TheBanyanTree: I'm a Wino

[Margaret R. Kramer]

7/10/97
Hi Honey!

If do not know if I should tell you or not – but I have EVERY letter you
ever wrote to me!  I had them in the car, but did not know if you might be
mad because I kept them.  They are over 3 in. thick.  I will never toss them
out.  Unless you say you want me to.  Then I will!  I love you so much that
I go back and read them over and over!  You see my love for you will never
go away!  I am like a school boy when I think of you! 

OOOOOOOOOO&XXXXXXXXX’s
Ray

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
++++

Both of my husbands were recovering alcoholics, so drinking was never part
of our relationships.  In fact, Tony and I didn’t even serve alcohol at our
wedding, not even wine.

Tony would vicariously drink through me, and got frustrated how easily I
could leave half a drink on the table and walk away from it.

Ray didn’t care if I drank or not, and I rarely ever did during our time
together.

Try as I might, I just can’t drink a lot.  It’s like my body physically
tells me to shut it off.

But since I’ve been seeing Joe, I’ve discovered wine.  At first, it was just
something to drink, but now I’m turning into something of a wine
connoisseur.  Now, when I have a glass, I analyze the flavor and the feel,
and god help me, I’m starting to look at the color!

I still buy cheap wine, but I find that really cheap wine tastes pretty bad.
A Trader Joe’s just opened up down the street from us, and I bought a few
bottles of their Three Buck Chuck.  Not great, in fact, the chardonnay was
awful.  I did like the shiraz, however.

Sometimes I buy wine at the cheapo alcoholic liquor store on University
Avenue.  No one helps you with anything, just buy your booze and get the
heck out is their attitude.  But I can get some good bottles of wine on the
cheap.

I also buy wine at a more expensive, snobby wine store.  They’re very
helpful, matching wine and food, and helping me be very la di da about my
selections.  “Good choice, very smooth, the flavor tingles the tongue.”  Oh,
yes.  Just what I need, excitement for my tongue.    

So I’m becoming a wine snob, but I still can’t drink more than a glass of
it.  At first, I was worried about becoming an alcoholic with this wine
obsession, but no, I just drink a few sips, and I’m done.

I think I’m safe from being a card carrying member of AA.

Joe’s horrified, because he’s an alcoholic, that I throw leftover wine down
the sink.  I’ve learned to give my extra wine over to him to drink to avoid
those horrified stares.  He doesn’t care what kind of wine he drinks.  He
looks for the buzz rather than the taste.

So far, I’ve only drank glasses of wine by myself a couple of times.
Drinking is very much a social thing for me.  Even by myself, I usually
can’t drink the whole glass.  I get the little buzz, relax, and then if I
drink more, I feel sick.  So I stop.

I guess I’m not becoming a wino, just a wino snob.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net
margaret.kramer at polarispublications.com
www.polarispublications.com

True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to
the body, nourishment and refreshment. 
-William Penn