Sober 29 years since 8/16/1971, legally blind, Joe has a delightful Cajun accent.
His Al-Anon wife of 49 years, Boogie, convinced him to go AWOL when they first got married. He was on leave from the Army that was in the heat of the battles in North Korea. It was as if she was saying, "If you want what I have ..."
During Mardi Gras, Joe met a masked woman at a bar who invited him to go someplace else. He agreed. When they got in the car she took off her mask and it was his wife!
A tug boat operator by trade, he went to AA for a year before he got sober. Alcohol turned him into an animal.
He imagines himself as a big white oxen and alcohol was leading him around by a ring in his nose. Today he does not mind AA leading him around by the nose.
"Hope is a four letter word that I acquired in Alcoholics Anonymous and it means, H.O.P.E. - Hearing Other People's Experiences."
His sponsor told him, "If you do what you ought to do, you will survive. If you do what you want to do you won't survive."
He was suffering from the J.E.F.F.s - Jealousy, Envy, Frustration and Fear.
All his life, God was following him as he ran away. In AA, Joe did a 180 degree turn and started walking toward God.
Joe got involved in hospital and prison work.
"We can't be hateful and grateful at the same time."
(1 hr 9 min) (16 MB) (id#1835)