This message was passed along to us by a friend.  We wanted to share with everyone!  

 To all AA members: Greetings on our 10th Christmas, 1944. Yes, its' in the air! The spirit of Christmas once more warms this poor distraught world. Over the whole globe millions are looking forward to that one day when strife can be forgotten, when it will be remembered that all human beings, even the least, are loved by God, when men will hope for the coming of the Prince of Peace as they never hoped before. But there is another world which is not poor. Neither is it distraught. It is the world of Alcoholics Anonymous, where thousands dwell happily and secure. Secure because each of us, in his own way, knows a greater power who is love, who is just, and who can be trusted. Nor can men and women of AA ever forget that only through suffering did they find enough humility to enter the portals of that New World. How privileged we are to understand so well the divine paradox that strength rises from weakness, that humiliation goes before resurrection; that pain is not only the price but the very touchstone of spiritual rebirth. Knowing its full worth and purpose, we can no longer fear adversity, we have found prosperity where there was poverty; peace and joy have sprung out of the very midst of chaos. Great indeed our blessings! And so Merry Christmas to you all - from the Trustees, from Bobbie and from Lois and me.

 Happy Holidays from all the staff here at 12 Step Recovery!

P.S. We know everyone is settling in to enjoy a little R&R for the holiday. Some of you are still scrambling around looking for all those last minute gifts. When you get to the techie, music, and gadget lovers on you list, check out some cool sites. If you are looking for the latest Apple and Mac related products, have a look at Mac Reviews Blog. When it comes to the best personal music player on the planet, Apple’s mp3 player is the king. News, reviews and stories at iPod Reviews Blog.

Of course any support is appreciated, but if it’s not for you, no worries. Again, we here at 12 Step Recovery wish you a Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! and Happy Holidays!

The most amazing outgrowth of the California fellowship occurred because of one White Booklet (aka Little White Book) that was given to an addict at a California AA convention and ended up in the hands of another AA member, but one who was a true friend of NA.

Dick F., an alcoholic living in Philadelphia reached the end of his using days in March of 1959.  He actively helped others, one day he was asked by the AA intergroup to do a twelve step call on a young man (a heroin addict). Dick F. met Roy P. and they began a relationship.  Roy was voted out of AA groups, Dick would have no part of it and continued to take Roy to meetings.

Roy visited family in California, went to an AA Convention while in town and met someone who gave him a Little White Book.  When he returned, he showed Dick and Ray L.  Dick put up the money and produced a thousand copies.

Dick was a counselor at Eagleville Hospital; he gave out the White Booklet to the addicts in the program.  Dick and Roy in December 1969 started the first NA meeting on the East Coast, possibly the first east of the Rockies.

He started a treatment center in Central Pennsylvania in 1970 and they began taking addicts from the day it opened.  Over the door to the center hung a sign ³Alcohol is a Drug, a startling thought in the early 70s. Little White Books were handed out to patients and professionals dealing with addicts.  Copies were made and the stamp on the back of the NA booklet said Compliments of White Deer Run These booklets were used in the founding meetings in Baltimore, Pittsburgh, New Jersey and other places on the East Coast.

Suddenly NA meetings started in Williamsport, Lewisburg, Sunbury, Danville, State College in the next few years and back in Philadelphia, an outgrowth of Eagleville, meetings began in Norristown, Upper Darby, Springfield, Inner City Philadelphia, Southampton and Collegeville.

By 1973, there were a dozen or more meetings in Pennsylvania when there were barely one or two meetings in less than a handful of states outside California.

Although he was an AA member, he was respected for his works and Dick was asked to be the Sunday morning speaker at the 1st East Coast Convention in 1980 at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.

Dick F. became the father of NA in Pennsylvania and much of the eastern fellowship, no because he had any desire to be remembered in history, but simply because he believed recovery was possible for addicts who used the Steps and went to meetings.

Dick passed away at home at 4:00am on October 17, 2008.  He would have celebrated 50 years this coming February.  He is survived by his wife Donna.

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The Flanigan Family 303 West Street Box 153 Battleground, Indiana 47920 The aforementioned story consists of excerpts from My Years with Narcotics Anonymous by Bob Stone pages 62-67 and Southern Exposure ­ Recovery Under The Sun pages 59-63