The sicker the alcoholic the more amusing their response to my attending AA, however one thing I learned was all these people I was CERTAIN were alcoholics when I got sober, weren't.

My father, who drank 40-50 beers a day, all the guys I partied with etc, the ones I was SURE were alcoholics ended up growing up and moderating, sure, many did end up sober next to me, but I was wrong way more then I was right. My father quit for 10 years, now drinks moderately (bastard) (So I tried it after ten years, didn't work, that ^$#@^$%##7)

When I initially got sober all these people would come up to me and explain their drinking to me (especially when I was still their bartender) so it was so refreshing when my friend Don comes over one morning, sits down, pulls a few beers out of his backpack, a bong and a sack o' weed, he cracks a beer, takes a ripper, and offers me a bong hit saying "I know you quit drinking, want a rip?"

I said "no thanks and he got this delighted smile and was like "woooot, more for me wooo hoooooo"

Now this seems counter-intuitive, but I can't tell you how relieved I was, first he was honest, second he didn't try to explain his drinking, lie about it or justify it, it was just so refreshing to have someone be honest.

Now to all indications he was an alcoholic drug addict right? beer and pot in the morning, blah blah (we were in our early 20's at this time, and i lived in a party culture, bartenders that were attending college)

No, 20 years later he has a wife and family, he's a coach and has a passel of kids he's very very involved with, and he rarely parties because he grew up (yes dean that's him in my profile pic showing his boobies, that was a long time ago lol)

I have learned in my experience that how much someone drinks isn't indicative of whether they are an alcoholic or not, it's what happens when they drink, and how much they lie about it, both to themselves and others

On the other hand, the people who approached me and attempted to justify their drinking and lied about their own, most of them are trudging next to me in AA now 20 years later lol

But I remember once in Mexico being trapped on a sailboat with my stepfather watching him polish off his second quart of tequila and second case of beer telling me "how good AA is for people like you"

On another occasion I went to a bachelor party in the woods for 3 days with all the guys I partied with in my teens and all through my 20's (I was in my late thirties at this point) and I remember thinking if a group of people were ever alcoholics it would be this one, these were the guys I got drunk with every day at lunch in high school

Not one of them was an alcoholic, every single one of them had grown up, however, in an amusing twist of fate, my friend who was a professor at a well known University at the time was marrying a girl from my AA fellowship, when I went to the wedding I ran into about 30-40 people I knew (they lived 50 miles away, this was a pretty big coincidence) anyhow, since then he has become an alcoholic (I have friends that go camping, snowboarding etc quite a bit, he's started hiding booze, going on one run on the slopes and spending the rest of the day in the bar, gets shitfaced every time etc.)

So here's this poor girl that gets sober, marries a normie, and five years later he is a full blown alcoholic, which by the way I saw happen to about 30% of the people I got sober with, they married and reproduced with either sober alcoholics that relapsed or just straight up married alcoholics, many of us end up in 2 fellowships

I was talking to a high school friend the other day, and he said "You know Andrew, out of our whole group, you were the last one I expected to be the alcoholic, we'd get shitfaced drunk every day, we'd all cut school and keep partying, you always went back to class"

Anyhow, get used to funny stories from people who still drink and lie about it, and tragic ones with the same people later on if you stay sober.

After years I am now like Elvis Costello, "I used to be disgusted, now I'm just amused"



-- Edited by AGO on Saturday 19th of June 2010 10:55:55 AM

janet wrote:

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One alcoholic friend told me that he'd tried AA and it made him thirsty. LOL Any excuse.

J

---

umm.....

you ever get stuck in an outpatient program or have to attend AA while still drinking?

it does make ya thirsty, I had to get SHITHOUSED after every meeting and group, all these stupid sick people whining and lying and whinging and talking about drinking drinking drinking

a 3.0 blood alcohol level was absolutely required after listening to their shit







funny, went back to the same meetings a few years later and all those people were gone, and they been replaced by really nice smart people, I wonder what ever happened to them........

 

I remember the first time I had to attend an drinking/driving outpatient program, I pulled an all nighter, drank about 50 beers did a bunch of mushrooms and Bolivian marching powder, had sex with an anonymous stranger, (so had the whole same clothes next day walk of shame thing going on, well I was driving so it was actually the ride of pride, anywaaaaay)  as the sun came up the only way to face this horrific nightmare was to drink a six pack on the way there, eat more mushrooms and do a few lines in the parking lot. (I was 21)

Guy gave this huge speech (intake) about not drinking 24 hours before blah blah snore but all the sudden as he was walking around he ended up in front of me saying "I think someone here has been drinking, and I think it was .......YOU"

and he frickin lunges at me with a breathalyzer, I was like WTF ja accuse MOI?

so i blow into the thing, it's 2.4 the class is ROLLING (it's 9AM) he's like Jesus Christ, when did you have your last drink, so I told him drank a six pack on the way there just so I could listen to his bullshit

the class was dying

he ended up becoming a pretty good friend and was the one who actually 12 stepped me, it didn't take for 6 years, but he planted the seed

-- Edited by AGO on Saturday 19th of June 2010 11:30:23 AM

-- Edited by AGO on Saturday 19th of June 2010 11:32:28 AM

This thread is getting hysterically funny..

Before my Sobriety kicked in for real, I was mandated by my own husband, lol, "If you want to stay married to me, you MUST go to AA".

So to just keep him quiet, I did go about three times a week, I would stop at the liquor store before, and take my litle bottle of Brady in my purse for later after I got home and husband would be sleeping...and usually decided on the way home that what could be better than one half pint, when two would be so much better, to help me sleep......

I would go, and had this firm understanding of two things:

If this people really were NOT drinking, then they were NOT Alcoholics in the first place....Alcoholics drink...that IS what they do....

Then I decided on the second choice, yep, probably are alcoholics like me...but just sit here lying thru their teeth, and positive too that they had plans to drink it up after the meeting, just like me....

So I then thought to myself....well I might be an alcoholic, but I am not a LIAR like all these other people.....what a shame to be a drunk and a liar too....

So I was always in the clear, for my husband demanded that I go to AA, never did he say I had to quit drinking....

It all made sense to me, and I was a very smart person.....
as I have just illustrated to all of you....

Keep the laughs going....please....this is a very refreshing Thread....

.

One alcoholic friend told me that he'd tried AA and it made him thirsty. LOL Any excuse

That is hilarious! Well that's a new one on me!!!!!! Brilliant!!!!!!

Live and Let Live I guess.... everything in it's own time.. and it is a program of attraction, not promotion