You know you are getting old when:

[LizzieMaine]

Heroin is rampant here -- my next-door neighbor not so many years ago was carried out of his house feet-first in a bag after an overdose -- and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it except blame Those Other People, which is hardly a constructive solution. When kids who used to work for me show up on the arrest blotter for dealing to support their own habits, it's like getting a fork in the gut. It ceases to be some abstract "problem" that you read about on Internet forums when someone who was a part of your life is the one being picked up out of the gutter.

 

[Trenchfriend]

In Germany, we think, that this todays evil meth-stuff can't really be the original clean stuff like the old industrial "Pervitin", because, as far as we can see, the german Wehrmacht-soldiers weren't such wrecked monsters, like the today's shown victims!

We think, that the today's meth must be any foozled dirt or whatever. Like the stuff from the big source Czech Republic.

What do you think??

 

[LizzieMaine]

Meth here is cooked up on a stove from cold medicine and drain cleaner, among other healthy all-natural ingredients. There was a meth lab two houses up the street from me and when they cleaned it out the DEA squad were all decked out in full hazmat suits. Yum yummy yum.

Seriously, how desperately damaged a soul do you have to be to put such filth into your body? Wouldn't it better to try and heal the damage than to mask it with intoxicating poisons? Shouldn't society be trying to help heal that damage rather than just kicking the victims harder, or worse, treating them with complete indifference?

 

[GHT]

Heroin is rampant here -- my next-door neighbor not so many years ago was carried out of his house feet-first in a bag after an overdose -- and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it except blame Those Other People, which is hardly a constructive solution.

When I read that it saddened me, but didn't surprise me. After living in London for most of my life I saw almost every facet of human life, and my wife, who was a paramedic before retiring, saw life in the raw.
Now living in a rural area everything appears so respectable, how looks can be deceiving.

Lizzie describes, those other people who are the supposed guilty party, but when I saw a clandestine film about a leading tobacco company, that cynically sprayed the tobacco with up to 20 addictive additives, I knew then that if you follow the chain of supply for illicit drugs, it will lead you past those other people, and onto to respectability, untainted by someone being carried out in a body bag.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Yep. Follow the money.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Get the brown fairtrade-instant stuff with the funny green cap on the plastic-can, from Tanzania.

PS: Some call it "coffee".

PS:
If you got a bad constipation, this will bring you to the toilet, immediately.

 

[tonyb]

Their illegality plays a large role in the lethality of certain drugs.

There's heroin and then there's heroin. Same with meth. Same with cocaine. Et cetera. Beyond dosages being all over the map, Lord only knows what besides that active ingredient might be in any particular batch.

The ethics of those in the biz are all over the map as well. Too many have little compunction over introducing additional poisons into what is already a poisonous product. (All drugs, legal or not, are poisons of a sort. That's why they work.)

What's too often missing (almost always missing, in my experience) in discussions of drug use is an honest examination of why people are drawn to it. People like the effect, at least initially. It is pleasant. In some ways their lives are made better by it. Of course, in some ways their lives are made worse. But ignoring the upside is to deny a central piece of the phenomenon. If we wish to effectively address the issue, we plainly can't disregard a simple truth we might rather wasn't so.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Coffee is healthy. The coffee's acidity kills all the free radicals in your body!

Disadvantage are the withdrawal symptoms, sometimes.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Not all things that feel good *are* good -- what needs to happen is a greater understanding of that simple truth. Until it does, it's appropriate and necessary, I think, for society to set parameters.

I love carnival food -- hot sausages, fried dough, all that crap. It makes me feel good when I'm eating it. But about two o'clock the next morning there's a very good chance that I'm going to wake up experiencing horrific cramps, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to throw up. Is that momentary pleasure worth the risk of a miserable night -- and if it's a really bad one, a lost day of work that will put an unfair burden on other people to carry my load?

I know all this can, and likely *will* happen before I even walk onto the carnival grounds. Am I entitled to make the irresponsible decision to indulge just because I can? And wouldn't it be an act of kindness for those who accompany me to the carnival who see my resolve weakening to steer me away from the sausage cart, by force if necessary? (And depending on the kind of sausage, force is exactly what it might take.)

 

[tonyb]

Coffee is healthy. The coffee's acidity kills all the free radicals in your body!

Disadvantage are the withdrawal symptoms, sometimes.

I've been a habitual caffeine user since I was a pre-pubescent.

On those rare occasions when I go without coffee I develop a headache, by about noon. This is a problem when traveling. Seriously, I need at least 20 ounces within an hour or two of awakening.

I'm not exactly a connoisseur, but I do know the difference between the good stuff and the lesser stuff, and at home I drink the good stuff, on ice, which makes it easier to slam and get that caffeine into my bloodstream. On the road I may have to resort to the swill sold at convenience stores. Can't say that I like it all that much, but I'm an addict so I do what I have to to get myself fixed.

 

[Trenchfriend]

How is the coffee in your american diners along the road? Is it "up to every trick", too?

 

[tonyb]

Not all things that feel good *are* good -- what needs to happen is a greater understanding of that simple truth. Until it does, it's appropriate, I think, for society to set parameters.

I love carnival food -- hot sausages, fried dough, all that crap. It makes me feel good when I'm eating it. But about two o'clock the next morning there's a very good chance that I'm going to wake up experiencing horrific cramps, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to throw up. Is that momentary pleasure worth the risk of a miserable night -- and if it's a really bad one, a lost day of work that will put an unfair burden on other people to carry my load?

I know all this can, and likely *will* happen before I even walk onto the carnival grounds. Am I entitled to make the irresponsible decision to indulge just because I can? And wouldn't it be an act of kindness for those who accompany me to the carnival who see my resolve weakening to steer me away from the sausage cart, by force if necessary? (And depending on the kind of sausage, force is exactly what it might take.)

There's a reason younger people are likelier to succumb to pleasures of the flesh. They're new to such things, and novelty alone is appealing. And they tend to recover faster.

I am now in my seventh decade. I don't regard such matters with the urgency I once did. I gave up drinking almost 10 years ago. My life isn't the worse for it, but it isn't much the better for it, either.

There was a time when I would gladly spend the night with pretty much any girl (excuse me, "woman") who wished that of me. This is fairly typical behavior of young(ish) fellows. And if those women wished to ingest some mood altering substance while we passed the hours together, well, I was generally cool with that, too.

I don't behave that way anymore. But I have few regrets over my history in that regard.

Now, cigarettes are a whole 'nuther matter ...

 

[2jakes]

I love carnival food -- hot sausages, fried dough, all that crap. It makes me feel good when I'm eating it. But about two o'clock the next morning there's a very good chance that I'm going to wake up experiencing horrific cramps, and there's a pretty good chance I'm going to throw up. Is that momentary pleasure worth the risk of a miserable night -- and if it's a really bad one, a lost day of work that will put an unfair burden on other people to carry my load?

I used to indulge in the junkies which was usually followed
by cramps in the night.
A shot of Pepto straight from the bottle kinda helped.

Now whenever I get the urge, I still eat it,
but in moderation.
The trick is being able to push away the plate.

I gave up cigarettes & drinking long ago.
For me it wasn’t difficult to do.
My addiction to physical sports was greater.
I feel great.
Yet sad for some of my friends who are 20 years
younger but look and feel older than me .

I can understand those that for medical reasons cannot be active.
I'm speaking about those individuals that are able to do something
about it but won’t.

And smoking will detract time from your life.
But I believe you know this already.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

And wouldn't it be an act of kindness for those who accompany me to the carnival who see my resolve weakening to steer me away from the sausage cart, by force if necessary? (And depending on the kind of sausage, force is exactly what it might take.)

Never get between a sausageolic & a Bratwurst.

 

[2jakes]

Never get between a sausageolic & a Bratwurst.

Especially one ~

From Maine ~

That is ~

If you value ~

Your life ~




“burma~shave"

 

[kaiser]

I used to indulge in the junkies which was usually followed
by cramps in the night.
A shot of Pepto straight from the bottle kinda helped.

Now whenever I get the urge, I still eat it,
but in moderation.
The trick is being able to push away the plate.

I gave up cigarettes & drinking long ago.
For me it wasn’t difficult to do.
My addiction to physical sports was greater.
I feel great.
Yet sad for some of my friends who are 20 years
younger but look and feel older than me .

I can understand those that for medical reasons cannot be active.
I'm speaking about those individuals that are able to do something
about it but won’t.

And smoking will detract time from your life.
But I believe you know this already.

I am with you on the sports thing Jake, I have been an avid cyclist for well over 40 years now and at age 57 I am in really good shape compared to many of my friends who do little if any sports. I am an addict when it comes to endurance sports like cycling.

 

[2jakes]

^^^^^
The funny thing is that I was never much into sports when I was in school.
“Giraffe, beanpole” were some of the names that were directed at me.
Tall, skinny & shy, I usually went to the library or Saturday matinees on my days off.
I could eat anything in large amounts & never gained weight.
Even sent 10¢ to Charles Atlas so that I could kick sand on the
bully at the beach.

Nada!

Not until I was in the military.
I saw a sergeant hitting a tennis ball with his gorgeous daughter
did I start to develop an interest in sports.
Went to the base exchange & paid $9.99 for a "Pancho Gonzales “
Deluxe tennis racket.


Took some time before I could manage to hit that fuzzy little white ball
and keep it in the court.
But by then I was shipped to Guam.

Never saw the cutie again...
but I did keep up with the sport.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I saw a sergeant hitting a tennis ball with his gorgeous daughter

The Army's tough. They didn't issue racquets?

 

[2jakes]

The Army's tough. They didn't issue racquets?
That must’ve hurt.

I’m a realist, even back then.
The only thing that hurt was not being able to play tennis.
As far as military issue...
It was an M3 .30 caliber.

Many a nights she kept me company.

 

[GHT]

I am now in my seventh decade. I don't regard such matters with the urgency I once did. I gave up drinking almost 10 years ago. My life isn't the worse for it, but it isn't much the better for it, either.
There was a time when I would gladly spend the night with pretty much any girl (excuse me, "woman") who wished that of me. This is fairly typical behavior of young(ish) fellows. And if those women wished to ingest some mood altering substance while we passed the hours together, well, I was generally cool with that, too.
I don't behave that way anymore. But I have few regrets over my history in that regard.
Now, cigarettes are a whole 'nuther matter ...

You and I have lived in parallel universes. Tobacco is something that I could never quit, yet I did, in my mid twenties. Alcohol was also a substance that might have proved difficult to master, rather than it master me, but I cracked that too.
And long before the feminine movement, it occurred to me that a one night stand was all about my own gratification, thinking of my sexual partner as an object rather than as an equal. There weren't that many, but truly, one is too many.
I too am in my seventh decade, but it's only a figure on the calendar of life. I'm much too young to be old.