Dry January got me thinking. It seems alcohol is getting a bad rap. Not a big deal, almost all things in our lives receive admonishing at some point. My issue is with the all out vigor that seems to accompany such admonishments. It’s all or nothing. It’s life or death. You are good or bad. I guess very much like our political scene, there is no in between, no compromise to be had. Red hat, blue hat, blue pill, red pill. Really? Have we not learned anything from the past? And I can say past, especially with wine. It has been around longer than any nation, any one people, any religion. Maybe wine is not just alcohol, maybe wine is larger than that. I like to think so. I am not going to claim that I have never had too much wine, I have. Yet, I will claim that I have often consumed wine for other reasons than the alcohol. It made a meal taste better, it reminded me of a lost friend, reminded me of a year’s weather in which my daughter was born. It paused my haste, as I carefully took out the cork and took a moment to breathe away my stress. I am aware of the ill effects of too much alcohol, just as I am aware of the damage that stress causes, or the medical issues too many cheeseburgers can cause, or the cancer from exposure to the sun. I am not saying, “everything in moderation”, that horse has been run one too many times. No, I am just saying take a moment, relax, it’s going to be ok. Most things that are good for you can be bad for you, but I am pretty sure bandwagons are good for no one. If you are so stressed out, I challenge you to grab a bottle of wine and if all you do with it is take the time to pull out the cork and breath, well, I think its cost was worth it. Cheers
