Merry Christmas!
When I first came to Spain there were two things I thought would never change. Smoking, and Drinking and driving. Smoking indoors has been challenged and banished, but smoking outdoors is as prevalent as always, but at least non-smokers have no objection to that.
Driving after drinking alcohol has been a major problem in a country where lovely wines are produced, and the custom has been to mix whiskey or brandy with coffee, several times a day. People have had to be retrained to be responsible. It has been a slow process but it is working. Spain's annual death toll has fallen from a high of between 7000 and 8000 thousand to around one thousand, four hundred over less than 20 years.
At the moment the police are out in force actively looking for people who have attended their company's annual dinner and dance, demanding that if they intend to drink alcohol they must designate a driver who will abstain from alcohol. Many people see the police as trying to spoil their fun, but no, the police are content that they have their fun, but they want them to continue to live, and to let other people live.
Some time ago I decided that my driving permit was too important, as was my life, of course, so I decided that I would grow up and face the fact that I, and I alone was responsible. I began refusing alcohol and was amazed at the hostility of some of my hosts, but gradually they came to understand that I would refuse, so they stopped offering. One day I got a shot of encouragement from a bartender who said that he did not blame me for drinking something soft as I had to drive.
Christmas time is the worst time of all to deliberately inflict the sadness of a funeral upon one's family. Sometimes we need to think outside the envelope to avoid the risk of hurting others and ourselves. Recently my wife and I attended a dinner and dance, but we took a hotel room next door. However, there still existed the need to drink in moderation because the next day the alcohol is still in the system and the police are still looking for me.
Be careful, enjoy yourself, and stay alive!
Copyright (c) 2012 Eugene Carmichael
