From Ego to Service: Abraham's Secretary's Night Reflections

However, tonight is our Secretary's Night.

So, my name is Abraham and I've been your Alcoholics Secretary for this past year.

I have no format, so we're just winging this at this point.

But, tonight is the night where I finally get to sit down.

No.

So, as we transition our secretaryships, but in honor of that, one thing that is unique about this meeting tonight is that every person that is coming up here to share has been a past secretary of this meeting at some point.

So, I'm going to be reading off, here we go.

Me, here we go.

Our past secretaries.

Alright, so this meeting, Quality of Life, we started back in 2007 with Denny V.

2008, Yvette L.

2009, Bruce B.

2010, Lori B.

2011, Milton C.

2012, Nolan L.

2013.

Jerry S.

2014, Elizabeth D.

2015, Greg N.

2016, Bill W.

2017, Lisa C.

2018, Oscar O.

2019, Alex B.

2020, Nancy B.

2021, Scotty B.

2022, Karen M.

Karen.

Uh, 2023, Ben Q., 2024, Nate D., and 2025, I am Abraham, and I have been your secretary for this last year.

Yeah, let's get a little round of applause.

It's definitely not a light commitment, but I definitely appreciate it.

Okay, so continuing in the format, I will be asking Nolan to come up and share for today.

We're going to be talking about the

last 10 minutes.

We're going to be talking about the last 10 minutes.

Okay, AA has no membership, dues, or fees.

However, we are self-supporting.

We will be passing the basket.

You may also send Venmo contributions to at QOLAA or at the QR code or the Venmo link posted in the Zoom chat.

Thank you.

Oh, look, it's Chapel.

Okay.

Okay.

It is also customary to.

Read the 12 traditions that apply to the group conscience as the 12 steps apply to the individual

And tonight I'm asking Karen to read these for us

Okay, thank you

And now for tonight, I will be your main speaker

Yay

Okay, my name is Abraham and I am an alcoholic

It has been an absolute pleasure to be your secretary for this last year

This is definitely one of those commitments that I would have never chosen for myself

And of course, it's not a popularity contest

This is my higher power doing for me what I would not do for myself

So, I am born and raised here in the San Fernando Valley

I was born at Selmar or Olive View Hospital

When I was just a year old

I went to Van Nuys Middle, no, Van Nuys Elementary

Van Nuys Middle School, Van Nuys High School

I got kicked out of Van Nuys High School

And ultimately I graduated from Birmingham High School

A lot of what this program has taught me

Is that I'm always centered on myself

As a little kid

When I was in, like, elementary school

I would sell candy

I would sell chocolate

I would buy the big thing from Costco

And they would sell, like, the 40 or 50 pack of the full-size candy bars from Costco

And I would freeze them overnight

And then have this

I'd have my regular backpack

And then I'd have this laptop bag that was just candy in there

And I would go around campus

And I would sell out this entire bag at a dollar apiece

And it just brought everybody to me

Because I had a lot of money

And I had what you wanted, you know

And that was always, like, what I am about

It's just my ego

Anything coming up

If I could put myself in a position where I knew you needed something from me

And I would benefit

That's what I'd like to

That's what I like to do

You know, when I went to

I don't know, that was just

That was me growing up

I was always, like, into tech

Because in tech

I was always the one who knew what you needed to know

And you would come to me

And then I would be the one to get the attention

In middle school

I would hang out in the computer lab

I'd set up all the little stations and everything

And for when I was going to graduate from middle school

For my graduation present to myself

I broke into the library

And I stole the new MacBook Pro laptop that they just purchased

And thought that I had deserved it

Because I had been working on it for a long time

In that library for the last couple of years

Of course, the police found out when they told me

Oh yeah, your sister already told us that she saw you at home with it

And so I was like, alright, fine, yeah, it's at home kind of thing

When finding out years later and talking to my sister

I was like, no, the police never actually talked to them

Like, they just, you know, told me a lie

And I ratted myself out

But then, you know, coming up in high school

I did the same thing

It was the day of graduation

And I was hanging out with this other friend

And we were in the AV room

And again, it was another computer

And I thought that, again, I deserved it

Because I was doing all this work and everything for them

And so it was another opportunity

That I laterally transferred it to myself

And the police were involved

And the friend that was following me around

Got caught

And to make sure that she didn't get in trouble

You know, I said, yeah, of course, it was me

Because it was me

And it was always about me

When I got my first job at the Six Flags

I remembered I wanted to be one of the guys, right?

My uncle told me it was a good idea to go get my guard card

So I started working security

I got my guard card

I went to Six Flags during their big summer job fair

And during the interview, they looked at me

And they were like, oh, you're smart, aren't you?

And I was like, yeah

And they pulled their little golf cart around

They took me back to my home

They took me backstage

And they took me to the communications and security area

So it was part of their operation

So I ended up getting hired to do operations

It was just a little five-man team

But I always wanted to be out there with everybody else

I wanted to be one of the guards

So on my lunch breaks

I would, you know, put on my polo

And go walk out the park

And walk like if I was one of them

And for me, one of the moments where, you know, oh, I had made it

Was when I was working

And they finally invited me out to one of the parties

And I show up

And, of course, they're like, oh, a desk arrived

Because that's what I was

It was a desk

I worked behind the desk

So they're like, oh, a desk made it

And they're like, you know, serve desk up a drink

And they poured me an Irish car bomb

So it was the Guinness, the Bailey's, and the Jameson

And dropped it in

I threw it back

I drank the entire glass

And it was like warm chocolate milk

And it just hit me

And I was like, yeah, I can do this

And I was like, yeah, I can do this

And I said, serve me up another one

And, of course, dropped it in

Drank down the second one

And for the rest of that night

If there was a drink left on the table, on the counter

You know, you had your back turned to it, whatever

I was grabbing it

Because, you know, it finally, like, hit me

That this is, you know, how I get the attention that I want

And that night, I ended up curling up in the hallway

Everybody just kind of dropped to where they were

I grabbed the drink and I was like, oh, I'm going to drink this

I had the flashlight out of my car

And I kind of hugged it

And I fell asleep with it like a pillow

And the next morning, in the same uniform from the night before

I, you know, jumped up and said, hey, we got to go to work

And I put a few people in my car and we went to work

And, you know, that was, like, that moment

Like, I remember that

Soon after that, I joined the military

When I joined the military, I wanted to be a police officer

I wanted to be a military police officer

Because of the authority or whatever

But because I had been arrested, you know, I was like, oh, I'm going to be a military police officer

And I was arrested in middle school and in high school

They're like, no, you can't do that

And so my mom is a nurse

My grandma is a CNA

My aunts are nurses

Everybody's nurses

So I was like, okay, fine, what do you have in medical?

And they're like, oh, yeah, we got a job for you

You can be a healthcare specialist

And so I showed up at boot camp

And they're like, oh, healthcare specialist?

No, you're a combat medic

So the new name was healthcare specialist

But the old name was combat medic

So every infantryman that goes out

Has a medic with them

So I was just an attachment to the infantry

But in that time

Because it was a time of war

I decided to grow quick

I didn't know what was to come

So I got married

Got to my first duty station

And started living like I didn't know what was to come

So my wife at the time got pregnant with my first child

And I had turned 20

Or was turning 21

And they threw me this big party

Where I was wearing the shirt

That had the list of like every alcohol and drink or whatever

And I said, everybody bring your favorite

Because I'm going to sample everything tonight

And I'm going to check it off my shirt

And I just remember it being like the early evening

And I had a camelback on with water in one

And then drinking drinks on the other

And then water and taking drinks

And like that whole night

I just remember it being like that

I just remember it being all about me

And that's all I wanted

And then the story continues

Because I got like a mandatory

I get like mandatory breaks in sobriety

Where I deployed

So there was no drinking while I was in Iraq

And came home

We had those 30 days of hiatus

After you come back

And that 30 days I spent drunk

I would go to the Class 6

I would grab a handle

1.75 liter

I'd pop that little aerator out of it

Captain Morgan

And I would just start drinking

Straight from the bottle

And that became everything

Even when my kid was born

And even when I was supposed to be a husband

And as my performance starts to drop

While I'm at work

Then another geographic happens

I get the opportunity to go to a school

I go to San Antonio

At the end of the day

I go to a school

At the end of the day

At that school

Because of my drinking

I gain weight

I bust tape

And that means that I can't continue in the school

That I'm supposed to be doing

So what do they do?

They ship me off

I say, okay, fine

Send me overseas

And they're like, oh, you want to go overseas?

And I was like, yeah

So they sent me to Germany

So it was just like

Right before I get in trouble

They move me

Right before I get in trouble

They move me

And so now I'm in Germany

And I'm picking up right where I left off

And I'm, you know

I'm leaving

My wife and my daughter

At the hotel

And I'm going out

And it just

This cycle continues

But in Germany

They're a lot more bureaucratic

They're definitely heavier with a pen

And I get in trouble

After I Dukes of Hazzard

My car on a farm road

Where I high centered on a bush

So driving back

I kind of drift off this lane

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

I hit a ditch

The car hits the ditch

It kind of jumps over this little dirt road

Lands high centers in this bush

I get out of the car

I look at this thing

I look up at the road

There's this guy on his bicycle

And he's like

You just fell asleep

And I was like

Yeah, that's right

I just fell asleep

And he's like

Yeah, yeah, yeah

You just fell asleep

And I was like

Okay, fine

I get back in the car

I like rocket off this bush

And I go

And I park it in the farm

And I walk onto the base

And the guard

Who had just like

Seen this whole thing go on

Is staring at me

And he's like

White in the face

And I'm handing him my ID card

And I'm just like

What?

And he's like

What?

You know, like

Takes it, scans it

And lets me go

I make it to my room

And I knew I was in trouble

Like I, you know

I was like

You know, I knew

So I walk right downstairs

And as I'm walking down

The police are walking in

I said

It's okay

It's me

And they do their whole thing

At that point

I think I blew

A .259

And

You know

And then that was like

My

Introduction

Or voluntold

Into AA

Because

I was put on extra duty

I was put on restriction

But I learned

That if I go to these

AA meetings

At night

That's time away

From doing these extra duties

So I started going

To the AA meetings

I got the cookies

I got the coffee

I started doing

As many of the meetings

That I could do

Because it just got me away

From doing this extra duty

But I did take away

One thing from those meetings

Was like

As soon as I

Get home

Because the military

Asked me not to continue

My service

And they sent me home

They said

Go to the AA meetings

Go to as many meetings

As possible

And so that's what I did

I showed up

Back at home

You know

I was absolutely lost

I didn't know what to do

And I started going to meetings

And so every day

I was going to meetings

Around the valley

Until I landed here

At Quality of Life

I remember

That it was

Pretty sure

I showed up

On a Saturday

Speaker meeting

Because it was

I just remember

The big room

Full of people

You're walking up the ramp

People are shaking your hand

People are asking you

You know

I'm trying to keep

My head down

I'm trying to like

Like not

Bring up too much attention

To myself

But

Of course

I'm going to these meetings

Because I have something to prove

Right

I want to show everybody

That it wasn't that bad

That I didn't do

You know

Like everything

That they were saying

It's not that bad

I want to like

Do this program

So I can get a letter

Recommendation

I can take it back

To the military

And I can show everybody

That no

I'm not as bad

As what I thought

You know

The whole situation was

So

Coming into these meetings

I definitely

Was in that mode

Of just like

Faking it

Getting through

Graduate

Get the certificate

I remember

I was at the speaker meeting

And the speaker

Was up here

And

They did the collection

Of the basket

And I saw that

And then

At the old meeting

What they would do

At the end of the meeting

Is they would take

Like an envelope

Or something

And they would give it

To the speaker

At the end of the meeting

And I would think to myself

I was like

Oh

They're collecting money

They're splitting it

And the speaker

Is getting a portion

Of that money

So I was like

Okay

That's something

That I could do

Later

When I get some time

I can become a speaker like that

What I found out

Is that we're giving them

A copy of their recording

At the end of the meeting

So the money

Yeah

It was

It was always just like

Oh yeah

I can get some money

Out of this too

But

I hung on

I hung on

Until it was 11 months

Right on my 11th month

At that time

I've

You know

Gotten divorced

I'm courting somebody new

And she was living in Korea

So I fly out to Korea

And I'm doing these

Month long trips

And this one was going to be

Another month long trip

I'm going out there

And I was going to be good

You know

But something about that year

Just

I don't know

You know

It's like

It's like

One of those things

That you only do once

Right

So

So at that 11 month point

In like three weeks

I'm sitting down at dinner

And I'm thinking

I can have one

I can do this again

And of course

At that dinner

I started drinking

And it just

Picked up

Right where I left off

Because

I

The same way

I destroyed that marriage

And relationship

With my first wife

I put

My current wife

Through that

Whole thing

All over again

So from that point

To the next four years

It was just

A tidal wave of me

Again

Being self-centered

Selfish

Doing exactly

Everything that

I wanted to do

It didn't matter

Who I was dragging down

With me

And

Yeah

And it carried on like that

For four years

Until

There was one night

I was driving here on Mulholland

Because I thought

So I was coming back from Santa Monica

And I was on the 405

And I thought to myself

That what if there's a checkpoint

On the 405

So I got off on

What is that

Not Getty

But the next

Skirball

I got off on Skirball

And I took Mulholland across

To get to Balboa

I thought

Mulholland

How wavy and windy that is

Was a better option

Than just driving on the 405

To get home

And the entire time

My wife is like

On the speaker

Kind of basically

Just like coaching me

And guiding me home

And I make it home

Pass out

And then next morning

When I wake up

I can

I come to

And my wife is folding clothes

And I'm just

Sitting there

And I feel sick

And I'm tired

And everything hurts

And I just go to

Try to help her

Fold this laundry

And I'm like

Holding on to this shirt

And I'm trying to fold it

And my hands

Just won't stop shaking

And then I look over to her

And I think

I think I need to go back

To a meeting

And she's like

Yeah

I think I need to go back to a meeting

I think you do

And she was one of the first ones

That just like

Pushed me back

To coming back here

And of course

It was a Saturday night

And I showed up

Back at that meeting hall

And I'm walking up that ramp

And people are reaching out

They're shaking my hand

And they're like

Oh I remember you

And people actually

Even remembered my name

It's been four years

There were times

That I was driving from

My mom's house

To Pierce College

And I would come up

Sherman Way

And I would look over

And I was like

Oh I wonder if that meeting hall

Is still there

You know

Because I left

So I thought

Oh I left

Obviously the meeting hall

Is going to collapse now

You know

And I would just wonder

And so when I came up

And I was doing that

Walk

I just remember sitting down

And it was Lisa

In the front

She sat next to me

And she just put her hand

On my lap

And she says

Quit fighting

You know

She's like

What are you fighting for

Just quit fighting

And that was the last time

That was the

That was the June 19th

Or June 22nd

2019

You know

I just

I stopped

I really

Was trying to do

This program

My way

And

I was like

Now I'm a college guy

And maybe I need

The college experience

And I would go to

The football games

And the tailgates

And I would be like

No no no

I'd be good this time

But they're giving us

Free tickets

And they're giving us

Drink tickets

So it would be a waste

If I didn't

You know

And then

Oh this one's

Sponsored by Truly

So you know

We get free

It's like

Water anyways

It's sparkling water

Isn't it

And I would try

And then I would

Show up to the meeting

And I would have to

Introduce myself

As a newcomer

Or I would have to

Raise my hand once again

And Alex

You know

Bless him

But he you know

He finally just came up to me

And he's like

If you continue to do this

It's just gonna keep getting easier

And you're never gonna get it

And I think that was

One of the last times

When he fired me

Oh no no

One of the last times

He fired me

Was because of the steps

But

It was one of the times

That he fired me

But

It was one of these things

Where I just

Had to continue

To hit the wall

Until I was defeated enough

To do it

The way this program

Asked you to do it

So I was like

Yeah

So

You know

And it's

It's interesting now

Because

You know

Until recently

I would say that

You know

I was working the program

And I'm coming to the meetings

And

You know

Doing the do

And I'm getting the fruits

Of the spirit

And all the gifts

Because

You know

Once

I stopped fighting

And I

You know

Kept being of service

And everything

Like

I stopped getting in fights

With my wife

So often

My wife

Ended up getting me

Pregnant

And now

You know

Today

We have two boys

And we have the house

And we have the dog

And the cat

And two cars

In the driveway

And I have a job

That I'm actually

Happy to go to

But

You know

I recently

Just went through

One of the biggest

Challenges

That

That I'm very surprised

That this program

Is what

Prepared me

To go through it

You know

Recently

We've been dealing

With a lot of

Deaths

And you know

People going out

Or you know

Just

It's not

No way

No general way

To say it

But you know

My mom

Just passed away

And not

Not even a month ago

But like

Going through this program

I learned

How to deal with that

One of the first

People that

I went through

And was

Serviced to

And everything

Was Maggie

And Eric

You know

Eric

Ended up having

A brain tumor

That they tried

To operate on

And he ended up

Passing away

In the hospital

And I remember

That night

That I went

To the hospital

And I was dropping

Off sleeping bags

And I was

You know

Bringing pillows

And everything

Because the family

Was staying

At the hospital

With them

And I remember

That night

Because I went

And dropped that off

And then as soon

As I dropped that off

I went back on campus

And I found a friend

And I was there

In their kitchen

And they were like

So how are you doing

And I didn't have

The words

Or you know

How to

I didn't even have

The tools yet

To deal with this

And I went into

The refrigerator

And I grabbed

Their bottle of wine

And I ended up

Drinking that

On that night

And then we would

Come to find out

The next day

That Eric had passed away

You know

I didn't have

The tools then

You know

Coming through

And everything

Now even with

My own

When I finally

In 2019

When I finally

Stopped drinking

In 2020

I found out

That I had cancer

I had cancer

In my left kidney

But by that time

You know

When the doctor

Was like

Hey

You know

We got this

To tell you

I asked

You know

And they're like

Well

I looked at them

And I said

Okay

What do we do next

You know

And she looked at me

And she was like

Are you okay

I was like

Yeah

I just need to know

What is the next step

And I went through that

Diagnoses

And I made my mistakes

Because like

You know

I wanted to keep it to myself

I didn't

You know

I didn't want to share this

Even with my own family

Because I didn't want to

Burden anybody else

But

I

I

I learned

In the Wednesday

Men's Tag

When I let everybody else know

That I was being selfish

When I was keeping this

From my wife

And

With the guidance

Of the men in this group

And my sponsor

And everybody

I went

And I had to have that discussion

With her

And of course

It was bigger

Because I was holding this

Back from her

I told her almost

Two weeks later

Than when it actually happened

And

You know

Those are those little

Lessons

That I learned

Through this program

And then when

My mom got sick

And I was able to be

In the hospital with her

Nearly every day

That I was off

To advocate for her

To be able to be

The

I don't know

The cornerstone for my family

To navigate this

Up until the days

That she passed away

And you know

It was this

It was

This program

That I was able to do

It was this commitment

That

Kept me

Busy

And active

During those days

I was still on the phone

I was still texting people

I was still calling out

I was still going

Reaching out to other meetings

Because that's what I knew

How to do

The reality

When my mom

Was really sitting there

In the hospital

And I met

And I could see

How much pain she was in

And the diagnosis

From the doctor

And I could see

I came back to this

Men's meeting

And I

You know

I sat there

And I shared

That in all honesty

I feel that my mom

Is dying in the hospital

Right now

And I was able to be honest

With people

I was able to be honest

With my wife

About that

And you know

Because she's managing

The two kids at home

And it took a lot

Of her time as well

And keeping them

Because they're busy

Boys

To allow me

To go and be

At my mom's bedside

And yeah

It was just

A lot of those things

When I say I was selfish

As a child

Of course

I was always self-centered

On me

Right

I never thought about

When I got arrested

From middle school

And I didn't graduate

On stage

That my mom

Missed that opportunity

Of me being able

To cross the stage

And her being able

To be proud of me

When I got arrested

Again in high school

And I had to tell

My whole family

That hey

Don't come to the graduation

Because he's not graduating

That that was

An embarrassment

On my mom

That was

Partially hers

When I was in the military

And I got married

And I had a child

But for those

Seven years

That we were

You know

Apart

She wasn't able

To be that grandmother

She wasn't able

To be that mother-in-law

To my ex

Everything that I had

I'd done

I had kept it

From her

And then when I came home

And I came into this program

And I was able

To be that son

To be able to

Show her

That her son

Could graduate

And I graduated

From Pierce

And that was the first

Accomplishment

And then I was able

To bring her

To that graduation

At UCLA

And she got to

Be a part of that

That was

That graduation

Was partly hers

That big party

That everybody

Got to come to

And I got to show

Like my mom

Everybody

Somebody that she's proud of

Alex took a million pictures

At that party

I remember

I still have them

And then

You know

Finally when

And this is one of the things

That even

Like that has impacted

My wife the most

Is that my mom

Would hold

Eddie

Is the youngest one

And she would just sit

And dance with him

And smile and laugh

And he would be there

Clapping

And she got to be

That grandmother

To them

And she got to be

The mother-in-law

To my wife

And they had those fights

And we

You know

Did everything

But we were a family

So when I was in the hospital

With her

I was at peace

You know

Because

That relationship

That I had strained

When I was younger

Through this program

And being the son

And being a husband

And being a father

And

I got to be

Somebody she's proud of

Because I would hear

From her co-workers

That came

And they said

Oh yeah

Your mother would always

Talk about you

Oh yeah

You're the son

That became the nurse

Oh yeah

You know

You take care of your kids

But I wouldn't be able

To do that

If it wasn't for this program

For what I learned here

You know

I could be dead in the street

I could have been another

Statistic

Or even worse

I could have killed somebody

But no

Today

I show up

I suit up

And

And those final moments

When

You know

The monitor started going off

And her blood pressure

Wasn't holding

And the doctor

Made us

Made me

Because I was the

Only one with her

Make that decision

She decided for us

Because

You know

At that moment

When they were gonna

Start pushing medications

And everything

To

To keep her alive

Her heart stopped

And I had to tell everybody

That that's okay

And

You know

No further interventions

Were done

And she was just able to

You know

Die in peace

And

And I got to make those phone calls

And even

You know

In those moments

I called Bruce

And I had to reach out

Because that's what I learned

What to do

And I picked up that phone

As heavy as that phone may feel

At that moment

I knew what to do

And I just picked up that phone

And I started calling

And

You know

One of the last things I told her

Was just

You know

Thank you

For letting me be of service to you

Because

That's

That's all I knew what to do

You know

As everybody out

Like my mom and dad

My mom didn't even cry

When she found out

She didn't cry at any point

She said

Whatever it takes

To try to get through it

So then what

Right do I have

To be there crying

At her bedside or anything

So I just

You know

Fulfilled her wish

And I was

I was of service to her

And that's just because

That's what I learned

What to do here

So

Yeah

It's been a couple weeks

And

You know

It doesn't stop

We did the service

I

Had to be the MC

At her

At her funeral

And guide our family

Through the process

Because we

You know

We didn't know what to do

But we figured it out

Together

And you know

Thankfully

The support

And everything

Came ringing through

And it

You know

We've had no issues

So far

And

I'm getting back to work

And I'm doing my

I'm continuing my commitments

And you know

It just

I don't know

It just

You know

My higher power

Put me where I needed to be

And I was able to get through it

And I don't think

This is any of my own power

This is

You know

God

As a whole

You know

All the members here

Of Quality of Life

You know

And

Yeah

And just because

My secretaryship is done

Doesn't mean I'm not gonna

Keep showing up

Cause

I don't know what part of this

Is keeping me sober

But I am sober today

And I don't have the desire to drink

So

Um

I know

I gotta stay honest

With my sponsor

And I know we gotta do the steps

And all this

So I just gotta

You know

Kick my own ass

In reading the book

And uh

And then we'll do the steps

So

Um

I wanna thank

All y'all

For being here

Ha ha

Um

My higher power

Quality of life

And AA as a whole

You know

Thank you

Ah

Okay

And now

See

This is what I think it is

Right

The transition

No

No

I don't know

Yeah

Okay

So

Fine

I'm gonna read

The Secretary's Report

Okay

Welcome to the Quality of Life

Saturday's

Speaker Meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous

My name is Abraham

And I am your Alcoholics Secretary

I want to welcome

All the newcomers

Who raised their hands

And those who didn't

I know it doesn't feel like it

But you are the lifeline

Of our program

If you haven't related

To anything that has been said

Here tonight

Please tune back

And try some more meetings

We sell literature

At this meeting

The most important of which

Is the big book

Of Alcoholics Anonymous

We make liberal

Credit arrangements

As little as nothing down

And nothing a week

So if you don't have

Much time

That you can afford

To buy it

Please don't go home

Without one

There is AA literature

In the rack

In the back of the room

That is free

For the taking

If you need

Any literature

Or have any questions

Please see our literature person

Bill

Tonight

Oh

Bill

Or our treasurer

Ben

Who's actually here tonight

Or Nancy

There is an HNI can

Here on the literature

A little folded money

The literature

HNI takes

Meetings and literature

Into hospitals

And institutions

For people who cannot

Get out to meetings

Please donate generously

We celebrate birthdays

At this meeting

We define a birthday

As 365 days

And nights

Of continuous sobriety

That means free

From booze

Pot pills

Or any other

Mind altering

Substances

If you would like

To celebrate your birthday

Here

Please see our cake

Person

Karen

Or myself

A week in advance

And we would be happy

To celebrate your birthday

Tonight we have

No birthdays

It takes a lot

Of people

To make this meeting

Possible

And I wish to thank

Everyone collectively

Tonight

And we'll thank you

Individually

At the beginning

Of the month

If you would like

A commitment

At this meeting

Please see our head

Of commitments

It's Scott

All right

Under the heading

Of special announcements

At this time

I would like

To introduce

Your new secretary

For the next year

It's going to be

Taken over

Once again

Bruce

Secretary

Secretary

Secretary

Secretary

We're going to be

I cheered

On line

Right here

Okay

Thank you

And to conclude

The meeting

I would like to thank

Our readers

Ben

For chapter five

And Karen

For the 12

Traditions

And at this time

I have asked

Bruce

To read

A vision

For you

And

After a moment

Of silent meditation

For the alcoholic

No, that's digital. I gotta give it to you.