[at-l] Re: at-l Digest, Vol 2, Issue 36

[spiriteagle99 at hotmail.com (Jim and/or Ginny Owen)]

For the most part I'm a couple-three days behind in my reading.  And it may 
get worse - I may never catch up.


Skylander Jack wrote:
>Alcohol is alcohol.  1 oz of whiskey = 4 oz of wine = 12 oz of beer.

Hmmm - not quite.  As Sly pointed out - it depends on the concentration of 
alcohol.
Torpedo juice is 198+ proof (99+% pure alcohol), Jack Daniels is half that - 
or less.
Wine can vary from 5% to 20% - and if you're used to drinking Coors Light, a 
good German beer would be a very large surprise to you.

And then there's the question of what makes up the 1% to 97% of what you're 
drinking that's NOT alcohol.  For example, Scotch is NOT the same as rye is 
NOT the same as Irish is NOT the same as vodka.  And, like the small 
differences between male and female, it's the differences that make all the 
difference. <G>

I've had concoctions similar to Kelly's Purple Jesus - and the hangovers 
that go with them.
I've also had William's "mountain dew" - and never had a hangover from it.  
For a while, one of my trainees was  a West Virginia boy who'd would bring 
me a quart of mountain dew every week or so - complete with the Mason jar.  
All he asked was that I return the Mason jars so they could be refilled.

Then there's the notion that the only reason for hangovers is dehydration.  
And that's sometimes  true.  But not always.   I suspect more than one of 
those on the list might remember Bamiba  (Vietnamese "33" beer).  You really 
don't want to know the percentage of formaldehyde in that stuff.   In fact, 
there's an old joke for which the punch line is that it's water that causes 
hangovers.

Hey, Kelly - you don't suppose it was the grape juice that gave you the 
hangover, do you?  <VBG>


>The mark of a civilized person is responsible consumption of alcohol.

Hmm - I'd argue with that proposition.   I prefer to classify people by the 
degree of "humanity" they exhibit rather than how "civilized" they are.  And 
the best definition of "humanity" I know comes straight out of the Bible - 
try Ecclesiastes, chapter 3.  The degree of "civilization" is dependent on 
cultural factors.  By 5th century B.C. Greek standards or 5th century AD 
Inca standards, no one on this list would be anywhere close to "civilized".  
   In fact, by present "normal" standards, the average 2003 thruhiker 
doesn't rate as "civilized" either.


>There are times when it may be necessary to drink beyond responsibility but
>hopefully it will be in the presence of friends who can help.
>

I mostly quit drinking a long time ago (1977).  Before that time, I put away 
a LOT of alcohol.  But at no time, in no place, for no reason have I ever 
found it "necessary" to drink beyond responsibility.  Notice - I didn't say 
I hadn't done it - but it was for other reasons, not necessity.  Stupidity 
comes to mind.  I can tell you from first-hand experience - there are no 
answers or solutions at the bottom of a bottle.  Only more problems.

Well - it's noon - and I'm hungry -- so
Walk softly,
Jim

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