Curtis, here's another story I think you might enjoy told last year to a local Saint Louis PBS station in Saint Louis, accompanied with some inexpensive red wine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0HVg1kCpxU ** --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > > Maybe the spounge analagy was misplaced, but acting as an anesthetic > > it creates dullness. > > I understand the "alcohol bad" position and lived it for years. If > that is how you enjoy to live, good for you. Dullness is the last > attribute I would give alcohol's effect if you don't drink too much, > and drink with the right people. Removing the drink from the set and > setting that it can enhance, misses the point IMO. It can be a part > of social customs and cuisines that I enjoy. > > A chilled martini at a jazz club with an acoustic jazz trio in the > background. > > Some top shelf bourbon bought for you by a young couple after your > last set, who had never listened to acoustic blues before, and have > many questions about what blues artists they should download. > > A bottle of local Virginia wine over dinner with a friend who just > came back from visiting Africa and has many stories to share. > > A chilled Czech Pilsner Urquell beer at boating picnic while eating > Chesapeake Bay crabs. > > Greek brandy with your Greek friends as they tell you about how they > survived during WWII in Greece on an olive farm, while eating sheep > feta cheese and dipping crusty bread into oil from this year's olive > harvest. > > Toasts with Hennessey cognac with the bridal party at your Vietnamese > friend's wedding after all the other guests have left. > > A friend's homemade wine at their farm after riding their horses. > > Joining a Thai friend as he closes up his restaurant and eating home > style fiery hot Thai food with the staff with Thai Singha beer. > > Drinking chilled vodka shots with your Russian girlfriend over the > traditional meal she cooked for you. > > Sharing the Brazilian national drink, the Chaiparinya. (limes,sugar > and Cachasa) with a raven haired Brazilian girl while watching World > Cup soccer. > > A smoky Lagavulin scotch with my father over stories of his > experiences in the South Pacific theater of WWII and the occupation of > Japan. > > Making handmade pasta, covering them with fresh steamed clams, with a > glass of Sauvignon Blanc and your best friends. > > A glass of sweet port with a plate of Stilton with your girlfriend > while the snow falls outside. > > Some of these experiences would be plenty cool without the shared > beverage. But sometime it is the ritual of sharing the drink that > connects people. Alcohol is just sugar molecules with an attitude. > It is a type of food, and each culture has it's special version. You > may associate it with dullness if you prefer. I prefer to associate > it with the way peoples eyes crinkle up at the edges during conversation. > > > > > > > Ethanol is a two-carbon alcohol and can be considered an active brain- > > drug and an all-purpose cellular toxin. Even moderate alcohol abuse > > distorts the personality, emotions, and intellect of the `social > > drinker', which is a direct consequence of brain dysfunction caused > > by ethanol and other chemical pathogens in alcoholic beverages. Even > > low doses of alcohol interfere with memory and make it difficult for > > the hippocampus to process new information. As a brain drug, ethanol > > acts to depress the brain function from the top down, very much in > > the style of an anesthetic. Acetaldehyde is particularly toxic. > > {nutramed.com, Apr. 2003} > > > > http://www.jrussellshealth.org/alcbfm.html > > >
