A great day and the end of the experiment...

 

I declared April "Alcohol Free April." I wanted to see what it would feel like to be a teetotaler for a month. A while back, I realized that the longest I had gone without alcohol in the last 35 years was probably seven days (SIOP nuclear alert). Of course, with my current job, I am alcohol free for two 24 hour shifts a week and a significant time before and after each shift too.

The past 22 days were interesting and I have some things to report: 1. After about a week of nonimbibing, I slept better at night. I would still wake up in the middle of the night but could go back to sleep easier. 2. I really would miss drinking a little beer or wine when I was cooking. 3. TV shows and movies actually have endings to them. 4. Drinking or not drinking had little effect on my running. 5. I was willing to risk more, not worrying about clouded judgement. 6. Not drinking is a bummer. 7. There was a good (but kind of creepy) feeling of being good to myself. 8. Friends and neighbors treated me with greater suspicion.

Today, the "day of the end," started out with an early morning run, then a trip out to the sewage treatment plant. I was lucky enough to get on the City Wastewater Management Bloomsday team. Why doesn't the fire department have a team? I don't know. But the team was having a pizza fundraiser and I wanted to meet them. I had a good time hanging out with those guys and eating pizza. The last time I was there was eleven years ago. My crew rescued a guy who had jumped from the top of a sewage digester when it exploded, sending another to his death. Here's a nice statue (but a bad picture) commemorating Mike Cmos. Rest in peace, Mike.

I hung out with my brother Joe and my mom after pizza. Joe and I were reminiscing about a 325th Bomb Squadron dining in we went to, how I stuffed a dinner roll with napkins, set it on fire and threw it at the general who was making a speech. It bounced off his chest and he stamped it out. There was much brawling and what not. Joe said I supplied our table with a dozen scoops of neopolitan ice cream for more ammo. I doubt the USAF is like this any more. Here's a picture of Joe (brand new lieutenant) and me before we headed out to the base. Some of my friends and fellow aviators used to call me The Evil Elf. I guess that kind of comes through here.

After tripping down Memory Lane with mom and Joebro, I went home and worked on some chores. Sarah calls to tell me she has missed the bus and she is drinking a beer at Black Label, would I join her? When I arrived, she gave me a big beery kiss and that's when I called the experiment complete. That's an IPA, yes sir.

 

 

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