SoberNotMature - Episode 217 (Parking Lot Clown Show)

SoberNotMature - Episode 217 (Parking Lot Clown Show)

Get ready to be moved by real-life accounts of recovery, bad parking, and even worse language as Mike and Bill return for another round of Sober Not Mature. This time they kick off with theatre talk and cheap parking in Cleveland before sliding straight into a serious reading from *Touchstones* about shortcuts, excuses, and what our actions turn us into over time.

From there, you’ll hear the two long-time sober friends unpack what it actually means to live by values every day. They’re brutally honest about still having angry first instincts and wanting to "run it over" when life throws obstacles at them, but also about pausing, choosing differently, and protecting their sobriety.

As Bill puts it, "I respect the fuck out of myself today," and that self-respect is tied directly to making amends, telling the truth, and doing the small things—like always making the bed or picking up the paper towel you missed in the bin. They talk about Step Four fears, why inventory isn’t just a list of horrors but also the good stuff, and how Step Ten’s "when we were wrong" still jumps out years later.

You’ll also hear them wrestle with celebrity rehabs, the sentencing of the so-called "Ketamine Queen", and whether blaming dealers for overdoses makes any sense from a recovery point of view. There’s humour all over the place—Steve Martin albums, circus metaphors, and their now-classic "clown show" description for chaotic people you can’t fix but still have to be around. A kind shout-out to listener Shirley highlights how much they value real, messy stories from different corners of the sober community.

If you like your recovery talk raw, sweary, AA-flavoured and genuinely human, this one might have you asking yourself: what kind of ripples are you leaving today?