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And I'd like to do well tonight, because for me, it's something special. The only reason

I accepted this date, I haven't been doing very much speaking

for the last few years, as some of you know, except one talk I gave in Westport four or five

months ago, and that started the whole thing. I got to know everybody around here, and I got

busier in the bird dog. And I started

going to meetings, and I've had a wonderful time ever since. I've been ill for nearly two years

and haven't been to meetings of any kind. So it was a kind of special thrill to start going to AA meetings as my first

venture back to the world of help and activity. It was also very thrilling to me to have the opportunity to go to many small meetings like this.

I'm from New York, and the majority of AA meetings that I've attended in recent years are very large and deep.

It's hard to find a small meeting.

And if you do find one,

and you go away for two months and come back,

it's not small anymore.

They outgrow themselves very fast

because they ain't been growing very fast, which is wonderful.

But I have never, that's why I say I was moved to accept Helen's invitation, I've never celebrated an anniversary

for a very simple reason.

I had three slips in my first year and a half,

and while only one of them was bad,

...