July 20 in A.A. History

1898:	Q.	What did the future Dr. Bob S. [far right, c. 1904] do between his graduation from St. Johnsbury Academy on 24 Jun 1898, and his enrollment at Dartmouth College on 15 September 1898?
	A.	He worked in the shipping department of E. and T. Fairbanks & Co. at the scale works in St. Johnsbury, Vermont [near right: clippings from the St Johnsbury Republican (top), The St Johnsbury Caledonian (bottom) on 20 July 1898].

1918: During the Great War (WW I), Bill W., en route to Europe aboard the H.M.T. Lancashire, had his first taste of brandy.

1935: In a circular letter, Lois W. [left: graduation, 1912] wrote to three of her oldest friends from Packer Collegiate Institute [right, 1910]: Elise Valentine Shaw,¹ Edith Roberts,² and Helen Cruden,³ to share that…

…Bill has stopped drinking thru the Oxford Group… Last December Ebby Thatcher [sic] appeared sober for the first time in years and with a very strange story to tell about a religion called the Oxford Group which had cured him just as he was about to be committed to an insane asylum.

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¹Helen Elise Valentine (1890–1976) married Frank Stinson Shaw in 1916. They had three daughters and lived first in Brooklyn, then in Fairfield, Connecticut. Frank was a stockbroker who had worked closely with Lois’s husband Bill in the 1920s while Bill and Lois were investigating companies looking for under-valued stocks.

²Dr. Edith Adelaide Roberts [right] (1881–1977) became an American botanist who studied plant physiology and was a pioneer in plant ecology. She created the first ecological laboratory in the United States, promoted natural landscaping along with Elsa Rehmann, and proved that plants were the main source of vitamin A [from her Wikipedia page].

³Helen Cruden (1892–1992) appears to have married Frederick William Gerhard in 1920. If so, they had three children and lived mostly in or near Washington D.C.

1970: At 26, Tom L. [left] attended his first A.A. meeting in India, a moment that would forever change his life through the Twelve Steps and a newfound relationship with his higher power. By the late 1960s, alcoholism had stripped him of his job, family, and friends, leaving him homeless on the streets of Mumbai. In 1975, he moved to Abu Dhabi to work as a laborer. Two years after that, in a small room in Deira, he would start the first A.A. meeting in the United Arab Emirates.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1940: [Likely between May–December] A manuscript and a pamphlet [right: cover] detailing the “Little Rock Plan” were published, probably by the Central Group in Little Rock, Arkansas. These materials outlined a structured approach for new prospects, covering “Initial Contact,” “First Interview,” “After the First Interview,” and “Assignments” for those accepted into the program.
The nine assignments, paraphrased or quoted below, were:

1. Make amends, including a repayment plan, to all local creditors.
2. Do the same for all out-of-town creditors.
3. Make amends to all former employers from “the time of his abnormal drinking.”
4. Make a list of all others against whom the prospect harbors resentment or dislike, or to whom an apology is owed.
5. Make a list of old friends—not drinking acquaintances—with whom he has lost touch but with whom he would still like to be friends; contact at least one every each day.
6. Discuss progress, troubles, and other topics with different group members for a few minutes each day.
7. Attend six daily lectures in the following order: “There is a Solution,” “More About Alcoholism,” “How It Works,” “Into Action,” “Working with Others,” and “A Vision for You.”
8. After completing the above, ensure full amends have been made to the prospect’s wife, and begin daily heart-to-heart conversations with her about his progress so she understands the program he is following.
9. “Select some minister, priest, rabbi, and or practitioner and go to him for... the purpose of a ‘confession.’”

Upon completing these tasks, the prospect could be presented to “the Committee” for approval. The Committee “may make any suggestions it deems necessary and may make some additional assignments” or, more commonly, authorize a vote on the prospect’s admission at its next meeting. “With admittance, the prospect is a Junior Member until he has attended twelve consecutive weekly meetings of the group, then he is a full member.”

July 19 in A.A. History

1939: The Medical Record: A Weekly Journal of Medicine and Surgery published [right: cover] “Psychological Rehabilitation of Alcoholics” by Dr. William D. Silkworth [left]. This paper included nine of the twenty-eight paragraphs from the second part of “The Doctor’s Opinion” in Alcoholics Anonymous. Silkworth also added passages describing, in his own words, aspects of the stories of Bill W. and two of his earliest successes: Hank P., and Fitz M.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1940: Bill W. wrote a personal letter, likely reflecting on his first five months of sobriety, to an unidentified recipient.

At first, the remedy for my personal difficulties seemed so obvious that I could not imagine any alcoholic turning the proposition down were it properly presented to him. Believing so firmly that Christ can do anything, I had the unconscious conceit to suppose that He would do everything through me—right then and in the manner I chose. After six long months, I had to admit that not a soul had surely laid hold of the Master—not excepting myself.

1940: [Fall] Clarence S. [left] and other A.A. members organized “Doc S―― Day” in Cleveland, Ohio. The event featured an afternoon of talks and fellowship, followed by dinner. It was scheduled for March 1941 in Cleveland, Ohio, with tickets priced at $1.35 [~$32 in 2026], which led to some complaints about affordability.

In a letter inviting Bill W. [right, 1942] to attend, Clarence also mentioned that he was...

… quite apprehensive about Doc’s condition. He is not at all well and should be taking things easy. In his position, it is quite difficult. So many people… continue to put pressure on him.

A.A. History—year, month & day unknown

1940s: [Early] James “Jim” S. [left] operated the Middlebury Book Shop in Akron, Ohio, and was a member of the Summit County War Finance Committee during World War II.

1940s: [Early] The first Alcoholics Anonymous Club in Detroit was established on Milwaukee Avenue, one block from the General Motors Building [right, 1920].  Many members would stop by for lunch or after work to socialize and discuss A.A.

The club was started by Miles W. and Bill B. (who was still sober as of 1998).

1940s: By the time Alcoholics Anonymous, often called the Big Book, was published in 1939, A.A. had already undergone a significant transformation. While a notable segment of the movement, particularly in the Akron-Cleveland area, still maintained ties to the Oxford Group (OG) at the time of the book’s release, A.A. literature from the subsequent decade made no reference to OG-related books or practices. Recommendations for works by prominent OG members were absent, signaling a clear fading of the connection. Instead, during this decade, a substantial group within the A.A. fellowship became deeply committed to Emmet Fox [left, 1930s–40s] and New Thought spirituality, actively encouraging newcomers to explore New Thought literature.

1940s: The English version of the French prayer “Belle prière à faire pendant la messe” (A Beautiful Prayer to Say During Mass) gained widespread popularity during and immediately after World War II, particularly through the works of Francis Cardinal Spellman [right, 1946]. Its inclusive language resonated with many faiths that promote service to others. A French Franciscan priest titled it “Prière pour la paix” (Prayer for Peace) when he published it on the back of a picture of St. Francis, without crediting any author. The prayer had first been published in December 1912 in Paris, France, in the magazine La Clochette (The Little Bell) and eventually evolved into what we now recognize as “The Prayer of St. Francis.”

July 18 in A.A. History

1918: [19th?] Bill W. sailed from Boston, Massachusetts, to New York City Harbor, where he boarded the H.M.T. (Hired Military Transport) Lancashire [right] in Hoboken, New Jersey. The Lancashire would transport Bill and his unit to England. After a two-week quarantine in Winchester due to a minor epidemic, they would be sent to France, where they would serve behind the lines for the remainder of the Great War (World War I), which would end less than four months later.

1938: Dr. Esther L. Richards [left] of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, responded very positively to the two-chapter prospectus Bill W. sent her for what would eventually become the Big Book. In her reply [right], she advised, “I think you should get an A No. 1 physician who has a wide knowledge of the alcoholic’s medical and social problem to write an introduction…” Within a few days, Dr. William D. Silkworth would write the “To Whom It May Concern” letter that would introduce “The Doctor’s Opinion” in the book. Dr. Richards’ letter clearly indicates that Bill was already using the term “Alcoholics Anonymous” as both the working title of the book and the name of the Fellowship.

1940: Virginia’s Richmond Times-Dispatch published Pat Jones’s article “‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ Organizes in Richmond for Attack on Common Enemy,” subtitled “‘It Changed Me From a Monkey Into a Man’ Says One Member.” The article [left] began:

A national organization with no paid officers, no dues, no membership rolls, has gained a nucleus in Richmond and, in September, will start earnestly upon its self-appointed task of curing alcoholics who actually want to be cured.

1965: Frank B. Amos, [near right], 83, died in Anderson, Indiana. His obituary [far right] in The New York Times referred to him as “one of the five original co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous.” However, he was actually one of the five original Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustees of the Alcoholic Foundation, a trusted associate of the Rockefellers, and a close friend of A.A. He was buried in Northwood Cemetery in Cambridge, Ohio.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1939: [Fall?] Kaye M, a non-alcoholic, divorced her alcoholic husband, Ty, in the fall. At the time, Ty was in Akron, Ohio, attempting to get sober. Kaye then traveled to New York City to meet Bill W.

Two years prior to their divorce, Ty had achieved two years of sobriety, and he and Kaye had moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Los Angeles, California. However, Ty relapsed in Los Angeles, His attorney in Cleveland, Ohio, sent him a copy of the multilith manuscript of Alcoholics Anonymous, which Bill W. had provided. Though deeply impressed by the manuscript, Ty continued to drink. Kaye, who did not read the manuscript herself, was moved by her husband’s reaction and wired the Alcoholic Foundation for help.

When informed that the nearest A.A. meeting to Los Angeles was in Akron, Ohio, Kaye brought Ty there and sought assistance from Dr. Bob S. and Wallace “Wally” G.

Upon meeting Bill in New York City, Kaye was surprised when he focused not on Ty’s issues, but on her own, stating that she was “spiritually bankrupt.” She later recalled:

Bill told me that I had been an extremely bad wife because I had broken all his falls for him and never let him hit bottom.

Bill gave Kaye a copy of the newly published Alcoholics Anonymous. While in New York, Kaye attended her first A.A. meeting, which significantly affected her. Saying goodbye to Bill, she declared:

I’m going home to Los Angeles, and if Ty can stay sober on these twelve steps of yours for six months, I’m going to beat the drum for Alcoholics Anonymous up and down the state of California, I swear to God.

Kaye returned home—without Ty—by freighter, a journey that likely took two to three weeks. She used this time to read the Big Book [right: freighter passing through the Panama Canal, 1939].

July 17 in A.A. History

1918: Bill and Lois W. were in Newport, Rhode Island, where Bill was stationed at Fort Adams. It was just a few hours before his deployment to Europe for possible action in World War I. He would later write,

I remember going out to dinner with Lois and another officer and his wife. A pall of gloom settled over us all. I remember feeling an aversion to the mood of pessimism and thinking how selfish and self-concerned it was. Lois and I stood alone on one of the beautiful cliffs at Newport, overlooking the sea. It was an utterly desolate part of the shoreline. She and I gazed out over the ocean, wondering. The sun was just setting, and we talked about the future with joy and optimism. There I felt the first glimmerings of what I was later to understand as a spiritual experience, while it evolved in me over the years. I shall never forget it [right: Cliff Walk in Rhode Island at a sunset in 1918].

1946: Margaret “Bobbie” B. [left], National Secretary at the Alcoholic Foundation in New York City, replied to an A.A. member from Atlanta, Georgia. The member had written to complain that the March of Time episode “Problem Drinkers” [below right] was not being shown in local theaters:

THE MARCH OF TIME headquarters here tells me today that they do not think any pressure group is keeping the film from Atlanta. They think it is a matter of local theatre policy. They suggest that you see [the] District Manager or [the], Branch Manager, for the local office of the 20th Century Fox at 127 Walton Street N.W., Atlanta 3 (MARCH OF TIME distributes their films thru 20th Century Fox). Perhaps these men may be able to help you on how to get the MOT film, Problem Drinkers, into an Atlanta theatre. It is worth a try anyway. I certainly hope you see it—it has been well received by the groups so far. Naturally we think it is pretty good but we could be prejudiced having worked on the parts dealing with AA for many long months.

1952: Bill W. wrote to Fr. Ed Dowling [left] about his difficulties writing essays on each Step for the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.

The problem of the Steps has been to broaden and deepen them, both for newcomers and oldtimers. But the angles are so many, it’s hard to shoot them rightly. We have to deal with atheists, agnostics, believers, depressives, paranoids, clergymen, psychiatrists, and all and sundry. How to widen the opening so it seems right and reasonable to enter there and at the same time avoid distractions, distortions, and the certain prejudices of all who may read, seems fairly much of an assignment.

1960: Albert “Abby” G. [left], 70, died in at St. Alexis Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, following two years of failing health [right: obituary]. Notably, the first A.A. meeting in Cleveland took place in his and his wife’s home while he was under the care of Dr. Bob Smith at Akron City Hospital.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1939: [Early] Knowing that James “Jim” S. [left] had a background in journalism, Dr. Bob S. asked him to help the Akron and Cleveland members write their stories. Jim gladly accepted, encouraging them to document their experiences and prodding them when they procrastinated. He edited and rewrote some stories, striving to maintain the original flavor. These stories were included in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Jim’s own story appeared in the first edition as “Traveler, Editor, Scholar” and in the second and third editions as “The News Hawk.”

1939: [Late spring] Bill and Lois W., their Brooklyn home having been foreclosed on in April 1939, stayed for a time at Frank “Horace” C.’s bungalow in Green Pond, New Jersey. 

July in A.A. History—day unknown

1938: [Bob P.’s Manuscript of A.A. History says “early 1930s”] Sterling C., an insurance salesman and trumpet player from a prominent Little Rock, Arkansas, family, was fired for excessive drinking. According to Bud G., Sterling was also “a screwball from one of Arkansas’ oldest and most revered families.”^* After his termination, Sterling moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where his struggle with alcohol persisted until he discovered Richard C. Peabody’s book, The Common Sense of Drinking. Peabody’s book advocated self-reflection and mental retraining as a method for managing alcohol consumption.

Sterling successfully applied Peabody’s program, overcame his drinking problem, and was reinstated at his old company in Memphis, Tennessee

[right: map showing locations of Little Rock, New Orleans and Memphis], on the condition of sobriety. Despite his commitment, he relapsed twice during out-of-town trips. Determined to honor his word, he resolved to confess his lapses and resign. However, upon returning home, he was shocked to learn his boss had died the previous day.

This unexpected event triggered a spiritual awakening that led Sterling to permanent sobriety. He returned to Little Rock, where he began making amends, a practice encouraged by the Peabody program. His efforts likely laid the groundwork for future support, as he would receive a particular call for help years later that would lead to forming the first group in Arkansas.

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^*It seems likely that this was Sterling Robertson C――, descendant of Chester Ashley, U.S. Senator (1844–48), the co-founder of the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, and the namesake of Ashley County in south Arkansas; grandson of Sterling Robertson C――, Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court (1884–93); and father of Sterling Robertson C――, Jr., a significant figure in the Arkansas politics (1956–70), mostly in the House of Representatives. Junior had been working with his father in the insurance business until he decided to run for office.

1939: [Early] Marty M. [left, at Blythewood with her sisters Chris (L) and Betty (R), 4 Jul 1938] had been a charity patient for over a year at the upscale Blythewood Sanitarium [right] under Dr. Harry Tiebout [below left], yet she showed no signs of progress. Dr. Tiebout had given her a manuscript copy of Alcoholics Anonymous to assess its value. Marty had read it eagerly, thrilled to have discovered a name for her affliction: alcoholism, a disease. “I love the word alcoholic!” she had exclaimed.

However, she soon had encountered a significant obstacle. “On every page, there were four or five capital Gs [‘God’]!” The next day, she had confronted Tiebout, declaring, “God is nothing but self-hypnosis. I’m not about to accept this! I can’t buy it.”

Tiebout had responded calmly but firmly, “Oh, never mind about that. Go back and read some more, and we’ll talk about it tomorrow.” Marty had resisted, reading just enough each day to arm herself for their next session. Tiebout consistently had replied, “All right. Now go read some more.” This routine continued for six weeks, and she was only halfway through the manuscript.

Then a crisis erupted involving her sister Chris and her friend Grennie, sending Marty into a rage unlike any she had experienced. Feeling responsible, she stormed up to her third-floor attic room. “I was angry with a kind of anger I had never felt before, and thank God, never have since,” she later recounted. “I was raging. I wanted to kill!” She literally saw red as the blood vessels in her eyes began to break.
As she contemplated getting “two big bottles of whiskey and get good and drunk” to drown her anger, she noticed “that damn book,” Alcoholics Anonymous, lying open on her bed out of the corner of her eye.

In the middle of the page was a line that stood out as if carved in raised block letters, black, high, sharp—“We cannot live with anger.” That did it. Somehow those words were the battering ram that knocked down my resistance.

July 15 in A.A. History

1938: Bill W. [left] wrote to Willard Richardson, inviting him and fellow Rockefeller associates A. LeRoy Chipman and Albert Scott [right, respectively] to attend any weekly A.A. meeting at the Brooklyn home of Bill and Lois, located at 182 Clinton Street. In the letter, Bill stated:

Certainly in the cases of you gentlemen, we shall gladly waive the heavy drinking requirement that has qualified us for Alcoholics Anonymous. We think you are one of us, and there are no honorary members.

This letter contains the earliest documented use of the name “Alcoholics Anonymous,” which suggests Richardson was likely already familiar with it.

1950: The first A.A. meeting in Honduras took place in Comayagüela [left: Comayagüela, late 1950s; right: 1987 Honduran stamp celebrating 37 years of A.A.].

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1937: In January, while Earl T. [left] was visiting his father in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, his father suggested he look into the “alcoholic squadron” in Akron, where two of Earl’s acquaintances had successfully gotten sober. Earl, believing his drinking wasn’t as severe as theirs, assured his father he could get sober on his own at his home in Evanston, Illinois (1324 Central Street [right]).

However, Earl soon realized he needed help. He drove to Akron, arriving at 11 p.m., and woke up Howard, one of the friends his father had mentioned. For the next two hours, Howard shared his story and insights into alcoholism, instilling hope in Earl that recovery was possible. The following day, two more men visited Earl, each recounting their experiences and recovery strategies. Over the next few days, the remaining members of the group reached out, offering encouragement and sharing their methods for staying sober. After speaking with eight or nine members, Earl was finally invited to attend a meeting.

Earl’s first meeting was held in a member’s living room and was led by Bill D. [left] (A.A. #3). Eight or nine alcoholics and seven or eight wives were present. The hour-long meeting concluded with the Lord’s Prayer, followed by coffee, doughnuts, and late-night discussions in the kitchen. Earl was deeply impressed by the meeting and the genuine happiness displayed by the men.

Earl remained in Akron for two or three weeks, immersing himself in the program. He spent considerable time with Dr. Bob Smith and visited the homes of several other members. Each evening included a meeting, followed by coffee, doughnuts, and conversation.

On Dr. Bob’s day off, the day before Earl was scheduled to return to Evanston, Earl went to Dr. Bob’s office (Second National Bank Building, 159 Main Street

[right]). For three or four hours, they formally reviewed the six-step program as it existed then. During this session, Earl committed to three things: starting a group in the Chicago metropolitan area, returning to Akron every two months until a group was established, and prioritizing the program above all else in his life.

Upon returning home, Earl experienced a setback. After a few months of sobriety, his wife, Katie, criticized his coffee drinking and smoking, which angered him and led him to deliberately get drunk.^* An A.A. member from Akron traveled to Evanston and helped him get sober for the last time. Subsequently, Earl frequently traveled to Akron, as these trips were his only connection to A.A. Whenever Earl expressed frustration about his inability to help others, Dr. Bob [left] would respond, “When you are right and the time is right, Providence will provide.”^†
For months, Earl tirelessly sought an alcoholic willing to embrace his message, all while continuing his bimonthly trips to Akron to maintain his own sobriety.

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^*This incident is mentioned in Earl’s story, and more details can be found in “To Wives,” p. 135 of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

^†Other sources state that Bob told him, “When the time is ripe for a group in Chicago, you’ll have one.”

July 14 in A.A. History

1949: In a letter to Rev. Sam Shoemaker [far left], Bill W. wrote, “So far as I am concerned, and Dr S―― too, the Oxford Group seeded AA. It was our spiritual wellspring at the beginning.” Bill later expressed regret for not having also written to Frank Buchman [near left]. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Bill wrote: 

Early A.A. got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgment of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Groups [sic] and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else.

1950: The front page of The San Quentin News—a unique, non-profit, monthly newspaper written and edited by incarcerated individuals at San Quentin State Prison in California—was overprinted in red with “Greetings [to the] First International Conference [of] Alcoholics Anonymous” [right].

1955: A presentation copy of the first edition, fifth printing of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was given to Henry “Hank” G. It contained over 400 dated signatures from participants, spanning 1945 to 1952. The front endpaper included additional signatures, such as those of Bill W., Dr. Bob S. and Hank himself.

The two founders’ inscriptions read:

For Hank. In truest affection and gratitude for all that has happened to him - and so to many - since he first saw the book. Evermore, Bill. NY, 7/14/55 [left]

With best wishes for continued success in A.A. [Dr. Bob S. (obviously, 1950 or earlier)]

Hank G. became the second general manager of the General Services Office of Alcoholics Anonymous in New York in 1953, succeeding Bob H. At that time, it was still a volunteer, part-time position. Presentation copies were typically prepared for trustees, board members, and general managers upon their retirement.

2023: The Star Tribune of Minneapolis, Minnesota, published an editorial by Steven Kind [right], Minnesota outreach coordinator for SMART Recovery. Titled “Counterpoint: AA helps many. For others, alternatives exist,” the editorial’s subtitle was “Not every recovery program puts God at the center.” The first three paragraphs read:

A July 10 commentary asked, “Could AA help more people if it were not Christian-centric?” Well, maybe, but there are better options out there for people who want a secular alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous.

While Alcoholics Anonymous has undeniably helped countless people, it is not for everyone. Just removing references to God from AA’s 12 steps does not address important underlying issues.

AA’s 12 steps call on members to admit they are powerless over alcohol and must rely on something outside of themselves to recover. The AA program treats addiction as a moral issue—or, as Step 2 suggests, a form of insanity.

A.A. History—month & day unknown

1937: [Late spring?] The nameless group of drunks that would eventually become the New York City Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group separated from the Oxford Group (OG).

Before this separation, the group had been meeting at Bill and Lois W.’s home at 182 Clinton St. in Brooklyn. They were also attending Oxford Group (OG) meetings associated with Calvary Episcopal Church [left, 1925]. The rector of Calvary, Rev. Dr. Samuel Shoemaker [right], was also the leader of the Oxford Group in the U.S.

Calvary Episcopal Church hosted two sets of OG meetings: one in the Parish Hall, also known as Calvary House [below left, behind a wing of the church, 1925], adjacent to the church, and another a few blocks away at the Calvary Rescue Mission [below right], a shelter for the homeless owned and operated by Calvary Episcopal. Members of the nameless group attended both locations; the Parish Hall fostered their spirituality, while the Rescue Mission served primarily as a recruiting ground for new members. However, tensions between the New York City nameless group and the Oxford Group began to escalate.

Some non-alcoholic OG members, particularly leaders at the Rescue Mission, disapproved of the alcoholics’ exclusive focus on helping other alcoholics. This disapproval also extended to the other nameless group of alcoholics under Dr. Bob S.’s leadership in Akron, Ohio. Taking advantage of one of Shoemaker’s absences, leaders at the Mission prohibited alcoholic residents from attending the meetings at Bill and Lois’s home. The couple were accused of not being “maximum,” meaning they were not fully embracing OG principles, and consequently they stopped attending OG meetings.

In 1938, a quote from Frank Buchman, founder and world-wide leader of the Oxford Group, taken out of context, surfaced (via an interview published under the headline “Fascist World Ruled by God, Buchman Idea” [right] by the New York World-Telegram:

I thank heaven for a man like Adolph Hitler, who built a front-line of defense against the anti-Christ of Communism.

This statement further tarnished the OG’s reputation, and added to nameless groups’ desires to distance themselves from the OG.