D r. Bob, in his 15 years of sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous, acquired a reputation of active 12 Step work. He vigorously spread the message of recovery everywhere he could find alcoholics who would listen to his story of suffering and profound change in life from working the steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the winter of 1948, Dr. Bob gave a talk in Detroit in which service was part of the message he shared. I think you will find it interesting and believe that what he shared in that talk was true then and, to a great extent, is still true today. At the end of his life, Dr. Bob did much to help thousands of alcoholics recover, and was nicknamed the “Prince of the Twelve Steps”. Here is a portion of the talk he gave: “I don’t think we can do anything very well in this world unless we practice it. And I don’t believe we do AA too well unless we practice it. The fellows who win great awards in athletic events are people who practice, have been practicing for years, and still have to practice. To do a good job in AA there are a number of things we should practice. We should practice, as I’ve said, acquiring the spirit of service. We should attempt to acquire some faith, which isn’t easily done, especially for the person who has always been very materialistic, following the standards of society today. But I think faith can be acquired; it can be acquired slowly; it has to be cultivated. That was not easy for me, and I assume that it is difficult for everyone else.” “Another thing that was difficult for me (and I don’t do it too well yet) was the matter of tolerance. We are all inclined to have closed minds, pretty tightly closed. That’s one reason why people find our spiritual teaching difficult. But it’s quite important that we do acquire tolerance towards the other fellow’s ideas. I think I have more of it than I did have, although not enough yet. If somebody crosses me, I’m apt to make a rather caustic remark. I’ve done that many times, much to my regret .And then, later on, I find the man knew much more about it than I did.” In his recovery, Dr. Bob understood the impact our program can have in not only helping the alcoholic, but the family, the wives, the children and all who love the alcoholic. In the end, the founders decided to write three chapters on the effects of recovery on the family: “To Wives,” “The Family Afterward,” and “To Employers.” Dr. Bob’s work has rippled through our fellowship for the last 78 years, and we can only count our blessings that such a man helped all of us to seek and find sobriety. – Vic L., Decisions Group, Winter Springs, FL