Don't forget Peyote and mushrooms.

Man made booze - god made pot...Who do you trust?  :)

But Benjamin Franklin said beer was proof god wanted man to be happy.

Yeah, maybe we should stay off this subject....GOD (that i DO believe in) grant me the serenity...Love you too Colitas...I guess on this particular subject I am one sided.  Sorry but that is the way i feel.  No hard feelings.  I see now that you were being sarcastic and saying you were an alcoholic.  My bad. I just know that for 99.9999% of alcoholics~real alcoholics (as the book calls them), cannot take that drink, for if real alcoholic it is fatal.  I am really not such a bad person.

man, i thought we were talking about God or no God or whatever, why do we have to talk about alcoholism....geez i need a drink :)

Ditto Colitas, it pains me as well.   I am more than happy to agree to disagree with Jewels.  But, I don't disagree with her in the first place, I think the way she follows the steps is in HER best interests and indeed the best way for most alcoholics. I understand her belief that no alcoholic can ever drink, I only know of one other person like me in the hundreds of alcoholics I have met.  Sadly I'm an oddball and she can't accept the fact that I was once an alcoholic, and yet today I drink occasionally. without a problem, or an urge to get drunk.  

Other than telling her an untruth, what can I do Colitas???  I won't bash her, two wrongs do not make a right and I don't get angry anymore in order to live a normal life.  Thus, I choose to do nothing, I simply will not respond to her posts anymore..   Don't let this sadden you Colitas.   Such is life.  

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Jewels, what I think you need to do is re-read what I wrote and quit judging me.  I never said I wasn't an alcoholic. I was simply making fun of you for not believing me when I said I was an alcoholic. Did you not see at the bottom of the 20 question where I said I answered 12 YES? We have been through this before. Your anger at me being different than you and your inability to accept my truth is getting kind of irritating.  I will NOT stop sponsoring people simply because you don't agree with the way I live my life.  It's NOT all about you.   My sponsees, disagree with you, but then they don't believe every book is written in stone either.   None of my sponsees have relapsed/drank again, and I have sponsored some of them for over 15 years.  So again you are incorrect in your assesment of me being a sponsor. You can continue to bash who I am, but I will not be responding to your posts in the future.  I have much better things to do with my time.

LIVE and LET LIVE

Are you an alcoholic?

1. Do you lose time from work due to your drinking?

2. Is drinking making your home life unhappy?

3. Do you drink because you are shy with other people?

4. Is drinking affecting your reputation?

5. Have you ever felt remorse after drinking?

6. Have you gotten into financial difficulties as a result of your drinking?

7. Do you turn to lower companions and an inferior environment when drinking?

8. Does your drinking make you careless of your family's welfare?

9. Has your ambition decreased since drinking?

10. Do you crave a drink at a definite time daily?

11. Do you want a drink the next morning?

12. Does drinking cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

13. Has your efficiency decreased since drinking?

14. Is drinking jeopardizing your job or business?

15. Do you drink to escape from worries or troubles?

16. Do you drink alone?

17. Have you ever had a complete loss of memory as a result of your drinking?

18. Has your physician ever treated you for drinking?

19. Do you drink to build up your self-confidence?

20. Have you ever been in a hospital or institution on account of drinking?

If you have answered YES to any one of the questions, there is a definite warning that you may be an alcoholic.

If you have answered YES to any two, the chances are that you are an alcoholic.

If you have answered YES to three or more, you are definitely an alcoholic.

Sparks answered YES to 12 of these questions in 1987

Oh yeah, the blackouts, they were scary!!!

Jewels, right, I wasn't an alcoholic .  But 3 DUIs, and several arrests for passing out in public later....  I guess I just didn't make the cut in my 20 years of drinking. lol

Simply because I can drink now and not DIVE back into my old drinking behavior doesn't mean I wasn't an alcoholic,. I know this is what AA teaches you and in general it's true.  It's best that you do believe that taking another drink would drag you back into the abyss of alcoholism, because it probably will in your case.  Most alcoholics can never take another drink, especially chronic alcoholics such as yourself.  I have to admit I was not a chronic alcoholic, I actually managed to be sober a day or two a week. There is a difference in how people abuse alcohol and why, but it doesn't mean they are not alcoholics.  

Absolutely, I still sponsor many people with all kinds of beliefs.  However, it takes a lot of work and a lot of hard love which can be draining at times.  I never tell my babies that someday they can drink, because it's not true in most cases.  However, I will NOT LIE to them about my having a drink ocassionally because rigorous honesty is what keeps me sane and happy. 

I NEVER SAID PEOPLE NEEDED TO BELIEVE IN "GOD" TO GET AND STAY SOBER.

Ok Gube, do you think you can be an alcoholic one day and then decide that you can have a drink?