The sign was upside-down—but so was his thinking!
I was 21 when I went to my first AA meeting. I enjoyed it. I felt I was home and with my people and for once in the right place. At that first meeting I met a friend and former drinking buddy named “Big Dan.” He came over with a big smile on his face and said, “Hey Jimmy, it’s nice to see you! How are you doing?” I told him I came to AA because I wanted to stop drinking. He shared with me he was now six months sober and that he was enjoying it. What caught my attention was the fact that he did not say, “I haven’t had a drink in six months and I’m climbing the walls!” So that was encouraging.
That first meeting I attended had probably over 200 people in attendance. Witnessing the Fellowship in action was impressive. People were joking, drinking coffee, talking sports, laughing, smoking, and enjoying themselves—meaning people just like me were living and thriving without alcohol. I wanted what they had. My friend handed me a meeting list and explained that it was a 24-hour program. All I had to do was not drink today. He also suggested that I attend 90 meeting in 90 days. I really did not want to commit to anything that first night, but I was so intrigued by that first meeting that I did want to know more about AA.
The next day I decided to attend another meeting the following evening at a neighboring group. It was a Wednesday night meeting at the Shore Road Group of AA in Brooklyn N.Y. A few people recognized me as the newcomer they had seen the previous night, so they said hello and offered me a cup of coffee. As I looked around the room, I noticed a few things, first there was a group banner that was draped over a table at the head of the meeting. Then there were the two familiar shades, the Twelve Traditions and the Twelve Steps. Back then in 1976 the Twelve Steps shade still had a line underneath them that said, “Suggested as a Program of Recovery.”
As a newcomer, I was just taking it all in. I looked at the slogans laid out at the front of the room. “Easy Does It,” “First Things First,” “Live and Let Live,” “But for the Grace of God,” “Easy Does It,” and “Think, Think, Think!” It all made sense. However, the “Think, Think, Think” sign was upside down! That was odd, and yet there it was, out of place. What bothered me more was that only myself had noticed or cared. I thought to myself, maybe these people were not well at all—how odd. I mentioned this issue to a person sitting across from me, who happened to be a very kindly old timer whose sobriety dated back to 1939. He smiled and said, “You’re in the right place, keep coming back!” Then he laughed and told me that the “Think” sign at that group and many groups was always upside down. It was done so out of tradition and placed upside down to evoke thought. He also told me, that I would be surprised at how many fogged up newcomers would not even notice that the sign was upside down.
So that got me thinking! In fact, AA helps me to do a lot of thinking. AA is a fun place with inventive and creative people. There is always someone that can explain something I need to know. I love learning new ideas and fresh concepts. I take nothing for granted and need to think myself through situations instead of impulsively pushing my way through. There are many lessons I needed to learn in AA other than how not to drink one day at a time. When conflicted, it is much better to pause, look for guidance and input instead of acting irrationally on my first instinct. Thank you, AA, God and Fellowship, for the upside-down “Think” slogan!