Life Depends On The Liver!

Nothing more hearty and healthier than our Ho Ho Captain Archibald Haddock in the Tintin comic series. Can you imagine him without his bottle. I can't. I would throw away my book if there was one 'sober' caper of our beloved and sloshy adventurer. The reason I hadn't written earlier is because there is so much to write on such a fun topic. More soon, soon, later, later. The lady I just stepped on gives me that "You insolent! Watch where you are typing" hiss.

Will catch up soon. There's so much to talk on rum without glum.

 

Dear Cheeniya sir,
Many times we forget that once upon a time you were also young with beer glass or doing other things which many youngsters do! Respect for you prevents me to elaborate them.
Imaginative picture is a well read knowledgeable gentleman writing hilarious snippets or as a little boy in Triplicane! In between , cannot visualise. Trying to imagine young Cheeniya sir with a beer glass or at least with a can of coke!
Syamala

 

First the original post, then the follow-up banter.

You caught a nice pun there! Liver or liver? I like this counselling for both the livers. Does your club have any male exclusivity? The more I hear of your antics, the more I wish to join. This “pun” side of your club has only now come down the pike. Why predict the future on anti-booze when we have the history to learn from. What good did the Temperance and Prohibition achieve? Such movements and legislation only spurred bootlegging. I think the liver is upto the liver to take care of. He can either souse it or sober it. I have not come across one masterpiece of writing or art that was not imbrued with liquorish ideas.

Even the planner of the Middle Earth had his bilbo baggins and bottle to inspire him.

“Ho! Ho! Ho! To the bottle I go
To heal my heart and drown my woe
Rain may fall, and wind may blow
And many miles be still to go
But under a tall tree will I lie
And let the clouds go sailing by”

― J.R.R. Tolkien

You would have assumed that cold water got away easier than alcohol. Nah! Nah!

How about the Temperance Fountain in Washington DC? Dr. Henry Cogswell, a good fella, figured out that lack of clean water was forcing men to drink alcohol. Voila! He commissioned the temperance fountains across the country with all the good intentions to dispense cold water to the thirsty men. He inscribed the words “Temperance,” “Faith,” “Charity,” and “Hope.” around it. I told you, all good intentions.

What could go wrong?




Public praised his philanthropic waterwork but discredited the housed artwork. “Such ugly fountain”, they exclaimed. Why ugly? Poor architect creatively thought of two entwined fishes exchanging water which offended the sensibilities of the polity. The cold water fountain project went south and never saw the light of the northern cheer.

Such is the tribulation of even the cold water! By today's standards, two naked mermaids exchanging booze does not lift even the prudish eye lash.

I enjoy reading on lighter topics. As alcohol is less denser than water, I enjoyed reading this blog more than others.

 

The earliest Sumerians and Egyptians to have discovered the fermentation of sugar into alcohol would not have had a cure for melancholy in their minds. Perhaps, a mix-up of jars and a stray brew with yeast and voila! we had our first merry drinker. Alcohol as a crutch to drown sorrow was peddled later. There's a fable that the great philosophers of Greek assembled at Agathon's place for a philosophical discourse. They contemplated how much should each person drink to stay awake through the conversations. Aristophanes abstains, citing that he would trip easily. Agathon vows to drink in moderation. Phaedrus concedes to the temptation. In few hours of intellectual storming, and in a drinking riot, as opposed to orchestrated moderation, everyone is knocked out except Socrates. Socrates, a hard drinker, pours another round and slams the degeneration of philosophy in Greece.

I would like to believe that none of the men were miserable in life, if any of them were, it was the last standing Socrates who scorned at the poor intake of his fellow philosophers. Men drinking to subdue woe makes up a romanticized Devdas tale. Besides, wouldn't painkiller be of more use to relieve the heart ache.

I am ok if it is your modesty. But, if it is your fear, then I can assure that you are not talking to a 6 feet, 175 pounds, 'bulldog running along the feet of Jesus' called "Carry Amelie Nation" who used to destroy bars with a hatchet. When she tore down the bars with a war cry "Carry A. Nation" to mean "Carry A Nation for Prohibition", the bars blocked her with "All Nations Welcome But Carry Nation". Modesty is sweet, self-consciousness is sour.