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Sober Talk SA - Larry · Sober Talk SA

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  Welcome to Sober Talk. I'm Dennis and I'm an alcoholic.
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  Soap to dear thanks to Alcoholics Anonymous.
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  If you or anyone you know is struggling with alcohol, please
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  call Alcoholics Anonymous on 1300 double 22222.
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  I'll visit their website ata.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 people who share the experience, strengthen hope
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  with each other that they may solve their common problems, and
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  help with us to recover from alcoholism.
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  The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop
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  drinking and no dues of fees. Fair membership.
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  We are self supporting through our own contributions.
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  He is not allied with any sect in immersion politics,
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  organization or institution, does not wish to engage in any
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  controversy, either endorses or oppose any causes.
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  Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other Alcoholics
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  are chief sobriety. My mum and my dad and my mum
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  lived in the my dad worked there, but my mum and dad lived
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  in the caravan. But he had beer so I'll go and
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  visit him and but once, once a month just get paid and then I'd
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  head up to Broome and and just wipe myself off for the weekend
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  and don't remember anything like that.
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  But anyway, after I left the main road I started travelling
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  and went to Darwin and trouble followed me wherever I went and
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  I met this young lady. We got on real well and but I
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  didn't know until about 6 months later but her boyfriend was a
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  bikie and he was up in Berrimo jail up in Darwin and he was
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  just about to get released. So I left Darwin and went went
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  to Catherine and I I left there real quick.
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  So anyway, so normal things going on and I, this female
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  major fight was getting sick of me seeing me every Monday
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  morning. So I'll probably spend the
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  weekend in the cells and then go to court for drink, drinking and
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  fighting in the pub. And she said you got 2 choices,
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  you can go up to Barrow my doll, which I didn't want to go do
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  because there was a certain gentleman there was going to
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  kill me. So I said yeah, we'll go to a A.
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  So that was on the Monday. On the Wednesday night was a, a
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  meeting. So we went there and there was
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  six of us in the meeting and I went there was four of us left
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  the meeting and went to the pub. Fuck this AAS for me, this AAS
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  for me. So anyway, went to the pub for
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  the next few weeks and when the coppers got sick of me and so
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  they grabbed me my swag and and dropped me off about 200 KS S
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  just dropped me off Mimi swag. And there's this place called
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  Mataranka and they've got a pub there and we've got hot Hot
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  Springs and I've got a job as a yardman there.
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  But I wasn't getting paid, I was just getting paid in drinks.
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  So I am anyway, they got sick of me there so they took me in the
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  swag out to the road. So anyway, I'm sitting there on
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  the side Rd. this van pulled up this campervan thing and they
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  said where you going? Said oh that way.
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  And so we went that way and ended up in Alice Springs and I
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  was telling this guy I had no money so he'd buy me food and
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  all that and stuff like at the roadhouses and, and we got to
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  Alice Springs and he said to Salvation Army had three days
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  free accommodation. So he dropped me off at the
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  Salvos and took off. So I spent there and when the
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  next morning I got up, went to breakfast and there's this bloke
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  in a Salvation Army uniform, He was the captain of the Salvation
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  Army and I was effing and seeing all the way and, you know,
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  talking about me drinking and all that.
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  And so he'd give me some money. No, he bought me a ticket and
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  put me on a train. Now I didn't know which way the
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  train was going, you know, whether it was going back up to
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  Darwin or come on here. So anyway I got on this train
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  and my band up here and there was this big Scottish bastard
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  waiting for me at the train station and a few people might
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  know him but anyway he mainly in the other fellowship but he said
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  he going lowering his bastards know my name.
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  So anyways he took me and then he gave that three days free
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  accommodation again at Subway. So I went there and I didn't
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  drink, but I used some speed of scored some speed at the pub.
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  And so it was on my third day this happened.
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  And I knew I couldn't get in because it was after 8:00.
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  No, it's after six if you were there.
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  Yeah. So I tried to get in the sober
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  and art unit, and this camera wasn't going to let me in there.
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  So I told the camera exactly what I was going to do to it if
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  they didn't let me in. And the door opened and this big
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  Scottish person, I was going to swear that, but this big
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  Scottish person answered it and I started pointing and telling
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  him exactly what I was going to do to him.
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  So he beat the living shit out. He beat me up anyway.
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  And it's a bit hard. There's not swearing stuff.
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  But anyway, he looked. But anyway, anyway, he put me in
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  the bed. He put me in the bed.
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  Next day they took me to Warren Ella.
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  Now I don't know if it's still there or not Warren Ella, this
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  is 32 years ago. And now they've got this thing
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  called Dasher or something nowadays.
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  But so I went to this Woronel place and I was quite happy
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  there because I was giving me pills to keep me, you know.
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  All right, you know, so and then about yeah, Valium and all that
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  sort of stuff. But anyway, I I stayed there for
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  a week and then this person came down from this hotel up on the
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  hills and and she was talking about this place and she said,
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  would you be interested in going?
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  I said, yeah. So I was under the impression it
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  was a farm I was going to though.
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  I spent another few days there and she came and picked me up,
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  took me up there. Now I got up there, there's no
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  sheep and no tractors, just a bunch of druggies and alkies
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  doing what they do. So I said, oh, no, this isn't
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  for me. But there's one buckle.
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  It's different now. There's more buses, but there's
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  one bus a week and it wasn't on that day, so I had to stay there
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  for four days. So anyway, so I was quite happy
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  after that because I was getting fed, I was sleeping well and,
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  and no one was bothering me and I had to listen to all this a a
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  crap and all that, you know, but I'm going, yeah, right.
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  So anyway, I fell in love and I fell in love.
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  Well I thought we both fell in love but I, I think, I think it
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  was all on my side Anyway so we got asked to leave.
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  So we're left. So they took us down to Meadows.
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  We were taking a bus to the city but when we got there there was
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  this bloke waiting for us. Now I didn't know but that was
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  her boyfriend. So we went back to his place.
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  So me and can't remember a name but me and her.
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  Oh, my dude, 32 years ago, you know, and I've had a brain
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  injury since then, but same way I we're still doing the business
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  and and I think she was doing with them, but I don't know.
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  But anyway, they started using drugs again.
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  So I left and I went back to this bar, another place, went
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  back up to the hotel up in the hills and done the program left
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  there. Now it's different.
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  These are they got halfway houses and all that, that you
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  can go. But then once you left there,
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  that was it. He got on the bus and that was
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  it. So I went back to the subways
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  and this big Scottish person, he ended up being my sponsor, but
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  nevermind. But sort of sponsor is my
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  sponsor for about 3 weeks. I but anyway, so he said we got
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  this thing called the bridge program.
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  I said right, I don't have to do meetings.
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  He said no, but you got to go to church on Sunday.
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  Yeah, Ronan, just for bed, you know, I said yeah, righto.
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  So just go to church on a Sunday.
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  Now, the Selvo churches are funny, but down there they got
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  this thing called the Mercy Seat and stuff like that.
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  But all those who were in the rehab, the bridge program used
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  to sit right up the back and giggle at all these people.
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  But yeah, but like we went to the subway to call their son
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  Farm up near Mount Barker. So I went up there and I just, I
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  just said to this guy, yeah, this Jesus fella, you know, you
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  were talking about. So we spoke about him.
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  Anyway, I give myself to I became the Christian.
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  So I left there and and then days there was 3 lots of units
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  in Elizabeth. There's only two left but and
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  sort of woke up units, you know, and so I applied for the the
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  Housing Trust to get on. So I think, well, I've got a lot
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  of saying I've been accepted. But so I went up there.
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  Now the Salways, I've got this big warehouse full of furniture
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  and so I've got a real nice couch, couple of nice beds, TV,
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  big TV and I was quite happy. So about 3 weeks later was a
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  knock on my door and it was just big Scottish bastard again.
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  And he said I was, it's a meeting and salt for you on
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  Wednesday. Yeah, it's a Wednesday.
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  The meeting, the last time I saw to me, I said yeah.
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  He said come, we'll go. I said, yeah, Rodder.
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  So we went and walked in. This bloke saw saw me and said,
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  how you going, Larry? I said these, these people know
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  my name. And I thought, yeah, all right,
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  how you going? He said Snowy.
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  I said, Oh yeah, Rodder, But he'd come up to the hotel up on
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  the hills and and done a spiel. So he remembered me.
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  So anyway, so I was sharing at that meeting and he said to me,
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  right, I'll be your sponsor. Now.
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  I never asked him to be my sponsor.
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  Now, I thought sponsors could have asked you, but that's not
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  what happened. Snowy said to me, I'll be your
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  sponsor now. Here's my sponsor for over 25
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  years. And in that time, he never, ever
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  asked me to do anything. He would do a lot of suggesting,
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  but quite forcefully. I'm like that.
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  But yeah, yeah, I'll be at home, you know, and I'll be upsetting
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  my wife or doing something anyway.
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  And my wife would give me the phone.
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  It'd be snowy. Go.
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  Hi. Hello.
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  I think you're supposed to come and see him.
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  I said, yeah, righto. So I'll go and see him.
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  So in the end, I said to, I said to him, I said, now you're
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  supposed to be telling me what to do.
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  He said, no, no, I'm supposed to tell you when you're doing it
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  wrong. And from what I can gather,
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  you're doing it real wrong. So anyway, that was it.
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  So anyway, now a bit friendly. I was looking in the paper.
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  I said I had to have a job. I was looking in the paper and I
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  saw this advertisement for Bible College of SA.
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  It's just down right actually. But so I thought, Oh yeah.
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  So I spoke to my minister. I flew the snowy and Mensa.
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  So he said well, you can try. So we tried and I got accepted.
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  So I went to Bible college. Now I lived there because I
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  couldn't afford to pay my rent at the flat and pay the Bible
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  college fees and all that. Mind you, the church paid most
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  of the fees anyway. But anyway, and in the at that
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  same time I was seeing this young lady, that's another thing
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  I've got a resentment about with Snowy.
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  Snowy introduced me to my wife. Now we've come out for 29 years,
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  so something's right there. Anyway, so anyway, so I said she
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  can live in the flat by the while I go to Yeah, don't wait.
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  So I went to college and I was going to church every Sunday.
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  Yeah, or church most of the days.
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  But going back to Elizabeth on a Sunday, going to church, saying
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  hello to my now wife, but she wasn't then.
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  But and so, but anyway, so I decided to, I got out of there
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  with a degree of church history. So I can tell you about church.
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  Well, I used to, but before I had this brain accident.
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  Yeah. But anyway, somewhere I left
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  there, we got married, me and my wife, and moved to Smithfield.
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  And then I had a bad car accident in 2012 and, and I died
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  and the car that was right behind me was a paramedic from
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  the Raffles. So he done his CPR thing on me
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  and then the ambulance took me into hospital.
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  I woke up in hospital. I said, Oh yeah, where am I?
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  I said, well, Adelaide, Royal Adelaide Hospital, I said how
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  long I've been here? Three months.
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  I said, oh, and so all right, about 6 on my flight, I got out
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  of the hospital, I went into this place called Hampstead for
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  people who have brain injury because I were dead for so long
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  that Oh my God, I had a brain injury before I had the actually
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  anyway, thought they'd tell me what are you laughing at?
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  But anyway, but my wife was getting sick of me and she saw
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  Snowy and they've seen sitting down having a cup of coffee and
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  Mara Para shopping Centre and said it's Snowy or F sake take
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  him to a meeting before killing. That was in 2012, near the end
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  of 2012. And I've been doing meetings
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  from both fellowships 5-6 days a week since then.
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  And I love the fellowship done wrong.
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  I don't necessarily get on with everybody and not everyone gets
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  on with me. That's all right, that's it and
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  shit. But I, I do.
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  I love the fellowship and I love especially love coming here.
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  And so we go out for a really good meal before we come here
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  and, and it's good. But apart from that, I do IA.
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  People say IA saved their lives, and for me it was a case of IA
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  saved all other people's lives because I was a very, very bad
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  drunk driver and I was very aggressive drunk.
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  I came to my first meeting. I came to after I got out of
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  hospital and Snowy took me to Brooklyn Beginners.
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  And I met Eddie and Arthur and a few other people, you know, And
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  I now he said to me, listen to these guys.
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  And I do. I listen to them.
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  I don't necessarily agree with everything they say, but that's
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  me. Yeah.
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  But I do. I listen and I do I, I speak to
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  Snowy once a month because I go up to Hampstead Brain True Place
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  on Hampstead Road and on the way back I call into the cemetery.
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  I'll sit there and have me chat to Snowy and then I rant and
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  rave this and stuff like who's giving me a hard time or not?
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  Who's giving me who I think's giving me a hard time.
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  And I thought this group, I don't like that.
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  And and these little old lady is wandering around.
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  I think I'm a nut, but I'm yelling at this fucking plaque,
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  you know? But anyway.
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  But when I get out, I I feel a lot better.
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  It's the same as the meeting. I always feel better after a
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  meeting. And the same when I used to see
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  Snowy. Always felt better once I left
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  his face. Yeah.
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  Like. And congratulations to you,
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  Eddie. I know it's your birthday.
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  Yes, I Well done, mate. I'll leave it there.
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  Thank you. Good on.
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  Yeah. Thanks.
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  Yeah. A A has more than two million
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  recovering Alcoholics throughout the world.
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  In Australia there are about 18,000 members.
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  They're made in over 2000 local meetings spread around the
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  country. Meetings range in size from a
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  handful in some areas to hundreds or more in larger
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  communities. And once again, if anyone you
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  know is struggling with alcohol issues, please call Alcoholics
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  announcing 1300 Double 00000 or visit their website on aa.org
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  dot AU.