Drinking & Driving

[RALFFERS 0]

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There are some people I know that don't drink at all hough. That's like living life without ever getting a sammwich & a bj - how (more importantly why) would you do that [to yourself] ???

there are lotas and lots of reasons.
I dont touch booze of any sort. either myself or someone else would be seriously injured or dead if i still drank booze. 17.5 years and not a drop

I'm not negating that some people shouldn't drink, Squeak, I'm just saying I couldn't do it - that is cut off alcohol intake completely. Kuddos to you man! - really.
On another note...I'm not sure I believe the "once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic" theory.

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

[Squeak 17]

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There are some people I know that don't drink at all hough. That's like living life without ever getting a sammwich & a bj - how (more importantly why) would you do that [to yourself] ???

there are lotas and lots of reasons.
I dont touch booze of any sort. either myself or someone else would be seriously injured or dead if i still drank booze. 17.5 years and not a drop

I'm not negating that some people shouldn't drink, Squeak, .

Actualy that's pretty much exactly what you were doing

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[RALFFERS 0]

I stand corrected...

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of

[LongWayToFall 0]

My friend's dad is only going to have it on for a year or something, u can bet once it comes off, he is getting destroyed. Sometimes with certain chemicals, alcohol included, you reach a point where there is no going back, and once you stop you have to stay that way. Its best to find balance with what you do, and not exceed your limitations. Example, cigarettes. I used to smoke, and now that I have quit, I cannot start smoking again or I will be back to a pack a day in no time. I should have stuck with the occasional smoke once a week or something. Then I could still smoke without problems. (although smokin is nasty)

[Shotgun 1]

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My friend's dad is only going to have it on for a year or something, u can bet once it comes off, he is getting destroyed. Sometimes with certain chemicals, alcohol included, you reach a point where there is no going back, and once you stop you have to stay that way. Its best to find balance with what you do, and not exceed your limitations. Example, cigarettes. I used to smoke, and now that I have quit, I cannot start smoking again or I will be back to a pack a day in no time. I should have stuck with the occasional smoke once a week or something. Then I could still smoke without problems. (although smokin is nasty)

I think it's more a case of certain chemicals affecting different people in different ways. With the cigarette example, I've smoked on and off throughout my life, and yet I've never felt physically addicted to nicotine. Sometimes I smoked a pack a day, sometimes maybe one cigarette a month, but it wasn't a progressive thing for me where I couldn't go back to smoking occasionally after I had been smoking heavily. For me, my smoking habit was comparable to biting my fingernails, as far as how "addicted" I was to it. But obviously for some people that's not the case.

But maybe you're right in that once a person has acquired a physical dependence on a substance there is no way to return to (consistently) using it in moderation. And I guess, for whatever reason, I just never acquired the physical dependence on nicotine that many smokers acquire. Doesn't make me any smarter than the people who get physically addicted, and it doesn't mean that I treated cigarettes any more responsibly than they did; we're just wired differently, or something like that.

[LongWayToFall 0]

You definitely make some points. I do use other tobacco products, such as hookah etc. And this does scratch the same nerve that cigarettes do, but something about cigarettes is different. Its like this lingering thing in the back of your mind, and while you are inside working on something, you remember that you smoke and its a perfect time for a break outside. I think that for you maybe, even though the chemical addiction was there, you ignored it and never picked up the mental addiction. You also never said to yourself "I should quit these things." once you do that, you are admitting quilt and admitting to yourself that you need to quit. After that point, it becomes a struggle of self will, you versus the chemical. Since you never had any quilt, you could return to the chemical easily, because you never had problems with it. Compare this to the drinker who has gotten reckless and has a serious issue. Once you have beaten your foe, you must stay above it, or else you are giving up on yourself and your life. Its all about balance, and you must see the beast coming before it's your enemy

[Shotgun 1]

I don't think I ever had a "chemical addiction" to cigarettes. Perhaps a mental addiciton in the form of a "habit," but again, it was similar (for me) to biting my fingernails. And I did say to myself that it was stupid and that I should quit (just like biting my fingernails), but I didn't necessarily quit at that point. But when I did decide to quit, it was pretty easy, and I think that's the difference between me and someone who is physically (or chemically) addicted to it.

And alcohol is similar. There are people who drink very heavily at some point in their lives (many college kids, for example), and then at some point they just start drinking in moderation. But there are others who start drinking heavily and are never able to return to consistently drinking in moderation.

Anyhow, the only thing I am sure of regarding addiction is that it's a disorder that is not well understood as of yet.

[RALFFERS 0]

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My friend's dad is only going to have it on for a year or something, u can bet once it comes off, he is getting destroyed. Sometimes with certain chemicals, alcohol included, you reach a point where there is no going back, and once you stop you have to stay that way. Its best to find balance with what you do, and not exceed your limitations. Example, cigarettes. I used to smoke, and now that I have quit, I cannot start smoking again or I will be back to a pack a day in no time. I should have stuck with the occasional smoke once a week or something. Then I could still smoke without problems. (although smokin is nasty)

I think it's more a case of certain chemicals affecting different people in different ways. With the cigarette example, I've smoked on and off throughout my life, and yet I've never felt physically addicted to nicotine. Sometimes I smoked a pack a day, sometimes maybe one cigarette a month, but it wasn't a progressive thing for me where I couldn't go back to smoking occasionally after I had been smoking heavily. For me, my smoking habit was comparable to biting my fingernails, as far as how "addicted" I was to it. But obviously for some people that's not the case.

But maybe you're right in that once a person has acquired a physical dependence on a substance there is no way to return to (consistently) using it in moderation. And I guess, for whatever reason, I just never acquired the physical dependence on nicotine that many smokers acquire. Doesn't make me any smarter than the people who get physically addicted, and it doesn't mean that I treated cigarettes any more responsibly than they did; we're just wired differently, or something like that.

I had much the same experience; when I used to smoke I would only have a few day - but when I would go to Poland to visit family (where everybody & their mama' smoked) I would smoke as much as 2 packs a day. Then back down to my norm. I eventually quit altogether because of issues with breathing; scared the crap out of me! - but everything is alright now.

By the same token, I like to drink in moderation every now & again; things can get a bit wild at the DZ some weekends - but we all know how that goes. Anyways my point is I could never see myself addicted to alcohol, despite the fact that my dad was an alcoholic & I'm like him in many ways. Just as in the case of smoking; I never could drink every day for the sake of a "buzz"...

Dialogue/commentary between Divot, Twardo & myself -

"from your first Oshkosh when the three of us were riding to or from one of