Last couple of days a few things struck me. Firstly I saw in the English press that the BMJ (British Medical Journal) stated that wine drinking is a massive problem for people these days because they don’t know it’s a drug. They see it as a treat. Also I’ve had a few people visit the wife and I who don’t drink (hence the picture of the table above with no wine glasses on it! In Italy! In the middle of Barbaresco! I KNOW!). Those two things together got me thinking about whether I’m just another drug addict?!
Well firstly if you don’t understand alcohol is a drug, then chances are you also can’t tie shoelaces, or get dressed in the morning, or things like that. We should all be a bit careful when drinking, and as I’m getting older I REALLY notice when I’ve had a couple too many.
Secondly, am I an addict? I don’t think I am. I genuinely think I could give up alcohol tomorrow if I had to. I did it for 6 months once when my health went a bit downhill, and it really wasn’t too bad. I’m just really interested in it. I don’t just gulp wine down. I look at it, sniff it, taste it, check out how it is with food, all that stuff. Ok it might make me seem a complete knob at times, but surely not an addict?!
And lastly, what do non-drinkers think of us who love our wine? Is it the way I think about smoking? I’m a non-smoker who can’t stand people smoking. It’s not like some moral “oh, it’s bad for you!” or anything like that. It’s more that it just stinks so bad! It’s just disgustingly anti-social. But then if I get drunk, is that anti-social too? I guess it depends on what kind of drunk you are. As I said, I don’t drink to get drunk, but I’m lucky that when I am drunk, I’m a happy drunk. Maybe if I was an aggressive drunk I should find another vice to be getting on with.
I’m going to let myself off the hook here and say I’m not that bad. I can do without if I need to, and I do have respect for it so I don’t go too far.
Having said that, I think it’s about time to open a bottle for the evening…
Cheers
Mike
