This series of talks came about from a friendship that started in Alcoholics Anonymous over 40 years ago. When AA members talk about the program, they will often speak the names Bill and Bob. However, there are two other names that are often spoken about, with nearly equal reverence. These names are Joe McQuany, and Charlie Parmley, a team of two men known as “Joe and Charlie”, who met in 1973, and spent the next three decades spreading their interpretation of the Big Book.
Joe McQ. & Charlie P. met in 1973 when Joe introduced Charlie as the AA speaker at an Al-Anon Convention. Joe had wondered if Charlie might be the country-western singer Charlie Pride. He wasn’t even the right color, Joe laments. They instantly discovered their mutual fascination with AA’s basic text The Big Book. What interested them most was that The Big Book was written in a particular sequence to convey certain ideas. That interest began a close friendship which has lasted to this day. They would frequently meet to discuss the book, often driving 225 miles to meet in each other’s homes.
These two men are credited with making the Big Book of AA more accessible to many who otherwise found the language archaic, or just downright confusing.
Joe McQ. passed away on Oct. 25, 2007
Charlie P. passed away on April 21, 2011
This is part 13 of 34 as found on Silkworth.net
