If I were to title this photograph, it would be "TWO SEA CREATURES," referring to the first Sea Creature pictured above me that lives in the ocean off to my left maybe two hundred yards and the second Sea Creature would be me crawling onto dry land after my 30-year descent into a Sea of Alcohol (seen here holding a copy of my first book).
So OBVIOUSLY, I know what a HANGOVER is, but what may not be so obvious is that after my second of three decades of Daily Binge Drinking, I rarely had a hangover.
"Why, Jim? Why is that? Rarely a hangover?"
I remained just drunk enough those last 10 years that a hangover rarely made an appearance. The Hair of the Dog kept my level of toxicity hovering somewhere between incapacitated and blackout drunk for that entire last decade.
"What about this DRUG-FREE HANGOVER? What's that about?"
It's about waking up Clean & Sober for the 17th year in a row without feeling the nagging aftereffects of the evening that preceded it.
When I drank, during my drinking decades, the hangovers, when I still had them, were about trying to piece together the events of the night before. Today, my drug-free hangovers are appreciating the lingering memories of time well-spent and fully enjoyed over these many clean and sober years.
A Splitting Headache or a Drug-Free Hangover? The Choice became more obvious to me as my Recovery has progressed. Today I know that Recovery is Possible, Doable, Irreplaceable. A Drug-Free Hangover comes Highly Recommended (pun intended).
Now, a New Year is upon us. I raise my glass of Sparkling Cider to toast the coming year. May we find Peace Together with each passing day, instead of failing to Piece Together the drunken blackouts of the endless string of days we've left behind.
Did I mention the Third Type of Hangover? There's the Drunk Hangover, the Drug-Free Hangover and then there's (unfortunately) My Belly's HANGING OVER My Belt!
Happy Hangover, One and All!
*****
ALL DRINKING ASIDE: The Destruction, Deconstruction & Reconstruction of an Alcoholic Animal
