Lancaster County Brewers

Why I Drink?.. and Why I Wish I Didn’t

By BelgianHead

I quit drinking for 119 days in 2001. It was the longest I had gone without alcohol since I was 15. I lost 22 pounds. I worked out and did the treadmill several times a week. I was, at least for argument’s sake, a picture of health. I felt great. I had just purchased a Yamaha Waverunner and I was living large….at least for me. Suddenly, I wasn’t sleepy at 9:30 P.M. from the 4 or 5 beers I had just ingested. I had $75 more disposable cash every month. I was the master of my domain. Just one problem, all my friends still danced around the malt God…. and I missed them.

Hopping on the wagon had separated me in large part from what was previously the bulk of my social life. Some of my favorite memories are of events at my house involving Galen, Bob & Karen, Frank, Tom and Lou…oh, and beer. But now I was the wet blanket, the odd man out, and it stunk. What a conundrum.

On the 120^th day of the streak I had myself a Stoudt’s Gold. Only fitting, perhaps, because the last beer I had 119 days prior was a Stoudt’s Maibock. I’ll never forget what my wife said as she walked in and saw the bottle on the table….�You’re drinking a beer?� Only one day before a week-long vacation in Ocean City, MD, and I was setting a dangerous precedent, but I didn’t care. I had shown myself, nay, I had shown the world that I was no slave to the alcohol God. But, I had certainly become a Pollyanna.

Those days are far behind. Since that 120^th day, 4 ½ long years ago, I have been partaking in the fountain of yeast on a very regular basis. My disposable income has dwindled to afford me one cigar and a pack of Chiclets per month. My 8-year-old daughter came home and told me that she learned in school that alcohol is a drug. Gees, who knew! Everywhere I go to buy beer I feel like Norm Peterson……â€?LEEâ€? they say as I traverse the threshold into the Church of the Divine Fermentation. I need the assistance of several neighbors to get my recycle bins to the curb on any given Thursday night. I’m hooked. Every distributor and bar I see is like a black hole sucking me in with immeasurable gravity.

The bottom line is that I drink beer because I love it. I love the incredible variety, the camaraderie, and the pair of rose-colored glasses it always seems to place on my face. Conversely, I wish I didn’t drink because…….well…..you know.