Did you ever stop to notice all the taboos there are associated with drinking?  They are kind of funny when you think about them. Alcohol sales average 6.5 billion dollars every year in the United States and it’s been 84 years since Prohibition ended but these stigmas still exist.  I wonder how close my guess actually is to the correct figures.  I’m too lazy to look them up so if I sound convincing, people will believe me.  Anyway, even though it is such a large part of our society, people are not only hesitant to have a drink when they want but even to admit when they want one.  We have all either heard or said “maybe I’ll have just one”.  Does anyone that utters that line ever only have just one because it’s not fooling anyone.  I guess it sounds more socially acceptable than to come right out and admit that they are going to drink until they can’t find their way home.

How about the ever popular and my personal favorite, “it’s 5:00 o’clock somewhere”.  Where did that time come from?  The end of the work day? When was it decided that after 5:00 o’clock it was socially acceptable to start drinking but before that magic hour you were a lush.  Who, other than myself, wants to admit that you have used a different time zone at some point in your life to justify the early start of drinking?  Well, it’s 5:00 o’clock in Russia so it must be alright for me.

Everyone wants a drink but no one wants to admit they want a drink.  When “I’ll have a drink if you are” is uttered it’s pretty obvious that you want a drink but are too afraid to come right out and say it.  When the person you’re with decides on iced tea you all of sudden pretend you never really wanted one, you just didn’t want them to have to drink alone. Come on, if George Thorogood can drink alone without being criticized then why can’t we.

These “rules” obviously exist in our society for a reason but our brain finds whatever loopholes it can to get around them. It probably is best that they exist, I mean can you imagine if they didn’t.  Moms would be pushing their children at the playground with one hand and a brown paper bag containing a 40 oz. in their other hand.  Employee manuals would have a section discussing the protocol of holding your co-worker’s hair while they vomit.  Teachers would be teaching cursive writing when they were really trying to teach printing.  Science classes would be making moonshine.  All Hell would break loose.  Let’s just keep up our waiting until 5:00 o’clock and only have just one.