Why Blog?

The thought of blogging came to me after my many posts on Facebook. I wasn’t sure if continuing to interrupt a pleasant feed of vacation pictures and Mardi Gras ball prep was the best place to keep showing up with the dreaded alcohol talk. (Although a lot of the vacation pictures and ball prep include raising glasses of booze in celebration - just an observation, not a judgement). The fact is, I’ve always liked to write and I’ve always liked alcohol. Or maybe a better description is that I’ve always been compelled to do both, with one being significantly healthier and ultimately more rewarding. I’m buying into that philosophy in this process; giving up alcohol is not loosing something, but rather gaining something. Pass the pen and paper please.

For me this is an accountability project as well as way to connect with people who may be in exactly the same boat, in a boat on the same ocean, on a cruise ship popping tops or all alone on a sinking skiff. I am not a doctor, life coach, or shipyard engineer, but I have found the life jacket cache, and I’m here to tell you it's full if you want a floatation device.

This blog will be imperfect to say the least. I have never designed a website, save college in the 90s when I studied graphic design with Quark Express, about the same time we were hearing murmurings of a “world wide web.” This blog will most likely have verbs conjugated wrong. Wrongly? Not the right way? Whatever! And God forbid I use an improper “their, they’re, there.” Nobody is proofing these posts. This is more train of thought, creative flow, blog talk…

My hope is to explore the reasons we drink and what it's doing to us individually and as a society. I was a pusher for years, having grown up in the business, and was more about the partying in college than the Quark Express. That party lifestyle has played out in my life, softened but never left - until now, until I made a choice to quit. Turning 50 was a big factor as was losing my mom in December. At this age, I’m realizing that the boat I’m in….well… let's just say there is a horizon approaching and I want to make sure I notice everything about this wide and beautiful ocean while I’m still afloat. To notice and to question. That is the goal. I know I don’t have the answers. Only when I fall off that horizon, in my flat earth metaphor, will God let me in on the truth. But until then, float with me if you want. Chime in with questions of your own, observations about life and booze, poems or inspirations. I’m just figuring out that being sober is so much better than being buzzed, and I’m excited about his new part of the paddle.

PS - In case you are wondering about the address: My mother’s maiden name is Seale and my middle name is Seale. I’ve always wanted a tattoo of a seal but I’m going with a domain name instead.

Thought of the day: Be scared and do it anyway.