The DCM’s Corner

Background

DISTRICT 0490 CENTRAL NEW YORK AREA 47 A.A. WORLD SERVICE

PO BOX 481 Send 7th Tradition Contributions to Area 47 Treasurer Grand Central Station

Oneida, NY 13421 PO Box 4875, Ithaca, NY 14852-4875 Box 459, NY 10163

Email: district0490@yahoo.com Send Group Change Forms to: CNY Area Registrar Website: www.aa.org

Website: www.aadistrict0490.org PO Box 18063, Rochester, NY 14618

Next District Meeting: June 21st Next Area 47 Meeting: June 14th

Oneida Rec Center, 2:00pm Location: Leroy, NY (for details visit website)

217 Cedar St., Oneida NY Area 47 Website: wwwaacny.org

AA HOTLINES

Oneida 315-533-1227

Rome 315-210-6644

Utica 315-732-6880

Syracuse 315-463-5011

Volume 6 Issue 6

June 2015

It is June and AAs anniversary. How

remiss would we be not to think about

the wonderful program that grew

out of a talk between a failed stock

speculator and a drunken doctor. We

would also be remiss if we didn't

think about all the help our early

fellowship got from family,

friends and even professionals-

doctors, religious leaders, and

the media. Over the last 80

years AA has grown, yet we still

stick to our primary purpose of

one person carrying the message of

recovery to someone who is still

suffering.

There is an old adage that says

"misery loves company". I am of the

opinion recovery loves company. As a

direct result of those two men coming

together in 1935, I have the blessings

of many friends in recovery. Outside of

family and work most of my social

contacts are "program people". I don't

know that there are words to describe

what there is about "us" that

attracts "us" to each other.

Common problem & common

solution? Honesty? Acceptance &

love? Although the details of our

stories vary, we are more alike

than different. For inside each of

us resides our own Higher Power.

Knowing that, seeing it in action and

feeling it, is the base of our spiritual

awakening and the fellowship that

keeps us united.

Thanks Bob and Bill and Happy

Anniversary AA!

Dennis R.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Wallet Cards 2

80 Years of AA 2

5 Years Ago 2

The Only Requirement 3

Just For Fun 3

Who Is Bill W.? 4

Anniversaries 4

Calendar of Events 4

“Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.”

(Copyright @ A.A. Grapevine. Reprinted with permission. )

District 0490’s Newsletter of Central New York, Area 47 Oneida, Sherrill, Verona, Hamilton, Clockville, Canastota, McConnellsville,

Sylvan Beach, Stockbridge, Morrisville, Peterboro

Volume 6 Issue 6 Background Notes Page 2

WALLET CARDS

BACKGROUND NOTES—5 YEARS AGO

MayMay——JuneJune-- 20102010 Volume One, Issue OneVolume One, Issue One

T h e D C M ’ s H u m b l e M u m b l e

Welcome to District 0490 and our newsletter! We became a new district and joined Area 47, of Central New York, in October 2009. I am very pleased with the cooperation and civility of our members, as we worked through the issues involved in establishing a new district. We created our bylaws, voted in our trusted servants, formed committees, and have a district hotline in place. We still have work to do, so we may continue to serve the still suffering alcoholic. I cordially invite you to join us at our next district meeting. I extend a hearty thanks to all who have worked to make the new district a reality and those who continue to carry the message of experience, strength, and hope through God’s grace. In The Sunlight of the Spirit………..Linda L.

“Rats! Hold on a

sec, let me call

my sponsor.”

(our first cartoon)

Akron, 1935:

Temped by the lure of the bar, Bill headed to the public phone booth instead and desperately sought another alcoholic, someone like himself to talk to. After a series of calls Bill eventually contacted one Dr. Robert H. Smith, and Akron surgeon and sometime attendee at Oxford Group meetings. Agreeing to the meeting only to appease Anne, his wife, Dr. Bob was determined to spend no more than 15 minutes with this man who claimed to have a “cure” for alco-holism. The two men went into a room for what Bob thought would be a quick talk, but he was mistaken. The finally stopped talking about five hours later. and as they say, ...and the rest they say, is history.

CENTRAL NEW YORK AREA 47 DISTRICT 0490

Man

on

th

e B

ed

(A

A M

em

ber #

3,

Bil

l D

.)

Look familiar? This is the heading on the cover our first issue. It’s hard to believe Background Notes is celebrating 5 years this month. I was looking at our first issue and what caught my eye was a statement our first DCM, Linda L. made, “We still have work to do, so we may continue to serve the still suffering alcoholic.” It was true then and it is true today, there are suffering alcoholics that we can help. Five years later, Background Notes and District 0490 continues to help carry the message of recovery. ~Editor~

AA CELEBRATES 80 YEARS !!

A.A. members from around the world will celebrate A.A.'s 80th year this month.

Volume 6 Issue 6 Background Notes Page 3

JUST FOR FUN

The first time I attended a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, I was twenty-five. The month

before heading to a meeting was mishaps, broken promises, terrible accidents, wrong turns, missed appointments, and crossed boundaries. I woke up hung over, ashamed, unsure of

myself. I don't even know how I ended up at an AA meeting, how I figured out where it was, or if I was an alcoholic. I just made a feeble connection that every night that something bad happened, and I crossed my boundaries, that I was drunk. Booze was interfering with the

person I thought I could be. I walked into the meeting unshowered from the night before, probably sweating out whiskey, and suffering from the shakes something fierce. No one told me

to leave. No one told me that I didn't belong there because I was still drunk, or perhaps, not quite sober, or if I didn't know if I were an alcoholic. Our third tradition reminds us that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. But we don't have to be stopped.

I didn't stay sober after my first AA meeting. In fact, I went to one more meeting and drank for another ten plus years. When I came into the rooms, I had three days of sobriety under my

belt, and I listened to what everyone said with a willingness that only the dying possess. I jumped into step work, got a sponsor, home group, called women. I had about three months sober, hitting ninety meetings in ninety days, when I sat next to someone who was drunk.

It was the first time the smell of alcohol overwhelmed me in a meeting, and the want, lust, obsession hit me full force. I wanted to cry for how much I wanted a drink in that moment. I

stayed in my seat, shaking from fear of drinking and fear of not drinking. All that want turned into rage and anger--How dare someone come to an AA meeting drunk! I was indignant, full of

righteous rage. I left the meeting, unsure of whether I could stay sober. I called my sponsor and told her the entire ordeal. I cried and yelled and she shushed me. "Our third tradition states that the only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. No one kicked you

out of your first meeting, or your fifteenth or your fiftieth just because you smelled like booze, or perfume, or hairspray. You are still so cloudy, you probably just smelled hand sanitizer. Next

time, switch seats, or go to another meeting, because that person needs a meeting as much as you and has as much right to be in that seat as you. One day, you will not react to the smell of alcohol with anxiety and fear, but until then, shut up and go to another meeting." So, I went

to another meeting, humbled, reminded of our third tradition that once embraced me without

judgment. Angie Y.

THE ONLY REQUIREMENT

Two weeks ago I started a new

diet. I eat all the vegetables I want and drink all the wine I

want. So far I’ve lost 10 pounds, three days, and my

driver’s license.

I just read an article about the

dangers of heavy drinking...

...scared the hell out of me. So

that’s it, after today...no more

reading.

Volume 6 Issue 6 Background Notes Page 4

This newsletter is a service of and publication of District 0490, Central New York, Area 47 of Alcoholics Anonymous. Background Notes is not endorsed nor approved by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. or Central New York Area 47. The purpose of this newsletter is to reach out to the alcoholic who still suffers, provide information to the AA Community, and general information to the public about AA's program of recovery. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc, CNY Area 47,. or District 0490.

EVENT

June 10 Founders Day

June 7 District 0490 Founder’s Day Spiritual Breakfast, Vernon Downs

June 14 Area 47, Area Assembly, Leroy, NY

June 21 District 0490 District Meeting, 2:00pm, Oneida Rec Center

JUNE 2015

S M T W T F S

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

CALANDER OF EVENTS

CELEBRATING ANNIVERSARIES

Jim L. 33 years Wilson

Paul T. 31 Years Nooners

Peggy O. 9 Years Nooners

Background Notes 5 Years District 0490’s newsletter

I was at my home group meeting on a Monday night recently, and during sharing on the Third Tradition one of our members mentioned that Bill W. was

quite a writer. A newcomer, who had already introduced herself earlier, raised a hand after that and asked the chair if she could ask a question. It’s unusual to do

that, but that night’s chair nodded her head. “Who is Bill W.?” You could have heard a pin drop as all of our jaws hung open. One of our elders said after the meeting that it’s the first time he’s ever heard that question in 29 years of

sobriety (he was smiling when he said it). But then I thought about it. How many of us really knew much about Bill W. when we came into the rooms? And isn’t it

a sign of successful anonymity if we think about AA, rather than AA’s founder, when we first come in. When I came in, I barely knew about AA and I certainly didn’t know who Bill W. was.

Pull out your copy of the Big Book—Bill’s name isn’t on the cover! (And that’s how he wanted it.) I’ve come to see that it’s more important to pass along his message than to fill someone in on who Bill W. was. If she keeps coming back, she’ll get to know Bill really well. Joe C.

Who Is Bill W.?