How many were sober?

jnyork · Post by **jnyork** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:19 pm

Woke up bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning at 0700, today I start my 25th year of sobriety, not a drop. Feeling great for 76. Best wishes to all for health and prosperity.

GunnyMack · Post by **GunnyMack** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:24 pm

I was bright eyed as well! Had to be since we were bird hunting this morning!
I didn't get the first bird of the year but my little girl Claro did!!

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:34 pm

I have to stay sober....I'm one of those guys who can't stop until the case of beer is gone or the bottle is empty. I quit when I was forty so it's been 22 years. There have been a few times when I've had a drink but my wife was there to control it....like last night...we went out for dinner at a local restaurant and I had one can of Fosters Ale. Before that it was Christmas Eve, 2015.

As long as it's not around I don't think about it and luckily I'm the only drunk in the family so my support group is great. Some people are drunks for life whether they drink or not....it's that gene and somehow I think inherited it from down the line. Even when I go away to matches upstate, there are very few people who drink and those guys may have one or two.

My best buddy, "The Gunny" always kept me in line as he was a drunk in his twenties and part of his thirties......and some times and over the years, when we were at matches, he would look at me....if someone else was having a beer......with that well honed Marine drill instructor look........"don't even think about it Jack"....I'll take your own rifle and give you a vertical buttstroke.

----6

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 12:44 pm

Aye, t'were a wonderful felling. While I love my beer, didn't have any, and still woke up bleary eyed and badly in need of relief... not because of alcohol, but... I forgot my glasses and a steadily shrinking bladder!

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:17 pm

Not a drop. I'm not on the wagon, just don't want to hardly anymore.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:37 pm

Wife and I went out for the first time since 88.
Over to the Elks club to a real hick hoedown, complete with Elvis impersonator, old drunk chick's staggering and falling on the dance floor........priceless. Whole thing looked like a reality show.
Had a couple beers, wife had about half of a drink. Probably the first drink she's had in two years.
I like beer and bourbon but I don't drink much at once. I don't really have the habit gene.

sore shoulder · Post by **sore shoulder** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:38 pm

Sober and asleep through New Years. Can't even bring myself to care about it anymore.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:49 pm

A couple of beers and a shot of Jack Daniels single barrel was all I had over Christmas, plus the obligatory glass of wine at dinner.

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:57 pm

sore shoulder wrote:Sober and asleep through New Years. Can't even bring myself to care about it anymore.

My "wild" party consisted of a pizza, and Netflix......I've stayed home on New Year's Eve for as long as I can remember. Too many amateur drinkers out there.

2ndovc · Post by **2ndovc** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 1:58 pm

It's been about 14 months. Doc's orders, I'd been going at pretty hard the last 3-4 years. Don't miss it.

jb

3leggedturtle · Post by **3leggedturtle** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:02 pm

For the 2nd New Year's Eve in a row it rained from sunset to sunrise here. Enjoyed listening to the storm with some strong sweet tea.

OldWin · Post by **OldWin** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 2:04 pm

gamekeeper wrote:A couple of beers and a shot of Jack Daniels single barrel was all I had over Christmas, plus the obligatory glass of wine at dinner.

You have fine taste my friend.

jeepnik · Post by **jeepnik** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 3:23 pm

Pretty much do every morning. Oh, I'll have a beer or two every now and then (bad for diabetics but nobodies perfect), but my days of hard drinking ended when my first son was born. Realized I had to grow up and set a good example. Seems to have worked, they turned out better than okay.

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 3:42 pm

Honestly...Not Me. I've been working in Meat coolers/freezers for 44+ years and if I don't have 2 shots and beers at the end of the day I'm an absolute BEAR. back hurts, hips, knees, shoulders, hands...... I had a few last night before 12:00 pm but I was up for work Saturday at 3:50 AM.
My Holidays started Today....it's over till next year.

.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 4:21 pm

No problem with alcohol, but I DO have a problem with 'conformity' - so IF I get drunk, it will definitely NOT be on either New Years Eve, St. Patricks Day, or Super Bowl Sunday....!!!!

Maybe Arbor Day,, Groundhog Day, or the day-after the last day of Deer Season.....

guntar · Post by **guntar** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 4:58 pm

Since my wife and our youngest daughter are Clemson grads, it doesn't take much imagination to know we were watching the game last night with the family. Stayed up long enough to see the Times Square coverage of the New Year's celebration and thank the Lord I was not there. I drink about two six-packs of beer per year whether I need it or not (none last night).

KirkD · Post by **KirkD** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 6:09 pm

Sober and in bed long before midnight.

GunnyMack · Post by **GunnyMack** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 6:19 pm

Gamekeeper if/when I ever visit the UK I'll help you taste your single barrel, if I can bring a bottle of the wheat whiskey I've taken a liken too we'll pop that cork too!
BEHELANS wheat- so smoooooth.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 6:32 pm

GunnyMack wrote:Gamekeeper if/when I ever visit the UK I'll help you taste your single barrel, if I can bring a bottle of the wheat whiskey I've taken a liken too we'll pop that cork too!
BEHELANS wheat- so smoooooth.

That sounds like a plan, I like trying new liquor ….....

KWK · Post by **KWK** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 6:44 pm

I like alcohol drinks well enough (Scotch whisky, German wheat beers, and English dark beers), but I've never been drunk. I'll have one or two with friends once a week, and that's about it. Such drinks, especially the Scotch, are good for sipping while talking with friends. A shot of a good Scotch will last me about an hour.

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:05 pm

I was in bed asleep well before midnight also. I drank hard when young, like teens, then just quit. I felt I wasn't getting where I wanted to be in life, so just stopped.

I was introduced to bourbon (Bulleit) a few years ago. When hitting it hard a bottle would last about 6 months. Sine my back got messed up, it doesn't mix with the meds, so its been 2 or 3 years since I had any. Never miss it, other than the occasional nip in coffee or occasional evening bit. Don't recall when I was last actually drunk, maybe early 80s?

cas · Post by **cas** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 7:10 pm

I was a sleep at midnight which means I went to bed early. Into my 48th year of sobriety.

GunnyMack · Post by **GunnyMack** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 8:00 pm

My memory was wrong...
Just had a little nip off of it, 1st drink I've had in months.

Marvin S · Post by **Marvin S** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 8:12 pm

Two frosty pints of PBR with a steak and in bed by 10:30. Up at 0600 to finish cooking the black eye peas.

Daisyman · Post by **Daisyman** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 8:51 pm

None for me, was in bed by 10:30. Never had more than 2 beers in a row and that was only once

Bought a six pack of Miller Light bottles once for a hot summer.......lasted two years!!!!

Oh, and I'm 72

Irv

Old No7 · Post by **Old No7** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:08 pm

gamekeeper wrote:A couple of beers and a shot of Jack Daniels single barrel was all I had over Christmas, plus the obligatory glass of wine at dinner.

Except for the wine -- I had hard cider -- sounds like MY New Year's!!!

You have great taste John!

Old No7

FWiedner · Post by **FWiedner** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 9:14 pm

Had some wine with dinner and the obligatory cheap sparkling wine at midnight.

Got up at 3:00am to work out, was at work at 6:00am, got off at 6:00pm.

Bright-eyed, but not exactly bushy-tailed.

I think I'll have a drink to lose some clarity.

vonfatman · Post by **vonfatman** » Sun Jan 01, 2017 11:47 pm

I have not drank for many years. At least 25. I was becoming a problem drinker (I'm a buzz drinker, not a social drinker) and was blessed to be able to quit and to gain such respect (fear) of the stuff, I'd not touch it...I know I'd be "on" again with a single drink.

I was up. I had a "large noisemaker" I'd saved a couple years for a special occasion. Last night, as 2017 began, I set that puppy off in honor of The Donald.

Bob

JohndeFresno · Post by **JohndeFresno** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:37 am

What... is it New Year, yet?

mark · Post by **mark** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 2:06 am

"What... is it New Year, yet?"

It can't be, I don't have time for that!.

Apart from a glass of sparkling chateau horrible, I house sat the next door neighbour's dog.

I also watched DVDs:

Strictly Ballroom

Cracker Jack

Red Dog

Was an exciting evening.

Bottoms up, Mark

geobru · Post by **geobru** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 3:56 am

I haven't had a drink since 1977.

I was up until 1:00 so I could let the dog back outside after all the noise makers quieted down.

Slept in till 7:00, bright eyed and bushy tailed.

gamekeeper · Post by **gamekeeper** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 5:24 am

I don't know about being bright eyed and bushytailed but I did nail two squirrels first thing Sunday morning, I used Shirley's .177 CZ air rifle.

However, whilst typing this out I just missed another

Gobblerforge · Post by **Gobblerforge** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 7:10 am

Rehab is for quitters.

6pt-sika · Post by **6pt-sika** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 8:34 am

Hmmmm I had a Guiness while cooking dinner on New Years Eve and was up at 5:30 AM on New Years morning and out to the woods sitting in a treestand until noon . I've never had a problem with booze even when I wanted to drink . Now I drink a beer or two occasionally . A 12 pack usually lasts me two months . I like Jack Black from time to time as well , have a half gallon of that I've been working on for five years now and that just might last thru the sixth year .

veeman · Post by **veeman** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 9:20 am

Not a drop since Oct. 1987. Drank enuff for 2 lifetimes before that. Don't miss it a bit.

tman · Post by **tman** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 9:32 am

Gobblerforge wrote:Rehab is for quitters.

+1

mikld · Post by **mikld** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 12:42 pm

Went to Church 1/1/'17 and realized I had just done my 30th New Year sober. Whata trip! I did it the old fashioned way; AA...

Reading some posts on what a few here like to drink, and good for you, but bad for me. I enjoyed Maker's Mark (for the first drink then I wouldn't stop 'till I fell over or the bottle was empty

) but at the end I was drinking a qt. of cheap vodka per day, plus a few Millers along the way...

Wildgoose · Post by **Wildgoose** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 1:19 pm

Woke up sober here. I drank for many years off and on. When on I controlled it for the most part but eventually it would control me. Then I would quit for a while, start again and repeat the process over again. Never got me in trouble with the law, marriage or job so I just kept on going in the cycle. A year ago that all ended when my wife was diagnosed with end stage kidney failure and dialysis entered our lives. Now I spend five days a week doing home hemodialysis for her. Drinking is out of the question now. Unfortunately so are quite a few other things too. But it keeps her alive and functional as best as can be done under the circumstances. So I am good with it. I am glad I still have her and am not alone. Barring a transplant this is our lives for the time we have left. All this to say I got up sober this New Years and will be staying that way. Small price to pay compared to all the rest of it. If you know anyone who has become a care giver in their golden years say a prayer for them, the ones they care for and the families.
One things for sure, I don't have to worry about boredom in retirement and I can still get out to shoot from time to time.

.45colt · Post by **.45colt** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 4:31 pm

My previous post was exaggerated by the thrill of surviving yet another year at My job. eight weeks of unloading turkeys, hams, and boxes of beef , some near 100lbs. I'm no kid anymore.
All of You who have quit drinking I applaud, good for You for I have seen the good, bad and ugly of substance abuse. Happy New Year To All. Jim.

tman · Post by **tman** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 4:46 pm

.45colt wrote:My previous post was exaggerated by the thrill of surviving yet another year at My job. eight weeks of unloading turkeys, hams, and boxes of beef , some near 100lbs. I'm no kid anymore.
All of You who have quit drinking I applaud, good for You for I have seen the good, bad and ugly of substance abuse. Happy New Year To All. Jim.

Same here. Still drinking, but also applaud those who realized it was problematic in their lives and got it turned around.

piller · Post by **piller** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 6:04 pm

Caught a virus and was sick way before any festivities began. Today, about 48 hours after the vomiting and headache began, I finally kept some sprite down. I couldn't have celebrated new years if I would have wanted. Dehydration is no fun.

JReed · Post by **JReed** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 10:35 pm

Had some sparkeling cider with the family but no alcohol. I am a 2 six pack a year drinker for the most part plus I had to work in the morning.

jcw · Post by **jcw** » Mon Jan 02, 2017 11:31 pm

We do not participate in "amateur night". Haven't for many years. Went out for Asian take out and back home. Quickly. I had a couple of shots of apple pie and then to bed about 1030.

claybob86 · Post by **claybob86** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 12:24 am

Guess I was quite the party animal! Had 2 beers before midnight and 1 after!

Blaine · Post by **Blaine** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:39 pm

Trigger Warning:

Alcoholics go to meetings.
Drunks go to parties.

Bill in Oregon · Post by **Bill in Oregon** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 2:54 pm

I surely am impressed by you fellas with the decades of sobriety. I carry my 1-month token with me every day, and hope to back on that track. I don't even drink good stuff. Just Busch Lite tallboys -- lawn-mowing beer.

RIHMFIRE · Post by **RIHMFIRE** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 6:18 pm

I can remember drinking beer out of one of those small orange juice glasses when I was 7 at dinner time with Dad....and only at dinner time.
and Now....I still only will drink a beer or 2 with dinner...

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Tue Jan 03, 2017 7:32 pm

SWMBO had work & stuff to do until 9pm and I had to don an alb and read the lessons on Sunday then help with a "we hate football" card/board game party after church... so we crashed... until a cow-orker texted at midnite-thirty.

But we had Monday & Tuesday off... Just enough time to shovel and get all three vehicles into the garage for the first time.