To drink or not to drink

 It would seem that alcohol plays a huge part of any social event whether it be a sport event, or a backyard bar-b-q there is always a reason to throw back a few. We have breweries on every corner serving up a wide range of craft beers. Beer festivals in every city. Brunch houses who specialize in bloody mary bars, but are we too dependent on alcohol to have a good time? Some would surely think so. Having kids and doing fun stuff with them was a time I never drank. Kayaking, boating, skiing, hiking, biking, road trips, to name some, are safety issues and drinking should never be part of it. A small group of people I had gone on a kayaking trip with in lake superior last summer was delayed by a couple who had to stop to buy beer first. Really? Couldn't they have waited until after the kayaking trip when we were safe on land to start drinking? We were all pretty ticked off to say the least.

When my son was in elementary school his dad took him to his first lions football game. I remember him being excited about spending time with his dad at the game. They were sitting in upper seats at the pontiac silver dome, not far from two groups of men. Kind of in the middle of them. These men were clearly drinking and getting rowdy. Back in the 90s beer was served in cans at sport events. All of a sudden one guy in the group throws an unopened beer can that came very close to my son and his dad, but hit a guy in the head from the other group of men. Blood went every where and a fight broke out. Scared my son and ruined his first football game, and I'm sure the lions lost the game too. Was it the alcohol that caused this bad behavior? Without a doubt! 

I usually like to sample a craft beer or wine I haven't' tried before. Do I have to drink to have a good time? Well, yes and no. It all depends on the atmosphere I'm in, and if other people are drinking as well. I mean, why else do people go to breweries? Yes, it does relax me and helps me to be more social, I will admit, but I never drink myself  into a drunken state where I don't know what I'm doing. No one likes to be around someone who's falling down drunk, and needs to be baby sat the whole night. I'm not really a bar person, but I will grab a bite to eat at brewery and have a couple drinks, then head home before my carriage turns into a pumpkin. My favorite place to have a drink is outside on my deck with a cool breeze flowing threw my hair.,,,ahhhh...drink responsibly, my friends.