I won’t hazard the reasons for you taking them; for myself it was because I wanted my own opinion on them, not my parents', not my teachers', not the governments'.

But I digress, as I am wont to do when slightly sober. I was talking about drugs. Drugs and alcohol.

We all laugh when some self-righteous ass spouts the same old tripe about alcohol being as bad as any other drug. Sometimes we say it ourselves. I don’t think many of us truly believe it.

Charlie, lsd, MDMA. Great trips all of them. Fun times. But here I sit, clean, and I know they all pale against the beautiful, sublime versatility of alcohol.

How we take for granted this potent, seductive elixir. We go out of a night, down a few pints and go home high on bon homie and laughter. Do you think it is being around our friends that makes us so at ease?

Fools.

Alcohol: 1
You: nil

Alcohol. How little credit you get.

You take the edge off reality for me. Let me take that step back and give myself the perspective I need.

There is an art to drinking, to finding that sweet plateau of clarity where your reality lies bare before you, yet where you retain a detachment from it. Perspective and detachment: alcohol, I thank you for these gifts.

I write this wee credit to liquor because today I got a wake up call from its siren’s cry.

The comfort I can take from one little bottle of beer after a long day of sobriety, worry, stress and sadness is staggering. And scary. And worth every dead and damaged cell in my liver.

Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir?

Cheers.