Teetotalers

[venomballistics]

Not a teatotaler, but more often than not I avoided alcohol on most occasions until I was married.
Now, I home brew.
Pizza and beer are part of us going back to our first date.
Both have only evolved since.
The pizza spans multiple variations of hand crafted goodness. The beer has evolved into a seasonal rotation of mostly European styles.

 

[zeke]

When younger, my grandfather had a home bar in his basement and would make us shirley temples so we fit in with the grown ups. After awhile he would put a little whiskey in them to settle me down for the ride home. If memory serves, was about 10 yrs old the time. Later in life was not drinking because it tasted good, and was not "a little wild".

 

[Old Arkansawyer]

For the last 12 years I have been alcohol free, the day the doc said I
was type 2 diabetic. Now before that I had indulged in beer, wine, bonded whiskey and some not bonded. Mostly beer in the warm months and Seagram's Crown Royal or V.O. in the winter. The doctor told me that he knew I drank, but with diabetes I should not, is that going to be a
problem? I said no problem. I was stocked up at the time on wine,
hard stuff and two 30 packs of beer in the back frig. The wife preferred
Jose's cactus juice so we also had a good supply of that. Took about 6
months to get rid of the beer to friends who visited. Wife stopped 7 years
ago when our youngest daughter moved back home with her 3 month
old baby girl.
You could put all the soda pop I have had since I was 15 in one case. I
can't stand sweet drinks. So that rules out sweet tea, makes me want
to up chuck.
So water, nonsweet tea and black coffee are my beverages.
Oh yeah, I am here to testify that alcohol does help white people dance.

 

[jscheck]

Tea totaler now. Some years ago I liked the hard stuff too much and decided to quit. I come from a long line of alcoholics. Tea with artificial sweeteners for me.

 

[ladder13]

I grew up.

 

[Old_Cop]

Thanks to the grace of God and the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous I have been a tea totaler since August 15, 1988. Today I drink far too much diet Pepsi.

 

[ZGrand]

I used to have to entertain customers quite a bit, so I was obliged to have a drink with dinner. But even during that time, I almost never had any alcohol away from the job. Since retiring 10 years ago, I'll have an occasional beer (maybe 6-10 per year) or perhaps a margarita at a Mexican restaurant.

I mostly drink water or clear soft drinks (Sprite, ginger ale, Mtn. Dew, etc). I love Coke, black cherry cola, and Cheerwine, but since having the last few kidney stones, my doctor advised me not to drink tea or any dark-colored soft drinks. I have to admit, I do miss a good glass of sweet tea.

 

[Smoke]

Long story short, I'm an alcoholic. I haven't had a drop of alcohol since Dec 14, 1982. There's a glitch in my brain, I can't imagine why someone would consume alcohol unless they had the specific intent to get hammered. I have never taken a drink in my life without getting absolutely puking on my shoes drunk. As long as I think like that I'm probably better off staying away from it

All that said, I drink about a gallon of water every day. I usually drink a cup of tea in the morning and glass of Kool-Aid with dinner. Once or twice a month I drink a Vernor's Ginger Soda

 

[Tom S.]

Once or twice a month I drink a Vernor's Ginger Soda

Vernor's came from a Detroit pharmacist a l-o-n-g time ago and I had no idea it was available as far away as Colorado. It's different from other ginger ale's and has a cult like following. Another local beverage is Squirt, a lemon-lime product that I occasionally enjoy. Years back, I was in Charlotte, NC for wire EDM training and a couple of guys decided to go out for drinks after class. Since I wasn't drinking, when the waitress asked what I'd like, I said I'd have a Squirt. She asked "A squirt of what?" I had no idea it wasn't available or known about in that part of the country. I ended up with a Mellow Yellow instead.

 

[BigBoy99]

I just can't understand why people will drink alcoholic beverages when they taste so awful. I thought the drink which was being consumed should taste good , not be something which burns and gags all the way down. Milk, Dr. Pepper and ice tea are my beverages of choice.

 

[SweetMK]

My dad (born in 1910) had of cirrhosis of the liver,,, died at age 52.
I was 12 years old when he passed, and the last of 4 children.

My dad had a core group of close friends, about 10-12 REAL close friends.
The ENTIRE group was BIG-TIME drinkers,
a group of4 to 6 of them would get together on Saturday afternoon and play cards (poker).
In 2 hours, they would each drink a quart (YES, it came in quarts, back then) of some sort of whiskey.

Anyways, before I was 17 years old, a total of six of those guys had died of cirrhosis of the liver.

Only one of the 12 made it to age 80,,, they all died of some alcohol related problem,, (diabetes,, etc,,)

I also got to watch what alcohol did to my brother (14 years older than me).

He lost his drivers license,, I was about 20 at the time.
That was a major impact on me. Nothing, especially alcohol was worth loosing my ability to drive.

So, I did drink a little when I was in the US Navy,, (no car at the time),,
luckily, the Navy did not pay us enough to do much drinking.

I got married at age 26, and my wife and I both felt we had other "NEEDS" for our money besides alcohol.

So, in 46 years, I may have consumed 20 cans of beer, most before age 40.

I am not afraid of alcohol, I feel that my youth educated me as to what alcohol can do to your body.
Also, I am more a person that would prefer to buy other things.
Luckily, my wife feels the same way.

 

[SweetMK]

I just can't understand why people will drink alcoholic beverages when they taste so awful. I thought the drink which was being consumed should taste good , not be something which burns and gags all the way down. Milk, Dr. Pepper and ice tea are my beverages of choice.

Other than alcohol, there are MANY foods and drinks that I feel the same way about.

Cabbage,, WHO would eat that stuff?
MAYO,, WHY was it EVER invented?? (I want to taste my burger, NOT that white stuff)
SHRIMP,, NOT for me, at ALL.
and
WHO was the first person to eat a lobster?? It looks like a bug,,

People call me a picky eater,, but, the same is true about alcohol,,

Some people like the taste of alcohol.

 

[PeterJ]

I didn’t drink enough to float a battleship but probably a medium sized destroyer. When I fell into our fire pit, I decided that I better stop this practice before I really hurt myself, or someone else. Haven’t had a drop since then, 7 years ago. Don’t miss it a bit.

 

[Mark 40]

Been a Teetotaler for about 15 years. Was only a beer drinker and had never acquired a taste for alcohol. Stopped because if I'd drink a beer I'd have another or three and maybe four plus consume a bag of pretzels. The way my mind works I needed to stop altogether. Kinda like quitting smoking cold turkey 30 years before.

Diet soda is my poison of choice now. In the fridge right now: Coke Zero, Dr. Pepper Zero, Pennsylvania Dutch Diet Birch Beer and A-Treat Diet Orange.

 

[Jim R]

Thanks to the grace of God and the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous I have been a tea totaler since August 15, 1988. Today I drink far too much diet Pepsi.

The date is a little different but my story is the same, August 8, 1974. And today I drink far too much Coke Zero.

 

[mrchick]

The date is a little different but my story is the same, August 8, 1974. And today I drink far too much Coke Zero.

My date is May 16, 1998 and I don’t miss it one bit.
I drink lots of black coffee, unsweetened iced tea, and milk.

 

[Buford57]

I was raised in a tee-total home with a drunken grandfather as a bad example. Started the occasional beer as a young cop. Never could stand wine and didn't see the point of the hard stuff unless you were trying to get blotto, which I wasn't. Then during the autopsy of an alcoholic (who, ironically, had been beaten to death with a whisky bottle) the ME held up the deceased's cyrhotic liver, the ugliest most foul smelling thing I ever saw exit a human being. "The liver regenerates, the brain doesn't" he said solemnly. I'll admit to a beer with pizza or around a fire from once a year to once every few years, but black coffee or ice water for me.

 

[Bald1]

I just can't understand why people will drink alcoholic beverages when they taste so awful. I thought the drink which was being consumed should taste good , not be something which burns and gags all the way down. Milk, Dr. Pepper and ice tea are my beverages of choice.

It’s like MK said. Different strokes for different folks. I love the taste of a fine bourbon. I rarely have more than 2. Even during a 4 hr event (football party for ex). I drink it because I like it. Not to get drunk. Same with cigars. I’ve cut back to maybe 10 a yr but I still love them. Some people gag just thinking about them. My wife put it best when she asked how I can eat a squirrel but not even try calamari.

 

[NYlakesider]

Not a teetotaler, but not much of a drinker NOW!

My drinking today and for about the last 20 or so years is under 10 drinks a year, many years under five a year. Events like birthdays, anniversary's stuff like that I might have one. As a diabetic and on many meds I stay away from things like that.

Now for full disclosure when younger I drank plenty. Drinking age in my state then was 18 and as a big older looking kid I had no problem getting served at 16 or buying bottles at a liquor store or cases of beer at supermarkets. Had a few close calls but DWI was not that big of a thing back then and most times the LEOs if all was peaceful (no tickets issued) would follow you home or have you park it and get home by taxi, call a friend or walking ETC.

Truthfully at this point in time I realy do not miss it. Go to a restaurant today and most times I get a diet soda, on the rocks of course!

 

[dave1918a2]

Not a teetotaler, but I was an iced tea-aholic for about 30 years. Sweet or unsweet. I gave it up because I was tired of having to pee all the time. I do drink hot tea, but sweeten it with honey since it’s not a diuretic like sugar, and one cup doesn’t fill my bladder.

My main teas are cinnamon mixed with chai, and Earl Grey. Relaxing and seems to lower my blood pressure.

Unfortunately honey is a significant diuretic.