It’s St. Patrick’s Day today. For many people, it’s a day to drink a lot. It’s funny how alcoholic beverage consumption is the only thing to our bodies we secretly endorse and encourage. No one would tell you to down a six-pack of Coca-Cola or drink six expressos at one time. You can’t smoke cigarettes anywhere especially around children, the sick or elderly. And even vaping is frown upon. You eat too much, you’re fat shamed. Yet, drinking is one of those things we look the other way more than anything else.
A woman online last year was criticized for eating about 48 oysters on a first date. Yet, it’s perfectly acceptable to spend your evenings at the local pub, tavern, bar, etc. drinking. No one goes in for just one drink. Imagine going to Starbucks and asking for another coffee after finishing just one. People will look at your suspiciously. The bar owners in nearby Tahlequah held a pub-crawl on Saturday because it’s Oklahoma and a lot close on Sundays. As I drove by to and from the fitness center, I noticed they were having a lot of patrons. It’s a nice day in mid-March to spend your days outside.
Yet, I guess my biggest problem with hanging out in bars nowadays is I don’t have the money to spend on a few drinks as I did in my youth when it wasn’t near as expensive. I know. It’s not the drinks, but the atmosphere. But what type of atmosphere is it? I went to one nearby bar in another town and I wasn’t there five minutes before realizing it wasn’t for me. The proprietors had spared every expensive and I’m sure a lot of the furniture was found from the nearby landfill. I don’t frequent many bars unless they have some good live music or a special event going on like celebrating New Year’s or a Halloween party.
I liked Cheers when it aired and still watched it in reruns over and over. For the best of my recollection, I don’t think there ever was a time in which things got really out of hand, as they always do. Whoever cleaned up the place? How did a bar in Boston operate with only a minimal staff? I’m sure even in the 1980s in Boston, that place would have people smoking and having too much to the point that it would result in a few fights. Maybe that because it was in a basement and there was a posh restaurant above people knew how to behave.
Oklahoma is one of the states that has medical cannabis. Last year, a mesaure failed to legalize it. Why? People are going out and getting drunk left and right every day. Why can’t they get high as well. No one is stopping anyone from walking into any restaurant or bar and ordering a drink or many. It’s sold in stores and even pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. And yes, I know it’s known as “Grandpa’s Old Cough Medicine” and can help. But it makes you wonder why you need a prescription for Tylenol III but a driver’s license that says you were born before this date 21 years ago to clean the booze shelves out as long as you got the money.
Mainly, it’s a very capital business. Perhaps, people are realizing all the problems they had 100 years ago during Prohibition. I’m not one to wag my finger at anyone as a lot of Christians do. I’ve drank too much in the past. But we seem to act like the problem is the opioid epidemic and fentanyl because this is what the politicians talk about. It’s what gets the suburbanites out to vote. It’s what the media won’t shut up about. However, most DUI cases involve people intoxicated by alcohol.
I know more teetotalers who don’t drink but also don’t believe in God or any organized religions. So, it’s not just a religious thing. Despite what you try to tell people about Jesus and the wine, they’ll just say it was glorified grape juice. And yet, priests smoke cigarettes and drink beer themselves.
It’s getting harder to convince people that cannabis is going to be the deadly drug people were told it was 50 years ago. Most of the people who believed that are long dead or they’ve changed their mind. So, they need to tell people that there’s some more dangerous drugs out there. And I know opioids and fentanyl are dangerous, so I’m not pushing for drug abuse.
Yet, there’s the stigmata that a lot of us who suffer from chronic pain have to deal with. It’s like people are afraid we’re going to down every pill in the bottle instead of using as directed. No, most of us suffer because doctor’s office conduct pill counts and urine analysis. However, we can go get drunk as much as we want and people will smile and laugh with us. Ken Wahl, who used to be a rising actor in the 1970s and 1980s, suffered a spinal injury that ended his acting career. He couldn’t get the proper pain medication after a reported botched surgery. Wahl said he told himself “I can’t get a prescription, so I’ll get a bottle of vodka.”
And I know people who have used alcohol to dull their body’s pain. My stepfather would sip on beers all day to help him with his pain following a severe injury. I’ve also known people who drank because of past trauma. I think it’s crazy that most alcohol and drug recovery treatment plans are faith-based, especially since it’s Christianity that has led to people to abuse drugs and get drunk. Organized religions is a hotbed of sexual assaults, harassment and child abuse. So, people go through years of abuse, turn to alcohol and drugs to cope and they’re supposed to go back to the church for their treatment.
I hate to continue with this but I really get annoyed by a lot of people who continue to talk about their recovery. You really should only get a few years to boost of your sobriety. Just like a drink limit, you get no more than five years. Other than that, just shut up about it. I didn’t get all the love when I quit smoking 13 years ago. And I criticize more from people saying I shouldn’t have started. I don’t talk about it. Maybe because I didn’t smoke too much or drink too much that I was able to just stop doing both.
People have different chemical imbalance in their bodies. I do think some people can walk away a lot easier than others. It doesn’t make anyone more weak for being unable to stop drinking or smoking. They used to say to stop smoking was tossing out a cigarette of the first pack, two cigarettes of the next pack, and so on. But people who drink to get drunk really do need help and you can’t just give them the “Stop being poor!” speech.
I only hope that people today just have some fun with it rather than using it as a reason to get drunk. I’m part Irish. I hate whiskey. I don’t like Guinness beer. I don’t like getting into fights. There’s too many Irish stereotypes we need to dispel.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 