:33:01
- (woman) Hang in there, Leon.
- Hey.
:33:03
My name is Walter
and I'm new to this group...
:33:06
(all) Hey, Walter.
:33:07
...but I am not new to these meetings.
I've been coming 18 years now.
:33:11
As a matter of fact, friends,
this is my 936th consecutive meeting.
:33:15
- (man) Hey, man, well done.
- (applause)
:33:18
(Walter) Well done is right.
:33:21
And in all that time I haven't once been
to a track or a casino or bet on a game.
:33:27
Hand to God, not a cent.
:33:29
So I know where you're coming from, Leon.
:33:33
Believe me, I know. I heard your story,
and it's something I relate to,
:33:37
but I gotta say, if I learned anything,
it's that gambling is not your problem.
:33:42
- It's not?
- Not even close.
:33:44
I don't know how to say this without
sounding rude, but you're a lemon, Leon.
:33:50
Like a bad car, there is something
inherently defective in you.
:33:54
And you. And you. And me.
And all of us in this room.
:33:58
We're all lemons.
We look like everybody else,
:34:01
but what makes us different is our defect.
:34:06
You see, most gamblers,
when they go to gamble, they go to win.
:34:09
When we go to gamble,
we go to lose, subconsciously.
:34:13
Me, I never feel better, or more alive,
than when they're raking the chips away,
:34:18
not bringing them in, and everybody
knows what I'm talking about.
:34:22
Hell, even when we win, it's just
a matter of time before we give it all back.
:34:26
But when we lose,
now, there's another story, when we lose.
:34:29
I'm talking about the kind of loss
:34:31
that makes your asshole pucker up
to the size of a decimal point.
:34:35
You know what I mean? You've just
recreated the worst possible nightmare
:34:39
this side of malignant cancer
for the 20th goddamn time,
:34:43
and you're standing there
and you suddenly realize:
:34:46
"Hey, I'm still here.
:34:50
"I'm still breathing.
:34:51
"I'm still alive."
:34:54
Us lemons, we fuck shit up
all the time on purpose,
:34:57
because we constantly
need to remind ourselves we're alive.