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Senior Correspondent

Vodka, Vodka Everywhere, Not a Drop to Drink

Fab Over Fifty

Vodka, Vodka Everywhere, Not a Drop to Drink

I drank my first martini when I was in my twenties, appropriately at a business luncheon at Tony's “21 Club,” where it was the beverage of choice back in the day.

The martini (vodka) became my favored drink throughout the '70s and '80s. I’d drink a couple at lunch many days and somehow managed to work through the afternoons and into the evenings without lapsing into a coma. 30-somethings have the stamina of bulls.

I switched to wine exclusively in 1988, starting with twist-off Gallo and working my way up to Silver Oak and Somoma Cutrer once my taste buds recognized the dramatic contrast. Edgar and I could polish off three bottles of wine at dinner. Wine and popcorn also was a delectable snack.

Back to vodka (straight this time) around 2000, since red wine (even expensive red) was giving me headaches and white was cloying. I was then FOF and also couldn’t tolerate Smirnoff quite as well as I did two decades earlier. One martini too many absolutely sent some brain cells packing.

Five years ago, my youngest sister went on a diet, lost weight and looked good. I was not happy with my weight, so I consulted with a doctor and started a diet, too. “Don’t drink a thing (meaning anything alcoholic) for the first two weeks,” the doc advised. 40 pounds and about five months later, I still hadn’t touched a drop of vodka or wine.

I had lost a great deal more than weight. I had completely lost my taste/desire/need/relationship with alcohol. Once in a while, I’ll have a modest craving to order a drink at dinner, but it dissipates quickly. Unfortunately, I developed a mad desire for sweets to compensate for the sugar I no longer get through vodka. My weight shot back up after scrapping the icing off countless cupcakes but I’m finally getting that under control, too.

I’m thrilled to have miraculously lost my craving for alcohol. I hope it never returns. We had some fun times together over the years but I’m having plenty of fun without it.

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