Recently came to the conclusion I want/need to stop drinking. I've seen a few guys on here say they've been sober for years.
I've been pretty strong willed when it comes to kicking habits, but this one has been a one step forward three steps back one. Haha
Those of you who have stopped did you notice many benefits on your hunts, mindset, or physical shape?
Any tips on the process?
You know when I was about 15 or 16. A bunch of my buddies and I would put our money together and find someone old enough to buy beer or whiskey for us because of course a minor can’t buy it themselves.
One Saturday night we went to one of the guys uncles house to see if he would buy or alcohol for us. The uncle was about 40 years old , was passed out on his couch with a almost empty gallon of wine. Remember the bottle cap had been left off, bottle had 4 big dead roaches floating around in it. ( The image and number of roaches floating around in that jug has stuck in my mind clear as a bell ever since that happened over 45 years ago. )
Our friend shook his uncle until he woke him up. The first thing the uncle done was to down the rest of the wine roaches and all. Then fail flat of his back onto the couch. His mouth wide open eyes closed. Arm hanging off the side of the couch. His nephew was shaking him, slapping him in the face trying to wake him. A couple of the guys said he was dead. I thought the same thing myself, scared me. The nephew said he’s not dead. Said he does this all the time.
Next morning happened to be driving by the man’s house as medics was loading the man’s body into an ambulance. He was dead.
I drink a lot when I was a teen and in my 20’s. We held a traditional deer camp with most of the same guys in it for 35 years. There was always alcohol at that camp. I was probably one of the few 15 year olds to always take 3, 4, 5 cases of old Milwaukee beer to deer camp with them most seasons. And the funny thing about it is out of all of that beer that spent my hard earned money on I probably didn’t drink a six pack if that much myself. You see I had a brother in law in his late 20’s that bought the beer for me.
I just wanted to play Mr. big shot i guess was why I spent my hard earned money doing that. Or maybe I was that stupid back then.
But a lot of those guys my brother in law included ended up coming to camp most of those years but never hunted. They were there to drink and stay drunk the whole time they were there. That’s about all they done when they would go home too. As a teenager I thought they were funny. But eventually as I got older I was drinking pretty good myself. If I took 5 cases of beer to camp and I had of caught someone in my cooler with me giving them the green light the fight would be on.
Remember one time I was 19. That brother-in-law of mine and another one of the guys his age that came to camp to just drink. We went to secure our camp sight a couple days before opening day. Well we all got tanked up. Well at the age when I got to drinking I guess I could be a little obnoxious you might say. Any that’s what my brother-in-law and his buddy said happen that night. Because all I can remember is when the two of them, one sitting on my chest slapping me in the face, the other holding my arms down telling me I better cool it and straighten up.
Well when they finally let me loose and went back into the camper to drink a few more beers. Instead of cooling it. I seemed to just heat up a bit more. So when that camper door opened I was ready for the both of them. I got the first one with a from the heels hay maker just almost knocking him out. Soon as he got to his feet he got gone. When I got a hold of my brother-in-law he ended up with a broke arm. Drove him to the ER the next morning and back then they still put broke arms in a cast.
I drink and fought well up into my late 20’s hurt a lot of family and friends and myself because of it. Luckier than some of my other buddies just because Alcohol was my drug. They added other drugs to their Alcohol like coke,meth,acid just run of the mill common drugs.
I thank my lucky stars I finally grew up before I ended up like some of my other friends who I thought of as brothers, guys that I hunted, fished, trapped with from the time all started out with daisy BB guns. One of my closest friends is so burnt out from alcohol and drugs you can’t even carry on a conversation with him today.
But even though he is on disability, wears a colostomy bag, is 6 foot 2 inches tall and weighs about 90 lbs. Has given up drinking and doing drugs, don’t even smoke now. Only if he had of smartened up way before he was in his fifties to quit drugs. He had a lot of other things he was interested in that he could of done. Was heck of an athlete. Always wanted to play in the NBA.
Again I apologize for being so windy. Guess that’s part of getting old. For the OP of this post. I don’t think you will get the advice you need from me or anyone else because when it comes down to it. Your going to do what you want to do. I know I did. I hope you do like I did and finally realize even though drugs and alcohol even in small doses can and most of the time do lead to big problems that can cause you to lose a lot.
. 3 more nights to go.
