Made direct amends to such people wherever possible except when

MIAMI-DADE INTERGROUP
www.aamiamidade.org
SEPTEMBER 2012
FLORIDA - USA
STEP NINE
Like others of the Steps, Number Nine is closely
related to Number Three —”to turn our will and our
lives over to God as we understood Him.” If we have
accomplished this step to any measurable degree, we
have attained at least a small measure of humility
and a realization of our dependence on Him.
Having prepared a list of all people we have harmed
and brought ourselves to the point where we are
willing to make amends to them, our Ninth Step is
one calling for positive action. There is a world of
difference between being willing to do a thing and
actually doing it. How many times in the pre-A.A.
state have we said “I am sorry, I won’t do it again”
and felt that that constituted complete amends.
A sincere apology, with a true explanation to the
person harmed, of what we believe to be the reason
for our past actions can quite frequently readjust
personal relations —but the A.A. realizes that this
cannot take care of the ones we have really hurt and
invariably these are the ones we should and do love
most.
Most of us had at least a few years of real
pathological drinking behind us when we first learned
of the Twelve Steps. Those terrible years are the
ones that become repulsive to us as we progress in
our new-found life program for order and happiness—
years in which our every action was influenced by
alcoholic thinking, with all its implications.
It naturally follows that whatever our state in life
may be, those close to us bore the brunt of our
outrageous behaviour. How can one make amends to
a dear wife, son or daughter or parent who through
no fault of their own truly suffered physically and
financially and more important, mentally, the
humiliation and embarrassment of going through life
with a drunkard? A simple “I am sorry; it won’t
happen again” is not enough. It is not enough for us
and it is not enough for the aggrieved person.
Direct amends, by all means, is a must, in restoring
physical property to the rightful owner, paying debts
willingly within our ability to do so and retracting the
lie that hurt a reputation; but the real amends are
made in scrutinizing our day-in and day-out conduct
and keeping that conduct “on the beam.” The loved
ones whom we have hurt don’t want their “pound of
flesh.” Whether they are still in daily contact with us
or not, amends are best made to them by restoring
the love and confidence and respect they once had
for us by the action of right living. With that thought
clearly in our minds that “first drink” is an
improbability, even an impossibility and the wellrounded, good life we all yearn for becomes readily
visible to us.
B. H.
Forest Hills, NY
Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. July, 1945.
Reprinted with permission.
“Made direct amends to such people
wherever possible except when to do so
would injure them or others.”
WHAT I MUST PUT INTO A.A.
1.Complete sobriety.
2.One hundred per cent 12th Step work.
3.Love for my fellow man.
4.Attendance at the meetings, as essential to my new way of
life.
5.Giving all in my power and time to help bring in new members
who have an alcoholic problem.
6.Above all, forever as now, remaining an active member.
WHAT I GET OUT OF A.A.
1. Peace of mind and contentment.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The 24-hour program by which I can live a clean and
decent life.
Happiness in my home and in my daily life.
Better citizenship.
Better health, physically and mentally.
Respect, not disrespect, from my fellow man.
Many new friends.
Blessings from God, as a result of making a
decision to turn my will and life over to His care is I
understand Him.
9. The privilege of being an A.A. member forever,
and this I know I am, just as long as I say I am.
2
THE M E S S E N G E R
INTERGROUP
Contact List
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GENERAL SERVICE
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Chairman
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Askia K.
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Treasurer
Treasurer
THE MESSENGER
Published Monthly
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Miami-Dade Intergroup
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NOTICES
Notices published in
“The Messenger” are taken from
information submitted to the
Miami-Dade Intergroup Office.
Information is based on what
is current at the time of printing.
If your group discontinues a meeting
or changes it’s scheduled time, please
notify Intergroup as soon as possible
at (305) 461-2425.
Articles and opinions expressed
herein are not to be attributed to
Alcoholics Anonymous as a whole.
Further endorsements, opposing
views and rebuttals to articles
published are also welcomed. Also,
please tell us how we can improve.
Special Needs
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Memo:
"The Messenger"
A.A. won't keep you from going to hell nor is it a
ticket to heaven but it will keep you sober long
enough for you to make up your mind which way you
want to go....
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THE M E S S E N G E R
www.aamiamidade.org
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AMENDS
BEHAVIOR
BORROWING
CONFIDENT
DISCLOSURES
DREADED
EXCEPTIONS
FRANKNESS
GUIDANCE
HUMILIATING
INSATIABLE
JUDGEMENT
PRUDENCE
RELIEF
RIGHTEOUS
T HE SIMPLE
PATH
The fruit of Silence is
PRAYER
The fruit of Prayer is
FAITH
The fruit of faith is
LOVE
The fruit of love is
SERVICE
The fruit of service
is
PEACE.
Restraint of Tongue and Pen
I have been a little distressed lately by some of the
sharing at discussion meetings I have attended. On several
occasions, I have listened as AA members shared their anger
or frustration regarding religious, racial, sexual, and political
issues, that they apparently felt had contributed to their
suffering. From the back of the room, I watched as people
began to twist in their chairs and felt the tension rise in the
room.
Through the grace of my Higher Power and the program
of Alcoholics Anonymous, I am sober today and have been
for over eight years. One night, in early sobriety, while riding
to a meeting with some of my new friends, an old-timer
shared with us his belief that there are certain areas of
discussion we should carefully avoid getting into at AA
meetings. These are topics that relate directly to religious,
political, racial, and sexual opinions.
He went on to explain that the avoidance of these topics
is based on the following Traditions:
Tradition One: Our common welfare should come first;
personal recovery depends upon AA unity.
Tradition Three: The only requirement for AA
membership is a desire to stop drinking.
Tradition Ten: AA has no opinion on outside issues;
hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public
controversy.
There is only one problem that we all have in common—
that is our problem with alcohol. It is this problem that gave
us our unity in the first place. Once we begin to move
beyond our alcoholism, we are talking about the things that
divide us, even rip us apart.
AA members come from vastly different backgrounds and
experiences which directly affect our views of the world. Many
people come into the AA Fellowship with very strong feelings
regarding these areas of life. Sometimes there are deep-rooted
feelings of anger, resentment, and even outright hatred. These are
potential powder kegs that could go off at any time.
The plain and simple fact is that we are never going to be able
to solve these kinds of larger problems from the inside of an AA
meeting. The only problem we have a real chance of solving is our
common problem with alcohol, and we can only solve that one day
at a time.
The world’s worst bigot, regardless of how one defines that
term, has the same requirement for AA membership as the rest of
us: a desire to stop drinking. Within the program of Alcoholics
Anonymous, we are all supposed to be equals. What if members
feel they have the right to espouse their viewpoints on these
matters? Are we prepared to open a door that we might later find
impossible to shut? In a very short time, we could be at each
other’s throats and the unity that we so desperately need would be
gone.
This is something that I myself have been guilty of. One night
after sharing at a meeting, I was approached by a friend who said:
“I see you’re still bashing in your religion.” I was angry and he was
right. After five years of sobriety, I had forgotten what that oldtimer had taught me. I was still blaming my problems to some
degree on the religion that I had been raised in. More importantly,
by being specific about the denomination, I was being insensitive
to the other members in the room. It is more than likely that some of
those in attendance were adherents of that religion and the effect
of my comments was to belittle their religious beliefs. (cont. on page 5)
4
THE M E S S E N G E R
LA OPINIÓN DE UN MEDICO
Los miembros de Alcohólicos Anónimos consideramos que nuestros lectores se interesarán en conocer el informe que rinde
un médico acerca del método de restablecimiento que se describe en este libro. El testimonio más convincente desde luego
será aquél que provenga de los médicos, sobre todo de aquéllos que han tenido ya experiencias con los padecimientos de
nuestros miembros y que han sido testigos de nuestro regreso a un estado sano. Un médico muy prestigiado, él mismo,
médico en jefe de un prominente hospital conocido en el ámbito nacional y que se ha especializado tanto en el alcoholismo,
así como en la adicción a las drogas, le ha obsequiado a Alcohólicos Anónimos el siguiente reconocimiento:
A quien corresponda:
Durante muchos años he estado especializándome en el tratamiento de alcoholismo. Hace casi cuatro años que
atendí a un paciente que, no obstante haber sido un hombre de negocios muy capaz, y que gozaba de altos ingresos, era
un alcohólico de las características que yo había llegado a diagnosticar como sin esperanza de curación.
Cuando estaba en tratamiento tras su tercer ingreso al hospital, este paciente reunió una serie de ideas que había
obtenido previamente, encaminadas a lograr un medio probable de rehabilitación del alcoholismo
Como una parte de su rehabilitación, empezó a compartir sus conceptos a otros alcohólicos, insistiendo en ellos con la idea
de que debían, de la misma manera, compartir con otros alcohólicos tales ideas. A partir de esta base, ha empezado a
crecer rápidamente una Agrupación de estos hombres y mujeres. Mi paciente y más de cien alcohólicos presentan rasgos
de haberse recuperado.
De manera personal he conocido a treinta de estos pacientes, mismos que tenían las mismas características de
aquéllos en los cuales todos los recursos médicos disponibles habían fallado totalmente.
Estos hechos representan una importancia médica suprema, debido a que las extraordinarias posibilidades de un
rápido crecimiento particular a este grupo, representan muy probablemente el inicio de una nueva época en los anales del
alcoholismo. Es probable que estas personas tengan ya el remedio para miles de situaciones semejantes.
Sobre todos los aspectos que les mencionen a los interesados estas personas sobre ellas mismas, pueden ustedes
tener la más absoluta confianza.
Muy atentamente, William D. Silkworth, M.D.
www.aamiamidade.org
THE M E S S E N G E R
RESTRAIN FROM TONGUE AND PEN........
(Cont. from page 3)
The portion in the Big Book on “How It Works” says: “Our
stories disclose in a general way, what we used to be like, what
happened and what we are like now.” When with friends, inside or
outside of the program, I am free to divulge my personal opinions
on any issue; but when sharing in the rooms, I have learned to
keep my opinions to myself. Instead, I have been taught to share
my experience, strength, and hope—in a general way.
In turn, I have benefited from the experience, strength, and
hope of alcoholics of every persuasion. Part of being open-minded
for me today is subjugating my own points of view in order that I
may continue to learn and grow in sobriety.
That old-timer concluded his remarks by saying: “Unity, unity,
unity. Look at the first three letters of that word. It tells us that You
and I can do together what we cannot do alone. We need each
other.”
Pat M.
Albany, NY
Copyright © The AA Grapevine, Inc. August, 1991.
Reprinted with permission.
5
6
THE M E S S E N G E R
Little Mac G.
(Homestead)
Anonymous
(Breakfast Club Group)
Anonymous
(Homestead Group)
Doni B.
(Breakfast Club)
Anonymous
(Key Biscayne)
Charlie C.
(Primary Purpose)
FAITHFUL FIVER MEMBERS
YES! I want to participate in the Faithful Fiver’s Club.
Contribution information: Date:______________
Amount: _________ Monthly: __________ Quarterly __________
Annually ______
(Note: No A.A. member can contribute more than $3,000 per year)
I am a new member_____ Current member _______
Returning member ______
PAYMENT PLAN
Check enclosed:_____
Credit card: ____ Visa_______ M/C______
Card #: _______-_______-_______-_______
Expiration Date: ____/____
Name: ______________________________________
Address: _____________________________________
City: ____________State: _____ Zip Code: _________
Phone number: (__)____-_______________
_____ Yes, I would like my name to be added in the messenger!
_____
No, I would like to remain anonymous!
“Alcohol will be free, and a basic birthright of a human
being in a socialist system. The individual didn’t ask for
sobriety, so why should the individual be billed to
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
“I was _everyone’s_ drinking partner.” - Karen
○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○
“I’m one of those people who’s not really turned on
by baseball. My idea of a relief pitcher is one that’s
filled with martinis.” - Dean Martin
www.aamiamidade.org
K.I.S.S.
SABAL PALM
AUGUST
Melanie 3
Ozzie S. 1
Maria 3
KEY
CORAL GABLES Derek L. 1
Cathy 7
BISCAYNE
Tracy W. 1
Doris M. 1
Angela 7
Hansel R. 2
Natalia 5
Mark M. 1
Tiffany 12
Walter B. 2
Arturo 10
Alex M. 1
Albert 12
Laura 2
Norma 10
Chuck 1
Tommy 27
Carlos M. 3
Jennifer R. 13 Eddie R. 3
Don 30
Debbie C. 13 Katherine L. 3 Marcus B. 3
Gail C. 4
Tom B. 19
Clayton 4
PRIMARY
Carmen D. 4
Cesar I. 5
PURPOSE
Jackie P. 4
HOMESTEAD
Amy
S.
5
Rosie 1
Sue W. 6
Ben M. 8
Phil 2
Tim F. 1
Mike I. 7
Arlyn 8
George 4
Charlie H. 5
Grace
S. 7
Robert S. 8
Gabriel 8
Laura K. 6
Maureen
M. 9
Arturo H. 10
Helen 24
Wessly 7
Peter
D.
10
Elena F. 10
Dave 27
Ron G. 14
George W. 11
Cathy S. 10
Andrea 28
Todd A. 5
Steve H. 11
Pat
D.
13
Shelly 31
Aaron T. 15
Phill W. 16
Claire 55
HAPPY
Lucy V. 17
Abie D. 17
HOUR
John T. 21
BREAKFAST
Wayne H. 18
Louie 23
Raina
1
CLUB
Pablo B. 18
John S. 23
Daniel 3
Vann W. 24
Cathy P. 2
Stephen M. 25
Melanie 3
Robbie N. 28
Pamela H. 3
Ed O. 36
Larry 3
Ed 36
Daniel R. 3
Angela 7
Claire M. 55
Melanie 3
Doni B. 20
Albert 12
SOUTH DIXIE
Kenny G. 20
Doni B. 20
Hannah 23
Jillian S. 2
Kenny G. 20
Jaime S.N. 3
Ann F. 25
SOUTH DADE
Sally G. 7
Tommy O. 27
Dave R. 8
Joaquin 1
Monica R. 16
Doug 31
Drew H. 13
Selby 2
Peggy K. 30
Shelly E. 33
Sandy L. 19
Randy 3
Arianne R. 4 Angelina 21
Frank V. 25
Gail C. 4
Sam S. 46
SEPTEMBER
GOOD
MORNING
Jason W. 1
Alejandro F. 2
Carlos P. 2
Donald H. 2
Flossie M. 2
Fredrick C. 2
Mia D. 2
Krystal B. 4
James M. 5
Gaylord S. 6
Viviana M. 8
7
THE M E S S E N G E R
HOMESTEAD
Tom C. 1
Meridith K. 5
Tom C. 27
SUNSET
Lisa H. 2
Jose V. 5
Sammy L. 10
Mirna D. 21
Richard D. 30
Group Conscience/ Business/Service Meetings
Coral Gables Group / 3rd Thursday @ 7:00pm
Happy 1060 / 3rd Sunday @ 11:45am
Homestead Group / 3rd Tuesday @ 7:00pm
Little River Group / 2nd Sunday @ 7:00pm
Miami Young People / 3rd Saturday @ 9:30pm
Night Owl Group / 2nd Sunday @ 7:00pm
North Miami Group / Last Wednesday @ 7:15pm
Primary Purpose / Last Wednesday @ 6:45pm
Quinto Paso / 1st Monday @ 7:00pm
Rise, Shine & Awake / Last Monday @ 7:29am
Sabal Palm / 3rd Thursday @ 7:00pm
Sober Way Out / 3rd Sunday @ 7:00pm
South Dade / 3rd Wednesday @ 7:00pm
South Dixie / 2nd Sunday @ 12:15pm
Sunset / 2nd Friday @ 7:30pm
Group Anniversary Meetings
Almeria Group / Last Tuesday @ 7:30pm
Coral Gables Group / Last Monday @ 8:00pm
Happy 1060 / Last Sunday @ 10:45am
Homestead Group / Last Thursday @ 8:30pm
Key Biscayne Group / Last Friday @ 8:30pm
Killian Pines /Last Friday @ 8:00pm
K.I.S.S. / Last Friday @ 12:15pm
Little River Group / Last Wednesday @ 8:30pm
Miami Springs/Last Monday @ 7:30pm
Miami Young People / Last Saturday @ 8:30pm
North Miami Group / Last Friday @ 8:30pm
Primary Purpose Group / Last Saturday @ 8:30pm
Rise, Shine & Awake / Las Friday @ 7:29am
Sabal Palm Group / Last Sunday @ 7:00pm
Shamrock / Last Tuesday @ 8:30pm
Sober Way Out / Last Friday @ 8:30
South Dade / Last Friday @ 8:30pm
South Dixie / Last Saturday @ 7:30pm
Stepping Stones / Last Monday @ 11am
Sunset / Last Saturday @ 8:30pm
If your group would like to be listed please let us know.
LITTLE RIVER
Russ W. 2
Yusuf S. 15
James W. 3
Micheal B. 15
Latavia G. 3
Mable G. 15
Suzi R. 4
Mark B. 15
Chris W. 6
Deborah 16
Mercedes 7
Evan R. 17
Robert S. 8
Donya B. 21
Tuba O. 9
Greatful W. 22
Mike P. 9
Maria B. 22
Alisa R. 9
Tony B. 22
Ramon 9
Jim G. 23
Art T. 9
Martha F. 24
Carlee K. 12
Gary 24
Dawn 12
George S. 12 Allen P. 24
Joan K. 24
Gloria 13
Essie 26
Gail 13
Catherine 14 Douglas P. 27
SOBER WAY OUT
Vanessa J . 1
Lizzette A. 1
Julio D. 1
Nick W. 2
Donald H. 2
David M. 2
Flossie H. 2
Kenneth T. 3
Frank M. 3
Benjamin P. 3
Georgia D. 3
James W. 4
Michelle S. 4
Alina M. 4
Nicole S. 4
Arthur C. 6
Ann F. 6
Luther L. 7
Marvin F. 8
Rupert B. 8
Robert S. 8
Leroy W. 8
Mary R. 9
Lazaro C. 11
George S. 12
Yusuf S. 15
Laurence H. 18
Donya B. 21
Marla B. 22
Grateful Willie 22
Martha F. 24
Frank W. 30
Do you want to know..... How can you help? How can you do service? Come to our next monthly meeting of Miami-Dade Intergroup which will
be held on Thursday-October 11th, 2012 @ 8:00pm (222 Menores Ave. - Coral Gables) This is a great opportunity to do service!
For more info call: (305) 461-2425
For comments / suggestions e-mail us - Editor: [email protected] or [email protected]
8
THE MESSENGER
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