TGIF

Archive photo: 

Cathy passed out in the back of

the squad car after

Ray was stopped for a DUI - by Adoro

 when she was a cop

 - that's how they all met -

Ray's in the background

doing the sober walk

for the other officer. 

Thank God It's Friday... reflective, glow in the dark, thoughts.

• Years ago I had friends who began drinking right after work on Friday and drank through to Sunday afternoon.  When they got older - like into their late 50's, they stopped drinking, just like that.   Some would say they were alcoholics, but I never thought they were.  What's my point?  I don't have one.

• I was up late last night looking for St. Lawrence's tears but could barely see the stars in the clear sky, which reminded me that I'm going blind.

• Years ago my friends and I laid on our backs on the eve of the saint, after dropping mescaline, and watched St. Lawrence's tears shooting through the star studded sky above a remote hill in a place called Eden Prairie.  We didn't know at the time that it was a meteor shower. 

• This morning I was reading about St. Martin of Breve-La-Gaillarde, + c. 407.  He fled Spain and went on pilgrimage, ending up in the town that is his namesake, and proceeded to evangelize the pagan inhabitants.  When he overthrew one of their idols, the townsfolk stoned him to death.  Imagine that today.  Imagine going into a pagan temple and overthrowing an image of Ganesha.  Or imagine going to a Sikh temple to evangelize.  I know.

• Did you know St. Monica was not an alcoholic?  She is just the patron of alcoholics.  Her maid scolded her for sneaking wine - which she enjoyed.  She just stopped drinking because her maid called her on it.  She never went to treatment, never did the 12 steps, never got a DUI, never drove into a 7-11, never danced on tables, never slept around, never wrote a blog about it, - she like the wine however.

Things have changed, haven't they.  Not a question - simply an observation.

I don't get into TGIF stuff any longer BTW.

What point are you trying to make here Terry?   

Just reflecting ... and observing ... behavior.

The next planet was inhabited by a tippler. This was a very short visit, but it plunged the little prince into deep dejection.

"What are you doing there?" he said to the tippler, whom he found settled down in silence before a collection of empty bottles and also a collection of full bottles.

"I am drinking," replied the tippler, with a lugubrious air.

"Why are you drinking?" demanded the little prince.

"So that I may forget," replied the tippler.

"Forget what?" inquired the little prince, who already was sorry for him.

"Forget that I am ashamed," the tippler confessed, hanging his head.

"Ashamed of what?" insisted the little prince, who wanted to help him.

"Ashamed of drinking!" The tippler brought his speech to an end, and shut himself up in an impregnable silence.

And the little prince went away, puzzled.

"The grown-ups are certainly very, very odd," he said to himself, as he continued on his journey. - The Little Prince

Disclaimer:  This is just a random post - it is not directed at any one - and no - I am not going to pursue my lifelong ambition to become an alcoholic, and I am not drinking anything but Dr. Pepper.  I only thought of this because I remembered my weekend friends, Angelo and Eddie, as well as the accusations that Monica was an alcoholic.  She wasn't.

Bonus:  When I was younger - in my late teens early twenties, most of the homosexuals who befriended me were heavy, heavy drinkers - nightly - but cocktail hour never began before 5PM.  Alcoholism was/is considered a major problem amongst homosexuals.  When it became fashionable to go into treatment - ala Betty Ford, Elizabeth Taylor, Murphy Brown - many gay people sobered up to get rid of the puffiness.  Suprisingly, treatment helped them to accept being gay - hence the drinking was discovered to be only a symptom - of depression.  Today, most homosexuals I know are on some form of anti-depressant - or a combination of meds to balance them out.  I suppose in many cases, they are just treating the symptoms...

Again, St. Monica was not an alcoholic - she just liked to drink.