ocToBER

@ Goodlfews
OCTOBER
1979
PublishedMonthly,irr San Francisco.California
lly the NortltenrCaliforniaC<luncilof AlcolrolicsAnonvurous
VOL. XXIII
N0. l0
C O M ES H A R EY O U RS O B R I E T Y
0ctober 19, 20,21,1979
in
S T 0 C K T 0 NC
, ALIF0RNIA
T h e rea re ma n yi n te resting discussionmeetings,speaker s,wor k s hopsetc
, .
p l a n n e dfo r u s a t the StocktonMemor ialCivic Auditor ium. A progr ami s
e n cl o se dfo r yo u r convenience.
l 'l H YN OTR E GIS T E
TR
0 DAY?Thusno tim e will be lost at the Conf er enc w
e ai ti ng
i n -l i n e to re g i ste r - your nam ebadgewlll be r eady and waiting for y ou.
R e me mbth
e re se C o n fer ences
ar e plannedby the Nor ther nCalifor n i a C ounc i l .of
M w h i ch i s co mp ri sedof two ( 2) delegatesfr om each gr oup in Nor ther nC al 'i foTnia. HASYOUR
GROUP
ELECTED
YOUR
REPRESENTATIVES?
It i s th e p ri vi l e d g e of these delegatesto vote on the speaker sw hoar e
i n v i t e d t o c o m ea n d s h a r ew i t h u s . I s n ' t i t e x c i t i n g t h a t e a c ho f u s c a n
re a l l y h a vea vo i ce in these Confer ences
if we just makeit know nthat w e
w a n t to b e o f se rvi c e.
The temperaturein Stocklon during the monthof 0ctober can be expectedto
range between50u and 77'. Perfect weatherfor traveling and all the recreational activities available. l.lrite to the StocktonChamber
for
of Conmerce
a d d i ti o n a l i n fo rma tionor stop by the Infor mationBoothwhenyo u ar r i v e.
REMEMBER
EVERYONE
IS INVITED- EVERYONE
IS I,JELCOME
. OLDTIMERS
ANDIN-BETWEENERS
NEWCOMERS
A tte n d i n gC o n fe re n ces,
meetingnewand old fr iends, can add a n ewdi m ens i on
t o o u r s o b e rl i v e s .
I T I S G R E A TT O B E S O B E R :
T H EL E GA C IE SOU
: RHERITAGE
ANDM YRESPONSIBILITY
Jattz B, tloduto. CA
(Continued
frornthe September
I 979 issue)
Andso, agaln "our cofirnon
welfare shouldcomefirst, personalrecoverydep e n d su p o nA Au n i t y , " a n da s B i l l s a i d , " t h e u n i t y o f A l c o h o l i c sA n o n y m o u s
i s t h e m o s tc h e r i s h e q
d u a l i t y t h a t o u r S o c i e t yh a s- o u r l i v e s - t h e l i v e s
of all to comedepend
squarelyuponit. Westay wholeor AAdies. Without
unity the heart of AAwouldceaseto beat; our world arteries wouldno longer
c a r r y t h e l i f e - g i v i n g g r a c eo f G o d . H i s g i f t t o u s w o u l db e s p e n ta i m l e s s l y
B a c ka g a i ni n t h e i r c a v e s ,a ' l c o h o l i cw
s o u l dr e p r o a c u
h s a n ds a y , " W h aat
g r e a t t h i n g A Am i g h th a v eb e e n l "
.|965,
Duringthe AA internationalConvention
held in Toronto,Canada
in
the
of AAmembers
thousands
assembled
there adoptedour ResponsibilityPledge,
s u t f o r h e 1 p . I w a n tt h e
" I a mr e s p o n s i b l e . . . W haenny o n ea, n y w h e r er e, a c h e o
handof AAalwaysto be there. Andfor that: I amresponsible."
'1970,
l o n v e n t i ohne ' l di n M i a m i ,F l o r i d ai n
A t t h e A A I n t e r n a t i o n aC
the Unity
declarationv,ras
adopted: "This we oweto AA's future: To placeour coflmon
our
welfarefirst; To keepour Fellowshipunited. For on M unity depends
l i v e s , a n dt h e l i v e s o f t h o s et o c o m e . "
- whoare entering
Recentlywe haveseena number
of individuals- promoters
i n t o p r o j e c t s( i n t h e n a m e
o f u n i t y ) w h i c ha r e r e s u l t i n gi n m o r ed i s - u n i t y ,
w h i c hr e s u l t s i n p r o m o t i oonf p e r s o n a ' l i t i ersa t h e r t h a no f s p i r i t u a l p r i n c i p l e s . U n i t y c o m eas s a r e s u l t o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t ya n dg r a t i t u d e ;a s a r e s u l t
o f p r a c t i c i n gs p i r i t u a ' lp r i n c i p l e s . U n i t y , i n A l c o h o l i c sA n o n y m o ui ss , a n
Ld
0VE.
i n s i d ej o b a n di t i s p r o n o u n c e
All of our TwelveTraditionsare concerned
with one thing - Unity. If we
p r a c t i c et h e s p i r i t u a l p r i n c i p l e st h a t a r e t h e T r a d i t i o n s ,w e a r e u n i t e d .
unity to haveit thenwe won't haveit. Unity cannot
If we haveto promote
among
ourselves.
be captured. Trueunity is nevera result of competing
GMPEVINE
CALENDARS
TheGrapevine
for'1980is ready. Eachyear moreandmoreM's are
Calendar
or office.
finding this an attractive, useful decorationfor home,clubroom
print order, so wise
exceedthe ever-increasing
Yearafter year the demands
M's get their ordersin early. In other words,if you wantsomeof these
calendars,g€t your order in nowl
The1980calendarsare $2.50each(ordersfor 25 or mor ear e $2 eac h) . M ak e
, c . " , a n dm a i ] to P0 Box 1980, Gr and
c h e c k sp a y a b ' lteo " T h eG r a p e v i n eI n
C e n t r a lS t a t i o n ,N e wY o r k ,N Y1 0 0 1 7 .
AA FILMby ?eanK
NEl.l
Plansfor California's NorthernCoasta'l
Area's (CNCA)
Fall Assembly
have
beenfinalized. This Assembly
wi'l'l be presented
Saturday,November
17, 1979
at St. Andrew'sEpiscopal
Church,13601Sarato'ga
Ave., Saratoga,CA.
A featureof this Assembly
wil'l be the first AAshowing
on the WestCoastof
t h e n e wf i l m " A l c o h o l i c A
s n I n s i d eV i e w . " T h i s i s t h e f i l m
s n o n y m o-uA
whichwasviewedby andapproved
by the GeneralServiceConference
in April
of this year. Some
of you wil] recall that segments
of this film wereshot
at the NorthernCaliforniaCouncilConference
in Monterey
in 1978. In these
preliminaryscreenings,
AAmembers
viewingthe film wi'l'l be askedto corment
on their reactionsto the film in a questionnaire
to be provided. At the
C N CFAd l l A s s e m b tl h
y e r ea l s o w i l l b e a d i s c u s s i o o
n n t h e m e r i t so f t h i s n e w
audio-visualapproach
to carryingthe M message.
Followingthe AAfilm, a'lsotherewill be shownat the Fall Assembly
a recently re-discovered
1947"Marchof Time"productionentitled "Problem
D r i n k e r s "w
, h i c h . i n c l u d eass e g m e notn - r e c o v e rf yr o ma l c o h o l i s m
t h r o u g hA A ,
w h j c hi s a r e a l ( r e e l ? ) c l i f f - h a n g e r .
ThenewAAfilm has beenshown
on primetime television in the Fargo,NDMNareaand receiveda very positive reaction. Reportsshowthat
Moorhead,
the number
of sufferingalcoho'licscalling AAfor help increasedthree-fold
a s t h e r e s u ' l to f t h i s t e l e v i s i o ns c r e e n i n ign t h e m i d - w e s t .
Also, with permission
producers
of AAtlS,Inc., Davidand KarenCronmie,
of
the newM film, enteredthe fi]m into competitionat the SanFrancisco
I n t e r n a t i o n aFl i l m F e s t i v a ' |w
, h i c hw i l l b e p r e s e n t e0dc t o b e rl 0 - 2 1 , 1 9 7 9a t
SanFrancisco. Thefilm wasgivenovera'll2ndPrize, the "Silver Award"in
the documentary
category,andwill be shownwith other awardwinnersto the
public on Sunday,
0ctober21, 1979,
Incidentally,this neh,AAfilm has beenoffered to all CentralOffices and/
or Intergroupswithin the UnitedStatesand Canada
on a renta'l or purchase
basis' so that the film maybe madeavailab'leto M Groups
within the local
AAcormunities. If you feel this film wouldbe an asset in your cormunity,
contactyour CentralOffice or your Conference
Delegate.
******
deba,tedi"t: OoeA exce,ttLve dnLntz,Lng
nalzea0u
\nothest que.*Lbrythat't rw.rclt
6gt? No, i-t.,malzu qou Leon - on baan, tanp pottt, tLdu o{ bd[dingd, 0rL
whatevet il tundq.
Wi{e to fuuband: ")vestltsttn, ovehd)utA)n
ond i-t,t alnaqt nq {anltln
eve)Locan)Led to qou tlat qou ni4h.t be undeltdepori-ted?"
Ha,t i-t
OCTOBER
A.A. IN PRIS}N(twm Non-KoL,Satlzatnhetnn, Canadavi"q,1negonNQhaLQttuL
S o b r i e t yi n p r i s o n ' i s n o t a c h a l l e n g eb e c a u s e
alcoholis not readily availa b l e u n d e rt h e c i r c u m'sl itm
a ni tceedsn,o r i s d a i l y l i f e m e a n i n g f ubl e c a u s eo f t h e
t r a u m a t i c a l l yu s e l e s s
e n v i r o n m e n t .B u t t h e p r o g r a mo f A l c o h o l i c s
A n o n y m o su tsi l l s e r v e st h e i n m a t ea l c o h o ' l i cw e l l .
In A A th e p ri so n e r gains a senseof dir ection. Thr oughthe prac ti c e of the
t w e ' l v es t e p s h i s t h i n k i n g b e c o m ersa t i o n a l a n d s p i r t u a l a n d s o c i a l p r i n c i p a l s
b e c o mae c o n d i t i o n e dp a r t o f h i s d a i l y l i f e . T h e p r o g r a mg u i d e l i n e sh e l p
t h e i n m a t et o g a i n a g o o ds e l f c o n c e p t ,e s t a b l i s h w o r t h w h i l es o c i a l g o a l s ,
a n d t o b r i n g a b o u tm e n t a l , p s y c h o l o g i c aal n d s p i r t u a l m a t u r i t y , w h i c h a r e
t h e m a i n i n g r e d i e n t sf o r l i v i n g a p r o d u c t i v es o c i a l l i f e .
In p ri so n th e A A p rogr amis a steppingstone, a pr epar ationfo r the outs i de
w o rl d . Ou r h e l p com esnot only fr om the "The Big Book"or fr o m i nter ac ti on
w i th fe l l o w N o r K el member s,
but also fr om our under standingand m eani ng
w h i c h i s d e r i v e df r o m v i s i t o r s o f t h e v a r i o u s g r o u p so f s o c i e t y .
W e - a r ea l c o h o l i c s a s w e l l a s s o c i a l m i s f i t s . T h e r ei s n o m e d i c a lc u r e f o r
o u r i l l n e s s l l W er e a l i z e t h a t A A c a n a n d w i l l h e l p u s t o a r r e s t o u r a l c o h o l i s ma n d a s s i s t u s t o l e a d m a n a g e a b l iev e s , a n d t h i s i s w h a t w e a r e s t r i v i n g fo r. Wea re thankfu' lthat ther e is a pr ogr amof Alcoholic s Anony m ous
and
w e g r e a t l y a p p r e c i a t ea l l t h a t A A a n d i t ' s w o n d e r f u lf e l l o w s h i p i s d o i n g f o r
js
u s. M g i ve
'l isfeu.s h ope, sobr iety, and contentment,one day at a ti m e. AA
o u r w q yo f
FORGET
ABOUT
THEPAST,THEHECK
WITHTHEFUTURE
L I V E I N T H EP R E S E NLTI ,V ED A YB Y D A Y ,A N DL I V EF U L L Y
bq 0n. WaqneA1.Oqet
T o d a yi s th e o n l y day you get. Per iod. So for get about m aki ngthos e N ew
Y e a r ' s r e s o l u t i o n si n w h i c hy o u d e c i d eo n t h e f i r s t d a y o f J a n u a r yh o wy o u
w i l l b e c o n d u c t i n gy o u r l i f e i n J u l y .
Sureyou can resolveto be skinnynext September,
to quit smoking
next month
or to write thoselong-dueletters next week. But any resolutionthat inv o l v e sd e c i s i o n sa b o u tl o n g - r a n gbee h a v i oirs n o t o n l y a w a s t eo f t i m e ; i t
also reinforcesthe self-defeatingnotion of living in the future rather than
in the presentmoment.
I n f a c t , y o u c a nm a k er e s o l u t i o n sa b o u ty o u r ' l i f e t i ' l l t h e c o w sc o m eh o m e ,
b u t y o u s t i l l h a v et o l i v e y o u r l i f e j u s t l i k e e v e r y o neel s e - o n ed a y a t a
t i m e , m i n u t et o m i n u t e .
T0 THEtIyES 0F 0THERS
CANNOT
KEEPlT FR0MTHETIEEIU
rflOsEIUHO
8R1NG
SUNSHINE
L00KOUTFORTHATFIRST0NEl dton Sobtaely Neata
Ji m w a l ke dd o w nth e tr ack on a dar k and foggy day; didn' t noti c e the fr ei ght
th a t w a s co mi n gh i s way. The fog was so thick and the light was s o di m t h a t 2 0 0b o x c a r s r o l l e d r i g h t o v e r h i m . ( I t w a s n ' t t h e l a s t c a r t h a t f i x e d
IT H A ST HEFIRST.
h i m)
Ja ck ro d e o u t i n front of somecattle, nor th bound;his hor se s tr uc k a hol e
a n d th re w Ja ck to the gr ound. This star tled the her d which stam peded
in
p o o rJ a c ko u t o f s i g h t . ( I t w a s n ' t t h e
f r i g h t , a n d 3 , 0 0 0s t e e r s t r a m p ' l e d
l a st co w th a t g o t him)
IT l.lASTHEFIRST.
Bi I I travel ed to Switzerl and, on ho]i day bent, to the foot of the Matterhorn
mountainshe went. Somebou'ldersworkedl o o s en e a rt h e p e a ko f t h e h i l l ;
n o w5 , 0 0 0 t o n s l i e o n t o p o f p o o r B i l l .
it)
rT l,lAsTrlEFIRST.
-
A s w i t h t h e s ep o o r s o u l s , s o w i t h d r i n k i n g i t g o e s i
Y o ub l a meth e last dr ink for a' l' l of your woes,
B u t th e h a rmthat r esults fr om quenchingyour thir st,
N e ve rco me sfrom the last dr ink, but alwaysfr om the fir s
CLUBGUIDELINES
REVISION
1979
dnonBox 4-5-9, Auga.6t-Sqpdernbez
After monthsof studyandextensivediscussion,our Guidelineson Clubsfor
AAmembers
are beingrevised,thoughmuchof the original materialwi'll be
retai ned.
P r o p e r l ys p e a k i n go, f c o u r s e ,t h e r e i s n o s u c ht h i n g a s a n " A . A . c l u b r " s i n c e
A.A. neither ownsnor manages
real property.
FromA.A.'s earliest days, however,
there havebeencLuba$onA.A. munbesu,
"day-carecenters"wherealcoholicscan get together,drink coffee, eat, and
t a l k . T h eb e s t o f t h e s e ,i n c o r p o r a t eads s e p a r a t e n t i t i e s o u t s i d eA . A . ,
are very useful, andmakespaceavailableto groupsfor A.A. meetings.
Some
suchoperationshaveraisedproblems,
however,
with membership
rules,
d u e s ,g a m b l i n ga,n do t h e r a s p e c t su n r e l a t e dt o A . A .
T h i s r e m i n da
s l ' l o f u s t o a v o i dt h e m i s l e a d i npgh r a s e" A . A . c ' l u b , "j u s t a s w e
a v o i d" A . A . r e t r e a t " o r " A . A .c r u i s e . " A . A . d o e sn o t h a v es u c ha c t i v i t i e s ,
but members
as private citizens are naturally free to do so as long as they
do not harmA.A. nor use its name.
- THEHO?E
SEEAS A CHILOSEES- THEJOY - THE['OAT'ER
Page6
GOOD
NEWS
0CT0BER
1979
TE\4P0RAR\
SPQNS0RSHIP
bU Lee, HuyrLLytlton
SEMheGnoup
Temporary
sponsorship
or just plain sponsorship,
dn additiona'lgroupfunction
o r a n o l d g r o u pf u n c t i o nb e i n gr e v i v e d ,i f t h e g r o u pw i s h e s . I s n , t that what
we are all about- extendingthe handof responsibility?
Theadventof meetingsbeingflockedwith newa'lcoholics,enteringthe
f e l l o w s h i pv i a t h e d e t o x ,s p o n s o r s h i sp f l o u n d e r i n g . A l s o , t h e n e wa l k i e
cominginto AA is flounderingl Heor she is like flotsamand jetsum. Exactly whyactive alcoholicsenter AA is for freedomfrom on the sea. At one time
the sponsorwasthe first AA contact. That has changed,
as thoughwe havea
free choice- I got herecauseI hadno choicesleft. UponenteringAAwe
are irmediatelygrantedthe privi'ledgeof knowing
whatis goodfor us. Well
I don't knowaboutthat, the Second
Tradition states differently. From
A.A. Comes
of Age, DF. Tiebout,page251
"AndI believethat any groupor lndividualwhofails to participate in the
enterpriseof the organizationis renderinghimselfand his groupa disserv i c e b y n o t s u b m i t t i n gt o t h e d i s c i p ' l i n a r yv a l u e si n h e r e n ti n t h o s ea c t i v i ties. Hemaybe keepinghimselffree of entanglements
but he is also keeping the egounstopped.His chances
of remainingsoberare not of a high
order. He is really goingit aloneandmaybe needinganothermirac'le,which
maynot comeoff the next time."
.
remainsoberwithout havingenjoyedthe preciouslove and
True somemembers
fun of sponsorship.That first year with mywonderfu'l
sponsoralwaysthere
to amaze
mewith the perfect answersto a'll of ny problems,her cheerfulness
her adorationof AAwasan infection that I caught. I mighthavegotten sobe
w i t h o u tq y d e a rW i n d y b, u t l i f e w o u l db e l a c k i r g , d f r i e n d s h i pv o i d . T h e
members
whowereraised in AAwith the sponsor,as their namecrbssestheir
lips there comes
a glow, a respect,a pride and the eyessparkle.
Recentlyny friend, June, said to meif anyonecomesto this programand
Dinner
lt is like goingto a Thanksgiving
usesonly a part of the program
andeating an olive, somecelery, maybe
one thin slice of white meat,a
small slice of pie, a half cup of coffee andno ciderl Andif the member
thinks that M is only for personalsobriety that is like goingto that
d i n n e ra n dh a v i n go n l y a n " O L I V E . "
is
and to keepsober,sponsorship
So in order to informnewando]d members
group
group
can continueto carry
vital. l,r|e
soberso that the
mustkeepthe
to the suffering alcoholic. Thereasonfor personalsobriety,
the message
float backto the world of erotica, sail boats,
is not to havethe member
plastic cards,whatever--- sorry folks, the reasonto get soberand to
- that's all
inaintainthis sobrietya day at a time is to carry the message
fol ksl
I d o n 't h a ve a p e rsonalsobr iety that belongsto me, m y sobr iety bel ongsto
th e g ro u p . It i s o u r sobr iety, each sobr iety is the pr oper ty of the gr oup.
S h o c k i n gm
, a y b e b, u t i t i s t h e F i r s t T r a d i t i o n . S o n o wt h i s g r o u pc a n c o n ti n u e to g i ye a w a ysobr iety. This can be doneby the par ticipati on of the
g r o u p i n s p o n s o r s h i p .S o b r i e t y i s a g i v e n g i f t n o t s o m e t h i n g
shared.
S h a re di sn 't a n M e xpr ession- it is picked up fr om gr oup ther a py - w e ar e
a f e l l o w s h i p t h a t t h o r o u g h l yf o l l o w s t h e p a t h . O r i g i n a l l y i n A A t h e g r o u p
appointeda sponsorto newmembers
whowalked in off the street. Wenoware
eve r so d e l i ca te w i th each other as thoughwe wer e weakcr eatur es . It tak es
g re a t stre n g th to d rink the way I dr ank - I didn' t enter these door s as a
mo l 'l yco d d l e . I n e e dedto be managed
and stil' l do.
Gro u p sth a t a re u si n g the tem por ar ysponsor shipway, do it like thi s . T he
se cre a try w h e nma ki ngthe r egular announcements
includes the av ai l abi l i ty of
a te mp o ra rysp o n so r. The secr etar y can explain that this is vol untar y for
th e n e w co me r,
th a t n o one is held to the comr itm ent,that the sp ons ori s a
to o l to h e l p th e n e wmember
meet people, get phonenumber s,exp l ai n s om eof
o u r l a n g u a g e( f l a k y , g e o g r a p h i ce, t c . ) , a s w e l l a s t o b e i n v i t e d o u t f o r c o f fe e a fte r th e me e ti ngs. As those of us who love the sponsor shi pr oad k now ,
i t i s a l o n g l i s t o f g i f t s t h a t t h e s p o n s o rb r i n g s . N o wo n l y t h e m e m b e rosf
thb group who put their nameon a special sheet markedfor the temporary
sp o n so rsh i pp ro g ra mar e available. No m ember
can be for ced, em bar r as s ed
or
sh a me d
i n to p a rti ci p ation. Eachmember
can par ticipate or not p ar ti c i pate
a cco rd i n gto th e i r spacein life. The secr etar y gives the namesout to thos e
w h oa sk i n a n o rd e r of r otation, so one m ember
doesn' t get al' l t he ac ti on.
A fte r th e se cre ta rymakesan announcement
of this natur e it usu al l y br i ngs
fo rth a 'l o t o f q u e stionsafter the m eeting. The newm ember
can eas i l y
scra tch u p a co n ve rsationby asking an old m ember
what is a spo ns or ? And how
w e o l d me mb e rs
a d o re being askedquestionsl
T h i s g i ve s a l l a n o p por tunity to r ead the sponsor shippamphlet. And oddl y
e n o u g h ,th e sp o n so rshippamphlettalks m or eabout being a spons orthan getti ng
one. It is also a soul building topic for discussion.
But nowthe real part and the best part of the wholesponsorship
business
starts. Thesomewhat
gets moreand better and better and better
sobermember
and morebetter sobrietyli I i Andthe groupremainsalive and_very
healthy.
Andthe groupis able to continueto carry the M message
******
Long lnve qou wonlzeddon qoun pnuent enpLoqut?,,
"How
t'Sistcehe tlnentened to
{ite me'.'l
")ne dntnh to anothen: "'1.don't th,Lnhmq wL(e undetutand,tme. 0ou qoutu
"I doubt it, I've nevut lletan hen menLi-onqoLthntilte."
THETWELVE
STEPS
REWARDS
OFTHETI,IELVE
l.
Hopeinsteadof desperatlon.
2, Faith insteadof despair.
insteadof fear.
3. Courage
4, Peaceof nind insteadof confusion.
insteadof helplessness.
5. Self-confidence
6. Self-respectinsteadof self-contempt.
7. Therespectof others lnsteadof their pity or contempt.
insteadof a senseof guilt.
8. A cleanconscience
9. ReaIfriendshipsinsteadof loneliness.
existence.
10. A clean pattern of llfe insteadof a purposeless
a
of our families lnsteadof their doubtsand
l.l. The love and understanding
fears.
of an alcoholic
12. Thefreedomof a happylife Insteadof the bondage
obsessi
on.
Anonymou
FROM
THEMAILBAG
"ltle 6uhe have a. eatple o( (ine uttri.te.tu{on the er000NEWS.tuth OeanK and,
Jaeh B tQ,Il U lwwi.t. ia. Tln lvu;guti.aaueutu upeei.ollg good, Thotrhgou,
B. T.
both.t'
46 to ntrch beffu tlnn even be$ote.
"The @00 l,JEttS
.Lt
o,nd
on - grle.ol. Tl,z;vlb6,"
on
Wa
"Mq ehntu.clett de/,eet o{ pwuut)tu.tion
tlutu) mq tubtatipt)an,
I p.tt
i.a atilL,uuwirtg
i-t on afu, thul
LoLa B, , Lod'L, ?-A
tttildll
Plette
ttPoi.nt o$ intelett. - one o( oun HGI rnnhetu in Anet I hod,a tee-thittt pn'fu*'
Ql nH 6 I $on a. noft)noL ,nqll.'t Lle tihe i.t anl ue i.t. bd we a,Lto tuttt tt
altoJe.it."
Love fut $e,lJtuuhip otrd God, ?d.t.S. , lloduto, CA
0 C T 0 B E1R9 7 9
GOOD
NEWS
Paqe9
bq Fh.anlz
D o6 BQ,thoL
ldlnnd
C}NTR}YERSE\
n f a q u e s t i o ni n w h i c ho p p o s i n g
C o n t r o v e r s ei sy d e f i n e da s a d i s c u s s i o o
o p i n i o n sc l a s ho r a d e b a t e . S o i n e s s e n c ea,l ' l a c o n t r o v e r s ei sy , i s a
d i f f e r e n c eo f o p i n i o n .
Nowa controversia'list
is a personwholikes to take part in controversey.
l,Jereally shouldnot indulgein controversey
for controversey's
sake,or
o p p o s i t i o nf o r o p p o s i t i o n ' s a k en o r s h o u l dw e a r g u ej u s t f o r t h e s a k eo f
a n a r g u m e n tB
. u t w e c a nd i s a g r e e
w i t h o u tb e i n gd i s a g r e e a b l e .
A r e y o u w i 1 l ' i n gt o p u t y o u r f r i e n d s h i po n t h e l i n e t o u p h o ' l a
d principle?
Sometimes
we are just too nice to voice an oppositeopinionor we havefear
at the prospectof controversey.l^lhen
we disagreein AAwe are spiritual'ly
for we are not disagreeing
anonymous,
with eachother but rather with an
i d e a . W h ew
n e a r e p l a c i n gp r i n c i p l e sb e f o r ep e r s o n a ' l i t i e sh,o n e s e
t xpress i o n so f o p i n i o nw i l l c a u s en o f e e l i n g so f h o s t i l i t y .
Sornetimes
things are votedthroughin a groupwhenmanydon't wantthembut
will not voice any opposition. Weshou'ldneverlet a doubtfU'lproposa'l
be
adopteb
d y k e e p i n gs i l e n t . B r i n ga 1 l t h e f a c t s a n do p i n i o n si n t o t h e o p e n .
I think of controversey
as somewhat
of a virtue simplybecause
it stirs up
o t h e ro p i n i o n s .
TheSecond
Traditiongives us the right to our opinionin a groupconscience.
l,'|ebreakthis Traditionwhenwe allow onemember
to imposetheir will on a
group. A'lso,we are imposing
our wil'l on otherswhenwe are loud or trying
to be eloquent.
A r e y o u w i l l i n g t o s t a n du p f o r y o u r o p i n i o na t t h e r i s k o f b e i n gd i s l i k e d ?
Thereis nothingin AATraditionsthat discourages
the full expression
of
differing opinions. In the privacyof our meetingwe are comp'letely
at
liberty to engage
in all the controversey
wewantor need.
Sometimes
so stronglythat througha mentalblindwe believein something
n e s sw e c a n ' t s e e t h e f l a w s i n i t . I t t h e ni s c ' l e a r l yy o u r d u t y t o p o i n t
this out to us.
goodand badsof controI knowI havetouchedon only someof the numerous
versey. Thepoint I'm trying to makeis that in M or for that matter, anyt i m e , w e s h o u l ds t r i v e f o r u n a n i m i t b
y u t a t a l l t i m e s ,h o p e f u l l y ,w ew i l l
p
r
o
'
s
f
r o mt h e m i n o r i t y .
e
s
p
e
c
i
a
l
]
y
a n dc o n ' s ,
h e a rt h e
B
E
S OI F I T ' S T O , I T ' S U PT OM E :
WHAT
l.lEIN AA cAND0 FORTHEALC0H0LIC
0UTSIDE
THEpROGRM
bq DeanK
A t f i r s t g l a n c ea t t h i s s u b i e c t t h e t h o u g h tw i l l c o m e" n o t v e r y m u c h . " T h i s
i s a F e l l o w s h i pf o r t h o s e " w h ow a n tw h a t w e h a v e , " a n d t h e a l c o h o l i c o u t s i d e
t h e p r o g r a mf i r s t m u s t h a v em o t i v a t i o nt o s e e k h e l p . " M o t i v a t i o n , " t h e o n e
e l e me n to f p ri ma ry i m por tance,which AA does not pr ovide. W esi m pl y hav e a
messageto carry about a programof recovery for alcoholics that has worked
fo r o ve r a mi l l i o n whoW ANTED
it.
But then the thought occur s that the pr of e s s i o n a l i n t h e f i e l d o f a l c o h o l i s ms o m e t i m ecsa n h e l p t h e a l c o h o l i c W A N T
i t b y e d u c a t i o n ,c o u n s e l l i n g na n d r e h a b i l i t a t i v e t r e a t m e n t- i f t h e a l c o h o l i c
h a s kn o w l e d g a
e b o u t AA. Incr easinglywe ar e seeing a' lcoholicsouts i de the
program,who have beenforced to cometo M by courts and probation departme n ts, sta yi n g o n a nd staying sober . So maybewe can most effe c ti v el y hel p
th e a 'l co h o l i c o u tsi de the pr ogr amby, in a sense, car r ying the AA m es s age
th ro u g ha th i rd p a rty. Exper iencehas shownthis is best acco m pl i s hed
th ro u g ha cti o n o f a cor mittee.
T h e p i o n e e r co rmi ttee in car r ying the AA message
to alcoholics outs i de the
p ro g ra mi s th e H o spital and Institutions Connittee- br inging m eeti ngsi nto
h o s p i t a l s a n d p r i s o n s . B u t t h i s s c e n ei s c h a n g i n g . M a n ys t a t e a n d c o u n t y
h o sp i ta l s n o l o n g e r havealcoholic war ds. Thesehave beensuppl antedby
d e to x u n i ts, re h a band ha]fwayhouses,wher epatients som etimes
ar e fr ee to
co mea n d g o . Ja i l s and pr isons in manyconmunitieshave establ i s hedw or k fi rl o u g h ce n te rs - again wher epr isoner s ar e allowed som eacce s sto outs i de
a c t i v i t i e s . R i o t i n g a n d l o c k d o w nhsa v ec u r t a i l e d A A a c t i v i t i e s i n c o r r e c t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s . Y o u t hc a m p sa n d j u v e n i l e h a l l s p r e s e n tn e wt a r g e t s f o r
M me mb e rs
w o rki n gwith H&I Conm ittees. As a matter of fact, ev en the nam e
o f th i s co rmi tte e h as changed- at least at the level of the Gener alSer v i c e
B o a rd . T h e Ge n e ra lSer vice Confer ence
action in 1977was that the T r us tees '
In sti tu ti o n s C o n mi tteebe dissolved and two newconmittees( one deal l ng w i th
C o r r e c t i o n a lF a c i l i t i e s a n d o n e w i t h T r e a t m e nFt a c i l i t i e s ) b e f o r m e d . t . l i t h
p a ti e n ts a n d p ri so n er s having som efr eedomof action, what happenstXthe
H & I cri te ri o n o f ca rr ying the AA message
to those whoar e conf i ned?
(to Uecontinednext month)
RESENT]4ENf
{non The Gttea,tutKaruadCi.tA Nentle-ttut
Remember
is not causedby other persons,or circumstance
that your resentment
- your ownreaction.
or events. It is causedby your ownemotionalresponse
Youalonehavepov',er
over this andyou can control it if you firmly convince
yourself that resentment
and success,
andself-pity are not waysto happiness
but waysto defeatand unhappiness.
*******
N?TE: Potr*i-ovuod the pg 9 atbLcle "Con'tnovuraey" u)uLeuQ)Lpted (ttom
Augtut 1979i,taue.
"ConlnovucAey",A.A. GnapevLne,
ATTRACTIONS
COMING
Oct. 6
9 p.m.
y poseFellowship, 203.|Yos m i teBl v d.,
A n n i ve rsar yDance,Pr imarPur
Mo d e sto,CA- Liye musicwith the Blue Rose- $2 D onati on
Oct.7
1 2 t h A n n u a l0 k t o b e r f e s t ,C a l i s t o g aF a i r g r o u n d sC
, a l i s t o g a ,C A
3 : 3 0 p . m . Gu e stS peaker : Vir ginia M of Van Nuys, CA
Oct. l3
S a n F ranciscoInter countyFel' lowshipAnnualBanqu et. Gues t
Speaker: Dr. Kenneth
T o f V i c t o r i a , 8 . C . , C a n a d a .T i c k e t s a r e
capacity 250 - wr ite to BanquetC or m i ttee,
$ 1 2 e a ch - maximum
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Oct. 27
8 p.m.
3 4 t h A n n i v e r s a r yA
, u' 1b 2u 7r n3D r y D i g g i n sG r o u p ,S i e m a B l d g . ,
A u b u r nF a i r g r o u n d s ,
H i g h S t . , A u b u r n ,C A
Gu e stS peaker : RuthM fr om Bellflower
Nov.2-4
l 3 th A nnualLas VegasRoundup
at the A' laddinHotel. F or fur ther
d e t a i l s w r i t e t o P . 0 . B o x5 4 4 6 ,G a r s i d eS t a . , L a s V e g a s ,N V8 9 1 0 2
Nov.17
C a l i fo rnia Nor ther' 13601
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l 0 : 3 0 a . m . E p i sco palChur ch,
Sar atogaAve., Sar atoga,CA. Gues t
S p e a ker : Phyllis M ., Staff M emberNew
,
Yor k Gene r alSer v i c e
0 ffi ce . Seepg. 3 for m or edetails.
ttt
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1
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r,
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The materialpublishedin GOOD NEWS re- t
presentsthe expericnceand opinionsof AAs r '
in thefieldof alcoholism.r
ond otherinterested
C)pinionsexpressedhereinare not intendedto r
represenl the opinion of Alcoholics Anony- r
mous. nor doespublicationof any inftlrmationr
by eitherAlcoholicsAntln- r
imply endorsement
'
vniousor the GOOD NEWS.
rirr
tttt
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LOVE
THEGREATEST
GI,FT
U]EGTVEEACHOTHER
tttttta
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Good News
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GOOD NI:WS
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T H I R DC L A S S
i,atr ick J Stoppel A /SA
11Ci Petalu.na Dr lve .
Modesto CL 9515L
ANNUAT TAtt
CONFERENCE
4
-,
b+
PROGRAM
ocToBER 19,20,21,1979
STOCKTONMEMORIALCIVIC AUDITORIUM
525 N. CENTERSTREET
STOCKTON,
CALIFORNIA
NORTHERNCALIFORNIACOUNCILOF AA
FRIDAY,OCTOBER19, 1979
3:30 P.M. "EARLY-BlRD"
A.A.Meeting- MainAuditorium
Chairman:HughMcB.,Lodi,CA
- MainAuditorium
8:30 P.M. KICK-OFFMEETING
Chairman:JerryW.,Redding,CA
Definitionof A.A.:Vic S., Modesto,CA
sth Chapter:IngrldV.,Dublin,CA
Traditions:AlbertaC.,Olivehurst,
CA
Speaker:Alabam'C.,N. Hollywood,CA
10:30P.M. A.A.DiscussionMeeting- NorthHall
Ghairman:EverettG., Stockton,CA
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER20, 1979
9:00A.M.
_ LOBBY
REGISTRATION
9:30A.M.
HOSPITALS
OPENMEETING- MainAuditorium
& INSTITUTIONS
Chairman:FrankW.,Sacramento,CA
Purposeol H & l: JeanneS., Siockton,CA
Traditions:PaulineH., Modeslo,CA
Non-A.A.Speaker:J.J. Enomoto,Directorof Corrections,
Sacramento,
CA
A.A.Speaker:Randy8., Modesto,CA
- North Hall
- "Are We Squandering
Our Inheritance?
WORKSHOP
Moderator:JeanO., Modesto,CA
Panelists:DeanK., Oakland,CA
ChuckC.,FairOaks,CA
COMMITTEE
MEETING- Walnut Room
N.C.C.A.A.
STEERING
LUNCHBREAK
- M a i nA u d i t o r i u m
O P E NM E E T I N G
G E N E R A LS E R V I C E
Chairman:KarolW.,Novato,GA
Reader:GeorgeN., Auburn,CA
Speaker:Joe C.,Twin Falls,ldaho
- MemorialHall
SPANISHLANGUAGEMEETING
Chairman:ManuelG.,FrenchGamp,CA
TonyE.,Stockton,CA
Co-Chairman:
Delinitionof A.A.: LillyJ., Lathrom,CA
sth Chapt€r:JulianN., FrenchGamp,GA
Traditions:Tony8., Stockton,CA
Speaker:PaulM., Modesto,CA
N.C.C.A.A.
OPEN MEETING- MainAuditorium
- MainAuditorium
YOUNGPEOPLESMEETING
Chairman:JeanT.,Carmel,CA
Definitionof A.A.: PattieO.,RedwoodCity,CA
TwelveTraditions:John P.,San Mateo,CA
TwelvePromises:ToniA., Richmond,CA
Speaker:Jim 8., PacificGrove,CA
- MainAuditorium
OPEN SPEAKERMEETING
Chairman:FrankM.,SanJose,CA
Invocation:Rev.WayneW. Folmer
WelcomingAddress:Arnoldl. Rue,Mayor,City of Stockton
Delinitionof A.A.: HenryR.,RedwoodCity,CA
5ih Chapter:NormaG.,Hanford,CA
Traditions:ShirleyW.,Redding,CA
Speaker:HaroldW.,Midland,Texas
Drawing- MalnAuditorium
Dance- MainAuditorium
A.A.Discussion
Meeting- NorthHall
Chairman:CharlesG..Manteca,CA
1 1 : 0A
0.M.
11:00
A.M.
1:00P.M.
1:00P.M.
2:30 P.M.
4:00 P.M.
8:30 P.M.
1 0 : 3 0P . M .
'10:45P.M.
10:45P.M.
SUNDAY,
OCTOBER21, 1979
9 : 1 5A . M .
10:30A.M.
- SG E N E R AS
C O M B I N EH
D O S P I T A L&SI N S T I T U T I O N
LERVICE
- M a i nA u d i t o r i u m
MEETING
Theme:"WorkingWith Others"
Chairman:GeorgeD.;Tiburon,CA
Traditions:JoAnneP.,Hayward,CA
(H& l): PurposeofH&l: PatrlckS., Modeslo,CA
Panelists
Correctional
Facilities:Bob H.,Pt. Richmond,CA
TreatmentFacilities:Bill S.,Stockton,CA
GeneralService:History& Structure:DeanK.,Oakland,CA
Roleof GSR& DCM: Naydene8., Modesto,GA
AreaResponsibililies:
AnnieB.,Placerville,
CA
- "Backto Basics- Keyto Recovery"- NorthHall
WORKSHOP
Moderator:lleneS.,Monterey,
CA
Panelists:Bob D.,Coalinga,
CA
GeorgeT.,Modesto,CA
LUNCHBREAK
'l:30 P.M. OPENSPEAKERMEETING
- MainAuditorium
Chairman:HowardR.,RedwoodCity,CA
Invocation:Rev.HarmonSkillen,Pastor,St. EdwardsChurch
Definitionof A.A.:GladysT.,Millbrae,CA
SthGhapter:Judy8., Mt. Shasta,CA
Traditions:BruceH.,SanJose,CA
Speaker:MikeR.,Tarzana,
CA
. AL-ANON ANNUAT TAtt CONFERENCE
ocToBER
19,20,21,1979
HolidayInn ConventionCenter
221NorthCenterSt.,Stockton,
GA
THEME:SteppingSfonesto Happiness
FRIDAY,
OCTOBER19,1979
- LupiT.,Stockton
2:00 P.M. Registration
8 : 3 0P . M . GreenLightSession
Chairman:LauraS.,Manteca
SATURDAY,
OCTOBER20, 1979
- LupiT.,Stockton
8 : 3 0A . M . Registration
9 : 0 0A . M .
to
Alathon- (closedfrom 12 to 3)
5:00 P.M.
ls - Panel
9 : 0 0A . M . Happiness
Chairman:JanetJ., Stockton
10:30
A . M . Hospital& Institutional
Workshop
Chairman:GonnieW.,Oakland
1 0 : 3 0A . M . SpringConference
PlanningMeeting
Ghairman:JeanMc.,Sunnyvale
1 2 : 4 5P . M . LuncheonandSpeaker's
Meeting
to
Chairman:YvonneA., Modesto
3:00 P.M. Speaker:PhoebeH.,Mt. View
3 : 1 5P . M . Happiness
ls - Discussion
Chairman:GathyA., DalyCity