Beelzebuddy

17. Do you drink? Smoke? Do drugs? Why, or why not?

I often have a cocktail or two a week. And I might have more if on vacation and walking home from the place where I’m drinking. I prefer gin martinis and Manhattans, but will sometimes have a cosmopolitan or Long Island Iced Tea. If making a drink for myself, it’s usually a gin and tonic. I occasionally have whiskey by the shot or in soda. My favorite whiskey is Crown Royal. When out at a bar I’m usually the driver and then prefer a Corona Light (no lime), or maybe two of them if we’re going to be there for several hours. I don’t drink to get buzzed or drunk, but have learned to enjoy drinks socially. It is very unusual for me to drink alone.

I don’t smoke. It’s not good for you, it costs a lot of money, and it smells bad. My father smoked until my senior year of high school. During his last few smoking years he smoked 2+ packs a day. Growing up in a smoked-filled house, and enduring countless trips in smoke-filled cars can’t have been good for us kids. All those chemicals can’t have been good for my mother’s health, either. I grew up in a family that struggled to make ends meet and lived paycheck to paycheck. It was not unusual for there to be serious discussions regarding medical care before seeking it, such as having glasses for poor eyesight or visiting the doctor due to illness or injury. As a very young child I broke my nose but wasn’t taken to the doctor. I have breathing problems as a result, even after one adult surgery, and a second surgery was recommended earlier this year. As a teenager I had a broken wrist bone, but was only taken to the doctor after several days of complaining about pain. However, there was never any question that dad was buying his cigarettes. I think it was my father’s way of making sure we knew how little we mattered to him. As you can probably guess, smoking has never appealed to me.

I have never had a desire to take illegal drugs, and fortunately have never had a drink spiked with them. I also have never smoked Mary Jane. It has never appealed to me. I have enough to worry about without illegal drugs.

“Get up and dance, get up and smile, get up and drink to the days that are gone in the shortest while.” –Simon Fowler