> You probably wouldn't have been a boozer had you lived life more like he
> did. Â I'm pretty sure you wouldn't have wondered what it all was
> supposed to mean, either.
>
> Do you NOW know what the answer was/is?
Yes. I believe I do. The only legitimate use of one's life is to
reduce the suffering of the sufferers. In one way or another, let that
be what guides you.
> Alcohol has never dulled any experience or memories for me....the bad
> stuff or the good. Â I can't relate to anybody who is at all dependent on
> the stuff. Â It seems so negative ... and a waste of money. Â Supposedly,
> it's such great FUN. Â I get high on music and bright people with a sense
> of humour. Â Alcohol never seemed to enhance that for me. Â Made me feel
> dull or belligerent instead. Â Or I got VERY sick if I drank too much too
> fast. Â Just not any fun at all. Â And most of it tastes bad, too.
That's because you're normal when it comes to booze. 80 per cent of
people are like that. Then there's the 10 per cent who drink a lot
but have control over it. Then there's us. We take a drink, and the
feeling of euphoria and well-being is so intense that the body begins
to demand that sensation over and over again. For many years, it's
party. Then one day, the balance tips and one's tolerance goes down,
it takes less and less to go into blackout, and for some of us the
physical and psychological need to experience intoxication will take
us straight to hell. Taking our families with us. I'm grateful for the
years of my sobriety.
>
> Did you ever live anywhere but in the Seattle area?
Colorado for a year. Got sober there for 3 months and loved it but
started drinking and it all turned to shit. Lost my job and had to
come back and couch surf. Since sobriety, just here, working my ass
off and moving my way into financial security which was very easy to
do here. Buy a house, live in it two years, double your money, sell,
buy twice the house, double it in two years, ..... do that five times
and you end up on Bainbridge Island. I'm lucky I got a second chance.
You're lucky you got that inheritance and was able to buy your condo
and live in security. Lucky to have found this safe haven, lucky to
have picked Washington State. It's a very benevolent place for
seniors. You can postpone your real estate taxes against your estate,
you can get an Access bus to your door, the public health is
outstanding if one doesn't have full insurance. The list goes on.
I admire anyone who found and made a friend of ZapRatz. :-). He
reminds me of an old badger. Leave him alone and he's happy, doing
his thing in the forest. Fuck with him and your ass comes off.
The guy in the Alaskan wilderness. Either he didn't have that shit
roaring in his brain like most of us do, or it was calmed out of him
early on up there. That's the only way you can live with yourself,
alone.
