JUL 11, 26.. THE NAADAM HOLIDAY..

 

The Naadam Festival is Mongolia’s biggest national holiday and celebration of nomadic culture, taking place annually from July 11 to 13. Often called the "Three Manly Games," the festival features thrilling competitions in Mongolian wrestling, horse racing, and archery.

And Yes Oh Yes there is a lot of festive merriment happening and Yes Oh Yes this includes drinking of alcoholic beverages. We hope that all of you celebrating "Recovery" do not drink any alcohol!!

As you can see below, here in the United States we recognize the Naadam Festival as an important, international, holiday 

Right now, one of our best friends here in the United States, is physically in Mongolia.

Camel riding out in the Gobi Desert!

Best wishes to each and all of you as you celebrate a safe, sane and a sober Naadam Festival!!

Cap and Patti 

FEB 19, 2026.. TODAY PATTI CELEBRATES 26 (XXVI) YEARS..

 

Today Patti celebrates her twenty sixth year of continuous sobriety!

I am so happy for Patti and I am sure all of you are also happy.

DEC 31, 25.. THE SUN IS SETTING ON YEAR 2025

Sad (or is it?) to say the Sun is setting on year 2025.

Patti and I hope that it was a good year, one you will happily look back upon in the future.

We also hope that tonight, New Years Eve, will be a safe and sound evening for you and for your loved ones.

On New Years Eve there well may be some folks who have been having a lively party and then will get on the road to drive home when they should not be driving.

So unless you absolutely MUST be out driving tonight, please oh please watch out and be careful.

We hope to see you safely tomorrow, Thursday, January the 1st, 2026.

Your Friends and Allies.. Cap and Patti

JUL 4, 25.. THE 4th OF JULY IN THE UNITED STATES..

Here in the United States, NOT in Mongolia, on the  4th of July, we celebrate one of our most popular holidays, Independence Day.

Why am I bringing this up?

Because, here in the United States, during the three day 4th of July weekend, there is a lot of alcohol consumed. And for we members of A.A. we need to "Be On Guard For The Unguarded Moment"!

Be sure you have a way to leave a gathering if you see that things are getting "Out of Hand" and the level of alcohol use is increasing.

Of course the best solution is simply avoid alcohol fueled gatherings. But because of friends and families you may not be able to avoid all slippery places.

Good Luck to you on your own Mongolian Holidays where the use of alcohol is common.

JUN 10, 25.. TODAY IS THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF A.A.

On June the 10th, 1935, at the Gatehouse of the Seiberling Mansion in Akron, Ohio, in the United States.. 

A New York City Stockbroker Bill W met with an Akron, Ohio, Surgeon, Dr. Bob.

This date and location is where A.A. began. Yes it took time and several years, but A.A. began here on this date.

The below article from Wikipedia is extremely thorough in presenting A.A.'s history.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous

All of us owe an enormous debt of gratitude for our recovery in The Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

DEC 29, 24.. MONGOLIAN INDEPENDENCE DAY..

 Today is a special day here in Mongolia.

Today is Mongolian Independence day.

Mongolia Independence Day, celebrated every December 29, is a day of great glory and happiness for the Mongols, who gained freedom after years of being under the Qing China rule. Also known as National Revolution of Freedom and Independence Day, this holiday commemorates Mongolia’s autonomy. This day is all about showing love for Mongolia, raising the national flag, dining out, and of course viewing some awesome fireworks! This year, step up your game and celebrate the amazing day like never before. After all, the country’s independence is something that should be cherished and applauded till the end of time.

Mongolia had been under the Chinese Qing dynasty rule for quite some time. However, due to several differences with the Chinese rulers, the Mongolians craved a state of their own. Like any other nation that is taken over, the biggest problem Mongolia experienced was the fight for the retention of their culture, which was slowly being replaced by the Chinese way of life. During the 20th century, the fire for independence grew and the Mongols started to take action to free the nation from the Qing dynasty.

In May 1911, the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the Qing dynasty and established the Republic of China. Seeing that the Chinese had problems of their own, the Mongols utilized the opportunity and managed to free themselves from Chinese rule. On December 29, 1911, Mongolia officially declared its independence from China. The spiritual leader of the Tibetan Buddhists was proclaimed the head of state. He was given the title of Bogd Khan of Mongolia. Unfortunately, Mongolia was only able to maintain a few years of peace and freedom before the Chinese returned to Mongolia and forcefully occupied the capital city. In fact, the Chinese also pushed the Mongolian government to sign a document that forfeited their autonomous status. At this point in time, Russian Bolsheviks stepped in to aid the Mongols

The Outer Mongolian Revolution took place in 1921 — a revolution that was fought with the help of Soviet troops. After the troops reclaimed Ulaanbaatar from the Chinese, Mongolia was declared independent once again. From 1921 until 1924, Mongolia worked to establish a new government..

Celebrate Independence Day with the joy of being sober! 

We do not have to drink alcohol in order to celebrate.

Happy Mongolian Independence Day to One and To All. 

OCT 27, 24 .. OCTOBER.. THE 10th MONTH.. THE 10th STEP..

If I had to name just one step that I personally feel is the most important to me, it would be Step 10.

Doctor Bob's last words to Bill W. were.. 

"Remember Bill, let's not louse this thing up. Let's keep it simple."

Some members may not know that, until the Big Book was written, beginning in 1938 and published on April 10th, 1939, there were no steps to be followed. 

The one and most important thing we share with the early members, is the magic of one alcoholic working with another alcoholic sharing their own experience.

Written by Bill W. and published in 1953, 18 years after Bill and Doctor Bob met and began what was to become AA, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (The 12 and 12) explains the 24 basic principles of Alcoholics Anonymous and their application.

Below, on page 92 of the 12 and 12, in my humble opinion, are some of the most important words in all of written recovery literature..

Finally, we begin to see that all people, including ourselves, are to some extent emotionally ill as well as frequently wrong, and then we approach true tolerance and see what real love for our fellows actually means. It will become more and more evident as we go forward that it is pointless to become angry, or to get hurt by people who, like us, are suffering from the pains of growing up.

So there you have it. October. Step 10. 

Your Ally .. Kanbaatar

JUL 11, 24 .. NAADAM HOLIDAY .. BEST WISHES TO ALL ON THIS SPECIAL HOLIDAY ..

 

Every year, the Naadam Holiday is celebrated in Mongolia from July 11 to July 15. Mongolians passionately commemorate their nomadic lifestyle and heritage over the course of five days. The event begins on Revolution Day, Mongolia’s National Day, which commemorates the country’s independence from China on July 11, 1921. 

The festival is also locally termed "eriin gurvan naadam" (эрийн гурван наадам), "the three games of men"

The Naadam festival is officially hosted in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar, and tickets are required for the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as certain other activities like wrestling. The celebrations, also known as ‘the three games of man’ revolve around three nomadic sports: archery, horse racing, and Mongolian wrestling.

Often, certainly not always, on an Important Holiday such as The Naadam Holiday, there can be a lot of alcoholic drinking. This can get us in trouble if we are not "on guard for the unguarded moment".

So be safe. Enjoy the day. At the same time, have a plan so that if it looks like things are "getting out of hand" in terms of alcoholic drinking and partying, you have a way to leave a challenging situation. 

Best Wishes To All for a joyous Naadam Holiday.

Kanbaatar .. 

Also Known As .. Baba Kaps and Cap

JAN 27, 24 .. NO AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IS SAFE FOR HUMANS.

Above is a pleasant photo that I shapped of the Park's Highway, near Healy, Alaska in the United States.

 For What It's Worth, the World Health Organization has come out with a statement that.. No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. 

If you would like to read more about this please click onto my below website.

https://aaphotoshere.blogspot.com/2024/01/jan-27-24-world-health-organization-says.html

And?? Let's NOT drink today.

JAN 1, 24 .. HAPPY SOBER NEW YEAR TO ONE AND TO ALL

Will all of you just look at this?

Year 2024 has arrived!

Where Oh Where Does The Time Go ?

AGAIN.. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024.

Don't Drink no matter what!

There is no situation that will get better if we, as an Alcoholic, pick up that first drink.

Smiles .. Kanbaater

JUL 4, 23 .. CONGRATULATIONS A.A. MONGOLIA .. ON YOUR 25th ANNIVERSARY

An absolutely wonderful event is being celebrated in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, this upcoming weekend, July 7th through the 9th.

July of 2023 represents the TWENTY FIFTH (25th) ANNIVERSARY of the A.A. Program of Recovery in Mongolia!

What a wonderful event it was when A.A. members in Irkutsk, Russian Siberia, began to carry the message of recovery South into Mongolia.

One precious day-at-a-time, and TWENTY FIVE (25) years have now passed into history.

Wowie! Off to Ulaanbaatar!

Such Fun!

The Anniversary celebration was very successful!

APR 2, 23 .. AN AMUSING "DRUNK STORY"

 A drunk guy in Alaska decides to go ice fishing. So he packs up his stuff and goes out onto the ice.

He starts sawing a hole in the ice, and a loud booming voice says, “YOU WILL FIND NO FISH UNDER THAT ICE!”

The drunk looks up, ignores it, and continues on. The voice repeats, “YOU WILL FIND NO FISH UNDER THE ICE.”

The drunk looks up and says, “God? Is this God trying to warn me?”

The voice says “NO, I’M THE MANAGER OF THIS ICE RINK.” 

The Lesson : Don't go ice fishing when you are drunk.

JAN 2, 23 .. HAPPY SOBER NEW YEAR TO ONE AND TO ALL

The Holiday Season is now over and behind us. Time to return to our Program of Recovery that has carried us through another Holiday Season sober.

And ??

Let's not drink today !

DEC 25, 22 .. MERRY AND SOBER CHRISTMAS WISHES FOR ONE AND ALL

 Christmas, and all major holidays for that matter, can be a very stressful time for all of us in recover.

Together we can do what we cannot do alone.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays !

Reach out to another member, attend meetings, practice our principles in all of your dealings with others.

SEP 15, 22 .. THE NINTH MONTH .. THE NINTH STEP

 Step 9 is really something very special. 

We will be amazed before we are halfway through (Step 9) .. 

And then, here come the 9th Step Promises on pages 83 and 84 of the A.A. Big Book!!

Let's talk a second about the spiritual experiences we may very well experience when we make our amends.

Appendix II at the back of the A.A. Big Book simply says that a spriritual experience is a change in our relation to life itself and such a change could hardly have been brought about by ourselves.

When we make an amend we are (on the spot) doing something different (a change) in that we are recognizing that for us to get better we must change by making amends. And the 9th Step amends are exactly that, a real change.

One time I was about to get into an arguement with another member of the A.A. Fellowship. Suddenly (instantly) I realized that IF I said what I was thinking of saying then I would owe that member an amend and he who would also know this.

So? I kept my mouth shut and said nothing.

Wow! What a change.

God Bless and Best Wishes on your Spiritual Journey.

JUL 27, 22 .. IT'S IN THE A.A. BIG BOOK .. AND IT MEANS A LOT TO ME

When I give a talk, I make sure to very clearly name a topic. It is frustrating when a speaker just wanders around in their share and then fails to name a topic.

I am going to give a talk later and (taa daa) today's topic is :

IT'S IN THE BOOK .. 

AND IT MEANS A LOT TO ME..

Please share YOUR own special passages in the A.A. Big Book.

- - - - - - - -

Why do people drink alcohol?

IT'S IN THE BOOK (The Doctor's Opinion) and IT MEANS A LOT TO ME

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol.

Translation : Men and women drink to change how they feel!

IT'S NOT IN THE BOOK (and I don't hear the below words said in meetings) BUT SHOULD BE..

The purpose of the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous is to make us feel good about ourselves! The theory being, IF we feel good about ourselves, we don't need alcohol to change how we are feeling. I can't explain why an alcoholic drinks (knowing what is going to happen) to 'celebrate' after their team wins the Super Bowl.

- - - - - - - - 

Stopping drinking isn't the issue, staying stopped is the issue!

IT'S IN THE BOOK (page 553, the final story) and IT MEANS A LOT TO ME..

It's no great trick to stop drinking; the trick is to stay stopped. To do that, I had to come to A.A. to learn how to handle sobriety -- which is what I could not handle in the first place. That's why I drank. 

- - - - - - - -

What to do about your alcoholism?

IT'S IN THE BOOK (page 58, How It Works) and IT MEANS A LOT TO ME..

If you have decided you want what we have, and are willing to go to any length to get it -- then you are ready to take certain steps.

For me it means to continue to do steps 10, 11 and 12!

- - - - - - - -

After one has stopped, or is even still in the process of stopping drinking, what is the best action to take?

IT'S IN THE BOOK (page 89, Working With Others and page 15 as well) and IT MEANS A LOT TO ME..

Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail.

We would not exist if, back in the early days, people with one day of not drinking had not themselves gone to St. Thomas Hospital to help 'the man in the hospital bed'.

- - - - - - - -

A challenge we all seem to face?

IT'S IN THE BOOK (page 62, How It Works see also page 14, Bill's Story) and IT MEANS A LOT TO ME..

Selfishness -- self-centeredness. That we think is the root of our troubles.

One of MY solutions..

I focus upon the below sentence of the Third Step Prayer. 

Relieve me of the bondage of self, that I may better do Thy Will.

Road rage is an example of being selfish and self-centered. Get out of my way! Don't you know I have things to do and places to be!

- - - - - - - -

Now that I have finished this brief share, I would like each of you to share with the group your own special passages in the A.A Big Book.  

By the way, below is a photograph of Doctor Bob's Home in Akron, Ohio, in the United States of America. I hope you enjoy it.

Sign me as .. Your Ally In Sobriety..

DEC 26, 21 .. SOBER HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ONE AND ALL

Our 'virtual' holiday decorations in a shopping mall.

HAPPY,

JOYOUS, 

AND SOBER 

HOLIDAY GREETINGS

It seems like, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what your personal beliefs are, for most of us, this is a Holiday Season. 

And?

It seems like, no matter where you are in the world, no matter what your personal beliefs are, there is a lot of drinking around you and in your community at large.

And?

For some of us, especially in the business world, we are expected, and actually under some pressure, to attend gatherings where there is a lot of drinking.

What to do?

First, each of us must want sobriety no matter our surrounding.

Second, we need to 'go to any length' to remain sober.

But how?

Have a plan!

Make up your mind that, at some point, you will depart the event. Depending upon the attendees and the event, it could be relatively early, and it could be later, a point will come when you will see that others are getting drunk! 

This is the point to excuse yourself and leave. To leave, you must have a plan that includes transportation away from the event. Yes this could be a challenge especially if the event is away from the center of your city and personal transportation is necessary to reach the event. You need to have your own vehicle, or, attend the event with someone else who wishes to depart the event early. 

But again, and this is foremost, you must want sobriety at any cost.

For some of us this may mean a job change. For others, we must endure some friction with fellow family members who are intent on serious holiday drinking and want you to remain present.

But, when the (call it) critical point arrives, when others are getting drunk and unruly and noisy, the chances are good no one is going to miss you!

Trust me and many other members, it is possible to remain sober 'come what may' during the holidays.

GOOD LUCK AND BEST WISHES FOR A SUCCESSFUL AND SAFE AND SOBER HOLIDAY SEASON. 

JUL 30, 21 .. HAVE YOU BEEN DRINKING DURING THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

 I saw the below questionnaire and got a chuckle out of it.

Judging from the location of the X in the above response, it looks like the respondent has indeed been drinking.

It is O.K. to get a little chuckle out of the above questionnaire but make no mistake, the Covid-19 pandemic has deeply affected not only alcoholics, but the entire population of the world.

July is the seventh month and I would be remiss not to mention Step 7 and our humbly asking our Higher Power to assist us.

JUN 28, 21 .. ZOOM MEETINGS AND LIVE, IN-PERSON HYBRID MEETINGS

Zoom A.A. meetings here in the United States were an entirely new concept to me commencing in March of 2020 when the Covid-19 virus caused many meetings to be shut down and the doors closed.

I have since learned that, in the business world, zoom meetings have been ongoing since Zoom Video Communications was founded by Eric Yuan on April 21, 2011, in San Jose, California, in the United States.

HYBRID MEETINGS

Let's begin with this statement from Wikipedia : A hybrid event is a tradeshow, conference, seminar, workshop or other meeting that combines a 'live' in-person event with a 'virtual' online component.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_event

Now that we are seeing a vigorous return to 'live' in-person meetings here in the United States, many members who live in remote areas with few (if any) 'live' in-person A.A. meetings, have been supported in their quest for sobriety through zoom online meetings. These members are fearing their zoom meetings are going to disappear and are very concerned.

A.A. Tradition 5 states : Each group has but one primary purpose -- to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

To this end, to continue to try to support the zoom meeting population, quite a few 'live' in-person meetings here in the United States are striving to continue both their zoom online meetings and coupling them with the members sitting in the 'live' in-person meetings. 

Thus the term HYBRID MEETINGS has come to be a reality here in A.A.

Change can be difficult for all of us. 

Recently some members here in the United States have stated that Hybrid Meetings are in violation of both Tradition 11 : Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films, and Tradition 12 - Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The other side to this opinion is the belief that Zoom meetings are NOT open to the public so Tradition 11 does not apply. To find and to enter a zoom meeting, you must first have a zoom meeting identification number and, in some cases, a password and then you must wait in a waiting room until the zoom meeting host allows you to enter the meeting.

Finally we come to Tradition 4 : Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. The A.A. conference approved book, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, states on page 146, that every A.A. group can manage its affairs exactly as it pleases, except when A.A. as a whole is threatened and further that every group has the right to be wrong.

I think the Hybrid Meetings are a great solution to helping those in small and remote communities maintain their sobriety.

JAN 23, 21 .. THE FIRST MONTH .. STEP ONE ..

 Step One .. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.

I am not now, nor have I ever been powerless over alcohol, until I took the first drink and introduced alcohol into my body. 

Let's keep-it-simple. 

Step One is the admission that we have a problem with alcohol. Pure and simple.

IF a person does not know they have a problem (and this applies to anything) then how can they ever overcome the problem?

Having admitted we have a problem, we then move forward to Step 2.