I am not really a drunk. But I do come from a long line of them. It seems like alcohol has always been a part of my life. As you might expect it rarely is a positive influence to be under the influence of alcohol.
Like most Pennsyl-Tucky farm boys (and girls) we started the journey down alcohol's path at quite an early age. I am guessing it became a weekend hobby around 14-15 years of age. 1980 ish. From what I do remember about the 80s, and some of those memories are a little cloudy, it was a fucking blast. Bonfires every weekend. Drinking games and crazy jackass stunts. Yea, I got scars to prove it. One phase we went thru I am guessing it was the summer of 1980. We were fire breathers spitting diesel fuel into the campfires and thinking we were Gene Simmons from the rock group KIZZ. Fucking idiots we were. Glad we all survived it... Well most of us. We lost a few friends along the way when the drivers licenses and vehicles entered into the equation during 1981-2.
By my late teens and into my 20's I had mastered the art of being a functioning alcoholic. Rarely drinking on the weekdays and never letting it effect my work/employment. Many Mondays were brutal tho. As the beer blast party weekends, nearly every weekend. Usually lasted late into Sunday evenings.
I had a copy of my older brothers drivers license at the age of 19. It was still good, not expired, as he did not like the photo. Gave it to me, My Brother told the DMV (department of Motor Vehicles) that issues them here in the USA that he had lost it and he got a new one.
Many beers were purchased and consumed using that license until I turned 21, the legal drinking age.
21 and Dumb
My 21st birthday was a surprise party for me. The surprise was...
Crickets 🦗
One of my friends took me bar hopping in the afternoon and was to bring me home after my friends and family decorated the house. Set up the beer keg on ice. Cake, streamers, and even naked girls!!
Well that is what they tell me anyways. I believe them too cuz I awoke the next day in bed with one of those naked girls. And that girl was not the girl I was dating at the time. 😳
There were streamers and even some cake leftover. They tell me a good time was had by all 50 or so that stopped by to celebrate my birthday with me.
I have no memory of that
I spent a few hours borderline alcohol overdosed beside my brothers Trans Am. Hugging the passenger side steer tire. Trying not to be flung off this rotating spinning planet earth.
I have no memory of that.
I do remember being crazy dizzy. I could feel the earth spinning at 93 million miles an hour. I was hurtling thru time & space literally and physically hurling my guts out.
I have no memory of that.
My stomach muscles hurt so bad the next day from puking till nothing was left then dry heaving for those few hours.
I have no memory of that.
They told me I stumbled in after midnight. Hugged and kissed everyone. Grabbed a handful of cake and ate it out of that very same hand. Then stumbled to my bedroom and face planted on my bed.
I have no memory of that.
The drunk naked girl laying beside me that next morning said she tried to give me some lovin' for a birthday present but I was too drunk and not up for it.
I have no memory of that.
What a great birthday party that would have could have been. And probably was. But...
I have no memory of it.
Ain't alcohol great. It giveth and it taketh away.
The Waterford Hotel Bar
Enter the bar scene. 8 years of very good times. A few bad. And probably some that...
I have no memory of.
I do remember winning 2nd place in a Halloween costume party at the local pub. Many great memories. Some are a little fuzzy tho.
My best friend and wife 
Alcohol when used improperly can kill. This is what someone elses careless/negligent use of drugs and alcohol did to me. A life changing event.
My best friend John Gebler (R.I.P) taken from us in an alcohol related accident.
Alcohol when used excessively will make you behave strangely. It may make you dance funny and look like two of my best friends and drinking buds. Devin (lft) Willy (rt)
Alcohol was consumed excessively at my wedding on Sept 10th 1999. Designated drivers were used and drunks like this bunch were taken care of as the children they behave like. I baby sat them all night. Pictured left to right Me, Joe Hazen, Billy Cole, and our best man Devin McMurray.
Excessive consumption of adult alcoholic beverages may even make you feel ten foot tall, bullet proof, and able to woop a full grown grizzly bears ass. News Flash... Your Not/You Cannot.
Sometimes alcohol will make you behave like the mascots in the advertisements they use to promote it's sale. Here I am acting like Captain Morgan and not even realizing it.
Social Drinking at bike rallies can be a tricky thing. Key words here are #bike & #drinking as the two do not mix well. Two wheels requires balance. Alcohol is a balance inhibitor. I was probably discussing that very topic here in this photo of my bud Marny Clayton and I at one of many bike events we went to.
I am going to drink one of these weird beers right now in honor of this post. I am of legal age. Will not be driving anywhere today. And may have a second weird beer just because I can. Photographic evidence provided.
Into my 30's It became more of a social drinking type of thing. It is a hobby that does not mix well with being a truck driver. It is no fun driving with a pounding hangover headache. And the risk of losing the very license that I need to make a living with. Alcohol consumption when owner/operating a Prime Mover is just not worth the risk.
These days we rarely drink alcohol. That 12 pack of Michelob has been on top of the mancave fridge for nearly 6 months. I think 2 have been drank? Besides that I hear Annhueser Busch beer makes you gay. 😳
I Feel Good
I might have a few beers with my meal when we go out to a restaurant. Or when we sit by the campfire with friends/family. I have never felt like alcohol was an addiction. It always seemed more like a lifestyle choice. Many nights when I would be out bar hopping with my friends I would drink soda pop. I was most often the designated driver. One great memory I have was when I pulled into a drive thru beer distributor to grab a shit ton of beer and head out of town to go camping. There were 6-8 people piled into my monster truck Ford Bronco with all the camping gear. I jumped out to order the cases of beer and pay for them. The nutbag crazy friends of mine had the music turned up loud and James Brown came on the radio. So they were singing along to...
"I Feel Good, Naa Naa Nananana"
Every time James would sing "I Feel Good..." My crazy friends would yell Naa naa nananana to the horns/saxaphone and bounce up and down making the whole truck bounce up and down. I wish I had video of that. Also the customers and the beer distributor manager laughing out loud about it. Those were some Great times.
Thanks for reading the drunken nonsensical ramblings of this old
Buy a round 🍻 🍺 🍻 for the recovering alcoholics behind the scenes here at the #weekend-engagement Without their sobriety none of this would be possible and they would say...
"I have no memory of that."
