5 ms·

Did I miss where in the article the OP describes his alcoholic habits? Established his weakness for beer? I don't doubt that her father was, but it felt weird t

Did I miss where in the article the OP describes his alcoholic habits? Established his weakness for beer? I don't doubt that her father was, but it felt weird that I missed his alcoholism. Was it regularly having a beer in a to-go-cup?

Mz 9y ago
He apparently drank even while driving. And also drank while visiting relatives when he had to make the long drive back because his wife did not drive.
- chrismeller 9y ago
  There's no mention of when this was. It's easy to judge past events by our modern morals and laws, but keep in mind that those weren't always the same. Even within the baby boomers' lifetimes standards were drastically different... Personally, I think the better example is that his wife was constantly arguing with him about it. Regardless of the actual standards at the time, he was apparently routinely crossing the line with the woman that presumably loved him and bore his children. Of course just as the author tacitly accepts alcoholism because of her upbringing it's possible her mother is the exact opposite because of hers, but it seems unlikely...
  - Mz 9y ago
    I wasn't judging anything. I was just giving a TLDR of the drinking habits referenced in the article. My father drank pretty heavily. No one in the family ever called him an alcoholic. He quit after he left the army, having fought in the front lines of two wars. I think he drank to quiet the nightmares so he could sleep. He was already dead (at about age 89) when I finally realized that for all that he was a raconteur who told endless stories, he never told war stories about WW2. His stories about Vietnam were told humorously. If Vietnam was joke-worthy, WW2 was apparently unspeakable. I am the last person who would be judgy about this story.
    - chrismeller 9y ago
      The italicized "even while driving" seemed a bit judgemental. My bad if I misread that.
      - Mz 9y ago
        No, it was just something that implies that he drank constantly, except at work and for 40 days each year for Lent. At a very early age, the author learned to pour dad's beer in the car for his travel cup. This was a routine and ongoing practice. It is a detail that is suggestive of "If he isn't sleeping or at work, he has a beer in his hand. That's how much he drinks."
- jdavis703 9y ago
  I've ridden with people who drank while driving. To be honest it felt safer riding with them drinking, then when they were sober. I of course would not recommend this behavior, but a lot of the danger really depends on the individual.
  - smt88 9y ago
    No individual drives better when their motor skills and judgment (executive function) are impaired.
    - trevyn 9y ago
      I don't think this is categorically true; try applying the Yerkes–Dodson law -- if your level of attention/arousal is too high, you may be performing sub-optimally, and a small amount of impaired executive function may actually improve performance for well-rehearsed tasks. Counter-intuitive, but true. See also: Ballmer peak.
mynameishere 9y ago
Yeah, if he was like the Mexican immigrants I've seen at the beer shoppe, those 40s were "Corona" and therefore somewhat weaker than Bud. Just the thought of getting bent on that thin soup makes my kidneys hurt.

Mz 9y ago

He apparently drank even while driving. And also drank while visiting relatives when he had to make the long drive back because his wife did not drive.

chrismeller 9y ago
There's no mention of when this was. It's easy to judge past events by our modern morals and laws, but keep in mind that those weren't always the same. Even within the baby boomers' lifetimes standards were drastically different... Personally, I think the better example is that his wife was constantly arguing with him about it. Regardless of the actual standards at the time, he was apparently routinely crossing the line with the woman that presumably loved him and bore his children. Of course just as the author tacitly accepts alcoholism because of her upbringing it's possible her mother is the exact opposite because of hers, but it seems unlikely...
- Mz 9y ago
  I wasn't judging anything. I was just giving a TLDR of the drinking habits referenced in the article. My father drank pretty heavily. No one in the family ever called him an alcoholic. He quit after he left the army, having fought in the front lines of two wars. I think he drank to quiet the nightmares so he could sleep. He was already dead (at about age 89) when I finally realized that for all that he was a raconteur who told endless stories, he never told war stories about WW2. His stories about Vietnam were told humorously. If Vietnam was joke-worthy, WW2 was apparently unspeakable. I am the last person who would be judgy about this story.
  - chrismeller 9y ago
    The italicized "even while driving" seemed a bit judgemental. My bad if I misread that.
    - Mz 9y ago
      No, it was just something that implies that he drank constantly, except at work and for 40 days each year for Lent. At a very early age, the author learned to pour dad's beer in the car for his travel cup. This was a routine and ongoing practice. It is a detail that is suggestive of "If he isn't sleeping or at work, he has a beer in his hand. That's how much he drinks."
jdavis703 9y ago
I've ridden with people who drank while driving. To be honest it felt safer riding with them drinking, then when they were sober. I of course would not recommend this behavior, but a lot of the danger really depends on the individual.
- smt88 9y ago
  No individual drives better when their motor skills and judgment (executive function) are impaired.
  - trevyn 9y ago
    I don't think this is categorically true; try applying the Yerkes–Dodson law -- if your level of attention/arousal is too high, you may be performing sub-optimally, and a small amount of impaired executive function may actually improve performance for well-rehearsed tasks. Counter-intuitive, but true. See also: Ballmer peak.

mynameishere 9y ago

Yeah, if he was like the Mexican immigrants I've seen at the beer shoppe, those 40s were "Corona" and therefore somewhat weaker than Bud. Just the thought of getting bent on that thin soup makes my kidneys hurt.