Today is my partner’s four year anniversary of entering the rooms of AA.

It is an amazing and wonderful and remarkable thing, when any one of us leaves the abusive relationship with substances behind and moves into the land of the spirit — still more so when it is someone you love.  Ricky H. is an amazing man (and his love of all things pop is legendary!) so I honor his commitment to recovery with his favorite method of communicating 12 step ideas … A pop music video.

Be Brave.

In the spirit of celebration…

I thought I’d pass on this  letter, read by Lois Wilson to the group of men and women gathered to celebrate Bill Wilson’s 36th year.

Bill W’s Last Message

Presented at The New York Intergroup Association annual dinner, Oct 10, 1970 in honor of Bill’s upcoming 36th anniversary

Bill was under hospital care for acute emphysema and was unable for the first time to attend the A.A. banquet at which his “last drink anniversary” had been celebrated annually.

His greetings were delivered by his wife Lois to 2,200 A.A. members and guests at the New York Hilton.

My dear friends,
Recently an A.A. member sent me an unusual greeting which I would like to extend to you He told me it was an ancient Arabian salutation. Perhaps we have no Arabic groups, but it still seems a fitting expression of how I feel for each of you. It says, “I salute you and thank you for your life.”

My thoughts are much occupied these days with gratitude to our Fellowship and for the myriad blessings bestowed upon us by God’s Grace.

If I were asked which of these blessings I felt was most responsible for our growth as a fellowship and most vital to our continuity, I would say, the “Concept of Anonymity.”

Anonymity has two attributes essential to our individual and collective survival; the spiritual and the practical.

On the spiritual level, anonymity demands the greatest discipline of which we are capable; on the practical level, anonymity has brought protection for the newcomer, respect and support of the world outside, and security from those of us who would use A.A. for sick and selfish purposes.

A.A. must and will continue to change with the passing years. We cannot, nor should we turn back the clock. However, I deeply believe that the principle of anonymity must remain our primary and enduring safeguard. As long as we accept our sobriety in our traditional spirit of anonymity we will continue to receive God’s Grace.

And so — once more, I salute you in that spirit and again I thank you for your lives.

May God bless us all now, and forever.