I had a strange meeting last night. I drove up to Camp Elba and there was one unfamiliar car in the parking lot. As I pulled up, a man who I will call Tony opened the door to greet me. We shook hands and I walked inside. He had one of the heaviest southern black accents I have ever encountered. I had a hard time understanding what he was saying. I had to listen very carefully to keep up with the conversation.
I kept hoping someone else would show up. Tens minutes till seven and no one came. Five minutes till seven and still no other members. I was starting to get worried. How were I and this guy going to have a meeting and fill up an hour’s time between the two of us? I could barely understand him.
Finally, I heard the crunch of gravel under the wheels of a car. It was a regular who I will call Randy. I was still worried though. Randy’s mind is completely fried from years of extreme drug and alcohol abuse. He has a hard time talking and concentrating. He is also hard to follow in a conversation.
It was fifteen minutes after seven so we decided to start the meeting. Tony wasn’t sure of what he was doing and things quickly got confused. We have a lot of material to read before a meeting and I realized that both of these guys could barely read. Tony started to read How It Works and quit. He turned to me.
“I sho would likes it ifs you be a readin fo me.” He said.
I kindly said sure and reached for the sheet and read. Next it was Randy’s turn to read the Daily Reflection out of a little devotional book. He struggled through the first few sentences and it took several minutes. I tried to help him along but he gave up.
“My mind is fucked tonight. I can’t read those small words.” He said as he handed me the little book.
I finished reading and we continued on with the meeting. Tony ended up talking for over 30 minutes and I still don’t know what the hell he said. I just sat there and nodded my head at what seemed like appropriate intervals.
It is hard to believe that in modern American with publicly funded free education that people still cannot read. These guys were very embarrassed by it and tried to play it off as they were just having a hard night. I felt so sorry for them but also felt a lot of compassion. I didn’t mind reading and I know if this happens again to just grab all the material and read without putting them on the spot. It was, by far, the strangest AA meeting I have ever attended.
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