SUMMERTIME, CRAVE THAT COLD BEER?

It is summer again and "the living is easy". It is the time of year when I used to drink a lot of cold beer.

I can see it now, the back yard, in the shade on a hot sultry day, wrapped around a cold glass of beer. And did it taste good!

Now, had I been able to stop at the first two or three on a Saturday afternoon, I would quite likely be drinking now, for that is called "Social drinking".

To me, then, two or three beers just whetted the appetite, and made room for more, so that, after about 18 bottles of beer, and the best part of a mickey of whiskey, I would call it quits at two in the morning after drinking by myself in the dead of night, landing up dead drunk.

Now I am not going to tell a sad tale of my drinking history, but I mention the foregoing because, even after 39 years of strict sobriety, I still crave a cold beer!

How about you? Do you feel the same? If you do then you can join a club of many thousands of alcoholics that are faced with the same problem.

Having flouted the use of alcohol on the T.V. and radio, and seeing the neighbours enjoying themselves with some cold ones, the booze industry extols you to join the happy crowd. "Drink our alcohol, and have a good time! It all looks great,, and is certainly nice for the 95% of the population that can sit down and have cold one without going ape, and consuming everything in
sight.

If you are a recovering alcoholic and really want to quit, before you take that cold beer, think of what it can lead to: the drunken driving charge, the violent arguments with the wife, the shamed children, the broken home, the lost job, and so on and on.

You can also look around and see, if you want to, the many thousands of people who not drink, because they choose to! The ones who would prefer tea, soft drinks, or coffee. The only difference between you and them is that they don't have to fight the ever present impulse to abuse alcohol. So it puts you in an important category, the person who has guts enough to say no, when your brain is crying out for that drink. Pat yourself on the back every time you turn down a drink, you deserve it, you strong-willed devil!

My wife and I went to a neighbors party some years ago to join them in clelebrating their wedding anniversary.

My neighbor brought out four glasses of a fancy apple cider, with a significant amount of alcohol. I turned down the drink without hesitation, but it looked good and it wouldn't have been too hard to say yes. Surely such a small amount of alcohol couldn't hurt, but could become catostropic as it would trigger my addiction. Fortunately at that time I was taking antabuse, and there was no way I was going to take a chance on a bad reaction. It made the decision not to drink easier!

I reached a point some years ago when I felt confident enough to end taking antabuse. It did help me in many situations where my strength would ebb and temptation would kick in, but I stuck it out, and I have had a wonderful life since!

If you find that you have a difficult time turning down drinks, see your doctor and ask his opinion about the use of antabuse, and good luck.

DON FELSTEAD