Isn’t that crazy?  How many old movies or even more recent ones have I seen where someone is asked that question?

What if the person being asked, “What’s your poison?” was led to a table that had bottles of Arsenic, Strychnine, Rat Poison, radioactive ice cubes, Heroin and of course alcohol?

What’s the difference in the end?  They all have the potential to kill us-just at different rates. Some deliver a slow death-some an immediate one.  They are all lethal. In spite of myself and all of the other heavy drinkers I’ve known in my life, I don’t think any would choose the Arsenic, Strychnine, Rat Poison, etc.. But people certainly go for the Booze.  Over and over over.  Day in and day out.  Knowing it’s poison.

I got curious where the phrase originated and found that it originated in the mid 19th Century.  Poison referring to alcoholic beverages.  I even read that in Australia (please correct me if I’m wrong if anyone is from Australia reads this) that pubs there are sometimes called “Poison Shops”!

Are we nuts?  A Facebook friend posted a video she took in a bar in Mexico of the bartender making margaritas.  Each drink probably had a quarter of a bottle of Tequila in it.  Added to the Cointreau and Brandy!  So that one drink was probably almost a quart of alcohol!  Now, I loved Margaritas!  Grew up in San Antonio, Texas-lived in Mexico.  Trust me, I have had my share of Margaritas.  But, all I could think of while watching that video was “Poison!”

We, in this society of always trying to perfect out diets and eating habits,  we rant against GMOs.  We hate white sugar.  Don’t even mention high fructose corn syrup-which is not outlawed in the US of A.  We rage against gluten, we cover up in zinc oxide before hitting the beach, we pass laws against water and air pollution. We sign petitions to ban Monsanto.  But alcohol-a known poison-is everywhere!  In various forms.  The scary thing is that it also has the potential to be a silent killer-especially in women.  With no apparant symptoms, a person can go into liver failure.  Why in the hell do we want to drink something like that?

I really think there should be a huge poison sign on every bottle.  If that deters some people from ever wanting to try it, that would be a great thing.

On another note.. I’m late to the club, but I’ve started reading “Girl on a Train”.  It’s hard for me to read.  Part of me wants to say that I was never that bad-but then it’s all relative isn’t it? And, I can’t say I never had a blackout.  At one point, when she’s drinking on the train and notices people looking askance at her, my very first thought was,”why doesn’t she pour it in a soda can or a Starbucks cup?”

Guess I still have some work to do!