Which would you rather give up, your gun or...

Wow, so many replies. Guess I'm no different to some of you folks. I forgot to add that I also quit smoking the day I quit drinking. Even if I feel tense I don't feel the urge to smoke.

Rather hard to explain to my drinking buddies why the sudden turn around. They don't know that I own a gun.

Think I'll put that money spent for drinking in that piggy bank.

vega

[This message has been edited by vega (edited June 25, 2000).]
 
Alcohol and gunpowder don't mix.

Having said that, I still enjoy a couple of beers at night. Don't get smashed no more though 'cause the older you get, the more it hurts next day :( And the guns definitely stay in the gun safe.

I have to give up smoking, though. I'm 50, been smoking since I was 16, and sooner or later the clock's going to stop ticking. Cut it down from 70 to 10-12 a day, but even that's too many -- and it would be s-o-o easy to slip back into the chainsmoking routine.

As for caffeine, I don't drink Coke or eat chocolate and I cut out coffee on the weekends almost entirely. But I do like a few cups while I'm working.

But ... if it came to the crunch, as the header asks -- no competition, the booze would just have to go!

B
 
Jesus helped me quit all those annoying habits, Dipping snuff, drinking, bars, running round, etc... However my affinity for firearms borders on idolotry.
Arrell
 
Alcohol and brain cells don't mix well. The former leads to the latter's death, and results in "pickling" of the brain eventually - "Uhh, my name? I used to know that..." This is why I don't put toxins in my body intentionally. My old college friends just can't fathom the fact that I refuse to go out to bars anymore and flush money down the toilet for that glorious reward of a hangover. They tell me I've gotta have some fun. They don't understand that my idea of fun has changed, and drinking is ZERO fun for ME. Works for them though.
 
Being a slow learner, it took me a while before I finally realized that wondering how soon I could have a beer as soon as I woke up was probably not something normal people did. Thank God that thought did finally percolate to the top of my consciousness. (And I also thank God for a well-known 12-step program that has been of immeasurable help.)

Now, having said that, about the only thing that would give pause in an either/or situation would be my books. And I must say, that would be a truly tough call. I just don't know...

------------------
"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein
"Power corrupts. Absolute power - is kinda cool!"
Fred Reed

[This message has been edited by mk86fcc (edited June 26, 2000).]
 
I have to thank "heavens" that I'm not an alcoholic, since the I assume the 12-step program wouldn't work for me, as I don't believe in the existence of any higher power, which is a precept of one of the fundamental steps. Seriously, what would an agnostic alcoholic do if serious about reforming? Are there alternative 12-step programs that have been shown to work well like AA?
 
Been there, done that, wove the T-shirt myself. I didn't drink until I turned 21 (per promise to my parents) and then proceeded to do the college ritual of getting hammered on a regular basis but only for a short while. After I got it out of my system, never really looked back. Everyone so often I have a beer or glass of wine or champagne but not on anything like a regular basis. Too expensive in terms of money spent and time wasted.
 
I can tell you as a peace officer, about 90% of people we deal with have been drinking or have a problem with alcohol.

This esp rings true on domestic abuse calls and these cases in general. When i was 20 years old i had drank my share... but as i grew older i lost interest in drinking alcohol and after five years of dealing with intoxicated persons as a police officer and seeing the aftermath; of what i does on family life, tragety's caused by drunk drivers, assualts, etc...

There's nothing wrong with taking a drink, but responsibility goes along with drinking, as does many other activities adults share. But once some folks start drinking all common sense seems to leave. Being able to admit that a problem exits; and taking steps to solve it are hallmarks of losing that sense of denial that plauges all human beings to some extent with problems that they don't want to confront.

Congratulations; for your sobriety and hope that you continue your journey through life the way you want to travel it, not dictated by a chemical agent.
 
Futo -

Without getting into a long, drawn-out discussion that would be off topic, I can tell you that the "higher power" referenced in most 12-steps can pretty much be what the participant wants it to be - if it's your own super-id, so be it. One of the founding members of the original program, being an agnostic himself, insisted (wisely, I think) on it before he'd sign off on the original 12 steps. Indeed, in the first draft, "higher power" read "God."

------------------
"...and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."
Luke 22:36
"An armed society is a polite society."
Robert Heinlein
"Power corrupts. Absolute power - is kinda cool!"
Fred Reed
 
Hmmm, OK, but I don't get how I could say (and BELIEVE): "I am powerless over alcohol. So I relinquish control to my super-id (which is also 'me')." ???? I would never be able to mentally accept that step or any step based upon it. Email me if anyone would like to continue on this tangent. Thanks.
 
I dont smoke but I will probably have 3 beers a month, so no big problem for me. Now if I could just stop robbing to support my crack habit.

------------------
"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force."

--Ayn Rand, in "The Nature of Government"
 
The second smartest thing I ever did in my life was quit drinking - 1973. Never had a problem, and likely never would have; I learned from the drunken mistakes of others and have never regretted it for a second.
Third smartest thing I ever did was quit smoking - 1980. I don't look back.
Fourth smartest decision I ever made was to stop spending money on women...but I'm willing to reconsider that one. :D
 
Interesting thread. I was a heavy drinker until I retired. I found myself in the bars at noon. :( That`s one of the reasons I moved out of NYC. Easy access to the ginmills. The docs said I could drink so I like a beer or 2 on occasion or wine with dinner or even a bloody mary. I keep a case of beer in the garage but if I don`t have company, it`ll last all summer. Coffee and butts are a different story. I drink decaf during the day and evening and even switched to decaf Coke. I guess I`ll never quit smoking.
The DWI laws are getting even tougher. You can figure if you go out and don`t drink, you saved enough money to buy any gun you want! :D
 
It's sort of a silly question. Would you rather be armed and alert or drunk and defenseless? Sure, I'll give up my 12 gauge for a quart of Jack Daniels. :rolleyes:

[This message has been edited by PJR (edited June 30, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by PJR (edited June 30, 2000).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top