How did you meet A.A.
No.3, Bill D?
Answer
I was living at Dr. Bob's
place and one day he said to me "Don't you think
that for self-protection that we had better be
working with more drunks." I thought it was a
good idea and the upshot was that he called City
Hospital where he was in some discredit because
of his drinking and he got hold of the Head
Nurse down there and said to her "a fellow from
New York and I have a new cure for alcoholism."
Quite kindly the nurse observed, "Well, Doctor,
I think that you should try it on yourself."
Then she told us that they had a dandy prospect
who was strapped down for blackening the eyes of
one of the nurses. So doc said, "put him to bed
and we'll be down when you get him cleared up a
bit and put him in a private room."
So a little while after Dr. Bob
and I saw a sight that tens of thousands of us
have since beheld and God willing, hundreds of
thousands shall see. It was the sight of the man
on the bed who did not yet know that he could
get well.
Well, as it turned out, the man
on the bed was no optimist, like many a drunk
since he said, "I'm different, my case is too
tough and don't talk to me about religion, I'm
already a man of faith. I used to be a Deacon in
the Church and I've got faith in God still, but
quite obviously He has none in me. Anyhow, come
back tomorrow and see me as you fellows interest
me as you've been through the mill." Of course
we had related our simple formula. Of course we
had told him of our release although he was not
impressed that mine was only of months and Bob's
only of days. He said, "I was sober once that
long myself."
We came once more and as we
entered his room the man's wife sat at the foot
of the bed and she was saying to her husband,
"what has got into you, you seem so different."
He said, "here they are, these are the ones who
understand, they've been through the mill." He
made great haste in explaining how during the
night hope had come to him and he had taken
there to follow our simple formula. Something
else had happened, there was a sense of
lightness, a sense of feeling in one piece, a
feeling of relief, he said.
The next thing we knew No.3 said
to his wife "Fetch my clothes dear, we're going
to get up and get out of here." So A.A. No.3
rose from his bed and walked out of that place
never to drink again. Well, at that time there
was no realization on the part of us what had
begun to happen. Of course, that was the
beginning of A.A. as we understand it today. The
essential process was the same and the grace of
God just as everlasting. (Chicago, Il., February
1951)
