Sober over 39 years, a funny and insightful speaker, Don was Associate Justice, California Court of Appeal from 1982-1995.
Born in the back woods of Oregon, he said, "I drank almost exclusively to relax.".
He came to AA the first time in 1946 but did not stay sober.
He gave his first AA talk in 1955 and shares he was always nervous until, going to a prison with an old timer, he was told he was nervous because of his "big, fat ego" that thinks it had found the answer to the audience's problem.
His signature drinking event involved, in part, carrying a flaming couch on the top of his car through the town.
From this it began to occur to him that he might have a problem with alcohol.
As a sober, lower court judge, he frequently sentenced offenders to AA.
(1 hr 23 min) (19.2 MB) (id#1187)
