Once Over Lightly

HEARD AT MEETINGS DEPT.: From Dallas comes word of the near perfect squelch for long-winded speakers. A crusty old-timer listened wearily to several very detailed recitations by people who apparently had started drinking at the age of four. When he got up to give his talk, he began, "My mother had four martinis the night I arrived, and 1 don't remember much about being born--blackout, you know. Anyway, I was told later that I screeched at the doctor, made a pass at the nurse, and asked for a dime to call AA."