While on a flight to Mexico yesterday I once again saw the difference between me and so-called “normal” drinkers.
Surrounding me were passengers ordering drinks and having fun. One lady said “this is my sixth Bloody Mary since I got up this morning.” Yet she appeared pretty normal.
Had I drank what she had I likely would be fighting with someone, looking for drugs, stealing something or otherwise making a fool of myself. Another difference between me and her is that after the first drink I would have been drinking straight from the bottle. My goal was always to get smashed as fast as I could.
I was reminded of a time I flew to Mexico thirty plus years ago, long before I got sober. In that era passengers were still allowed to smoke. I got so smashed on alcohol and pills that I passed out with a lit cigarette. When I woke up the stewardess was spraying water on the cigarette that was burning a hole in my pants. I simply couldn’t drink like others.
Yet here these folks were, having a sociable time and swapping stories about the best bars in Cabo, where the longest happy hours were and where to get the best prices on liquor to take home.
Unlike these folks, drinking for me was always the doorway into bad behavior and often serious trouble that sometimes ended with me in handcuffs.
It was good to see the partiers on my flight enjoying themselves. And it was also good for me to recognize the difference between me and them.
As long as I pay attention to that difference my life will continue to be as it is today.
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