A New Pair of Glasses
Seeing the World Differently
Another Summer Book Read
Another book I read this summer was one called “A New Pair of Glasses”, by Chuck C. I lent it to my friend Rick, who texted me earlier in the week to say he was done with it, who needs it next? This is a book that gets passed around in a group, a great read about recovery.
So tonight, in a meeting, my friend Kris mentioned in his share that he stopped at the AA Intergroup place to pick up some chips for the group he’s treasurer for, and asked the lady there if they had a copy of “A New Pair of Glasses”. She told him that since it’s not AA approved literature, they don’t carry it at the Intergroup.
So I texted Rick, “Give it to Kris, next.” After the meeting, before I told him Rick has my copy of the book for him, he came over to show me a text.
Serendipity
When he’d called me earlier in the day, I had just come from my eye-doctor annual check-up appointment. His text was of a car’s license plate that he snapped a photo of, that said, “Pete” with a “20” before the name, and a “20” after the name. “He must have heard you had a good appointment at the eye doctor.” I told him, “Yeah, I did — my eyes have actually improved since last time. I mainly went so I could get a prescription for a new pair of glasses, since mine are all scratched up.”
Just then, I remembered about the book. “By the way, I have ‘A New Pair of Glasses’, Rick’s looking for who to give it to next.” It was just one of those nights where things run together.
Meeting after The Meeting
It turned out to be a really good meeting, then the meeting after the meeting, at McDonald’s, was even better. I’m watching Kris really come into his own in recovery, getting a lot more involved in the program, and working with newcomers. I sponsored him when he was new, almost 4 years ago, and now he’s ready. Just in time before I leave the area.
It’s like I try to do at work, whenever I leave a position, I try to leave it in better shape than I found it, and to leave it in better hands. I’ve usually been able to hit that mark at work, and I feel like it’s working out well here in the program, as well. That’s the way it should be.
The Book — A New Pair of Glasses
Oh, yeah, the book… “A New Pair of Glasses”. Chuck C. was actually the father of the famous actor Richard Chamberlain. Long before Richard became a famous actor, his dad got sober in AA. His story is a classic. His alcoholism was ruining everything — his marriage, his family, his job. One time, after he’d become very unproductive at work, his boss called him into his office and gave him a nice holiday bonus. He didn’t feel like he deserved it, but a bonus is a bonus, so he proceeded to go out and celebrate.
He lapsed into a month and a half long alcoholic blackout, in which he drank the entire bonus away, got thrown out of his house, didn’t show up at work for the entire time, then came out of it, simply horrified at what he’d done.
He Just Wanted to Rub Out the Record
He crawled back into the office, knowing he was fired, to clean it out. He started picking up different pieces of things he’d left undone, and decided just to finish each one before he left. He wasn’t looking to get his job back — he knew he was done there. He just wanted to rub out the record of the destruction he’d left in his wake.
He discovered as he proceeded in this manner, he lost his desire to drink. He just kept doing each thing in front of him, and each thing led to the next thing, and he never picked up another drink. On top of that, he wound up putting his life back together, only it got to be far better than it ever was. All he was trying to do was just rub out the record of his past destruction. It proved to be his saving grace.
He soon discovered that he was seeing everything in his life through “a new pair of glasses”as he went along, and it all looked incredibly better than it ever had before.
I was glad that Rick read it. He needed to. Kris is ripe for reading that book. A great book about recovery — even if it isn’t AA approved literature.
