From Ralph

[scott]

Fortunately moderate consumption enhances your sense of humour.

Indeed, Ken's repsonses speak for themselves in this regard. :-)

[ken_behrendt]

I guess we all have our addictions in one form or another. Most are benign like the quest for OU/PM. Others can be positive such as regular exercise, quality food (not excess albacore tuna!), and vitamin/mineral supplementation (no, not mega doses). Unfortunately, there are a lot of addictions that are quite destructive to the individual, the family, and society. Excess alcohol consumption is certain way up there on that list. But, one can live without it as has been proven by a billion muslims and a billion buddhists on our planet.

The yearly cost to society from excess alcohol consumption is staggering in terms of lost productivity, medical bills, etc.

Like most problems of an addictive nature, alcoholism tends to creep up slowly on people as they build up a tolerance to the stuff while the negative effects it has on their lives also slowly increases the stress they are feeling that they then feel a need to "unwind" from with a drink. Well, there are other ways to unwind, too. Relaxing activities, quality time with one's family and friends, working on one's latest gravity wheel design, etc.

I would advise anybody who can not pass the two week abstinence test I suggested above should consider getting some help.

According to estimates, only about 10% of all drinkers have a "problem" with it (I suspect that this figure is too low). But, of those 10%, about 90% are beer alcoholics. This brew is plentiful, legal, and still relatively cheap. It is the idea fuel for the addiction prone personality type.


ken

[rlortie]

Hey!

Theres nothing wrong with a little eye opener in the morning to get you going. A couple of mid-morning short shots is acceptable. One before lunch accompanied with one while eating and an extra glass to top off your meal is expected. Mid afternoon calls for a couple of pick-me ups.

Of course one after work is always called for. and then there is the before dinner martini with red wine served with the meal. This is followed with a large brandy with desert. and of course one expects a couple of social drinks in the evening followed by a night-cap.

It' the damn sip, sip, sip, all day long the gets you into trouble!

Ralph

[rlortie]

Father Guffy roared from the pulpit to his parishioners: "The drink has killed millions-- it rots their stomachs and they die in agony. Smoking has killed millions--it coats your lungs! and you die in agony. Overeating and consorting with loose women have also killed millions..."
" 'Scuse me, Father," hollered Reagan from the back, "but what is it that kills the people who live right?

Murphy told Quinn that his wife was driving him to drink. Quinn thinks he's very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.

Question - Why are Irish jokes so simple?
Answer - So the English can understand them

Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced, "Not guilty."
"That's grand!" shouted Reilly. "Does that mean I can keep the money?"

Mrs. Feeney shouted from the kitchen, "Is that you I hear spittin' in the vase on the mantle piece?"
"No," said himself, "but I'm gettin' closer all the time."

Finnegin: My wife has a terrible habit of staying up 'til two o'clock in the morning. I can't break her of it.
Keenan: What on earth is she doin' at that time?
Finnegin: Waitin' for me to come home.

"O'Ryan," asked the druggist, "did that mudpack I gave you improve your wife's appearance?"
"It did surely," replied O'Ryan, "but it keeps fallin' off!"

My mother wanted me to be a priest. Can you imagine giving up your sex life and then once a week people come in to tell you the details and highlights of theirs?

Irish lass customer: "Could I be trying on that dress in the window?"
Shopkeeper: "I'd prefer that you use the dressing room."

[ken_behrendt]

The state I live in (NJ) tends to be one where a lot of alcoholism exists. We have AA groups in every county and, during the holidays, it's almost impossible to get from point A to point B on our major roads without being stopped for a random sobriety check. Heaven help one if the cops find out he's DWI!

I suspect that a lot of alcoholics are actually "self-medicating" with the stuff in an effort to deal with other problems. Of course, alcohol, by itself, is addictive. But, many people get into the addiction in an effort to treat other problems such as insomnia, pain, boredom, loneliness, depression, etc. It's probably the #1 over the counter "medication" available in America.

I always encourage people I know with these problems to seek help elsewhere...and there are legitimate alternatives to trying to get through life in state of continual "buzz".

Yes, we make many jokes about the problem which, unfortunately, tends to minimize its seriousness. Drunks are considered funny, worthy of ridicule, or, paradoxically, somehow hip and "above it all" when it comes to the many routine problems of life.

No one makes jokes about the severe cases (fortunately only a few reach this level...most have quit or died before this happens) who have to go to special clinics to be detoxed. Complete withdraw from the addiction to alcohol can produce almost life threatening symptoms such as hallucinations, agonizing cramps, nausea, and bizarre swings in mood. Thankfully, in recent years there have been developed a plethora of medications that can help somewhat with these consequences of a complete detoxing.

Like I said above...if one can not go completely without an alcoholic beverage for a period of two weeks, then they have some level of addiction whether they can handle the realization or not. And the one characteristic that marks any addiction is that it tends to be progressive in nature over time.


ken

[Fletcher]

Almost anything can be addictive Ken, including tuna fish, as witnessed by you.

Many young males in particular go thru the "nothing in moderation, everything in excess" stage until something comes along to take the focus of themselves & their personal indulgences. This is usually referred to as growing up.

The trick is recognising your personality type & susceptibility to addictive behaviour & caring enough to do something about it b4 its a problem to others. Often it is psychologically based rather than chemically induced, which can be an ongoing battle.

In this part of the world there is no right to sue for personal injury, therefore a relatively low population of lawyers per capita. There is a government agency (ACC) that levies industry & commerce to provide hospitalisation & recovery costs from injury. Often there is no provision for punitive damages. This might seem 'back woods' to you but we tend to live by the doctrine of 'taking personal responsibility' for one's own errors in judgement & actions i.e. if you over indulge on drink you're gonna get a hangover, no good suing the bottler or retailer. Same applies to fast foods etc.

[Michael]

Hey!

Theres nothing wrong with a little eye opener in the morning to get you going. A couple of mid-morning short shots is acceptable. One before lunch accompanied with one while eating and an extra glass to top off your meal is expected. Mid afternoon calls for a couple of pick-me ups.

Of course one after work is always called for. and then there is the before dinner martini with red wine served with the meal. This is followed with a large brandy with desert. and of course one expects a couple of social drinks in the evening followed by a night-cap....



Ralph

Hahahahaha.....................:)

[Michael]

Ken are you an alcoholic? I ask because you said you went to a few a.a. meetings.

[Jonathan]

One of Jay Leno's Headlines this Monday featured this closing statement from a defendent:
"[Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,] Please find me not guilty of the crimes I've committed."

[Michael]

Ken I hope you didn't take that as offensive. You said you went to a few a.a. meetings and I don't know if you are saying it's because you are an alcoholic or for some other reason.

[ken_behrendt]

Michael asks:

Ken are you an alcoholic? I ask because you said you went to a few a.a. meetings.

NO! Thank heavens. However, as a youth I had several family members and neighbors who had a "problem" with alcohol at the time and I got to see, up close, the devastation it caused in their lives.

In college I was peer pressured into imbibing at a local pub so that I could "fit in" with my particular group. I never really drank that much because my first reaction to beer was a negative one...basically, I could not stand the taste or smell of the stuff. Later and older, I would usually select a mixed drink at a party and then nurse it for an hour or two just so I could look like I fit in with the rest of the crowd. I never exceeded one drink and thereafter stuck to diet soda. I also found that I did not like the way I felt when I got a "buzz" on. Why would anybody "like" the feeling of being sick and dizzy?

During the mid '80's and throughout the '90's I was active in various church based self-help groups in my county. Although not an alcoholic, I would often accompany friends or acquaintances with a "problem" to a local AA meeting. None of these people had ever been to any kind of support group before in their lives, so having me offer to attend with them helped them overcome the intimidation factor involved so that they could finally begin the process of putting their lives back on the right track. I had many people thank me for helping them get help.

Quite unfortunately, there are whole industries in this world based on taking advantage of people's need to "fit in" with their peer group, "prove" themselves able to "hold their liquor", escape from reality, and other such nonsense. Like gambling, the alcoholic is subtly led to believe that the substance is innoculous and a necessary and expected part of social activity. The truth is that alcohol is a TOXIN that a person's body does everything it can to get rid of! Maybe people should listen to their bodies...they could have a lot more "quality" years that way...


ken

P.S.

Fletcher wrote:

Almost anything can be addictive Ken, including tuna fish, as witnessed by you.

Not quite. I was never addicted to albacore tuna fish which, when mercury free, is one of the best foods a health conscious person can consume. Now that I have discovered that one ounce of shelled walnuts provides the same amount of heart protective omega-3 fatty acids as a serving of fish, I don't care if I ever eat fish again!

[Fletcher]

Good for you Ken. The point is that some personality types exhibit addictive repetitive behaviour, that's not chemically induced. That could be a liking for jelly beans & I'm sure to many of them would lead to problems. Some of us are probably addicted to this discussion board :)

[ken_behrendt]

Fletcher...

I quite agree. Alcoholism is a complex disorder and has many facets to it. Some people might have a genetic tendency toward the problem. Perhaps a dose of alcohol somehow stimulates the release of dopamine or serotonin in their brain's that produces a temporary elevation in mood. Then, as the effects of the alcohol wear off and they begin to come down from their high, they can not resist the urge to redose themselves to try to maintain the feeling. This is probably why it is estimated that only about 10% of all drinkers develop a "problem" with the stuff (although I suspect that the percentage is several times higher).

Most problem drinkers, however, started out as "social" drinkers in their youths. This is a time of life that can be turbulent for adolescents and young adults as they try to find their identity and carve a niche in life. There is the pressure to "fit in", have "status", and "prove" maturity. The alcohol industry is well aware of these drives and does as much as it can through its advertising to exploit them and get as many young people on the path to using their products as possible. Occasionally, to deflect criticism, they will run an ad exhorting people to drink "responsibly" or to use "designated" drivers for others who get drunk at parties.

My advice to anybody who drinks is to make sure that he is, in fact, a "social" drinker and is actually using the product "moderately". As I said above, if one can not go without their favorite form of alcohol for two weeks straight without cheating, then he has a problem with some level of addiction to it whether or not he wants to face up to it.

As I learned over the years, some alcoholics never really "hit rock bottom" where they have to face the extent and nature of their addiction. They manage to "cruise" just above rock bottom for a long time. In the process, they can make life miserable for others around them and never really reach their own fullest potentials. It's really so sad, but seems to be the unfortunate nature of life on Earth.

At most AA groups I am aware of, they council former problem drinkers who have been "dry" for several months to not make the mistake of thinking that they can resume being a "social" drinker again. In principle, it sounds workable and that one can put, say, a limit of one drink per day on their consumption and stick with it. Sooner or later, a stressful day will come along and they will be "off the wagon" and right back to their former self-destructive consumption levels.

I have been at AA meeting where I heard people that had been dry for 10 years state that they have to "fight" the "craving" for booze everyday!


ken

[rlortie]

Fletcher,

<Some of us are probably addicted to this discussion board :)>

I will have you know! I fit that description. And I quite sure I am not alone. I do not talk about It, as there are to many posts that are a waste of time. After all what good would it do to stand up in a gathering of friends and or family and say, "My name is Ralph and I am addicted to
www.besslerwheel.com" I would probably get some weird looks.

Any body out there interested in starting a BWA (Bessler wheel Anonymous).. LOL

Ralph

[racer270]

Any body out there interested in starting a BWA (Bessler wheel Anonymous). i will join up.

i think we have better then 30 members that need to join, are there doo$ that need to be paid, and who is the president and or c.e.o. ....?
gordy