dennisimoto Loc: Washington State (West)

79 years ago today Bill Wilson gave Dr. Bob Smith his last drink, which the good doctor needed to steady his nerves for an operation. The actual date is open to some speculation but today is the one "officially" recognized. Since then there have been many, many other ideas of how people can or should get sober for the long term and many of them work for some folks. Anything that can help an alcoholic get sober is a good thing. In 1935 the best scientific, medical and legal minds in the world believed that the only way an alcoholic could be counted on to stay sober was to lock them up and throw away the key. Then along came this stockbroker and proctologist who showed them that just by working one with another, drunkards could turn their lives around. AA has its detractors and I expect to hear from many of them in here but the fact is that it showed the world the way and that is an admirable thing indeed.