The Barflies Message Board

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Total Abstinence - posted by Wade l at 04/30 09:20AM I used to attend a meeting in downtown BR at noon and Pat O'Brien would come every so often. Pat was the guy who brought AA to La. He would always talk about staying sober requires total abstinence. My dear friend Dick would always say that my body doesn't know the difference between a little alcohol and a lot of alcohol. I have to guard against putting alcohol into my body. I have to watch what I eat, no food cooked with wine, I don't drink near beer, I don't use mouthwash with alcohol. When alcohol enters my body it sets forth a compulsion for more alcohol. When that compulsion is present in me, then I am absolutely nuts. I can not function normally in society. So I am working with this guy who has been sober for 15 years and is crazy as a fruit cake. He tells me he drinks near beer, eats fruit cakes, and uses mouthwash with alcohol daily. He says I have draconian ideas about the effects of alcohol and that he can handle a tolerable amount of alcohol in his system with no adverse effects. (Meanwhile his has been falling apart and he has barely been hanging on). This has made me realize how right Pat was. I used to get aggravated with him because he would always harp on "Total Abstinence", and it would get boring. I see people in AA saying that they are crazy and this won't work on their problems, but they don't give sobriety a chance. These are the same people who end up killing themselves because life is to unbearable. Hell, if I had to live with the compulsion for booze every day I would probably end up offing myself too. I was to that point when I got sober. I wanted a better life, and got one!

re: Total Abstinence - posted by privateparty on 04/30 05:56PM some of us are not alergic.I am alergic.If I get around a poisen ivy plant and am aleric I have to scratch.but If I am immune to it.I am not alergic corect or not. However I think the part about Pat O. is only Baton Rouge as for history is concerned it was in New Orleans First long before Baton Rouge .I think in the early 50'sI will check and get back to this though....I could be wrong.

re: Total Abstinence - posted by privateparty on 04/30 06:45PM I am sorry I have to correct my correction I am looking at corrispondances with Treasury department United Sates customes Service And Frances P dated May 23,1940. the first lone member was Nov.1942 in new Orleans a hard to see guy stive g. The first group in may 1943 New Orleans Group 12 members in 1943 may.sec.Wally G. there is one lone member in Baton Rouge without Name in Feb.1945. As of august 1945 baton Rouge secretary Paul D. P. for a group of 28 members .My question is I guess when did Pat o arive to Carry the messAGE?CAUSE IN LOUISIANA History he is not mentioned in the 40-47 time but when 1951 the Capital Area group had 14 members But is hard to make out small numbers . O'Brian House was established in 1971.I just e-mailed them for his sobriety date...

re: Total Abstinence - posted by booger on 04/30 07:09PM hay privateparty - you're not helping! quit peeing in the pool!!

re: Total Abstinence - posted by ch on 04/30 08:13PM Interesting post, at first I was thinking,"Ok this is obvious" but thinking it through it through a little further I realized most people have a completely careless attitude about these small amounts of alcohol. Including myself for some time. I remembered at about 2 years I was talking to my sponsor because I was really irritable and on edge and couldn't figure out why. After talking with him for a while and not being able to pinpoint what was troubling me, he asked,"Have you been using any products with alcohol?" I thought for a moment and realized that I had been using listerine for several weeks two or three times a day. I knew without a doubt he was dead on. Thank God I had a sponsor who understood this illness.

re: Total Abstinence - posted by Wade L on 04/30 09:44PM I have his story, and I will have to check the dates for you. I do remember from his story that he was sober for 3 years before AA was founded. I will try to find the dates and other particulars if you are interested.

re: Total Abstinence - posted by privateparty on 04/30 09:57PM My friend at 3 legacies tells me he new him well and says he got sober in 42 same year he came to Baton Rouge .let me know what you find

re: Total Abstinence - posted by wade l on 05/05 11:23AM The following information is taken from a pamphlet that Pat used to give out at meetings, the pamphlet is basically his story. His sobriety date was October 26, 1937. He read the Jack Alexander article from Feb. 20, 1941. Sent off for the Big Book Feb. 27, read the book and attended some meetings (I assume in NY, he was a salesman there for some time, and entered an asylum in NY around July of 36, discharged Jan. 25, 1937). He says he talked about AA incessantly but did little until 1944 when he and a newspaperman founded the first AA group in his city (BR) and there has been meetings continuously since then. They would meet in his apartment. He does not give a date as to when he moved to BR.

re: Total Abstinence - posted by private party on 05/06 08:21PM Thank you man finally a decent conversation .I beifited from that Thanks

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While we hope that all our guests share their experience as it relates to the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, we remind everyone that the contents of these message strings are strictly personal opinions of the authors. When in doubt about the nature of statements made please consult the Big Book and other AA reference materials... our motto: "If its not in the book, it doesn't count." Thank you all for sharing.