Hi again, James!  This is a continuation of my previous message to you:

JB>  Alcohol thins the blood, and you're likely to clot like
JB>  a hemophiliac.


         Interesting.  I knew that folks who use alcohol... especially
wine... in moderation have fewer cardiovascular problems than folks who use
either too much or none at all.  When I first became aware of this effect I
was reading a book about cholesterol.  Some time later I read that grape
juice works just as well.  Then I read the other day that females who drink
wine live longer & are less at risk for dementia than others although
they're more at risk for breast cancer.  What you gain on the swings, you
may lose on the roundabouts....  ;-)



JB>  As much as I try to "take it on the chin", I'm pretty
JB>  grateful for modern analgesics too.


         In a word... yes.  Been there, done that....  :-)



AH>  He came home from the pub roaring drunk at 2:00 AM quite
AH>  routinely or went there occasionally... depending on who
AH>  you ask.  The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.  ;-)

JB>  Depending how often the storyteller was at his side, no doubt.


         How often & when... no doubt!  I think a lot may also have to
do with the personality of the reporter, however.  In my first example the
information comes from somebody I'd describe in a nutshell as rather angry
& critical.  In my second example the information comes from somebody
I'd describe as having a much more positive outlook on life.  While they
had similar chances to observe what was going on, they seem to have
interpreted it quite differently....  :-)



JB>  I think it's testament to the human spirit how some thrive
JB>  despite deficits.


         Agreed.  We have a kid who seems to be thriving, for example, despite
a medical history at BCCH which was 4 1/2 inches thick even before her stroke.
Others don't always approve of what we're doing... but our daughter comes from
a long line of people who refuse to accept the notion that there's nothing for
it but to roll over meekly & die after a diagnosis of xxx, and I encourage her
to carry on the family tradition.  I have also achieved the impossible in many
situations because I was too naive to know it was impossible at the time.  ;-)



JB>  (Substance Abuse In Later Life)
JB>  I rode dad's coattails, and as I had dropped the Morphone
JB>  a couple years earlier, they decided to let me attend.
JB>  What an eye opener!  Not for only the science, but the
JB>  mechanism some adopted as denial, or vehicles for progress.


         I can relate.  I became interested in such issues for various reasons
too numerous to mention without making this reply a lot longer.  But in brief,
I found it very enlightening to read what 12-Steppers had to say.  It seems to
me that what they are doing is adhering to a formalized lesson plan based on a
process which can occur naturally & intuitively as well.  The process requires
introspection, though, which comes more naturally to some than to others.  :-)



JB>  Not to place blame, but the genetics to my ancestry had a
JB>  few lean winters to live through. The fat survived, and
JB>  the svelte struggled.


         Uh-huh.  The same tendency to lay on fat in preparation for a time
of famine and/or for a cold winter which many people find inconvenient now
may be what enabled their ancestors to survive & reproduce.  What is
considered to be "ideal" in terms of weight has changed within my
own lifetime... not only from
a medical standpoint, but also from the standpoint of what's generally thought
attractive.  If Rubenesque figures and alabaster skin were in favour a century
ago... and if females with such characteristics were more likely to marry than
others... is it any wonder their grandchildren are fighting the "battle of the
bulge" and/or applying sun screen in order to prevent skin cancer?  Ukrainians
are by no means the only folks with such problems.  By trying to control
their weight, humans may be fighting their own biology.  OTOH our ancestors
probably did more physical work & ate less refined carbohydrate than we
do.  Whatever a person does may have ramifications they're unaware of at
the time.  If there's blame to be assigned it's only fair to assign it on
both sides.  Mother Nature may be smarter than we are as well.  I read just
recently that some people are predicting world shortages of rice & corn
& various other comestibles....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+