Every once in a while I like to find the exact source of things.

I first read the phrase "going to the hardware store for a loaf of bread" in early 1993. Since then I often hear it quoted, and a web search for the phrase shows how much of a commonplace it's become. But no one gives exact credit, and I tend to forget its exact page too. So, because I like to see the original writer credited (even if the writer was not seeking recognition), I made time to find the page.

It appeared in Al-Anon's Courage to Change, first published in 1992. When the new year came I soon turned to January 2 and laughed to read, "Turning to an alcoholic for affection and support can be like going to a hardware store for a loaf of bread."

It's one of my most memorable moments, and it clearly strikes other people in the same way. Naturally the Courage to Change writer may have heard it somewhere else, but I've always had the feeling it came spontaneously. It has the feel of a strong personality finding voice, and that's why it became so widely quoted, always evoking laughs.

So, in case anyone else wonders where it came from: It's from Courage to Change, page 2.

PS: Today I might add the word "unrecovering" to the sentence, as in: "Turning to an unrecovering alcoholic for affection and support can be like ..." Recovering alcholics, of course, have a great love to give.