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Archives, Past, Present, and Future. The need for an Archives Committee in Area 64, can be and is viewed by many in different ways. Some think it is just a collection of old books, pamphlets, and so forth which it is. Others don't think it is the Areas' responsibility to keep and provide a facility to store the Archives. I have been around the Area and have seen the archives and the committee grow from mostly the Alternate Delegate being responsible for keeping it (under ones bed) to being stored in the War Memorial Bldg. with no one being able to benefit from the past history to where we are today. A reference from The Best of the Grapevine Book, Bill thought the archives were important to preserve how it started and how it grew and to remember the mistakes in order to avoid future ones. Most of us are "now" people and don't always think about the future in terms of preserving the past. The fantastic success of A.A. is like a big puzzle and these are pieces that you know fit in, but you just don't know where until you look back into the past. So please Area 64 continue to do as suggested in the Guidelines to continue financial support for the Archives building. Just Food for Thought. |
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With today's open door policy in Alcoholics Anonymous we have every kind of people come thru the doors and find comfort in our beloved fellowship. They come from the Court Systems, homeless shelters, insane asylums, hospitals, treatment centers, veterans administrations, church's, the list goes on. Some of our literature tells us that we simply cannot be everything to everyone. Our Third Tradition states " The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking" does this mean that we have to be ALCOHOLIC? What about the ones with Grave Emotional & Mental Dis-orders, like myself ? Do they have a place in A.A.? Where and how do we draw the line? Who is to decide when someone that declares themselves to be alcoholic and to have a desire to stop drinking that they have become to dangerous or too disruptive for our group to be allowed to continue to come to the meetings? We have run into this situation many times in my home group. There is always a lot of conservation at the ole half measures / liars table. The opinions seem to vary widely. Take the gentleman that lost his baby sister to murder as a result of a paranoid schizophrenic out of control. His idea or opinion might be completely different from a understanding person that has a mother that suffers from the same sickness. The latter I'm sure would be quite a bit more tolerant than the one that lost his sister as a result of that disease. This is an extreme example but very realistic in just about every large AA Group. I've seen meetings called to discuss what and how to Barr an individual from going to AA meetings . Its not about individuals. Its about Us, We, Recovery, living one day at a time, not hiding from the disease or diseases. Many of the ones with Grave Mental & Emotional dis-orders are harmless. Then there are those that are dangerous. If the one that could be dangerous has a desire to stop drinking and continues to walk thru the doors and all they hear is you need to leave here we cant help you, go away before we call the police, don't ever come back here. What do you think might happen? On the other hand the alcoholic that has recovered as a result of the Twelve Steps that knows that all will be okay and that this individual will not greatly harm the group keeps telling them to Keep Coming Back. The well grounded AA member is more than willing to take it upon themselves to call the Police when the individual becomes disruptive to the Group, dangerous to himself or others. Where does the line get drawn. I believe that the line is drawn in the individual well grounded member of Alcoholics Anonymous. In the Big Book a chapter devoted to Working With Others, it says that we may even have to fight him if he is violent. This is written simply for Food For Thought. The next time I am out of my comfort zone when it comes to Some Are Sicker Than Others, it is the right thing for me to Trust that God Can and Will if He is Sought. This too shall pass. Daggerrose |
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