surprising to me and I will mention them in a later section. DURINGAs the meeting started, we began with a serenity prayer and read the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. The second step was the focus of the meeting. I stared at the poster containing the step because it took me quite some time to interpret what it meant. This step states: "Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." My interpretation was that an alcoholic had to believe that a power such as God or another deity could cleanse his or her mind of this insidious disease. As it turned out, I was half right and half wrong. The first speaker was named Marshall. Marshall is a successful businessman and has been a member of Alcoholics Anonymous for over ten years. He relayed his story about how his Power restored him to sanity. Marshall said that prior to becoming a member, he knew everything. "I could do anything I wanted to when I wanted to. If anyone disagreed with me, I would do whatever it took to have that person agree with me. It was my way or the highway." With those statements, Marshall admitted that when he was drunk, his temper got the best of him. After becoming a member, Marshall along with many of the members of the group was able to complete the first step with ease. The second step, however, was going to be a problem."When I looked at that sign, I was scared because I have been an atheist for most of my adult life." He was hoping that he could skip step two and return to it later, but he was told that he had to complete it before he could advance. Marshall said it took quite some time but that higher Power did come to him and it wiped out the "insanity" that was ruining his life. After listening to his speech, I was wondering to myself why these members felt they were insane. If I saw one of these people on the streets, I would never know that they were alcoholics or they were "insane".The next person to...
