How much is that wino in the window?
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How much is that wino in the window?
On my way home Saturday night, in this rainy city, I passed several beautifully lit restaurant and bar windows, caught glimpses of the people inside, a drink in hand, a glass of red on the table. There were sparkles of light, dazzling reflections, smiles and clasped hands. I didn’t stop and linger. Home I had to get. But still – I felt The Want run up through me, from my ankles to the top of my head. The Want.
I acknowledged it and kept on moving. Like running into an old enemy on the block – a nod, tip of the hat, keep it moving.
Here's to staying strong.
I acknowledged it and kept on moving. Like running into an old enemy on the block – a nod, tip of the hat, keep it moving.
Here's to staying strong.
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Location: Minnesota, USA
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When I see this I think: "Oh, look at all the normies, the people I am not. I do not envy and I am not jealous as I am a much better without a drink in hand."
Good for you for going straight home!
Good for you for going straight home!
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 219
Lessgravity...
Were you by chance seeing your reflection in the window glass??? That was what i thought when I read the title....
The people on the other side of the glass are no different that yourself... I am sure there were some amongst them that have yet to realize their disease... you are one of the lucky ones... keep walking... you do not need that monkey to come back.
Stay strong... and good for you to have kept walking.
Were you by chance seeing your reflection in the window glass??? That was what i thought when I read the title....
The people on the other side of the glass are no different that yourself... I am sure there were some amongst them that have yet to realize their disease... you are one of the lucky ones... keep walking... you do not need that monkey to come back.
Stay strong... and good for you to have kept walking.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Big City
Posts: 3,895
Originally Posted by Spence7471 
Lessgravity...
Were you by chance seeing your reflection in the window glass??? That was what i thought when I read the title....
The people on the other side of the glass are no different that yourself... I am sure there were some amongst them that have yet to realize their disease... you are one of the lucky ones... keep walking... you do not need that monkey to come back.
Stay strong... and good for you to have kept walking.
Were you by chance seeing your reflection in the window glass??? That was what i thought when I read the title....
The people on the other side of the glass are no different that yourself... I am sure there were some amongst them that have yet to realize their disease... you are one of the lucky ones... keep walking... you do not need that monkey to come back.
Stay strong... and good for you to have kept walking.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 327
I was also thinking along those lines.
Why do you assume everyone inside is a normal drinker having a good time?
Also, if you walked by a coffee shop you probably would've seen the same thing (without the alcohol).
To steal a line from Craig Beck on YouTube, the wine is beautifully packaged poison! Don't romanticize it.
Why do you assume everyone inside is a normal drinker having a good time?
Also, if you walked by a coffee shop you probably would've seen the same thing (without the alcohol).
To steal a line from Craig Beck on YouTube, the wine is beautifully packaged poison! Don't romanticize it.
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Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Central America/Florida USA
Posts: 4,064
You're not the only one with that observation. I still remember walking down the street as the snow fell, glancing in the windows at all the patrons enjoying a few beers amidst x-mas lights...that was me once. A feeling never to be enjoyed again.
You just HAVE to fast forward the tape. For me, those nights ended poorly. I'd be the guy who stayed too long, ended up sitting there by himself for an hour after everyone left. The guy who finally left just in time to pick up more booze at the liquor store. The guy who went home and drank alone, started typing angry text messages and e-mails to confused recipients. The guy who woke up with a dry mouth, a pounding head, and terrible anxiety about work, love, and life.
I took a photo in Mexico last week. It looks so serene - we all WANT to be in that picture, ancient ruins of a Mayan pyramid right on the Caribbean Sea. What you don't see in the photo are the throngs of tourists who are trying to push me out of the way. You don't see the overweight guy from Pittsburgh standing behind me, swearing at his wife. You don't feel the 95-degree (35C) heat, you don't hear the crowded tour buses, filled with crushed bodies eager to ruin what was once a peaceful cultural attraction. You don't get a sense of all the really terrible things going on. You just see the picture. The next time you look into a bar and see that "picture perfect" situation, remember that what you see is not always what you get.
You just HAVE to fast forward the tape. For me, those nights ended poorly. I'd be the guy who stayed too long, ended up sitting there by himself for an hour after everyone left. The guy who finally left just in time to pick up more booze at the liquor store. The guy who went home and drank alone, started typing angry text messages and e-mails to confused recipients. The guy who woke up with a dry mouth, a pounding head, and terrible anxiety about work, love, and life.
I took a photo in Mexico last week. It looks so serene - we all WANT to be in that picture, ancient ruins of a Mayan pyramid right on the Caribbean Sea. What you don't see in the photo are the throngs of tourists who are trying to push me out of the way. You don't see the overweight guy from Pittsburgh standing behind me, swearing at his wife. You don't feel the 95-degree (35C) heat, you don't hear the crowded tour buses, filled with crushed bodies eager to ruin what was once a peaceful cultural attraction. You don't get a sense of all the really terrible things going on. You just see the picture. The next time you look into a bar and see that "picture perfect" situation, remember that what you see is not always what you get.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 1,055
I used to romanticize wine, too. But there is absolutely nothing romantic about it. It really is “poison wrapped up in a pretty package.” Now, we can go out to those nice places and really enjoy, taste the food. Not be consumed with getting our buzz on. Food does taste so much better without alcohol!
And like the other posters said, I’m sure many of those folks aren’t normal drinkers (if there is such a thing.) . Remember, we were them and we have no idea where they are in their relationship with alcohol.
We are no longer Winos in the Window! Love it!
And like the other posters said, I’m sure many of those folks aren’t normal drinkers (if there is such a thing.) . Remember, we were them and we have no idea where they are in their relationship with alcohol.
We are no longer Winos in the Window! Love it!
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 666
Love these replies.
Big Sombrero, beautifully observed and so true, about the curated idea vs the reality.
I also love the comment from other posters about how you could see the same camaraderie through a coffee shop window or how quickly the pretty picture warps when you play the evening through to its excess and miserable conclusion.
Thank you all
It’s a romanticized illusion.
Big Sombrero, beautifully observed and so true, about the curated idea vs the reality.
I also love the comment from other posters about how you could see the same camaraderie through a coffee shop window or how quickly the pretty picture warps when you play the evening through to its excess and miserable conclusion.
Thank you all
It’s a romanticized illusion.
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Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 16
Originally Posted by tealily
Love these replies.
Big Sombrero, beautifully observed and so true, about the curated idea vs the reality.
I also love the comment from other posters about how you could see the same camaraderie through a coffee shop window or how quickly the pretty picture warps when you play the evening through to its excess and miserable conclusion.
Thank you all
It’s a romanticized illusion.
Big Sombrero, beautifully observed and so true, about the curated idea vs the reality.
I also love the comment from other posters about how you could see the same camaraderie through a coffee shop window or how quickly the pretty picture warps when you play the evening through to its excess and miserable conclusion.
Thank you all
It’s a romanticized illusion.
hey big sombrero, I would be the last guy at the bar.....I would already have the alcohol stowed away some where and would not have to make it to the LQ before close...
I continue to romanticize alcohol and precious fun nights while young and drinking. Now, despite having lost everything except for my life my av still equates drinking with ‘fun’...just look at the most recent sb commercials...such joyous, shredded, beautiful people drinking bud light on one of them...what a sham...they should show me, having lost my family and home due to alcohol, my money, my pride, my friends, my license, my soul..all to live in a world of alcohol induced isolation in a little apartment...what a commercial that would be...
Thanks for listening, I will not drink today, day 24. My alcoholism, romanticism of alcohol, and equating drinking with fun, has cost me enough.
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Originally Posted by Defense28
What a great thread...thank you all..., going to ramble:
hey big sombrero, I would be the last guy at the bar.....I would already have the alcohol stowed away some where and would not have to make it to the LQ before close...
I continue to romanticize alcohol and precious fun nights while young and drinking. Now, despite having lost everything except for my life my av still equates drinking with ‘fun’...just look at the most recent sb commercials...such joyous, shredded, beautiful people drinking bud light on one of them...what a sham...they should show me, having lost my family and home due to alcohol, my money, my pride, my friends, my license, my soul..all to live in a world of alcohol induced isolation in a little apartment...what a commercial that would be...
Thanks for listening, I will not drink today, day 24. My alcoholism, romanticism of alcohol, and equating drinking with fun, has cost me enough.
hey big sombrero, I would be the last guy at the bar.....I would already have the alcohol stowed away some where and would not have to make it to the LQ before close...
I continue to romanticize alcohol and precious fun nights while young and drinking. Now, despite having lost everything except for my life my av still equates drinking with ‘fun’...just look at the most recent sb commercials...such joyous, shredded, beautiful people drinking bud light on one of them...what a sham...they should show me, having lost my family and home due to alcohol, my money, my pride, my friends, my license, my soul..all to live in a world of alcohol induced isolation in a little apartment...what a commercial that would be...
Thanks for listening, I will not drink today, day 24. My alcoholism, romanticism of alcohol, and equating drinking with fun, has cost me enough.
My AV is hard pressed to be killed as well with his ******** "look how wonderful life is in that boozy haze..." In fact I was on Instagram today, just looking for photos of my friends with wine glasses in hand.
What a road. But one we must hoe.
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Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 568
Originally Posted by bigsombrero
You're not the only one with that observation. I still remember walking down the street as the snow fell, glancing in the windows at all the patrons enjoying a few beers amidst x-mas lights...that was me once. A feeling never to be enjoyed again.
You just HAVE to fast forward the tape. For me, those nights ended poorly. I'd be the guy who stayed too long, ended up sitting there by himself for an hour after everyone left. The guy who finally left just in time to pick up more booze at the liquor store. The guy who went home and drank alone, started typing angry text messages and e-mails to confused recipients. The guy who woke up with a dry mouth, a pounding head, and terrible anxiety about work, love, and life.
I took a photo in Mexico last week. It looks so serene - we all WANT to be in that picture, ancient ruins of a Mayan pyramid right on the Caribbean Sea. What you don't see in the photo are the throngs of tourists who are trying to push me out of the way. You don't see the overweight guy from Pittsburgh standing behind me, swearing at his wife. You don't feel the 95-degree (35C) heat, you don't hear the crowded tour buses, filled with crushed bodies eager to ruin what was once a peaceful cultural attraction. You don't get a sense of all the really terrible things going on. You just see the picture. The next time you look into a bar and see that "picture perfect" situation, remember that what you see is not always what you get.
You just HAVE to fast forward the tape. For me, those nights ended poorly. I'd be the guy who stayed too long, ended up sitting there by himself for an hour after everyone left. The guy who finally left just in time to pick up more booze at the liquor store. The guy who went home and drank alone, started typing angry text messages and e-mails to confused recipients. The guy who woke up with a dry mouth, a pounding head, and terrible anxiety about work, love, and life.
I took a photo in Mexico last week. It looks so serene - we all WANT to be in that picture, ancient ruins of a Mayan pyramid right on the Caribbean Sea. What you don't see in the photo are the throngs of tourists who are trying to push me out of the way. You don't see the overweight guy from Pittsburgh standing behind me, swearing at his wife. You don't feel the 95-degree (35C) heat, you don't hear the crowded tour buses, filled with crushed bodies eager to ruin what was once a peaceful cultural attraction. You don't get a sense of all the really terrible things going on. You just see the picture. The next time you look into a bar and see that "picture perfect" situation, remember that what you see is not always what you get.
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Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 2,409
I know I am different to most people when it comes to drinking. I’m an alcoholic, there is no romance just messy black out drunks. I’m truly grateful that i know and accept what I am. This is how I drink and would never change. Even if I bothered to try to kid myself that I could have a few ‘sophisticated’ drinks id be buying booze on the way home to drink on my own and finish the job. Besides it’s all the same poison just marketed differently to make lots of money. I never wanted just a few drinks anyway that would just stoke the fire.
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