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"ONE PILOT'S STORY"
BIRDS OF A FEATHER INTERNATIONAL
A FLIGHT ATTENDANT'S STORY
"Anybody know a guy named Bill W.?"
Grace was a flight attendant and had been suspended
from her job with a major airline due to her untreated alcoholism. She
had been stealing the little miniature liquor bottles and drinking in
airport bars in uniform. Her employer, realizing she needed help, sent
her to treatment.
After the eight week program, it was suggested to her
it might be a good idea to solidify her foundation in recovery before
returning to work as she would be working in a high-risk environment
(service alcohol, being out of town alone, etc.). Grace did, however,
return to work shortly after completing outpatient treatment, One day
while she was departing from a plane at the end of a long day a major
craving for alcohol overpowered her. There she was, in the Los
Angeles International Airport pulling her roller-bag behind her when this
massive craving to drink came over her. She tried to just "think
though it" or "just forget about it", but it was way too powerful. It was so
powerful, in fact, that she had resigned to herself that she would just go
drink. Grace thought, Oh, the heck with it, I'll get another job; or
maybe no one will find out anyway. But deep down inside Grace did not
want to drink. She truly had wanted to stay sober, but she was in
trouble.
On her way to the bar in the airport, Grace had a
moment of sanity. She stopped, picked up the airport paging phone and
said, "Will you please page Friends of Bill W.," she paused, quickly looking
around for an empty gate, "to come to Gate 12?"
Within minutes, over the paging system in the LA
International Airport came, "Will friends of Bill W. please come to Gate 12.
Will friends of Bill W. please come to Gate 12". Most people in
recovery know that asking if you are a friend of Bill W. is an anonymous way
to identify yourself as a member of AA.
In less than five minutes there were about fifteen
people at that gate from all over the world. That brought tears of
amazement, relief and joy to Grace. They had a little meeting there at
that empty gate, total strangers prior to that moment. Grace
discovered that two of those people had gotten out of their boarding lines
and missed their flights to answer that call for help. They had
remembered what they had seen on so many walls of meeting rooms: "When
anyone, anywhere reaches out their hand for help, I want the hand of AA to
always be there and for that I am responsible"
Grace did not drink that day. I would venture to
guess that none of the people who came to Gate 12 drank that day either.
Instead Grace had a moment of clarity, realized she could not do it on her
own, took the action of asking for help and received it immediately.
This help is available to all of us if we want it and sincerely ask for it.
It never fails.