Sanguine Tenacious Tidings

Drink What? (E)

For Andre the Blog Monkeys Banana Bar

Week 2 / Category 3/ prompt: Have you ever gotten tipsy, inebriated or drunk? If you remember what happened tell us about it. If you don't remember make something up. If you never were tell us why you should not be banned from the banana bar?

I'm confused. Do you Bann people from the Banana Bar? Does that mean if people don't drink alcohol, you are not friendly?

As for the first part of the question Yes. I've been drunk once. Tipsy twice as I remember. It takes a great deal of Alcoholic drink to mess my system up.

I like wine better than hard liquor, although probably Banana Daiquiri's would appeal to me if I still had an urge to imbibe.

When I was first married, I was 18 with no experience with alcoholic drinks. My first husband was used to drinking and playing cards with friends. He was also unimpressed with my refusal to drink beer or other liquors. One time we went to his friend's house the other family suggested we play cards. Poker to be exact. Every time you lost a hand you had to have a shot of Tequila. I lost a lot. Richard had to lead me out the door and pour me into the car to get home. Truthfully, I always thought the group just wanted to see me get drunk for the sport of it. It was the only time the group ever drank alcohol when I was with them.

Nothing much happened except we were living in an apartment over a farmhouse near the Air Force Base. Before, we entered the house Richard warned me not to make a scene since the family was entertaining guests. Of course, I had to yell Hi to everyone as soon as we entered the door and started up the staircase to our apartment. Yelling and waving as I was urge upward by my husband. I remember he said," I told you not to make a scene." Huh?

Another time after we moved home, we delivered some Christmas cookies to my aunt and Uncle. Cookies which my uncle had delivered to our house earlier when I was not home. We had a Merry Christmas drink before we left home. Richard's idea, which I did not refuse. I was not really drunk but tipsy might describe it. My Aunt said with disgust. "They've both been drinking."

The third and last time was the summer after Richard died. I went to visit a different Aunt. I had an aunt on my mother's side of the family that I liked. She took care of my brother and I summers when my dad was working. We would stay with her all week and go home for the weekends. She was a drinking person. After I had been in the house for about 10 minutes, she offered to mix me a drink.

At first, I refused but, when she continued to press me, I said O.K. My uncle was by the counter where she was mixing the drink. I heard him as he leaned over and said, "Don't make it so strong." To which my aunt replied, "Mind your own business." Once again, I was not drunk but, the drink was strong enough to make me muddled. So, I left. And I never went back. I was careful to drive home slowly, it was all back country roads, so I never met anyone along the way. I stopped by the woods and cried for a while, because I felt my aunt was trying to get me drunk for some reason and I don't trust relatives on either side of my family.

Since then, I have had a glass of wine or one mixed drink inside my home a few times, until I was about 30. The boys were growing up. I felt we should try to eliminate any kind of alcoholic problems before they finished growing. We had a wine dumping ceremony in the front yard and no alcohol in the house since.

The grandparents of my two older sons were both recovering alcoholics at one time, Richard's parents. My mother-in-law told me they kept a beer in their refrigerator to remind them what alcohol was doing to their family. My first husband had stopped at a bar on his way home from work, before he died, when he fell asleep and hit a tree with my car.

On my father's side of the family all the children were taught not to drink alcohol. However, at Christmases when families rotated to celebrate holidays; all my father's brother's homes had bottles of hard liquor, or wine stored under the beds in the master bedroom. Plus, there were always liquor bottles in the garbage when I stayed with my cousin over night for a school function.

My dad did not drink but, once when he visited my aunt she offered him a beer, which he took and drank. I was not very old but, I asked him why he was drinking beer he said it was to be social. That social drinking was permissible.

Every person has to choose in life. It isn't' up to me to tell you when or how much or what you should drink. I do wish it was that easy for some people to give up anything that can harm their life alcohol, or drugs, or any other problem of any kind. But it isn't. Blogging with the banana bar is fun. I have no criticizem about what others decide to do, but if you don't want me here to feel free to say so openly. I'll just go away. I also have coffee drinking relatives that don't believe in drinking tea. A hot cup of tea would be good right now.

P.S. Cheers was one of my favorite programs at one time. The lyrics of the song mean more than the alcohol served at the bar. Sorry Andre' I know Banana Daiquiri are part of your health habits.

https://youtu.be/cP63Yo3-Dnc

Word Count:1011 all word counts are done on WDC blog