The few, the proud, the drunks?

Many times over the last 25 years people who have heard that I no longer choose to be a drunkard of epic proportions have said, "Congratulations or You must be very proud or Very few people have that type of willpower." While all of these sentiments are nice and certainly genuine they do make me wonder. What exactly am I supposed to be proud of again?

This is one of the great tricks the addict or drunkard likes to play. When you quit drinking (this can be any vice but alcohol was my favorite so I will use that for the rest of this post) the people who know you best and know how badly you needed to quit will pour the adulation on you. And it feels good. Even to a hard ass like me the praise makes you smile. Then you go a few weeks and nobody is that impressed anymore. You are not the star of the show. Much like getting drunk and losing a car gets you attention so does stopping drinking. So what does any good wet brained drunk do when he isn't the attraction anymore? He gets hammered.

Truth be told once I quit drinking I became like every other normal, hard working American. Now I am just doing what most people do anyway. And I am to be applauded? Way to go, you didn't destroy any one's property or make an ass out of yourself today. Doesn't sound right, does it? The real trick that myself and the few and the proud did (apologies to the Marines) was to admit we were weaker than whatever our vice was. Most people don't congratulate you for being weak. But that is what leads to success. Winners never quit, doesn't work with drunks. Nor does thinking. My brilliant brain convinced me day after day, drink after drink, fight after fight, felony after felony, that I did not have a drinking problem. And I didn't. I could drink for days and weeks and months on end. What I couldn't do was stop. Until I gave up. Quit. Admitted defeat.

The reason this came to mind is I am approaching the day I first had any success quitting drinking. 26 years ago on the 14th of this month. And the further along I get the more I feel the need to share some of my thoughts in the hope it might actually help someone else. Not many people get to hear that it's okay to quit. To give up. But for some of us it's the only way to win.

Till next.........

Till next.......

Everybody knows clowns are creepy but......

Do they really need to be executed? 2 clowns in full make up were found shot in the head on the Mexico side of the border near El Paso Texas. Most people do think that clowns are a little disturbing but the punishment seems a bit over the top. The bigger question here is really more about what kind of neighbors we have to the South of us. How bad off is Mexico?

Let's face it, we all have either had a horrible neighbor or been one ourselves. Personally I have been both. Back in my youth my apartment would spew out rock and roll at a decibel level Ted Nugent would envy. Not real good if you lived close and actually needed sleep. Or felt that because you paid rent you should have privacy. But not all my bad neighbor tales are influenced by alcohol. I had been sober many years when I went to walk my dog in the afternoon. I grabbed her leash and we went through the streets of my White Rock lake neighborhood in Dallas. I forgot to put on pants or shorts. Nothing but my Detroit Red Wings boxer shorts and Nike tennis shoes. No one looked me in the eye the whole trip. No one called the police about a man walking a dog and a snake either(I'm telling the story so it is a snake) so apparently no harm was done. Unlike the morning recently when I wandered out on the back porch and broke wind in a most impressive fashion. Only to look over the top of the fence and see a realtor showing the house next door. We made eye contact and she ran to her car. I don't think being flatulent in the morning is fatal but she wasn't chancing it. The house still hasn't sold.

So all this brings us to Mexico. Things are deadly and they are starting to creep over the border and into our states. Arizona is fighting kidnapping and drug running. Texas has had police officers killed and some have dis-appeared. New Mexico is in the same boat. And these folks don't care if you are the police or the press. They are well funded and well trained. So why don't we put up a fence to keep our neighbors out? Good question. Why don't enforce laws on our books already? Good question. (If this is the place where you hypocritical liberals come blabbering about profiling and human rights please get back to me when you start protesting our government telling us what light bulbs to buy, and how much salt I can't put on my non-hydrogenated fat fries that came with my small combo meal without the toy because I'm too stupid as a parent to make sure my kid eats right so you will do it for me. Like any of you give a rats ass about liberty unless it's a Republican in office.) Why don't we use our National Guard troops till we can build a fence. Good question.

Maybe the answer is because both political parties need the open border. For big business it's cheap labor. For Democrats it's a generation of new voters. For Mexicans it's a chance to get out alive. Would both parties put up with a lawless, brutal and ruthless neighbor just for votes and money? Even a dead clown knows the answer to that question.

Till next........

Here's what learned on my Christmas vacation....

If you make a New Years resolution to get healthy and start taking vitamins do not call 911 the first time you pee. A martian has not taken over your bladder, it's just the vitamins.

When putting away all the decorations and lights from the holidays do not ask the kids to put anything in the box marked "toys". This will be the cause of therapy in their adult years.

Whoever said, "It's the thought that counts" never had children. Or was married for more than one Christmas.

The difference between having to beg a child to take a shower and begging them to get out is the age they reach puberty.

American ingenuity is not dead. Come and watch me pack a car for a week long trip with four kids and the wife and I'll show you creative.

Just because you have fond memories of where you grew up does not mean your kids, step kids or your wife will agree. Taking them to a climate that scares penguins may not be a good idea.

Presents that are still in the box do not have the "wow" factor. Kids will try to appear happy (not all of them) but to them it is a box.

This is not a complete list of all the lesson learned over the last three weeks. The best thing I learned was something I already knew. There is no substitute for family and friends. And Jesus is still the reason for the season. Although convincing kids of that is, well, only 354 shopping days left.

Till next.......