My Story: This Alcoholic Has Put Together 31 Years of Sobriety, And Along The Way Learned Who Bill W. Was — John S., Remember When Group

In 1964 I didn’t want to drink in the small town of Piketon, Ohio, where I was a teacher and lived with my wife and baby daughter. Instead, I would drive south to Portsmouth, on the Ohio River across from Kentucky. Portsmouth was where the river boats docked for a little “rest and relaxation” for the men who loaded and unloaded the freight on and off the barges. One week-end I was getting drunk in a bar in Portsmouth with two friends. When coming out of the men’s room, I saw a couple of river-boat workers “picking on” my friends. I said, “If you want to fight, fight with a man.” I was definitely winning the fight, but decided to end it quickly. Pulling out the pistol I always carried, I said, “If you make one more step in my direction, I’ll blow your head off!” The bar owner had already called the police and when I saw them, I put the pistol in my pocket and ran out the back door. Making it to my car, I got in and headed north toward home, my wife, and baby daughter. The Portsmouth police caught up with me before I got there. I received a DWI, went to court, paid a fine and went to jail. My family and I then moved to Cincinnati, where I had similar alcohol-fueled experiences – bar fights, car accidents, and confrontations with the police. After one auto accident when driving drunk, and the accompanying encounter with the police, I made the pages of the Cincinnati Enquirer and the local news. Soon after, a member of Alcoholics Anonymous knocked on my door, handed me a Big Book, and told me a brief history of his similar experiences as a result of drinking. He told me he would return in a week to get his book back. He did return for his Big Book, and then took me to my first A.A. meeting. He dropped me off and said he would return later and pick me up. When I showed up for that noon meeting, in August of 1971, I went in the back door, through the kitchen, and into the front room where the meetings were held. A man in the room asked me, “Were you here this morning?” I answered, “No, I just got here.” He responded, “Man, you just missed Bill W.!” I asked, “Who is Bill W.?” He replied, “You MUST be brand new!” I made that first meeting, in August of 1971, a long time before I had my last drink on July 12, 1983. I put together almost a year of sobriety before I went back out. After that, I had varying lengths of sobriety, ranging from 1 to 8 years. Now I am 75 years old and have not had a drink of alcohol for over 31 years. Oh, I also found out who Bill W. was – my wife’s first Al-Anon sponsor was his wife, Lois!