I started out with a few beers with classmates on Fridays and this eventually progressed to cases and eventually on to mad-dog and other finer wines such as Ripple, Boars Head Apple Wine and all of the Boone's farm specialties. I began drinking at the age of 15 and within the next two years began to drink on a full time basis. I had not planned to become an alcoholic but I guess the alcoholic bug was in me waiting for me to drink.

I lived at home with my parents and when my father passed away in 1971, I thought that I would have to be the man of the house so for a period of 5 and a half days I didn't drink at all. A friend of mine said to me one day that just because my father died didn't mean that I had to stop living so it was all right to drink. This was all I needed and with this permission I gladly took his advice and picked up my next first drink and drank steadily for the next 10 years.

During that period of time alcohol became my main focus and staying drunk but not showing it became my life's plan. The only days I didn't drink during that period were two out of five days -- in the hospital after an auto accident. A friend of mine came to visit me there and gave me a 12 pack so along with the Demerol that I was receiving for pain, I also had my beer. When I was released from the hospital instead of going home I went to the bar I was in 5 days before and started drinking again.

I lost many jobs in the next few years due to my inability to limit my time with consumption of booze. By this time, I was averaging at least a fifth of bourbon a day plus any mixed drinks and beer. I reached a point that life was no longer tolerable and just wanted to die, but that was not to be the ase.

I went into a Perkins restaurant for a meal after a night of drinking and met a person from the fellowship of AA and we spoke a bit and I believe that he had a way of living that might work, and since this was more attractive than the idea of suicide, I agreed to attend a meeting of AA the next evening and I have been sober ever since.

I needed a car so I went shopping and bought one that would suit my needs as far as stereo sound was concerned. This car was a 1976 Fleetwood Brougham with a lot of rust on it but it was mine and tooled it around like it was a brand new Rolls Royce. I put 80,000 miles in the next 3 and a half years on that car 99% of which was AA related travel.

I went to an average of 14 to 20 meetings a week for at least the first 8 months of my sobriety, got a lot of phone numbers and used them often. I spent about 6 hrs. a day with my sponsor and I spent most of the rest with AA's at meetings conferences etc. None of this hurt me though -- I went to scads of meetings and you know what? I became comfortable with being in dry places with dry people.

I am sober 25 years as of December 17, 2006 and couldn't be more content and happy. This all is a gift from my higher power which I choose to call God. I did some of the legwork, but God took away the obsession and compulsion to pick up the drink. I am as powerless today over alcohol as I was in all of my drinking days but AA and you and God help me live a productive happy and almost sane life.

Thank you for the gift of sobriety and May God of your understanding hold you all in the palm of His hand until we meet again.