Bottoms Up!

H.G.H., of the Mt. Sterling, Ky., Group, explains high finance in the Blue Grass country: "For years I made regular trips to Lexington. On each visit I took 'just a bottle of beer' and ended up drunk. Each visit I would return home with a load of useless stuff as gifts for myself, the wife and children. The trip was always an expense and I never had anything to show for it. When I joined A.A. in Lexington, I made the trip every Thursday. I worked out a plan. I figured that $20 was the cost of the weekly trip, judging from past experiences. My first A.A. visit called for expenditures of $2 for railroad fare and about $2.50 for meals. But I also spent $4.50 for toys for my two grandchildren. When I returned home, the old lady was agreeably surprised to see me sober, and could not say: 'Why did you bring all that junk home?' When I told her that it cost me nothing, she asked if they were giving things away in Lexington. I explained that my usual expense was $20; that this trip had cost less than $10; therefore, that this trip didn't cost me ANYTHING! I can see that I will have the best financial year of my life."