I Walked the City of Dublin in the Rain

I was introduced to AA via a mental hospital back in 1970 when I was seventeen years old. I'd run away from the family home because I was sexually abused by an older brother. I just wanted to get away from the abuse and the drinking sessions and all the rows. Then I hit the big city, with no place to sleep, feeling cold and hungry. I met a few street wise kids who knew of ways to get by, how to live without working for a living. We were the young lions out for a kill. We robbed and used people for whatever we wanted--booze, sex, and money. That was our life. I got so good at this that I became leader of the pack. I could drink better than the next guy, because I'd learned to drink and could handle my booze. Then one night I was out robbing when the cops picked me up. I got two years for beating up on a gay guy and taking his wallet. In prison I was just another con, trying to act like the men, and I got by for a while. While in prison, the prison doctor told me that I was an alcoholic. I laughed at this. Me an alcoholic? No way. When I got out of jail I attended a treatment center in a mental hospital in Dublin. Here I met two alcoholics who brought me to my first AA meeting. I went along for the fun. Most of the guys at this meeting were over forty years old. I told them that I wasn't old enough and I hadn't drank enough to join AA.