"THE THING"

I've always thought of myself as the world's healthiest person. Sure, I'm a bit (well, more than a bit) overweight as well as having other small issues, but, overall, I do pretty well.

Except for this one "thing". And it's a biggie - I'll leave it at that.

"The thing", as I will now refer to it, rears its ugly head from time to time and causes me great misery. I am on the downside of such an episode right now and this one was a doozie. Painful? You bet.

I read that alcohol exacerbates the occurrence and severity of "the thing" so I decided to eliminate alcohol from my diet. No more happy hours on the back deck, no more enjoying a glass of wine with good friends, no more glasses of beer while watching Seahawks games.

Pink lemonade, here I come. Oh, joy.

It's not that I drink that much; but I DO enjoy a beer or two each day. I have declared that over. As Bob Hope once said:

"Give me a grape soda...in a dirty glass."

Medical marijuana was a possibility but a daily happy hour consisting of lighting up a joint doesn't have the same appeal as a cold Port Townsend Brewing Company IPA.

Alas, it's the end of an era. An era that saw me drinking beer at Expo 67 in Montreal, of having a few cold ones with the guys in the barracks, of college keggers, of Coronas on the beach in Mexico, of sampling the various ales in England and Germany. The list is endless.

I read in this morning's business section that the brewing industry is fearing a downturn in sales volume. They are scared and they should be.

I'm going to take a break from writing this column to take my meds, which so far have been unsuccessful at taming "The Thing". I'll be back in a few hours.

~~~~~~~~~~

Alright, I'm back. Looks like the meds have finally kicked in. The pain is gone.

Maybe that decision to quit drinking was premature. After all, I didn't really give the meds a chance to work. Maybe I was a bit impatient; I've been known to be a bit impulsive at times. Besides, the brewing industry needs the business.

Ultimately, quitting drinking was a stupid thing to do.

It was the longest 12 hours of my life.


Readers, enjoy your day.