This story was written by Evelyn Beck as a special to the Anderson Independent-Mail, November 3, 1988,
Anderson, SC

"A.A.'s success with alcoholics"

     "My wife had told me I had a problem, my preacher told me I had a problem,
my doctors told me I had a problem. But I wouldn't accept it.
Then, when I sat down and heard a 'professional' drunk talk, I listened to him."

      There are as many stories as there are people. One woman avoided family gatherings because she couldn't drink there. A man admits that while he was still drinking he married two women in 10 days in two states. Another insists that he isn't an alcoholic; he just likes to drink. Another says he feels shaky because he's been off drugs only a few days.

      About 30 people gathered for a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in downtown Anderson on a recent Thursday night. They entered the small room which is filled with framed slogans on the walls: "Easy does it." "But for the grace of God." "First things first." They help themselves to soft drinks and coffee. They smoke cigarettes, lots of cigarettes. The leader of the meeting, an older man with many years of sobriety behind him, welcomes the group and leads them in the Serenity Prayer. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." The foundations of A.A. are recited: It's purpose, The 12 Steps, The 12 Traditions.

      Then the meeting really begins. One by one, each person seated around the table speaks: "I'm John and I'm an alcoholic." Some tell their stories, some do not. A basket is passed for donations to help pay for renting the room and refreshments, and then everyone stands, holds hands and recites "The Lord's Prayer."

      It's so simple and so effective. Alcoholics tell each other their stories. Outside of the meeting, members are a phone call away to help those struggling, day by day, to remain sober.

      Why does it work?

      "First, the 12-step philosophy is a really good basic guideline for emotional health and stability in general," said Larry Abernathy, treatment director of the Anderson-Oconee Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission.

      "Second, the peer support aspect of the program is a major factor in maintaining long-term sobriety. Also, involvement in A.A. aids in the resocialization process necessary for a person to stay sober - that social structure left from their lifestyle when they stop drinking.."

      The first A.A. group in Anderson began meeting at the old slaughterhouse in the 1960s with about four members. Later, they met at Central Presbyterian Church on Boulevard and then on Orr Street. They are known as the Central Group.

      A second A.A. group - the Downtown Group - formed in 1984. It first met in Big John's restaurant and now meets in the back of the old McDougald Funeral Home. [2005 update: this group now meets above the Trophy Shop on Main Street.]

      Each group now averages about 30 members at each meeting, which are held almost every morning and night. Except for two closed meetings each week, the meetings are open to the public.

      The story of how one alcoholic admitted his problem and found his way to A.A., and how A.A. helped him kick a lifelong habit, is the story of why A.A. works.

      Elmer is an alcoholic whose father and three brothers also were alcoholic. When Elmer's drinking got out of control, when the bottle became the only thing he cared about, he was drinking a quart and a pint of 100 proof vodka every day. He brought a bottle of vodka with him when he worked in maintenance at a local Anderson plant. He drank in the morning. He drank every hour on the job to keep himself from shaking. He drank when he got off. He says he didn't lose his job because his supervisors covered for him. "They saw something in me I didn't see," he said.

      He nearly lost his family. "My sons called me Elmer," he said. "They said I was no daddy."

      Says Elmer's wife: "The last part (of his drinking) was so bad, I wanted peace. I prayed for my own death. Then I prayed for his death." She added, "I was sick, too."

      Elmer also very nearly lost his life. He'd driven drunk more times than he could remember, lost his driver's license, spent time in "some of the finest jails in the Southeast."

      He continued to rationalize his behavior. "If the Highway Patrol stopped me (when I was driving drunk), I'd blame it on myself, that I should have been on another road. If I puked, I'd say it wasn't a hangover, it was a virus."

      Then one evening, drunk as usual, he drove his 1949 Ford off a bridge on Market Street in Anderson. In the water, the door closed over his throat and cut a jugular vein, spewing glass into his throat and causing him to lose an enormous amount of blood. He survived, but he spent most of the next three years in and out of hospitals.

      The trauma of that accident and life-threatening injury did not stop his drinking, however. Elmer remembers his entire face being bandaged up, with only a small opening at the mouth so he could eat. But food wasn't what he wanted. He drank.

      When he began to hemorrhage at one point in his long recovery, the doctors warned him not to drink. Finally, Elmer was so scared he didn't touch a drop for three days. But then he started back, switching to beer and then to 86-proof vodka mixed with water.

      "The doctors were mad," he said. "They had people, other patients, who wanted to live."

      What finally got Elmer to an A.A. meeting was the lure of still more alcohol. Hospitalized yet again and suffering from DT's (delirium tremens - withdrawal symptoms), he said he'd go to A.A. if someone came to pick him up.

      "I thought I'd con that person and go by the bootlegger to get a drink of liquor," said Elmer.

      He never made it to the bootlegger. Instead, he found salvation.

      "I went to that meeting and saw people happy. They were hugging my neck, saying they loved me.

      "My wife had told me I had a problem, my preacher told me I had a problem, my doctors told me I had a problem. But I wouldn't accept it. Then, when I sat down and heard a 'professional' drunk talk, I listened to him."

      "I found I could live without alcohol.

      "You can believe the people in A.A. They've been the same place you've been."

      Elmer continued going to meetings. He has remained sober ever since except for one time many years ago when he got drunk for two days. Today he has 16 years of sobriety. His wife attends Al-Anon meetings, which offer sharing among the relatives of alcoholics. And Elmer has become a volunteer counselor for other alcoholics.

      "Now I wake up hungry instead of thirsty," said Elmer. "And I can look anybody in the face and tell them I love them."

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Postscript: The quote in bold above was an inset for the article.