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Source: Southeastern Conference Opening and Introductions – Charlotte (Date Unknown).mp3 File: southeastern-conference-opening-and-introductions-charlotte-date-unknown.mp3 Duration: 00:34:33
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Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Our anonymity, like our sobriety, is a treasured possession. We ask the help of our guests, especially those representing the press or broadcasting media, in protecting the anonymity of all alcoholics present or mentioned here today. We hope you hear something at this meeting which you can take away with you and use.
We respectively request, however, that you eliminate any mention of names in reference to members of Alcoholics Anonymous. Tonight we are going to do what many people have asked for. We are going to ask Smiley, M.C., of Henderson, North Carolina, to read How It Works. Mr. Chairman, fellow members of the Southeastern Conference, and guests, how it works. I know that many of you, as I, in my early days in AA, have said many evenings at your meeting, my God, is he going to read that again.
I am glad it affected me like that. Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault. They seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty.
Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders. But many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest. Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it, then you are ready to take certain steps.
In some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier and softer way, but we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our own ideas, and the result was nil until we let go absolutely. Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful. Without help it is too much for us, but there is one who has all power.
That one is God. May you find him now. Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable, came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity, made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him, making a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves, admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character, humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings, made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all, made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others, continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong promptly admitted it, sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all of our affairs. Thank you, Smiley. He was one of the members that attended the first meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, for the first Southeastern. I know Tom S. was there. I wonder if there are others out there that attended the first meeting in Birmingham,
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Alabama. If you are, please stand up, and Tom also, and you too, Smiley. There were five that I counted. Was I right, Dave? Approximately. Approximately. That's close for me. Thank you. That's good. Ed said that I changed my name from Bagley to Burka. It was Bagel. That's what it was. And we didn't have any locks, and we changed it to Burka. That's what it was. Tonight, it will be just plain old Burka.
I am going to ask Clarence R. from Atlanta to come to the mic. Clarence? I'm Clarence R., and I'm an alcoholic member of the Scholarly Group in Atlanta, Georgia. Hi. This afternoon, as for you members who were here, we had a business meeting, and at this business meeting, it was the wish of the conference to select a secretary, and the secretary's duties of the Southeastern Conference will be to coordinate all of the conventions, retreats, and conferences of the southeastern 10-state area so that we won't have too many conflicts between the conventions.
For instance, North Carolina and South Carolina won't be having their convention at the same time, or the retreat will not be going on right down the road where our big convention is going on. We'll need all of the cooperation of all of the groups and all of the states in order to put this job over in the next few years on a trial basis. It was my privilege to be elected as your secretary for the next four years, and I'll do my utmost best to carry out the wishes of every member of the southeastern region to try to get this job done.
We would like tonight, if possible, to have all of the state chairmen from the 10-state areas, the delegates, the alternate delegates, and any state that is not represented by a state chairman or a delegate or an alternate delegate here, please have a representative in room. Let me look on the little card. In room 924, 30 minutes after the meeting is completed, and at that time we'll try to outline a few little plans and let you know exactly what's going to be taking place in the next year to get up this calendar and keep this conventions coordinated in the southeastern region.
I would appreciate it if you would be there. The meeting won't last over 10 or 15 minutes, and then you can get back down here and do your dancing. Thank you very much. Thank you, Clarence, and congratulations on your new elected office. I heard Tom ask if this was going to be a paid position, and I listened carefully because I was coming out for it. But when I found out it was free, I said, Clarence is going to have it.
Now I'm going to give you Joe C., the delegate from the state of Georgia. Joe? Hi, everybody. Hi, Joe. My name is Joe C.. I, too, am powerless over alcohol, but by the grace of God, I'm divinely inspired in life-sustaining fellowship of AA. I'm sober today, and I'm grateful, and I thank you. I want to thank the committee for giving me this opportunity to make an announcement. The members of AA from the state of Georgia would like to extend to all of you an invitation to extend our 15th Georgia State Convention to be held at Jekyll Island just off the coast of Brunswick, Georgia, and the date is October the 24th through the 27th.
We have three fine, first-class motels that have been reserved for Alcoholics Anonymous. The rate for our single rooms is $8, for the double rooms is $12, and each of the double rooms is equipped with two double beds, a nice accommodation that you will be satisfied with. Now, the registration for our Georgia Convention is free. There is no registration fee for this convention. We have some brochures about Jekyll Island and its facilities, plus some registration cards and some motel reservation blanks.
Now, these are on the table out in the lobby next to the 69th Southeastern Conference display. Now, please pick up this information, look it over, and mail your reservations and your
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registrations in as soon as possible. You people have been kind enough to help make Georgia the best state convention-wise in our Southeastern region, and we are grateful to you for this help. So please come and share with us your sobriety, your love, and your happiness on October the 24th. Thank you. Thank you, Joe. I see that he is going to make a good delegate for the state of Georgia because these past delegates are watching him, and they are going to tell him what to do.
Now, I know that there are other state conventions, and Joe insisted to have a word here, and I know that you want equal time, but if possible, I hope you don't ask for it. But I will try to tell you the Roanoke Convention in Virginia soon. Check it out. The Southeastern Convention, of course, in Chattanooga next season at the same time. I am also told that those that register in advance will get special attention in rooms in the convention hotel.
So what else did I leave out? Anybody else? Alabama, Florida. Let's see. Alabama, North Florida, right? September. Another convention. We got that out of the way. Fellas, that will be $10 apiece. Please have your money ready in the right change. Oh, yes. The count. The count was 1,279. This is a record for the great state of North Carolina. I am now—oh, oh, yes, something happened. You know this program, it will do something for every one of us.
You know, I mentioned that Smiley was at the first meeting in Birmingham. He thought it over after I said that, and he said that, and he has got an apology to make, a correction. I attended the second one in Asheville, North Carolina in 1946, which was sponsored by the group of Shelby, Hendersonville, and Asheville. You see how honest they get? I now give you the man that headed up this wonderful convention, Harry B., a big hand.
Thank you, Manny. My name is Harry B., and I am an alcoholic. Hi, everybody. I want to say that the planning and the efforts has been a team effort from the very beginning. It's been everybody working together. We really haven't had any discord, and that's something with an AA crowd. I have a lot of people I would like to recognize at this time, and I think that we ought to recognize the voice of the convention, Manny B., who has done a good job.
I think there are only two things that I know of that I have done right in my life, and the first one, I married a girl about 14 years ago, and that was the first thing, and she has been a helpmate to me from that day to this, and she has been a helpmate in this convention, and I want you all to know that I love this gal. This gal loves me. She is over here in the left-hand corner, Lucille, my wife.
This next group that I am going to call to your attention, I would appreciate it if you would let me finish reading this list, and at the conclusion of the list, let's give them all a hand at the same time.
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And I'm going to ask the people whose names I call to stand at this time. And you please withhold your applause, and I'll give you the signal. First, Annabelle W., the Al-Anon chairman. Now I want all the members of the Charlotte and Concord Convention Group Representatives, for the convention representatives to please stand. Charlotte, each group representative. I know we've got more than that here.
Please remain standing, everyone. Lucille, stand back up. Please remain standing as I call your name. We had a fellow that I think did a great job back in the coffee room, Lin Wood S.. Lin Wood, would you stand? He's supposed to be, he's in the back. Yeah, I see him. All right. And all these wonderful girls who worked on the desk and did such a good job out there, they're out here, and I want you to see them.
Everybody was on the registration desk, banquet ticket sales, what have you. Another man who stayed right at that book desk, Ed D.. Ed, would you stand? Cliff B. and his fine host committee. You know the couples that were on Cliff's committee. Cliff, and all those on the host committee, please stand. The fellow that did a magnificent job on the stage direction, another one from West Virginia, George B..
Will you stand, George? Our entertainment committee chairman, Mary S.. And Jerry M. in charge of the tapes. Well, let's give everybody standing a hand. There are two men who put in the most hours, the most time, and I know the hardest work. And I think they deserve a tremendous lot of special recognition. And I refer to Dave C. and Gene B.. Please stand. In the final analysis, how is this possible, and what made this convention what it is, is all of you good people who came here.
And I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. God bless you. Thank you. I would like to see a standing ovation for all of these people. We're about to score the touchdown. We're on about 60 yards high now. Wasn't that a good dinner? I told you that. I told you about that 6.50 dinner for five and a quarter. And I want to thank Herb S. for presenting that quart of pickle to me. That's what his name was, S.?
Joe S.. I don't know. Thank you. After this meeting, about 14 or 15 rows from here back, all the chairs will be removed, so we're going to ask you to get out the way. That's a nice way to put it. That's the way Seth from Charleston would have told you.
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And so they can make room here for those that wish to dance, the clodhoppers or something. And also, at the same time, for the young people, the Alateens, they're going to have a go-go dance in the Capitol Ballroom somewhere back in there. And I know that many of you will want to go back and watch them. But dance if you can. It's a lot of fun if you can dance. Somebody's laughing. I don't see any more remarks, and that's good.
Oh, yes. How did you enjoy, those of you that were here, this group last night that I talked about three or four times? This was for free. These young people, I know that one of the young ladies was a daughter of one of the committee. And they came here to give something to us and enjoy. And I know you did. There have been so many people that have gone up to the desk and talked to others of the committee and asked could they donate something to be sent to this group.
And it has been decided on, if those that wish, that there would be a box back there at the door on the left. And if anyone would like to contribute a dime or a quarter or what have you, this is your privilege. And it will be turned over to these young people. Thank you for this. A few remarks, and I will be finished with this wonderful task that I have been honored with. As many of you know, this was for a man from Florida, and he was unable to be here.
And Harry called me last week and asked me would I come up. And, of course, being modest, I said I would. I want to thank all of you that have been so kind and attentive in this convention and have tried to be seated as quickly as possible and made this such a wonderful conference. We have heard wonderful speakers that all of us, I am sure, are so thankful for. We will have much to take home. And I know that I needed more than most people and will continue to.
And I will tell this and try to quickly set out. I remember as a little boy I lived in a small town called Williston, South Carolina. It was a town of about 800 or 900. They didn't have an ice plant there, so my daddy decided that he would have ice so the people in town could get ice. And he built one behind his business. And the people told him to dig deep so when this ice was shipped from Augusta, Georgia, to this little town, it wouldn't melt too fast.
And he dug one about 10 or 12 feet and would take sawdust and cover up this ice. And it didn't make any difference if they came for a nickel or a dime's worth of ice. He would leave his business to go back to the ice house to try to accommodate these people. And one night he was going down and he had to go down the little steps and he slipped and he fell about 10 or 12 feet. And the fellow standing up above says, Mr. B., did you hurt yourself?
He says, no, I was going down anyway. This was my daddy. He was a wonderful man. I have slipped many times, but I didn't want to go down that way. At this convention, you've heard every speaker here talk about gratitude. And before they talked about the gratitude, they talked about freedom. And it reminds me a few years ago of talking to Al from Durham. I had the pleasure of being in New York with this man the following year that I'm going to tell about.
He was an Indian. He was from Texas. He was a wonderful fellow. And the general services, they give you about three minutes after you get there to say something. And if you don't, they ring a bell and you sit down. Eve can tell you. And he got up and he looked for his notes and he couldn't find them. And he got up and told them. He didn't know what he was going to say. But he could remember and remember well that for many years that the white people didn't want him and the Indians didn't want him.
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And he had nowhere to go. And then he came to AA. And they greeted him at the door like we do everywhere. And they made him feel at home. He passed away in an accident a few years ago. But I thought this is the kind of thing, the tribute, that we can say over and over again for so many people. I think something else, an observation today. I was in the coffee room. And this young, happy, Negro man came up to me.
And he had a few little pencils or ballpoint pens. And he called me aside and he said, I don't want to do anything wrong. I want some advice. I was the right man, I'm sure. And he said, these are not worth much. They were fixed up by the Al-Anons of the Serenity Group, I think is their group here in Charlotte. And he says, we want to give them away to the Al-Anons here at this convention. Is this permissible?
And, of course, I referred him to the desk. And I understand it was. You see, the door is open for the Negro. The door was open for the Jew. The door was open for the Catholic. The door was open for the poor man. The door was open for the rich man. The door was open for the educated man. And the door was open for the uneducated man. And for this, and no doubt about it, I'm so grateful today. That's the reason I've said time and time again that AA is my life.
I, too, have found brotherly love. And this is practicing and giving and sharing in AA. I had to make these few remarks. And those of you I don't get to see before you go home, I hope you have a safe trip. And we'll see each other in Chattanooga next July, August, rather. And this will be wonderful. Many of us will see each other in other parts of the state. So again, for this freedom, for this gratitude, I give thanks to all of you, these wonderful speakers, the wonderful chairman, and wonderful you, and all you wonderful Al-Anons and AA girls.
Thank you, and God bless you. Applause And now I give you Dave R. of Maryville, Tennessee. Applause Thank you, Manny. My name is Dave R., and I'm a Baptist. Applause What in the hell is so funny about that? Applause If you be quiet, I'll tell you the rest of it. Applause I'm a Mason, a Republican, Applause and a hillbilly lawyer from the mountains of Tennessee. Now, carrying all that, do I need to tell you that I'm an alcoholic?
Applause You know, it's a good thing that you are liberal on your admission, as Manny said you are. I never got in. Especially back, you know, when I came into this fellowship 19 years ago, a Republican couldn't have made it at all. Applause But you know, there's just no doors closed to him now. Everybody's looking for us, even in the deep South. Not that we're so great, but they say, hell, you couldn't do any worse.
Applause You know, this being a lawyer, you folks are inclined at times to speak jovially, you know, of the legal profession. But as a matter of fact, there's no more sacred relationship between men than that that exists between a lawyer and his client. And a real lawyer
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will do whatever is necessary and go wherever he is required to go, regardless of the circumstances. That's, I could say, if I wanted to lie, that reminds me of something. You hear these speakers say, that reminds me of something. They're lying. They already had a joke they wanted to tell you. This is pointed out by a matter I heard of up in the mountains. Two adjoining property owners fell out over the boundary line between them.
We have a lot of that up in the mountains, thank God, and they'll law over 15 feet of land right on through all the courts. This that I was told was a controversy between two men. One was one of the domineering types, you know, and used to running roughshod over his neighbors. The other fellow was a quiet, peaceful little fellow. The rough one couldn't get this kind old man to agree, and he threatened him with a lawsuit.
He said, I'll law you in the General Sessions Court. The quiet one said, well, that's all right, I'll be there. He said, I'll law you in the Circuit Court. It's all right, I'll be there. I'll law you in the Court of Appeals. It's all right, I'll be there. I'll law you in the Supreme Court of Tennessee. I'll be there. I'll law you in the Supreme Court of the United States. It's all right, I'll be there.
Well, he just had one more place to go, and he thought that would be the clincher. And he says, I'll law you in hell. And the old fellow says, that's all right, [unclear] will be there. Well, you didn't come here to listen to me. You've got a real treat in store for you. I was flattered and honored. And for once I was a little unsure of myself when Dave asked me to introduce our speaker tonight. I haven't had much contact with celebrities.
I've known our speaker for a long time, as most of you have. I haven't thought about introducing Ed B. to a crowd anywhere. I can tell you, though, about the many awards he's been given and the great number of starring roles he's played. You know that as much as I do. He's a man who has had a remarkably successful career. But in all those appearances, whether on the stage or screen or TV, he was playing to a script that had been written by somebody else.
His appearance tonight is on a script that was written by himself. He's a remarkable man. I've had the opportunity of visiting with him and his good wife during the couple of days we've been here. You can't stay afraid of him. He won't let you stand in awe of him. He's one of us.