“From
Ice-cream To Alcohol”
A strange title for an article you say? Read on, and I will attempt to get my point across. How many of you have a favorite, ‘comfort-food’? That is; something you eat or drink that makes you feel good. Many people enjoy eating chocolate to give them a ‘lift’. For others it’s caffeine, while yet another group will pig-out on a cheeseburger and fries as a ‘feel-good’ meal. For me, it was ice cream! Whenever I was feeling depressed or lonely, (which was a good percentage of the time) I would gorge myself with ice cream…Rocky Road was my favorite. This started when I was about 8 or 9 I believe, although it could have been even earlier I suppose. At any rate, I adored the stuff. I would experience a certain ‘high’ while indulging in this decadent pastime. Cares and woes of the moment seemed to fade away during that era of feasting pleasure. At that time, in the mid-40’s, you could buy a quart of ice cream for .40. Being an only child, I always got at least .50 a week allowance and my grandfather, (who lived with us) kept my piggy bank generously overflowing with his pocket change. On the end of the block from our house was a corner grocery store called “Kempers”, so it was no problem to obtain my hearts desire. Needless-to-say, by the time I was 11, I was a fat little oinker. Anyway, as time passed and I grew older, ice cream just wasn’t pacifying me as it once had. It was at about age 12, during a family picnic, that my cousin Sherman and I snuck a can of beer out of the ice bucket and took turns swigging it. I didn’t particularly like the taste, but it was cold and frosty. Before long, we were both feeling light headed and giddy. Ta da! I had found the ultimate ‘comfort’ substance. My mom and dad drank beer and wine so there was always a supply in the fridge. Sneaking a can of beer or a glass of wine, was no problem at all. On a really good day, I would have ice cream and alcohol!
Thus, the pattern was set. I still loved the taste of ice cream, but it was booze that replaced it as a ‘comfort’ source. In the years that passed, I vacillated between periods of heavy drinking to the so-called, ‘social drinking’. In times of joy and happiness, I drank to celebrate….and, in times of loneliness and despair, I drank to forget. It comforted me. More than that, it nearly destroyed my life. I wasted 50 years of my life sucking ‘comfort’ out of a bottle….how sad.
I am 62 now, and have been sober for 2 years. I have learned, (at long last) to substitute alcohol for faith in God, (and 50mgs of Prozac a day). I can no longer eat ice cream as it aggravates my gout condition…..however, I can still eat sherbet and frozen fruit bars as a ‘comfort’ food.
Take heed, and if you are indulging in ‘comfort’ foods, be sure that you keep a handle on it for they often subtly lead us to far more dangerous stuff.
Rex D. 04/01/02
