AA was founded in 1939 when two recovering alcoholics: Bill W. —a lawyer—and Dr. Bob—a proctologist met. The humor of that is not lost on its members, I assure you.
Bill W. got sober sometime before 1939 when a friend stopped by his home one night while he was on a bender. This friend (his name was Ebby) was a drinking buddy of Bill W.’s who’d achieved sobriety and told Bill W. that if he wanted to get sober, all he had to do was put down the bottle (we call it putting the plug in the jug) and do a few simple things: believe in God, do a personal inventory, make things right with those he’d harmed, and then work with other alcoholics. Bill W. then had what he called a “spiritual experience”, that is, he came to the realization that it was egotistical not to believe in God. From there, he did the other things required and achieved sobriety.
Bill W. got sober sometime before 1939 when a friend stopped by his home one night while he was on a bender. This friend (his name was Ebby) was a drinking buddy of Bill W.’s who’d achieved sobriety and told Bill W. that if he wanted to get sober, all he had to do was put down the bottle (we call it putting the plug in the jug) and do a few simple things: believe in God, do a personal inventory, make things right with those he’d harmed, and then work with other alcoholics. Bill W. then had what he called a “spiritual experience”, that is, he came to the realization that it was egotistical not to believe in God. From there, he did the other things required and achieved sobriety.
Now, the actual facts of Bill W.’s sobriety aren’t as noble as the press he’s received (he was one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century). He was a philanderer, suffered serious bouts of depression, and experimented with LSD in the 50’s and 60’s, but the fact is, he did stay sober until his death.
There’s a joke in AA related to Bill W.’s aberrant behaviors (and any sober alcoholic’s bad behavior) that says: What do you get when you sober up a drunken horse thief? A sober horse thief.
There’s a joke in AA related to Bill W.’s aberrant behaviors (and any sober alcoholic’s bad behavior) that says: What do you get when you sober up a drunken horse thief? A sober horse thief.