A Drinking Problem

crash325 · Nov 4, 2014

Well its getting cold & since I pretty much only drink outside, I guess my drinking problem is over for a spell.
No reason not to drink inside, just rarely ever do.
Drinking cold light beer in the cold is not much fun.
OH Well spring is only a few months away.
Poor ole dogs will miss my company, as beer time is "Pet me Time". Course with 3 dogs & only 2 hands 1 of them is always complaining.

Bird · Nov 4, 2014

Drinking cold light beer in the cold is not much fun.

There was a time, in my younger days, when I didn't care how cold it was when I had a beer. But now . . . I've got plenty of Shiner Bock in the shop refrigerator and I think I've drunk 3 this year; each time sitting on the patio after mowing the yard in the heat. But I do enjoy a glass of Sangria in the house frequently.

dodge man · Nov 4, 2014

Its still a little bit of a touchy subject for me. I read some of these posts and its hard to tell who is joking sometimes and who has a problem. My brother was diabetic, a heavy smoker and an alcoholic. A pretty deadly combination and he died in his early 40's. I cleaned out his apartment with my mom and dad. It was a pretty depressing thing to do. If it had been up to me I would have left it as is but they wanted to clean it up for the land lord. My dad took his car, worth about $500. I took his golf clubs. That was the only two things worth taking.

Happy Gilmore · Nov 5, 2014

There was a time when going out drinking was fun for me, be it a cookout, special event or just out for the night. I can remember being out with the boys and bragging amongst ourselves who could drink more. Yes there were times when I drank too much, sometimes way too much, but it didn't seem like a problem for me. Unfortunately, a few years back it seems life threw one catastrophic event after the other at me. It felt like I was in a never ending washing machine spin cycle, with more crap being tossed in with me. Drinking no longer was enjoyable, it became a way of life, when I wasn't at work it was morning, noon and night. When I was at work I couldn't wait to get out and have my first drink. I was in a very dark place. I no longer brag about how many drinks I can put away, instead I thank God for the days of sobriety I have and live life one day at a time. 610 days sober is the number I'm thankful for today.

coffeeman · Nov 6, 2014

My father owned a bar. One day he was sitting at his table near bar and was complaining about bad business lately. I asked, "what do you think
is wrong?" Not as many customers, he said. "All my good customers are sick or in jail."

Cheers....Coffeeman

davrow · Nov 6, 2014

dodge man said:
Its still a little bit of a touchy subject for me.

I do understand that viewpoint. It can be considered tacky or unkind to joke about it. On the other hand, sometimes it is a way of relieving the stress abstinence imposes on some.

I try to take all of it as good-natured joking. Can't joke about dwarf-tossing any more. Have to joke about something. :dance1:

mark02tj · Nov 7, 2014

Congrats to all of you guys that are sober now!:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: Your stories are interesting and sad and encouraging at the same time. Brian, it seems like you really had some "interesting" times in your past. Very cool that you're clean and sober for your wife and child.

dodge man · Nov 7, 2014

davrow said:
I do understand that viewpoint. It can be considered tacky or unkind to joke about it. On the other hand, sometimes it is a way of relieving the stress abstinence imposes on some.

I try to take all of it as good-natured joking. Can't joke about dwarf-tossing any more. Have to joke about something. :dance1:

Thank you, I agree, I wouldn't have read the posts if I didn't find humor in it. The thread is just a little strange, some serious posts mixed in with jokes.

crash325 · Nov 7, 2014

An old story that I heard as a kid. Supposed to have happened in Bisbee AZ.

Guy was a well known drunk, then would go home & beat his wife.

One night she was waiting for him. As he came to the door she beat him near to death with a skillet.
Supposedly he never drank again.
True, sort of doubt it, but told as true.

bcp · Nov 7, 2014

Being drunk can be a serious danger to husbands.

Bruce

Garycw · Nov 10, 2014

I've finally beat the alcohol problem and sober 8 years. I do miss it sometimes, but not all the bad that went with it. It's the Nicotine I've been dealing with now. Hopefully I will be able to look back at that soon too as only a memory. I believe it's true some people have a more addicting personality and weaker willpower. I'm hoping my next addiction is gardening or something similar.

MikePA · Nov 11, 2014

Garycw said:
I believe it's true some people have a more addicting personality and weaker willpower. I'm hoping my next addiction is gardening or something similar.

No offense, but addiction has nothing to do with willpower, strong or weak, or personality.

Garycw · Nov 11, 2014

MikePA said:
No offense, but addiction has nothing to do with willpower, strong or weak, or personality.

Maybe a incorrect choice of wording. I have heard that there's sone genes that can be passed on to you if one of your parents had a alcohol problem. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I did start drinking at a very young age & also started smoking before 10.i can remember cigarettes being 25 cents and a machine on almost every corner. My daughter has never had a alcohol , drug or nicotine problem or even tried.

Happy Gilmore · Nov 11, 2014

Garycw said:
Maybe a incorrect choice of wording. I have heard that there's sone genes that can be passed on to you if one of your parents had a alcohol problem. I'm not sure if that's true or not, but I did start drinking at a very young age & also started smoking before 10.i can remember cigarettes being 25 cents and a machine on almost every corner. My daughter has never had a alcohol , drug or nicotine problem or even tried.

You probably know this, but if not you should forewarn her to the problems with alcohol you've had, so she doesn't suffer the same fate. I know I've talked with my kids about it. I had alcoholism throughout both sides of my family.

Bird · Nov 12, 2014

i can remember cigarettes being 25

I can remember when a pack was 20 cents in the early '50s, although I didn't buy any back then. But a friend and I used to occasionally buy a sack of Bull Durham tobacco and try to roll our own while riding horseback, as we'd seen or read about cowboys doing. Of course we spilled more than we got rolled.:laughing: In those days, that Bull Durham cost 6 cents and we paid for it by finding 3 soda pop bottles.

I actually didn't start "smoking" until I was 18 and I bought a pipe to smoke to help keep me awake driving; didn't get much sleep in those days and I'd get pretty sleepy on a 40 mile drive to college in the morning. But as with most people, it got to be a regular habit. I smoked a pipe for more than 5 years before I started smoking cigarettes.

Looking4new · Nov 12, 2014

I started with cigs at 13 and now at 68 I still smoke a pack (25) a day. The booze and dope merry-go-round, I put an end to 25 years ago and haven't looked back. I still drink, but not to excess anymore. MAYBE a shot of Drambuie on my birthday or at New Years IF I feel like it. Three summers ago it was fairly hot out and I got me a 6 pack (5 Miler) and nursed 3 of them over the course of two days. Gave the other three away. I never bought a 6 pack in my drinking career, it was always at least a 24 or two or three. A bottle or two of whiskey went with them as well. I look at what I had then (my net worth) and compare it with what I have now and I am way ahead of the game now. My net worth then was a couple of thousand $$'s. Now it is over a half a million $'s and I am still working.
Last summer I got splashed with surface treating asphalt (commonly called poor mans asphalt), i was so upset over the mess it made on my shiny new trailers that I couldn't sleep for two nights. I scored a hash joint off a guy I knew, smoked some of it and was able to get a good nites sleep. In my opinion one joint shared with someone else doesn't put me back on the merry-go-round as long as I keep it at ONE!

Garycw · Nov 12, 2014

The smell of fresh cut grass still makes me want a beer. When I'd get finished mowing the back acre, I would sit on the back porch and pretty much shoot them till.. Well you know the rest

jrkaye · Nov 12, 2014

There's recreational drinking then there's plain out I need a drink drinking. After SE Asia I drank a LOT then noticed I wasn't solving a **** thing except just numbing the problem. I stopped, went to veteran meetings and those brothers made me realize that what I had done wasn't my fault but the fault of the system. I never drank and drove, never hurt anyone but myself. Happy to say I can enjoy a beer every month or so and have no desire to look back. Chronic pain meds and alcohol won't mix well but happy to report that I get a blood test 3 times a year and the ole liver is doing just fine. I dodged a bullet then and can understand what folks go through. Never did the smoke dope thing, or "I didn't inhale Clinton excuse", just never appealed to my sense of smell (if you can believe that...always smelled like smoked rope; not dope) even though I'd been around peers that partook way back when. I prefer a sharp sense of awareness not a numbed version. Life, is good.