point taken yvonp, & i agree with your point of view.....all the meetings in the AA World, cannot, & will not "ever" be a substitute for working the program with an "Awakened Sponsor", who has already obtained that all important understanding that the applied application of each Step worked in the proper order, & intent bestows upon one........thank you for the feedback, & your insight.......much appreciated.......bc, (Bill C)

Well what a coincidence! Two new posts by recovered alkies - one from Bill and one from Bob! What meaneth this? LOL In any event guys, your posts are truly inspiring and give hope to the alcoholic who still suffers (drinking or not) that there is, in fact, a paycheck at the end of the workweek! If a suffering newcomer or old-timer can't glean hope from either of your posts that we can recover from this illness, then I suppose he/she never will!

Hi Y! Speaking as a recovered alcoholic, it really irks me to hear people with sobriety dates of over 6 months who raise their hands and introduce themselves as recovering and proceed to spew off at the mouth about their bad marriage, their debt, their job, anything but recovery and what they have done to find spiritual growth and freedom from the bondages of alcohol. If you have over 6 months and believe you are still recovering...GET A NEW SPONSOR. How about the "just dont drink and go to meetings stuff we hear all the time? OFFENSIVE! Please point me to that in the book! Like brother Y pointed out, we are reminded over and over agiain in our book that we RECOVER! I am not one thought or one action away from my next drink! I have separation by spiritual means and surrounding myself with other recovered alcoholics who strive to maintain and grow our level of spiritual fitness. Today is my 7 year anniversary and I'm diggin my new life to the MAX! ROCK ON Y!