said thanks very much.
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  Two people that helped save my life.
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  One died from this disease, one is now in hospital as a wet
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  brain and these guys shag my rifle and unfortunate they
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  couldn't take a leaf out of my book and come to AA with me and
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  have a good life like I've got. There's there's nothing in this
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  world that can put yourself in a lot of stress and end games.
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  Then you then what you can do to yourself.
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  We as always talk. We are our worst enemies because
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  we let things get to us while we're all up.
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  Then we explode. And the ones that get hurt the
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  most when we explode are our families, our partners, right?
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  And in my case, it was my parents.
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  Right now I'm lucky I got this. I got to show my parents that
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  ploughed. I was sober, I was clean and
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  tidy. I was eating well, rope over my
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  head. And that was all I can do.
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  And I like I said sorry to them that many times.
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  And my parents started saying with stop saying sorry, we can
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  see you sorry because you're not drinking.
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  When kids say the same thing. Dance.
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  Stop stressing. You're right.
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  You're not drinking. You're in a safe place in your
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  head. Everything by your body.
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  That's all a A, I'm done at the 3rd and you're the big Bo bonus.
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  I've actually gone back to school at the age, remember at
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  the school at the age of 63, I've got done my year 12.
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  I've done 18 months of university at my age and I'm on
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  taking a break at the moment because I want to get back to my
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  my community and volunteer at Star Wars and the other places.
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  I did because I can't, because if I was drinking I wouldn't
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  been able to do all that. No, I'm not drinking.
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  That's where my God and my understanding at the moment has
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  put me and that's where I'm staying until he's ready to move
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  me on to something else. So that's what I said.
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  AI works if he let it. But has my 7 year old grandson
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  said to me yesterday, Papa AI works in everybody's life that
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  are recovering. All they got to do is shut up
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  and listen to the older members, and the older members do the
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  same. They go shut up and listen to
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  the younger members that come in because we're teaching the young
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  ones how to live without picking up a drink.
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  They're telling us what it's like if we go back out there and
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  drink again. Like I've been told by my
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  daughter, if I go pick up a drink and go back out, my
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  children will be burying me in six months because I don't know
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  what's damage to my body and my I don't want that.
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  I will see all my grandkids get up and whatever they decide to
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  figure out. The uni graduate from uni.
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  I've had the purpose of walking my daughter and my granddaughter
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  and my guy's son down the aisle to get married.
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  I would bore my eyes out because I wouldn't have seen if I'd
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  still been drinking. No, that's what I mean.
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  Everything been in AI been right, other members, all good.
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  I'd still ride a bike. I don't do as many meetings as
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  possible. Well, I've got what I've got.
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  Sober talk, I fall back on and I listen to that every night.
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  I listen to at least two or three speakers at night and by
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  listening to them it comes everything in my head down and I
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  can get a good night's sleep. It's it's too bad that I need to
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  talk to somebody and it's not too late.
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  I'll ring what sponsor if I don't ring what sponsored?
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  Once or twice every couple of days he's ringing me like it's
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  all right and that's the way it is.
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  We've already packed and done. That's what daughters of school
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  statue played enough money in drinking to qualify for the
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  special Brooklyn University the English guards are in.
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  I said what do you mean? And then she goes Alcoholics and
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  normal. That's what I've seen in you is
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  the world's best university ever because it teaches you how to
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  stay off the the birds and lives on normal family life.
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  And there's a lot of people in what in my life like some were
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  going that and help me got the likes of Gordy.
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  He used to pick me up every night and take me to a meeting.
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  I like Darwin, Paul, little roofs, which everybody went on
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  down by her. She turned around and took me to
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  what you really mean. And it turned out to be in
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  forest go and she turned around and said to me, the leg guards,
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  the alcohol, you're the little boy, she the leg guards are
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  alcohol. Everything in the air and every
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  time you see it break off that's us breaking away from our
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  disease. Putting it at rest so we can
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  keep going forward. Not too fast not too slow at a
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  steady pace. Because if we go fast we're
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  going to miss out there. If we've got to go slow we're
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  definitely angling hear what we've got to hear.
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  So but but the parade, I wouldn't be here.
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  I wouldn't have what I've got. So that's why we're always
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  grateful for every remember, I'd say why you I still don't like
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  people. Some people in AI.
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  And just to show you I had one person that come and rub me up
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  the wrong way by saying the wrong thing about my new
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  girlfriend. I told the wreck I was over
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  punching the verse. He kept those.
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  Why he didn't? You don't know why, because I'm
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  still old school. But when I when he got up.
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  I apologize and he apologized. I was just shocked because his
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  part of the children said I've never heard a report say
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  anything like that to me. Others didn't show him.
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  Sometimes people have to learn respect the hard way, and that's
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  what happened to me. I had to learn respect the hard
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  way. Yes, I was.
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  I got here by my dad, but my heart, my heart way when I got
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  sober was listening to the newcomers, listening to my
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  family that are suffering from this disease.
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  And yes, I've lost two children to this disease.
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  I lost some daughter-in-law to covert in England, but I still
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  didn't pick up. A drink goes to me that's not
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  going to bring anyone I've lost back.
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  It's just going to make me sick. And so I just keep going one
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  foot in front of the other, straight ahead and and when I'm
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  doing that I don't know why I do it or how I do it.
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  Well I always remember for commence in the sand and that
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  comes in my head and away I go. And now I talked out at 10 there
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  are only one set of footprints and they're not mine because I
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  can't handle that stuff at the time.
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  So I know my higher power was carrying me to where I have to
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  go to be safe and doesn't. My son-in-law said to me he goes
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  if it was a parade I we'd all we'd all be dead we wouldn't
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  have what we got. When I turned around and said to
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  him that's a little passage and I can't remember what what it's
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  under Dennis there's something about that award doctors award
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  and I was presented to AI you know the one I'm on about.
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  Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
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  And look and I read that and the I hate to receive something like
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  that have been recognised but saving people's lives would
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  doctors can't from our disease We are we are in the best
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  university of all because one's always learning new things from
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  our past so we can fix. And I saw my wife and I'm still
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  doing it. I got family in my life.
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  I got one brother I went up to sing and making minutes to him
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  he told me to go to hell. I turned to him.
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  That's all right then. Look, you got your opinion.
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  I've made the effort but see you later.
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  Bye bye. I'm gone and that's what why.
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  Program says If they don't accept it.
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  Thinking is he made the effort just get on with life.
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  I do. I live really.
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  I live life one day at a time. Flight flight program.
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  Sometimes it's 30 seconds, sometimes it's 3 hundredths of a
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  second many second. I live my life but I'm still
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  living it. I'm not drinking and I'm
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  enjoying life. We have local meetings for the
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  full week in the local area. Monday is Gala meeting at 8:00,
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  Tuesday is Elizabeth E at 8:00, Wednesday is Elizabeth E at
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  8:00, Thursday is 2 Wells at 8:00, and Friday is Salisbury at
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  8:00. There's a meeting at Devron Park
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  at 12:00, and on Sunday there's a meeting in Salisbury at 7:00
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  and many of the meetings in the area.
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  For details of your local meetings, please phone 1300
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  double 22222. And once again, if anyone you
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  know is struggling with alcohol issues, please call Alcoholics
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  Anonymous on 1300 double 22222, the website isaasa.org dot AU.