wehav2day

I'm an alcoholic, and a darned good planner. I could get drunk in a "dry county." I rotated stores, times, shifts, became a "regular" at more places than I could count so no one place would see me buying too much booze at any one time.

Now sober, I doubt I had really fooled anyone... I was never without booze or a good hiding place for said booze.

I think the changes your friends made in drinking venues says more about the progression of alcoholism than the rule changes in pubs... The worse I got the more I drank before going out to "save money." And so people in the club couldn't see how much I really drank.

Retread1959

That's just lame! It's the Milwaukee Brewers, after all.

thomas11

I am from the same state as Venecia, we have pretty strict laws regarding alcohol purchasing. Grocery and convenience stores only sell 3/2 beer. Liquor is sold at liquor stores only. Closed on Sundays. When I was actively drinking, it took planning to make sure there was enough alcohol in the house because I could not run to the store at all hours and get what I wanted. In hindsight, I'm glad. Now, in California where we have a home, all alcohol (I believe) is in grocery stores, and they are open 24/7. When actively drinking, this was a relief. If I ever ran out, I could go at any time. Bottom line, I think the premise of your OP is correct.

bookmaven

This thread has some fascinating posts! Thanks.

I think I used to spend almost as much time planning my drinking and making sure I had enough of my drug of choice on hand before the shops closed as someone addicted to heroin spends trying to scrounge up money and find a score before withdrawals set in.

So much wasted energy. Not to mention that I'd go to a different store every time so the clerks wouldn't look at me with those eyes that clearly say "didn't you just buy 2 bottles of wine last night?"