Slow learner and fast forgetter

I was wondering, why we read “How It Works” at every meeting.

Years ago, an AA history speaker told the story of how that habit came to be; there was a woman in California whose husband was a terrible drunk. She knew of some other women who were similarly blessed with alcoholic husbands. She heard about the Big Book and wrote New York for a copy. On receiving it, she read it and saw the light. She organized a meeting of the other wives who, like her, had besotted husbands, and they dragged their husbands along.

They met in a Los Angeles hotel in a meeting room.

The women gave their men the lonely copy of the Big Book, and it is alleged that they sent them into the room saying, “this book is a solution, read it, we will come back later.”

The men gathered around a table. As the story continues, one of them took the book, opening it, he looked at the Table of Contents and said, “there is a chapter titled ‘How It Works,’ it is the fifth chapter, but that may be an excellent place to start.”

So began the first AA meeting in Los Angeles. And like so many influences in AA from California, this one stuck. It became a habit at many meetings around the world.

That story may or may not be true, but it is amusing to think of those men sitting around a meeting room table with one copy of the Big Book, having been dragged out by their wives. And like many legends, there may be a kernel of truth in the story. Regardless, I can see a supplementary chapter to the story.

After the first meeting adjourned, on the drive home, the leader may have described to his wife what had transpired in the room, how they had discovered a chapter that explained how the new program worked. Knowing her husband, and his ability to forget to remember, she probably suggested, “that is wonderful. You know, you should read the same thing at every meeting. Not for you, of course, but for the new fellows who will need to know how it works.”

The husband might have replied, “You know that is a great idea. We will read it at every meeting.”

I can see her smiling sweetly, turning to him in the car and saying, “You are such a clever man.”

Though smiling sweetly, the thought balloon over her head might read, “If those other men are anything like you, you are a fast learner and an even faster forgetter. I don’t care why you think it is a good idea, but you better read those instructions at every meeting.”

That is why we re-read Chapter Five at most AA meetings. We are slow learners and fast forgetters.