Be Careful What You Wish For

Then, as now, the world was in the hands of those drunk with power.

What hooligan put ice in that whisky?

Ain't it something?  I am sound asleep and my phone rings, waking me. 
Right now, I'm on west coast time.  I could have used some more uninterrupted
sleep but some inebriated gentleman tried leaving a wake up call with the hotel
voicemail system.  Unfortunately for him he left the request with me by
neglecting to mash (as we say in Georgia) the # key.  How do I know he
was inebriated?  Years of experience with voice recognition, the slurred speech,
slow thought process, a foster brooksish quality to his voice.  How do I know he
is a gentleman?  He polished off his wake up call request with the magic word
please when he left the message on my voicemail.  Unfortunately
for him, the hotel did not get his request and he won't have his early morning
wake up call.  Perhaps he will use the extra sleep, wisely.  Should we mandate
the prohibition of using hotel voicemail by (what's the proper term for an
inebriated gentleman?...oh, yes I remember it well...) drunks? 
 
Just thought I'd record the event for the village chronicles before I write
it off to just another travel nightmare.  There are worse things that could have
happened but we all know that all the worse things happen to Stoney.

G'night Mr.Mrlotlot (How about them Rangers!), G'night Miss Hazel,
G'night Floyd, G'night John boy wherever you are.

Everything in moderation is the code to live by for those who like the taste of alcohol .  I don't drink.  I do know many people who hol thier liquor well and far too many that turn nasty after just a few drinks.

If an Intelligent, Reasonable, and Respectful person does not like Beverage Alcohol, that person simply does not drink ...
 
If an unIntelligent, unReasonable, and totally lacking in Respect for himself and others person does not like Beverage Alcohol , that person wants to get all kinds of Laws/Rules/Ordinances and Prohibitions enacted to Outlaw Beverage Alcohol, so that NO ONE can have it ... and thus avoids being shown up for the despicable, Lite-in-The Loafers, Liberal Democrat, Snivelling, Bed-Wetting Weenie-Wanker that he is ... WE all know who those retromengent little pukes are ... and they KNOW that we know ... We hope they get every thing that is coming to them ... and I hope all of their Mothers-in-Law move in with 'em ... Li'l Liza Jane was just frustrated because her attitude was so ugly, she couldn't get laid ...  A Bad Attitude will uglify even the most beautiful woman to be found .......
 
Same thing with Guns ... If You're scared of Guns, DON'T OWN One !!! But, God Help You if You try and take MY Guns away ....... Free Men Own Guns, Slaves Don't .......  Free Men Enjoy a Drink Now and Then ... Slaves and Wankers Don't ...
 
Thats About As Pleasant As I Can Put It ... Political Correctitude is NOT my Long Suit, and I see what it has done to destroy the Moral Fibre of this Country ...
 
Spealing of this Country ... George Washington was NOT a Surveyor ... that was a lie invented by a group of Presbyterians in Margaretville ....... G.Wash was a Distiller of Fine Whiskeys, both Bourbon and Rye (he was in jail in England for not paying the Crown Tax on the Booze he was making and selling ...) It is his very own Recipe that is the basis of the elixer that is marketted under the name of, Buffalo Trace , today ....... Any wonder why there WAS NO 18th Amendment, when the Founders wrote the Original Laws ???
 
I'm going for a little Coffee Royale .......
 
God never said not to drink ... What He DID say was, "Do Not Be DRUNK With Wine ..."  There are over a dozen Scriptures in The Good Book wherein God exhort'd us TO drink ...

The war on drug is a poltical chess game.  Its no longer a matter of just border control, as people are able to grow their own and create their own in the kitchen.  Better living through chemistry has  become a science fiction like nightmare when you hear of college students turning their apartments into meth labs.  We live in dangerous times. 

Prohibition did't seem to stop anything but good hygiene as people used their bathtubs to make gin.

As my father once told me "never trust a man who doesn't drink."   I think he actually meant a man who doesn't hold his alcohol well.  Like, Jalopkin, he believed that if you don't like alcoholic beverages you don't drink.  I you do drink its your responsibilty to know when to quit.  And its your responsibility to stay in control of your actions and not abuse yourself or the people around you.

Jalopkin- I agree with you.  The Bible, both the Old and New Testmament warn us not to get drunk.  Paul the apostile wrote in his letters that a little wine was good for the stomach.  Alcolohol had medicinal qualities.  Everyone knows someone who's grandmother said " a shot of whiskey will knock that cold right out of your.'   Or had a grandfather who used whiskey, applied to the gums before drinking , for a toothache.
 
I heard that in the 60's there was a liquid vitamin suppliment for older people called "geritol" that part alcohol.  My mother told me that my granfather drank it to start the day with a buzz.
 
Even some over the counter cold remedies have enough alcohol to make it unsafe to drive after use.
 
Bottom line- Alcohol isn't all bad if you DRINK RESPONSIBLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then as now I am so tired of one "do gooder" who feels the need to control the world.  Then as now, it simply is not the responsibility of Father Government to decide what is and what isn't good for us to ingest or smoke.  Intelligemt, adults are given the facts and choose to then continue bad habits in the face of them.  People drink too much, people use drugs, people eat too much and prohibiting them has only given rise to really clever criminals.  Yes, Julia, Geritol, Coca Cola, a lot of cough medicines all had alcohol or more in them.         The laws against marijuana, for instance -- medicial marijuana is not as affective as the real thing, I'm told, by my doctor, who then told me if I could get it, use it, it would help.  So no, prohibition didn't work, laws make it more attractive, and one person, the person starting it all who could have handled it in another way, feels powerful.  Besides, as I told my husband who rarely drinks (we are so incompatible -- fifty years of incompatability :)   ) he has no idea how good I look when he drinks a little.     Again, do everything in moderation.

As usual Ivan, we agree.

Ivan, Julia…what’s good enough for Jesus is good enough for me, but I agree, everything in moderation. Still, I think there should be more control over serving alcohol to the young. This week, I was saddened to read about a 21 year old here, someone I saw growing up from 13, being incarcerated for an attempted robbery with violence. It is his second jail sentence in less than a year. The memories of him playing the guitar with my boys in church and generally hanging out with them is especially poignant when I compare how his life has tracked so differently from my boys. In the report, he said he was unaware of what he was doing as he was drunk from cask wine or “goon” as the young call it here. It is particularly lethal, especially when the kids start mixing their drinks. Sadly he is a very pretty boy and I dread to think of the fate that awaits him in prison.

Hey...does moonshine still exists? Hazel, you might be familiar with palm wine in Africa? In my part of the world, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Borneo, Malaysia etc, , it goes by various names but we tend to generically call it the way Indians do, that is, “toddy”. It is the sap collected from the flower of a palm tree and then, fermented. When I was young, there was an Indian family living behind us and when the husband drank, he would become violent and the drama that ensued would often look like something out of Bollywood. We would switch off our lights and watch, until the family got tired or, the police arrived. I understand the Indian authorities, to dispel illegal toddy have pushed for inexpensive "Indian Made Foreign Liquor" (doesn’t that just make you smile?), to the chagrin of local toddy tappers. IMFL is western style hard liquor, whisky, rum, etc…made in India

Andy, that bit about your husband's look is hilarious...I believe it's called the Beer Effect

Andy - I'll remember to choose men who drink just enough to think I look good without make-up.   Thanks for the tip.

I know I should not, but I always do laugh at Shock! Horror! pics in the newspaper of English suburban houses in very respectable streets that are choc-a-bloc with dope plants, huge bright lights, extractor systems, irrigation systems and really scary electrics. Sad to say - where is Jax? Many of these "farms" are tended by illegally trafficked kids who suffer a great deal of physical and emotional abuse.

Spring~ We were not in a palm tree district. The local brew was banana beer with so much sugar cane added the ABV got very impressive.

Hazel.....well I never!! Seems nothing will keep a man from his drink....

Anyone seen these yoga poses by drunks?
http://www.serradinho.com/Blog/funny-yoga-for-drunks.htm/

..or the Drunken Master Kung Fu? ...This one by Jackie Chan..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXtrk3GgG8A

Some choose not to drink. Some are made so unwell by alcohol, that they cannot drink.
Some drink only occasionally and in moderation while others drink regularly in moderation.
Some binge and others drink early, often and to excess.
Those who present family, financial, social and safety issues due to over consumption are drunks: alcohol addicts and problems at every level of their lives.
Much less dangerous but no less annoying are the persons always on the lookout for another thing to add to the long list of things that  'we don't do.'
One of the things that they do not do is make very pleasant company.
People will do what people will do and it is an unwise government that imagines that it can control behavior and consumption… recreational drug (pot) use being yet another example.
Creating criminals ought not be the focus of government… they generally have enough in their midst to worry about.

I've got time for one quick answer to a
question.
Jax has been busy and although she would be the
last
to show it...for those who don't know it, this is what
she has been doing.
 
http://nohumantrafficking.org/
 

Very impressive for a little old lady and her
copilot.
Yes it's about Prohibition, but it's
valid.
She's worth a visit from time to time.
 
A good day to all.  It's
showtime.

"You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses - and the pig got up and slowly walked away." Can anybody find & post that song? Seems to be what everybody is going with today, 'tho Be Careful What You Wish For gives us a broader canvas.

{AOLOS Thank you so much for the link to JAX's organization. I am so impressed and humbled by her cause and her clear dedication. Makes some of our conversations quite little.

PAOLOS, sorry for stupie typo on your name.

{AOLOS ~
Our Jax is also a proud new grandma of an adorable little girl.

It just occurred to me… the cooking during prohibition must have been horrible. I can't imagine putting a meal together… alone.

paolos~ Jax will probably do unspeakable things to you when she sees you called her a little old lady. I once had to give up my bedroom for a little old lady who was on a speaking tour of the UK. Gladys Aylward. Talk about little! Even shorter than me. But one powerful woman.

 
 Dang, it is Balloons Around the World Day and once again, I was up all night writing for nothing. 

Ohio's gun lobby muscled through a law allowing holders of a concealed carry permit to bring loaded handguns into bars, provided they don't personally consume alcohol. Previously bringing a firearm into a bar was a felony, carrying up to 2 years in prison, even if the person could carry outside (plain view, carrier not disqualified by criminal or mental health history). Establishments have the right to post signs stating that THEIR particular establishment excludes anybody (other than law enforcement officers) from carrying a concealed firearm inside, even with a permit. My senior partner in a tavern in an entertainment district in Cincinnati met with me and the other junior partner, and we decided that the risks outweighed any potential advantages, so the signs went up. I'd be interested in hearing what this diverse & bright audience thinks, pro and con.....

Bert ~
The idea of the designated driver has always been interesting and I did it once bemusedly watching the degrees of inebriation assert themselves.

The non-drinking designated shooter is really fascinating; "Wha-wha-where is - burp- Earl ? Earl, shoot this man. Thank you, thank you very much."

The old vitamin-enhancer/licker-upper was called Hadacol. At the time old folk would ponder how it got its name to which the answer was "Well they hadacol it something". Don't worry. Anytime I can share a nugget like that with you, I will.
 
Paolos/Stoney~ Thanks for the update on  JaxZ and her activities...what a lady!

We just finished watching the new Ken Burns documentary on this very topic. We learned so much about the history of the country and how the topic of liquor consumption shaped politics and culture for nearly a hundred years before the 18th amendment was passed.

What I found fascinating is American's strong love/hate relationship with alcohol was almost a given, considering that the country was populated with immigrants. In the big cities, the bar was the local club, where men could speak their language with their brethren. It was their safe haven in a new and confusing world. The booze made them feel strong and in control and unfortunately, they went home to their unhappy wives, crying children, and cramped tenements and took out their frustrations there. It's only natural that the women would organize against this 'evil' that took their children's food and all hope for getting ahead.

It was women who started the movement and women who ended it - a wealthy NY society matron got fed up with the crime and the hypocrisy and took care of business!

I believe that the 21st amendment was passed in only a few short months, though the state of Oklahoma and some scattered counties held on to their dry status for quite some time afterward.

It has been said that you should never marry a man until you've seen him drunk at least once. Some people get happy and lovey, some people get violent, some people become sad and morose - your inhibitions are gone, you let it all hang out. Better to know ahead of time!

What would you like to drink?  No, wait... Stoney said it best, "What's floating your ice cubes?" 
 
Yukon Jack and a slice of lime, please. 
 
Conductor, keep TheSepia train rolling.

My one and only silly fridge magnet says "I like cooking with wine, sometimes I even put it in the food."

Shandonista ~
You're right again. I swear for some people it is like taking an a--hole pill and yet, they keep doing it.

Funny thing: somebody sent over an occasional bottle of Pedro Ximénez sherry after I helped him write his own obituary.
When he died about two years later than expected, I looked into buying some and found it at $1,054 the case. Yikes!
The most recent way less expensive bottle we tried was so vile I apologized to the drain I poured it down.    
My expensive preferences in single malts, small batch bourbons and insanely spendy sherries are offset by a penchant for really cheap wines and an aversion to the rest.

Penn ~
Wow, at 100 proof, it wouldn't take many of those…

The host of a business segment on talking head cable had an employment expert on and asked if she could clear up the confusion between temporary and seasonal jobs.
If it were true that that confusion existed, it could explain unemployment all by itself.



okay, we have a designated driver,up front in the sepiatrain choo choo thingy, so, who'all wants to be designated drunks back i the lounge area? Dancing is allowed, but you must ask permission for karioke...( a three page form will be provided, with appropriate answers required in triplicate...)...the coin operated mirror has the alcohol sensor installed, to make you look taller,younger,and more poised,after but a small sample of your favorite libation

So somebody other than me must have watched Ken Burns' most excellent documentary "Prohibition" on PBS the last three nights. 
 
Fascinating, as is all his stuff.
 
In the closing segment of the documentary, Pete Hamill, writer, summed up those bad old Dry Days something like this: "I haven't had a drink in 35 years.  I haven't craved liquor, I haven't missed it, I don't ever think about it -- but if a law was passed, right now, that told me that I can't drink - I'd probably be on the front line of a demonstration in front of the White House, a glass of whiskey in my hand."
 
Me too.
 
Because it's all about the choice. 
 

JW said it best, "What floats your waffle?"
 
C'mon now, let's all tarpicipate!

I love to watch the birds eat the berries and fruit that have turned to alcohol....and the ruminants that have eaten a little loco weed. or even cats on cat nip.....

B- The potential liability on the barkeep and owner to ensure that the patrons were not blind running before/during/afterwards constitute a risk to themselves and others is just not worth it. My sister owned a bar and a domestic dispute and injury in the parking lot resulted in a lawsuit she lost just because it happened on her premises. Even in the old wild west, guns were checked at the door of some establishments. Like smoking it should be the owner's call. When in doubt, pull out.

3 necessities in life per Warren Zevon are Lawyers, Guns, and Money and I have to add a good woman and a well aged Single Malt. Prohibition like abstinence is overkill.

My late father in law was always getting prepared for some kind of recession-depression, so with regularity he stocked up on cold hard silver coins he kept in tar buckets around the house, scotch whiskey, and as for women, he had my mother in law and she said "no" to him keeping a bunch of loose women around, so she was it.  ...........But after time, as you might guess, the coins got spent, the whiskey got drunk, and the woman - well, she was permanent. And predictably,he'd soon get to thinking there was another economic devaluation just around the corner, and he'd stock up again:  silver coins, scotch whiskey, (and his wife.).....   When he died, we found all his hiding places, and there were many. He wasn't kidding about "stocking up."  

PARK4's excellent summary of Pete Hamill's closing segment in "Prohibition" sums it all up pretty well for me. I can not help wondering why the same is not true for marijuana but I guess the cotton lobby, and the Federal Stamp Act vs. State laws will keep that in flux for years. I just do not understand why the government or anyone else would not see the benefits of taxes gained from the sale of marijuana, if used for nothing else than education about the evils of narcotics, etc. It seems as if all the tobacco companies would have the facilities in place to market and distribute the product.

Park4 I also tremendously enjoyed the story about your father-in-law. Thank you for telling us that one.

As far as the Ken Burns "Prohibition" went, I thought it was verrrry lonnnnng & could not sit still. I always love the narration and try to hear who the actors are but this just did not do it for me. Another director whom I consider to be over rated, Martin Scorsese has a 2 part special on George Harrison starting tonight on HBO. I understand it contains some amazing "never before seen" footage so Iam looking forward to it.

Park4 ~
Just wondering on a recycling basis what became of those bottles of scotch?

Early night. Nod da, dear people.

P4 - I wathced the whole sereis - twice - I have been waiting for this to air since last November I do suggest picking up the book "Last Call" that was the inspiration to the series also - the few parts I have read also tells a great part of the history.  It's amazing how some people feel that their views always seem to be ALL or Nothing - which as we learned from this documentary can in many instances KILL your over all goal.   
 

Spring Fragrance-You always find the most amusing video clips.  Thaks for brightening up my dismal day. 

Rings 90- Who wrote Last Call?  Sounds interesting and I'd like to pick it up.

Bert- I'm with you I think that bars, resturants and any place where people gather should have  the right to forbid firearms.  Concealed or not, firearms and alcohol don't mix. Weapons of any kind  and alcohol don't mix.  Words are weapons. And they become weapons of mass destruction when spoken by an angry drunk.   

Julia - It was written by Daniel Okrent  http://tinyurl.com/2u5vvgy ; it is out in Trade paper back edition so it should not cost you over $15 to buy & your library should have it in their rotation also-- Altho they may have a waiting list for it right now.    I can honestly say I was surprised by how many political groups were "in bed together" for the cause of prohibition, it was quite an interesting goal to be working on to say the least.  I also found myself wanting to be Lois Long for a few months and go to the Cotton Club to hear the Greatest Jazz ever, and to party until morning with no worries at all.  

Hazel ~ Re: your 12:45 pm post -- my daughter would tell people that my mom cooks with wine and demonstrate by saying "not" and pantomime pouring it into food, "but" and pantomime me drinking it.  It helped get through the white knuckle dinners, as I called them since it was when my kids would ask me about sex........and what I did or didn't do at their age.........prefacing it by, "I know you never lie to us...".

Hanging at the hotel INDIGO outside Indy and sipping on an Indiana Amber, a Hoosier Style Red Ale. It's only fitting.

Andy---aaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...........the memories....right?  Loved it!  Could relate!

chefdeb, it was long, I agree, but like rings I watched it twice, each night.  I'm just a sucker for social history and this had it all.  In addition to a little bit of F. Scott Fitzgerald who made a literary career out of prohibition, and I'm grateful he caught the opportunity, I'm a lifelong fan of his wife (and F.Scott himself, as well). Anyhow "Prohibition" was as they say right up my alley, interest wise.  Problem was that the night before last I watched it once, enjoyed it lots, watched it again, enjoyed it again, and then I had so many ideas popping in my head, I couldn't go to sleep.  But that's okay.  Good television is rare.  ........................Rings, I hear you loud and clear,bible thumpers, beer barrel smashers  and anyone who thinks they know what's good for me, better than I do well - I'll never understand how they can presume so much. ....Moreover, they're always wrong.................ChefDeb, enjoy George Harrison tonight! 

Stoney:  outside of Hartford Wisconsin is a house, and 40 acres of still productive cornfields. A river runs through it (actually, it's on the property perimeter), it's called the Rubicon River (not joking) and just to the west of the property was a very old wooden bridge. Beneath the bridge on the property side, there are many, many, empty bottles of scotch, buried.  I hate to think about it, the time that's passed, but in truth, their burial happened almost 40 years ago, now -- but before they were laid to rest, we had one hell of a Scottish wake.

 RIP Steve Jobs 

P4 ~
I had an open evening then.

TT: The Hotel Indigo has the same ring as does the "Ho-tel California."  "Such a lovely place. Such a lovely face."
 Any similarities (I'll never tell)?

There's a thought:

http://youtu.be/piW9MHpfCu4

I am going to do the Thai chili sauce on my wings and that will require another Paradise Ale. One thing leads to t'other.

TT:  are you avoiding the question?

Steve Jobs is dead.   Expected, but so sad.

JAXXY JAX.................Congratulations! That is one lucky little girl who will have so many fun adventures w/ her grandma! Sending a big hug your way.........................
 
PARK...............I agree w/ CHEFD, that was a great little story about your father in law. I have to ask, Whad'ja get, whad'ja get, whad'ja get????????????????????????????? It sounds like it was a treasure hunt in the best sense of the word!
 
I am having wine & consider it a great job of self control on my part that I am not an alcoholic. Why do some women have the always gotta be stirring up trouble & discontent gene or they are not happy? It baffles me & makes life misrable for women who aren't drippo, paino's.......................there has to be a good way to get these corncob up the bum women back...................w/ each sip of wine I get more ideas...................
 
STONEY...............how right you are................the people who enjoy reeling off what they DON'T do...................they usually politely leave off, "no fun" & " everyone avoids me." hhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....................
 
CHEFD.........................I will NEVER, I do mean NEVER understand that marijuana is illegal & alcohol is not. Legalize EVERYTHING.....................drugs, selling your organs, selling your body...................selling your old Subaru, selling holiday wrapping at exorbitant prices that you HAVE to purchase because a kid is selling it........................
 
down the hatch! & the rabbit hole.......................

ChefDeb - I fyou like the HBO special on Harrison - I got in a Coffee table book about his life put together by his daughter. I do believe that the HBO special is a tie in to it. Sorry that's all I remember cuz well when you sort  hundreds of books a day, you get a bit confused...  ;-) 

P4- Last thing I remember I was running for the door...

Steve Jobs-Say it ain't so, Joe. I hoist a pint to the greatest Pirate of Silicon Valley as I post to the Eye on my iPhone. Your vision made my life better.

Here, here, TT...A toast to Steve Jobs.

Bert ~ I say take the signs down.  Anyone who will respect the signs
will not cause trouble anyhow, especially in Mt. Adams.  Anyone with a gun and
ill will won't respect the sign and most likely can't read it to begin with.    
                                                                               
             
 
When I was a wee lad of eighteen years, I walked into Aunt Maudies (Bert
knows what I am talking about) on a Saturday afternoon, sat down at the bar for
a beer and a bowl of chili and watched wide eyed AS A DRUNKEN OLD CODGER PULLED
OUT HIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON SPECIAL and pointed it at the barmaid demanding that
she give him back the TV that she had stolen from him and placed on the shelf
over the bar for everyone else to watch.  Since I was already implicated at this
point as a viewer of aforementioned television, I felt it incumbent upon myself
to talk the old fudd into placing his weapon on the bar and reconsidering his
position.  Being the silver tongued devil that I am, the mission was
accomplished seconds before the barmaid's son arrived and booted the elderly
gentleman out the door.  The moral of the story...hell I don't know.  My name is
not STONEY.

P.S. BERT ~  If you do take the signs down, provide your bartender with a double barrel shotgun and instructions covering the intended use of the same.

Everyone has done so well today ....... Can't wait to see what Mr. Peterman comes up with for Tomorrow !!!
 
Hopefully, it will be about Food !!!
 
Meantime, while I am waiting, I am going to enjoy the last two pieces of a Non-Traditional Honey Cake, For Serious Chocoholics ... Made a dozen Honey Cakes this year, and only one in Chocolate, and I hid these last two pieces away, KNOWING that the Seventeen Year Locusts were going to be here, for the duration of the High Holidays .......
 
I may be stupid, but I ain't no Dummy .......

There are simply Truths that we, as a human race, should accept:

Being inebriated is nice.

Being a jackass is not.

You don't have to be drunk to be a jackass.

Ergo, being drunk is not the problem.

Other applicable non sequiturs:

Human society formed when nomadic tribes settled down to grow the crops necessary to brew beer. BBQs were invented nearly simultaneously. Modern culture ensued.

Among the very oldest written human records are instructions for making beer.

Human genetic groups that historically have included alcohol in their social rituals were generally more robust than those who did not. I do not wish to offend, but... Aboriginal Americans, anyone? And by that fairly sound logic, would anybody like to wager on Muslims?

Ahh! More whiskey, please.

I'll drink to that.
Can I get anybody a little something?

 
http://www.apple.com/

Belated  thanks  to  those  that  helped  me  think  through  my  tavern-related  issues......

Thanks for that, Stoney.  He looks like he's got another idea, doesn't he?  I sure wish it wasn't his time; as we commented on another day past, we can use more like Steve Jobs.  RIP.