TM 239: Hair (of the Dog)
Hair of the dog that bit you. That mythical principle that drunks like to believe in the way they believe that "the blonde at the end of the bar wants you," and "the freaky-looking short guy at the other end is actually a leprechaun offering you a pot of gold and not a hedge fund manager who will be in the Caymans with your money six months from now" and "Sweet Home Alabama is actually a good song."
Drunks believe all kinds of stupid crap.
But 'hair of the dog' is an insidious idea, because it's one you can almost make yourself believe in when you're almost sober enough to know better. Just grab hold of the thing that knocked you down and beat you half to death last night, just take a little bit of it to get you through the morning.
It doesn't work, of course. Unless, by 'work,' you mean 'keep you from ever getting sober enough to have to think things through.' That's the real reason most serious drunks have to quit cold turkey. Because it's way too easy to get to that golden point where it's never quite out of your system, where you're just hanging on until the next hit.
Fortunately, I'm past all of that now.
Drunks believe all kinds of stupid crap.
But 'hair of the dog' is an insidious idea, because it's one you can almost make yourself believe in when you're almost sober enough to know better. Just grab hold of the thing that knocked you down and beat you half to death last night, just take a little bit of it to get you through the morning.
It doesn't work, of course. Unless, by 'work,' you mean 'keep you from ever getting sober enough to have to think things through.' That's the real reason most serious drunks have to quit cold turkey. Because it's way too easy to get to that golden point where it's never quite out of your system, where you're just hanging on until the next hit.
Fortunately, I'm past all of that now.