'Round these parts, nothing good ever happens after midnight, and the things that do happen and are significant enough to make the police blotter involve alcohol at the very least 95% of the time (and those are only the ones that make the blotter). You don't read about an alcohol-related incident and say to yourself, "Gee, that's peculiar." No, it is the rule, not the exception.

I worked in a bar for several years and can attest to the effects of alcohol on the general public, especially the young ones, since I was once the young adult on the other side of the bar. After watching personalities, families and lives erode to piles of dust, my personal interpretation of moderation is that it is simply part of the addiction, used to justify perpetuation of current behavior. There are those who can enjoy only a beer of a glass of wine after a ride, but with my experience in the industry, I have never seen one. I am sure they exist, but by no means as prevalent as this forum/thread would suggest. Maybe they just didn't come to the bars I worked at, but that would be a wild assumption.

I am not against you if you drink, and I am not about prohibition. I am about personal responsibility, and the Utopian picture the drinkers in this thread paint is not at all representative of what really happens outside the 41, at least here. There is a lot less personal responsibility being exercised and a lot more of drinking entitlement going on.

Some of you cite studies that say moderate alcohol consumption is good for you, yet I doubt you treat it like medicine. Some state alcohol is not good for you, yet you follow the statement with saying you are going to have a beer anyway. None of it makes any sense to me (and yes, at some point both have come up in barroom conversation).

Bottom line, do what feels right for you, but don't be shocked if you wake up one day and wonder what the heck you've been doing for the past twenty years. Time truly flies when you are having fun, and yes, drinking was fun. Even when done responsibly, twenty years of drinking adds up to four years at [a good] college for your kids, if you have any.

That's some math that makes sense only when you are older for some reason.

Sorry if I offend those who still drink. I am sure you are nice people, but we non-drinkers aren't all Bible-thumpers who want to change you. I would wager that if a random sample of ten posters of each ilk were to gather in person at a restaurant, we'd all get along better than we do in here.