a few thoughts on drinking

For the benefit of my mother, and anyone else concerned about the frequency of liquor mentions on this site:

There are more old drunkards than old doctors.
— Benjamin Franklin

An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with fools.
— Ernest Hemmingway

Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me.

–Winston Churchill

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March 26, 2002

one last liquor thought

“Extensive interviews show that not one alcoholic has ever actually seen a pink elephant.”
–Yale University, Center of Alcoholic Studies

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March 10, 2002

CH3CH2OH

“It has been my experience that people who have no vices have very few virtues.”
–Abraham Lincoln

Yes, thats it. I only drink to become a better person. I’m building virtues, so this hangover is entirely worth it.

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in good company

What an egotistical bastard, you’re thinking. True. But I’m in good company; after all, I’m a trumpet player. A few quotes to illustrate:

“We grow up hearing that trumpeters blew down the walls of Jericho, that Gabriel’s trumpet announces the will of God, and that the largest, and hippest, of all animals, the elephant, has a trunk mostly for trumpeting. These grandiose images shape the classic trumpet persona: brash, impetuous, cocky, cool, in command. Anyone who has ever played in a band knows that if the conductor stops rehearsal because a fight breaks out, if somebody takes your girlfriend, if someone challenges every executive decision no matter how trivial, it’s got to be a trumpet player. That’s just how we are.”
— Wynton Marsalis

“[Trumpeters] don’t want to wear black tie; they want to wear capes and swords and tassels; they want to play as loud as they can and see mallards drop from the ceiling.”
— Garrison Keillor

Ah, you’re thinking. This explains so much.

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March 6, 2002

ugh, redux

On plane. Head hurts. “O thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee devil.” – William Shakespeare.

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