Page 10 - AA NEWS JANUARY 2019

10 CENTRAL OFFICE NOTES
Holidays – Central Office Bookstore closed
HOLIDAY
DAY OF WEEK
DATE
Christmas
Tuesday
December 25, 2018
New Year’s Day
Tuesday
January 1, 2019
Book and Pamphlet of the Month – All are max 5
In Memory of:
Bob M. – (member from 1947 of Alcoholics Anonymous) 1916-2018 (102 years old) Many of the people we meet on this sober journey we are all on, can have a profound and
unexpected impact on us. One of those for me (and many of us in the fellowship) was Bob M. I had seen Bob around the AA community at meetings but my real relationship with him began when he became my phone volunteer partner at Central Office. We answered phones at the Central Office every other Monday evening for a four hour shift. It was in between these phone calls we were taking (on AA’s behalf) that we began to get to know each other; I mean really know each other.
One of the unexpected gifts for me was to hear Bob’s various stories. Bob was 37 years older than me, so I began to hear various stories, like Bob’s entry into AA (in the summer of 1947), his meeting Dr. Bob (somewhere in 1949) his meeting Bill W. (AA’s founder), his friendship with Jim B. (credited with the phrase God as we understood Him , in steps two and eleven, author of The Vicious Cycle), Bob’s accounts of World War 2, living through the economic depression of the 1930’s, being married for fifty five years, representing labor unions, starting treatment facilities, etc.
Those four hours were every other week became the highlight of my sober experience during those 11 years I answered the phones with Bob at the Central Office. Others would stop by and frequently a few of us would simply be there to experience Bob, hear marvelous stories about AA or other events of historical significance. Many conversations would deepen to the personal, about our fears, our hopes, our character defects, and our recovery.
Bob was unflinching about the realities of aging. He seemed to take the aging process, as well as his own mortality, as gracefully as anyone I’ve ever known. I have had my own fears, resistance, and myths about getting older; however the experience of Bob shifted me away from my old paradigm towards a transformed view of the reality of our aging and our mortality. This is one of the many priceless and unexpected gifts from Bob.
Bob M. died on November 24, 2018, on his birthday, at the exact age of 102 (which also just happens to be my AA sobriety anniversary). Those of us that knew Bob and experienced Bob were blessed beyond what words can express. I remain grateful (as do many others) for my friendship with Bob, and for Alcoholics Anonymous for bringing us all together to make this miracle and others like it, possible.
Anonymous member of Alcoholics Anonymous
December’s Book: “Any Grapevine Book on sale: $2.00 off
December’s Pamphlet: “Do You Think Your Different?” 5¢ each
January’s Book: “As Bill Sees It” (soft) on sale: $6.60 off
January’s Pamphlet: “Questions on Sponsorship” 5¢ each