Sober 28 years since 7/10/1988, from Cleveland, OH, Jim started drinking alcoholically from the first drink at age 14. Jim's father was compelled by Jim's mother to join AA the day in 1946 that Jim was born. His father had many years of non-continuous sobriety.
So, Jim knew what AA was but that was not enough to tame the compulsion.
Earning money was not a real issue. He would dress in a three piece suit during the day and go crazy at night. In the late 60's he kept the job but lost the suit in exchange for "hippy" garb.
He married a good woman, non-drinker, that did not deserve what he put her through. They had two children but he left that marriage for a girlfriend he later married that knew how to drink and accept and take care of him when he was drunk.
Jim is very low key but there were many crazy incidents with police chases, arrests and insane wards.
He first tried to come into AA in Cleveland in 1974 on the marijuana maintenance program. That lasted nine months.
On his third child's first birthday in 1982 Jim and his wife were arrested and their son taken from them. Jim decided on release to try to be a good father and came into AA in Georgia a year before the original HOW Place was founded.
He had two three year stints of sobriety separated by one hellacious day of drinking that ended in another high speed chase.
When he finally made the decision to thoroughly embrace the Program, his second wife was not ready but has recently gotten two weeks clean and sober.
Jim found that carrying the message was a key to his sobriety then and still is today.
Jimmy E was his sponsor for many years.
You can hear Jimmy, in one of his last talks before he died:
(41 min) (14.1 MB) (id#1794)