Do You Drink ?

On its surface, it sounds like a(n) harmless enough question. But whenever anyone would ask me this and would receive the standard answer of, "No," what would follow would be a survey of questions to learn more about the absence of the practice.

If I retort with, "Do you smoke?" a simple answer in the negative would be enough. There would be no need for further discussion. I'm not asking the person if he/it/they/she vapes, or was a pack a day puffer, or rolled tobacco onto Zigzag paper, or picked up bogies or stogies from the curb.

I would say that I was never a drinker, that I am not in any rehabilitative program, and that I am not using any drugs that would interact negatively with alcohol. So why the 20 questoins?

In reality, my consumption is during rituals. This includes welcoming the Sabbath or the participation of Wiccan and pagan activities. We are talking about 3-4 tablespoons of red wine. This is not the consumption of drink to down with heavy foods nor is it a wine that has any mind-altering purpose. I have never been drunk or hung over and other than fatigue, I have never wanted to be in a condition wherein I couldn't drive a car.

The only other time in my life when the absence of something (except for marriage and/or having children) had come up was when I was living a vegetarian life. I made all of my meals and I did rigorous meal planning. I ate tofu, and texturized vegetable protein, bought whole grains for hot cereals, and supported organic farming. But people look at you like you are putting toxins into your body. I remember sitting next to a friend of my Mother who told me that she would never touch bean curd. "I don't eat processed foods." Then she took a nice big chomp into her undercooked cut of London broil that had blood dripping all over the plate. "Yeah," I thought to myself, "straight from the hoof to your intestinal tract without a moment of 'processing'!"

It was never part of my culture growing up. And when I hit my late teenage years and early 20s, I discovered bars and the folks who live in them. I did not want any part of that in my life.

I am now 64-and-change and none the worse for wear (or lack thereof).