Teetotalers

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.
 
BigBoy99 said:
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.
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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
BigBoy99 said:
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.
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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.
 
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:eek:. 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!:D
 
Telecaster said:
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.
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Unfortunately honey is a significant diuretic.
 
I grew up around a bunch of social drinkers. So it was pretty normal to consume alcohol. I started drinking at age 14. By 17 I had found a couple of bars that weren't too picky. By my early 20s, I was a out right drunk. I'm surprised I managed to survive it. I did some really stupid things. :rolleyes:
It was the realities of fatherhood that finally made me see the light. Been sober now for 40+ years and have never regretted it one bit.

Never was a big coffee drinker. One, maybe two cups in the morning. But I grew up on sweet tea and drank the stuff by the gallons. But after a heart attack in 2000, doc said I had to cut down on the caffeine. So the coffee and tea had to go.

Now days all I drink are Dr. Pepper, water and an occasional A&W Root beer to add a little variety. I try to limit myself to no more than two soft drinks per day. ;)
 
My number of drinks before 21 could be counted one hand. Peaked out in the 22-23 age range (way too much). Met wife at 24 and started tapering down. Married at 26 and first kid at 30. Continued tapering down. Now at 46, average maybe one drink per month, usually a margarita or a wheat beer. The amount of $$$ I see people, many of whom can't afford it, blow on alcohol is rather amazing.
 
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I've hesitated to post in this one due to my strong feelings about the subject, but here goes.

I've been a teetotaler since I was very young, and a near tee totaler at that time also. I have some background which has made it easy to be one.

First, one of my great grandfathers was a drunkard, who terribly mistreated his large family, especially my grandfather, largely because of his chronic drunkenness. My grandfather hated him so much that he didn't attend his funeral. Every account I've ever heard about the man indicated that he was an evil beast, especially so when he had been drinking. I won't go into detail.

Second, I'm a pastor, and ministered to felons at an area rehab facility for 20 years. Most of the men were in the facility from illegal drug use, but a number also from alcohol abuse & crimes resulting from it. I listened to their stories. Every one of them incurred huge losses due to their drinking, especially job & family-related losses.

Third, I live in an ethnically German-dominated county whose chief claim to fame(or rather infamy) is it's heavy, pervasive use of alcohol. I'm probably around 80% German, so I fit right in in that respect, but I have no use for the drinking. I've observed the behavioral results of it, and you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to detect them. There's a restaurant in the county seat which has a banquet room in back reserved by various groups, and the entrance is right next to the soup and salad bar. I like their chili and so I get to hear what is going on in there when I dish some up for myself. I don't even have to look to know they've been drinking; I hear them cackling and guffawing over things that sober folks would never find humorous, and their loud, brash speech, and what have you. For some reason I don't fully understand, apparently a lot of folks can't enjoy themselves and each other without consuming the stuff.

What upsets me about the above is that I have to share the roadways with these people. And in this county you can bet they don't often have designated drivers. It's not uncommon here to encounter cars on the road having special license plates painted yellow with red lettering. This is a special plate issued by the state to those whose driving privileges have been restricted after a DUI suspension. Were it up to me, those privileges wouldn't be restricted, but eliminated.

I understand that there are a lot of people, including a number here, who are able to use the stuff in moderation and not have it get them in trouble. But I will never understand the appeal of it.

That's enough.

Regards,
Andy
 
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After my dad died of cancer when I was 14, my mom became a constant drinker and alcoholic.

Got my "wake up call" about alcohol consumption while I was in college. Thank the Lord.....haven't been a drinker since. (the past 50+ years)

I assure you, I have many other vices tho: raw honey, Hoppe's #9, number drills (jobber length), high quality gunsmithing hand tools, and an always growing collection of Smith & Wesson internal parts.
 
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Nancy Astor, Churchill's sometimes opponent, was a Christian Scientist. When asked why she didn't drink, she replied:
"I like to know when I'm having a good time."
One time working as a limo driver, I was directed to an NJ State Police sobriety check point. I had several "well lubricated" passengers. I told the trooper, "Nothing for me thanks, I'm driving. See what the boys in the
back room will have." He laughed, made sure I was wearing my seatbelt, waved me on. Several times in the Army I earned good money as the Dedicated Driver.
 
I have NEVER done the above....I don't use straws...well not when I drank beer.I was at a hillbilly bar when they had a couple of big names playing. I did some lead in music with some other young fellers. After getting off the stage leading into the 2nd half of the night I was sitting at a table getting ready to enjoy an adult beverage(even if I wasn't one) Conway Twitty came walking by and said...what are you drinking? Being you could only get beer in the establishment I took my own Crown Royal and got free cokes. I told him and he sat down took my drink ...gone. Before he went back on the stage he drank a lot of that whiskey...and he went up and sang. Good lord...if I drank that much I probably couldn't even talk...much less sing. I think some of those CW crooners went through a lot of alcohol. But they didn't have to drive...they came in a bus
 
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I gave up drinking around age 6. My parents used to let me have a little bit of brandy, but around age 6 I decided I didn't care for it anymore. The only alcohol I've had since then was the samples at the Irish whiskey distillery in Cork when I went to Ireland. I suppose if I was going to take up drinking I'd opt for Jameson's or Paddy, but at 48 I'm not looking for another hobby. I'll stick to drinking Iced Tea.

I have no objections to drinking, I just decided it wasn't something I was interested in. Over the years I have many fond memories of time spent in bars and at parties. On the other hand I have also watched numerous people I cared about literally drink themselves to death. Several relatives, some friends, and far too many co-workers drank themselves into an early grave, and destroyed their families in the process. Watching good people destroy themselves eliminated any thoughts I might have of taking up drinking.
 
Tom S. said:
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.

/QUOTE]

I grew up in northern Ohio, and I really enjoyed Vernor's. When I would come back to Ohio to visit my parents I would go to the supermarket and buy enough Vernors to fill the trunk of my Chrysler Newport to take back home. I was always concerned that if somebody hit the rear end of my car the first responders would think I had a bio-hazard bubbling out of the car trunk.

Unfortunately, being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes put an end to that.
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There was a time I drank quite a bit. Just got tired of it and found a better way of life. I may have a glass of wine, a dark beer or mixed drink from time to time. But, not even once a month. Mostly ice tea or a Pepsi for a long time then bought a soda stream and drink that with a bit of crystal light for flavor
 
Britain's drink-drive laws blunted my taste for alcohol. Get a DUI and you're walking for a year. That didn't appeal to me in the semi-rural area I lived in that had very limited public transport.
 
It's a trap. Play long enough and you'll feel the effects on your liver, your wallet, your relationships, jobs, hobbies.

So many activities revolve around drinking. Golf used to be 50% drinking and 50% tee box. Shot tracking, working on all aspects of the game and seeing improvement comes with allocating 100% effort to the task at hand. Golf is hard. No need to make it harder on yourself by being tanked.

Not to mention the resource allocation -> no drinking means more for ammo and launchers!
 
I've never been a teetotaler

My upbringing mandated that one should respect others' beliefs, bans, and restrictions, and not tempt them to deviate from them. It was stated that in some areas, such as the bible belt, alcohol was consumed, just not out in the open. There are many good, valid reasons to support the teetotaler, custom.

At approximately age 21, circa 1952, I was a short order cook for, an, all-night hamburger shop, and had to serve the town drunks, after the beer joints closed, and as a consequence, I gave up beer, and didn't partake of it for 50+ years. I was accused of drinking beer daily, during that entire time.


I even had free access to beer while working on the Anhauser Bush brewery, when it was built in Cols., Ohio, and didn't drink a drop. At that time, my only alcohol intake was wine taken in Holy Communion.


Many years later, I finally decided to step off the wagon, and have a beer with my son, and now enjoy moderate use of several kinds of alcoholic beverages.

Chubbo
 
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