AA Grapevine Digital Archive

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Old-Timers Corner

Stories by old-timers allow them to share their experience, strength, and hope and to offer readers their valuable perspective on long-term sobriety. The “Bleating Deacon’s Corner” ran in 1962 and 1963 as a place “where Bleeding Deacons can bleat.” The Grapevine continues to publish stories from old-timers in a department called “Old-Timers Corner.”

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1.	Aid of Greater Power (by R. S.) New York -- First of all I want to congratulate you on The A.A. Grapevine. I suppose that as A.A. grows throughout the world more and better material is available for our national paper, but the task still remains of making it interesting and readable--and you are doing a fine job.	July 1948

2.	An Old-timer Says: (by Dick S.) New York -- THE question of persons, who after two, three, even five or more years of continued sobriety in A.A., "having trouble," came up in a discussion meeting recently. How to avoid the "trouble" is an important question.	September 1948

3.	Consider the Old Timers-- CONSIDER A.A. "old timers"--those fellows who've been continuously dry and happy for four, five, six or more years. Everybody takes them for granted. They have no problems! Or have they? The No. 1 problem, drinking, has "receded" almost to the vanishing point. But it's always there! Economically they're pretty well straightened out. Some, in fact, are already working on their second millions. The family snarl, if any, has usually been de-snarled either in a reunited brood, a new marriage, or a comfortable retreat to single blessedness.	June 1949

4.	Does the "Oldtimer" Have Problems (by R.F.S.) New Jersey -- DOES the "old timer," the individual who has been a member from upwards of three or four years have a problem? Is the problem really any different from that confronting his juniors; if it is not, how may the problem be solved? Or, better yet, may the situation be avoided before it becomes a serious problem?	September 1949

5.	Apply the Principles to New Fields (by Bob D.) New York -- EVEN a quick look at the world today reveals an endless variety of economic, political and cultural conditions that are crying for correction. In too many areas agnosticism, frustration and cynical brutality are the order of the day.	November 1949

6.	Old-timer? You Can't Miss! (by Mae) Arizona -- OUR length of sobriety means only one thing. Insurance, through trying to the best of our ability to practice the twelve principles as suggested in the book Alcoholics Anonymous.	August 1951

7.	The Problems of a "Teen-aged" AA (by A. T.) New York -- THE current conception of a "teenager" might well be that of an obnoxious adolescent, who is quite ruthless about knocking down older members of the human race while scrambling for a vacated seat on a crowded bus, or treading on everyone's feet to emerge from somewhere in the middle of the row during an exciting moment of a baseball game in order to secure instantly a hot-dog or a bottle of "pop."	September 1954

8.	Don't Shoot the Old-timer! (by Anonymous) Ed. note: the following three pieces were picked (almost at random) from a steady stream of mail we get by, to, from, and about the old-timer--what he means to AA and what AA means to him.	May 1955

9.	Gratitude From a Newcomer (by Anonymous) Iowa -- I WONDER if we new members give much thought to what went on before AA found us.	May 1955

10.	What Do We Expect of Old-timers? (by Anonymous) "ALL that he is or hopes to be, that man owes to AA, yet he hasn't even the gratitude to come to meetings any more."	May 1955

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