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Posted on 04/21/2005 6:44:57 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
New verse:
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Upon the hearth the fire is red, |
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Still round the corner there may wait |
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Home is behind, the world ahead, |
Well, it's just this and nothing more, really...
I say I don't drink. I'm saying that to you right now. Now I can explain to you that I don't drink, but I do have 4 ounces of a specific wine to help lower my cholesterol (and well, frankly...to calm my nerves a couple of times of late due to highly unusual circumstances.)
And you'd understand.
But I don't like saying "I don't drink" and then being possibly confronted by someone that I perhaps don't have time to explain. Now it shouldn't matter, but it does to me...I want to be an absolutely honest person...certainly not a hypocrite. If someone asked me from my own Sunday School class, I'd tell 'em I drink this wine and why. But, due to my church's stance, I don't go around blabbing it!
But I also live by this motto "Never explain, your friends don't need it and your enemies won't believe you anyway."
I'm pretty sure most everyone I know would understand. Everyone else can blow it out their shorts if they think ill of me! LOL!
I hope this isn't harsh, because I want to ask you this. I'm trying to understand why you are so wracked with guilt over this.
Why are you making the statement "I don't drink" in the first place? Clearly, you do drink a measured amount from time to time. Who is it important to say "I don't drink" to?
Corin! I should whack you with a stick. It's a serious question!
It's pretty hard to explain. All joking aside, other than the Hole, I don't know of ANYONE that drinks. No one. If they do, I don't know about it. I wasn't raised around people who drank. No one. It was taboo. I broke taboo in my younger years and drank, but never really cared for it. But I married a drunk.
There was no alcohol at my wedding that my parents paid for. My little brother decided he wanted to have wine at his wedding and was quite surprised when my parents refused to pay the bill. $600 bill the new In-Laws suddenly had to pick up! HA HA! (I think that's real funny, personally.)
It's just I come from an culture where it's just not accepted. Liquor stores are on the same level as strip clubs. No matter how fancy, they're sleazy. Going to the bar to see irish music is a big departure from the norm for me...(but I did tell my Sunday school teacher's wife about it and she said she thought it sounded fun, so people are usually reasonable.)
Just a few days ago g'nad was at Aldi's and had a bottle of wine in the cart and ran into someone from church...he didn't think anything of it until she looked into the cart and had the raised eyebrow look...oh well, we're not real Baptists anyway. :-) He said if they ever asked him to be a deacon he might have to give it up if asked but then we aren't members yet and well...deacon...
The bible says nothing about having a drink or two...at least not that I can find...it talks a lot though about not getting drunk. The only reason I can see to have this stance of no drinking is that one drink when you are young usually leads to two and more. You can't teach moderation and you can't be filled with the Spirit of God when you are drunk.
Love the topic...thanks for the fun reading...
Mrsnad
And I do try to differentiate between drinking for pleasure, which in that case, "I don't drink" and drinking for medicinal reasons, in which case, I have a dose.
Lord knows, if I was gonna drink for pleasure, it wouldn't be this Zin crap! LOL!
I'm an adult. I drink. I don't get drunk, I don't drink and drive, I don't have to have a drink. I figure as long as I can have bottles of wine in the fridge that are almost as likely to turn vinegar as they are to be finished, I've got no problem.
I also don't have a problem thinking someone's going to see me in the liquor store, any more than I fear they're going to see me at Blockbuster holding "Die Hard". If they've got a problem with me, that's their problem. Don't ever go through life worrying about other people approving of you, 2J!
Our dentist appt. is next Thursday morning, right? I'm going to take a couple hours PTO, so we can go out to breakfast or something before I head to work.
So if no one around you is drinking or inviting you to drink... in what settings do you ever have to say "I don't drink"?
Are you just saying this to yourself?
I just hate to see you beating yourself up about it... if you think it's wrong don't do it. If you think it's OK, then do. I think all this guilt is coming from some need to tell others or yourself something that isn't true.
I admit to not sharing the view that it's morally wrong to do. So it's hard for me to put myself exactly in your place. Me being seen with wine would not be a great cause of raised eyebrows by anyone I know, and yet, drunkeness would be embarrassing in front of some.
I think you're sortof in the same position as the Catholics I know who use birth control. They rationalize it. I suppose 90% compliance is still a pretty good grade in most grading systems ;~D
That's right...
Really early? Was it 7 or 8 am?
It's at 7:00
I save up and reuse empties from store-bought.
'Course you could always use Mason jars. :)
I basically am just saying it to myself.
I suppose if someone were to ask me "Do you drink alcohol?" I would reply "I consume alcohol in Nyquil when I have a cold and I consume red wine as part of a cholesterol-lowering regime. I do not drink alcohol for pleasure."
I did have Ramius's Wild Turkey, because I always wanted to. I don't have the desire to ever taste it again. And like I say, I'd like to try that Dom champagne...how often in life do you get the chance to try that stuff, you know??
And the two times (or there 'bouts) that I had my evening dose of cholesterol medicine, I had the serendipitous effect of it calming me down so I could relax after a particularly upsetting time with my folks. I get the impression though, had I drank any more than that 4 ounces, I would have gone into a rage.
If someone offered me a drink, I'd say "No thank you." Except when g'nad has some of that home brew, I want a taste it! I've never tasted homemade wine before!
I've got lots of mason jars!
A few of the grocery stores around here have a notary public at the service desk....had to use one for real estate stuff. The fee was under $10...I just can't remember exactly how much.
Do you fear that if you didn't limit yourself to your measured four ounces, you would drink too much?
Not really. I drink four ounces because the the cholesterol article said a "serving" and I asked Suziq what a serving was and IIRC she said 4-6 ounces. Anything more than 4 ounces makes me a bit woozy so that's why I take just four ounces.
Don't you remember? The first serving I had was 8 ounces and I was nearly falling over?? LOL!!
The four ounces doesn't make me feel woozy, but it does have a bit of a relaxing effect on me and I sleep deeper than when I don't have it (I only have it 2-3 times a week, just because I don't like to spend the money on it!) Also, anything more than four ounces and it makes me have a headache, even before I go to bed... apparently it's something in the wine, not really the alcohol...tannins, maybe? Histamines?
Heh...all this talk about booze and I don't even have any MILK in the fridge!
I'm going to the store. See you guys later!
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