The Best song Lyrics i've Ever Heard...In Awhile anyway. I Need this CD.

Hayes Carll-"She Left Me For Jesus"

WE''VE BEEN DATIN SINCE HIGH SCHOOL WE NEVER ONCE LEFT THIS TOWN
WE USE TO GO OUT ON THE WEEKENDS AND WE''D DRINK TIL WE DROWNED
BUT NOW SHES ACTING FUNNY AND I DONT UNDERSTAND
I THINK THAT SHES FOUND HER SOME OTHER MAN

CHORUS:
SHE LEFT ME FOR JESUS AND THAT JUST AINT FAIR
SHE SAYS THAT HES PERFECT HOW COULD I COMPARE
SHE SAYS I SHOULD FIND HIM AND ILL KNOW PEACE AT LAST
IF I EVER FIND JESUS IM KICKIN HIS ASS

SHE SHOWED ME A PICTURE ALL I COULD DO WAS STARE
AT THAT FREAK IN HIS SANDALS WITH HIS LONG PRETTY HAIR
THEY MUST THINK THAT IM STUPID OR I DONT HAVE A CLUE
ILL BET HES A COMMIE OR EVER WORSE YET A JEW

SHES GIVEN UP WHISKEY AND AH TAKIN UP WINE
WHILE SHE PRAYS FOR HIS TROUBLES SHES FORGOT ABOUT MINE
IM A GONNA GET EVEN I CANT HANDLE THE SHAME
WHY LAST TIME WE MADE LOVE SHE EVEN CALLED OUT HIS NAME

IT COULDA BEEN CARLOS OR EVEN BILLY ORTEZ
BUT IF I EVER FIND JESUS
HES GONNA WISH HE WAS DEAD AMEN

Chug-a-lug

Story from my hometown paper yesterday entitled: Wisconsin has a reputation for drinking, but where is that leading?

By LIZ HOCHSTEDLER
liz.hochstedler@lee.net

Wisconsin and alcohol go together.

Like Georgia is known for peaches, Maine for lobsters and Florida for oranges, Wisconsin has a reputation for its breweries and drinking culture.

Alcohol is everywhere. Pick a city or town in the state, and you are liable to run into several taverns. Wisconsin boasts of nearly 60 breweries and brew pubs. Alcohol is served at almost every party, fundraiser, festival or get-together.

“That’s kind of our rap, our reputation, that we’re a state that uses a lot of alcohol,” said Tom Fuchs, director of L.E Phillips-Libertas Treatment Center in Chippewa Falls.

Alcohol consumption is woven deeply into Wisconsin’s culture. The state’s professional baseball team is named the Milwaukee Brewers. At music festivals, people can be seen playing drinking games at all hours of the day. At fundraisers — even those for children’s events and activities — beer is sold to generate extra money. At graduation parties, families share drinks with the new graduate to celebrate his or her success.

And on Sundays during football season, Green Bay Packer fans crowd area bars, sipping Bloody Marys and loading up on pitchers of beer at noon, while cheering on their team. Some taverns offer a two-for-one deal when the Packers make it into the end zone.

“We are a culture that drinking’s pretty expected and accepted,” said Chippewa County Public Health Nurse Carol Lendle.

The problem

Drinking can be a normal social activity. Many people drink responsibly, go home safely and never have trouble with alcohol. But overall, Wisconsin has many issues when it comes to drinking.

“Alcohol itself is not a problem. It’s our misuse of the alcohol that’s the problem,” said Pathways Director Pamela Radcliffe, who has been working with people having substance abuse problems for 14 years.

Wisconsin ranks No. 1 or near the top in several trouble drinking areas. The state has the highest rates of underage drinking, binge drinking and drinking among women of childbearing age (18-44 years old) in the United States, according to the 2008 Wisconsin Epidemiological Profile on Alcohol and Other Drug Use.

In 2006, 69 percent of Wisconsin adults — that’s two out of every three — reported they were current users, meaning they had consumed alcohol within the past 30 days, according to the same report. That compares to only 55 percent of people nationwide.

Wisconsin residents consumed 2.02 gallons of alcohol per person in 2005.

“We really have a prevailing attitude that alcohol is the fluid. It’s what we use to sort of loosen up the crowd in almost any environment,” Fuchs said.

While many people can stop drinking after one or two alcoholic beverages, it is clear that many Wisconsinites cannot.

Twenty-four percent of adults reported binge drinking within the past month when polled in 2006. Binge drinking is defined as five or more standard drinks on one occasion. A standard drink is 12 ounces of beer, 5 ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of liquor.

“People are so accustomed to heavy drinking,” Lendle said.

The state also has the highest percentage of heavy drinkers at 8 percent, while the national average is 5 percent. Heavy drinkers are men who have more than two drinks per day and women who have more than one drink per day.

Though drinking initially only effects the user, others are put at risk when drinkers decide to drive while over the legal intoxication limit or choose to engage in other unlawful activities.

In 2006, 43,056 people were arrested for operating while intoxicated, and another 45,387 were arrested for violating other liquor laws. At least 1,678 people died that same year as a direct result of alcohol use.

Local issues

Chippewa County and the rest of western Wisconsin have nothing to brag about in comparisons with the rest of the state.

With 130 licensed taverns, a brewery, two large music festivals and dozens of events where drinking is featured prominently, Chippewa County’s 60,000-plus residents have many venues in which they can find alcohol.

“We rank even worse … than the state average,” Radcliffe said. “The western region actually has a higher incidence of underage drinking and binge drinking than the state average.”

Eighteen percent of adults age 18 and older in Chippewa County reported binge drinking over a three-year period.

The county had 746 OWI arrests per 100,000 people in 2006.

But it’s not just in the statistics, it’s in the headlines. Just two weeks ago, a man was killed when he was run over by a drunk driver, who was arrested for her third OWI offense.

Leonard D. Peil, 35, was arrested twice in one weekend recently — for his sixth and seven OWIs.

Frederick Rieper, 62, was sentenced in June to two years in jail after being convicted of his eighth and ninth operating while intoxicating offenses.

The examples could go on and on.

National notoriety

Wisconsin’s drinking culture is no hidden secret. Tourists flock to the state’s breweries for tours, and many people know beers such as Miller and Leinenkugel’s are made in Wisconsin. Once those tourists set foot in Wisconsin, many realize just how prevalent alcohol use is here.

Radcliffe said many people she’s talked to who live outside of the state are surprised by how much Wisconsinites drink, where they drink and why they drink.

Fuchs, a Minnesota native, said he’s heard the same thing, especially when it comes to accessibility of alcohol.

“We have a lot more opportunities to purchase alcohol,” he said. “We have less restriction on that.”

Minnesotans, for example, might be surprised to find alcohol inside gas stations and convenience stores or alcohol available for purchase at a liquor store on Sundays. Alcohol is not available at those places or times in our neighboring state.

Wisconsin’s drinking problem was brought to the forefront in November when one of the nation’s leading newspapers, The New York Times, sent a reporter here to chronicle Wisconsin’s liquor laws and habits. The state’s largest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, devoted a five-part series to the subject, calling it, “Wasted in Wisconsin.”

Though those pieces have shared the state’s problem with the nation, little has changed in Wisconsin since then.

“We kind of have that attitude that that’s what we’re known for,” Fuchs said.

Reputations can be slow to change, and the same goes for legislation to toughen up laws dealing with problem drinkers. It seems as if there is more acceptance of the problems associated with alcohol than a desire to do something about them.

(Editor’s note: This is the first story in a four-part series exploring alcohol use in the area, its effects on drinkers and non-drinkers alike, and what’s being done to combat the problems it creates.)

Copyright © 2009 Chippewa Valley Newspapers

The best comment left was from this guy:
" Well, Wisconsin could secede from the union and join Canada. Not only would the USA then have a spotless alcohol record, but we in the Canadian province of Wisconsin would have free health care and a damn fine fishing season. Everyone would be happy. Problem solved. Please, don't thank me; I'm glad I could help out. "

www.chippewa.com

Mama They Try and Break Me...'Scuse me while I Tend to How I Feel

I'm in love. It's been a long time coming and I can't be happier.

Der Holle Rache

I love this woman:


Same woman, Erika in English version:

I Took a Walk Down a Road Its the Road I was Meant to Stay...

So this is about where I was for...well, awhile, and if my name was Peter. (maybe a little bit is still there, at least there is a way to laugh at it, find the humor in it):


Not saying that I am feeling/doing a 100% better but, I am feeling a bit more optimistic than I have in a long time. I've been off work for a week and a half now, which has been nice. Am starting to get a little bored though. Sooo, I decided to try these online dating things with my spare time. Do not do eharmony, that is stupid. The questions suck, you can look at profiles but have to pay to be able to see the pictures even. And the cost is insane. So I tried Match.com which is a lot better, can see pics and profiles without paying. The only problem I have now is you can't see emails you get from matches unless you pay. I have 3 unread messages in my inbox right now, and no money to pay. It's a lot cheaper though $30 for a month. (eharmony was like $60 for a month.) So, I got a bunch of DVDs together to sell today. Hopefully I'll get enough, I didn't even pursue these people and I got emails, gives a good little boost to the confidence. Ok, so there was another one I joined TOTALLY FREE to do any emailing, searching etc. OkCupid.com. Not a lot of prospects, average age seems to be 23-26. Nice girls. Anyways, I took a shot and emailed the most interesting one to me and attractive, and holy shit she's emailed me back a couple times. Granted it's about music, but luckily I can talk about music. So that's where I am with that.

In other news, it looks like I'm going to head back to WI for most of July. I have a brother I haven't seen for awhile coming back from Kansas that first week, so it would be a long time since we had the whole family together. I'm planning on leaving the 6th and coming back the 28th.(I have to be back to see Dale Watson) So yeah, that's about 2 1/2 weeks in WI. Of course I'm going to have to go up north as well. It'll be a good thing though, I won't be as rushed, the weather will be a hell of a lot better. I should be able to excercise some demons I think. I'm not worried to run into Wendy. She's has her house now, and her douche boyfriend. If she's happy good for her. I really feel I have nothing to say to her. If I do it'll be hi, how are you and I'm out of there. This will be more of a trip of conclusion, because a lot of friends back there I just don't need to deal with anymore. I've done a lot of "maturing" in 3 years I think. (can you call it maturing?) I know what they're all doing, or have done. The exact same thing they were before I left. Going back last xmas I saw that first hand. I love them but, that's not my life anymore. It's taken me 3 years to figure that out, but better late than never. It's time to close that chapter on my life. And going back is going to be very cathardic I think. I'll have a lot of time to think, driving back, that's for sure.

Things I plan on doing in WI:
1. Seeing Friends and Family
2. Drive My Charger Around
3. Drink Old Style
4. Name Drop My Dad and Try to Hook Up With the Female Bartender at Timberlodge
5. Go to the Leinie Lodge
6. Go Fishing
7. Sing Karaoke at the Tomahawk Room
8. See Friends in Minneapolis
9. Go to Superior/Duluth
10.Get my Wurlitzer Organ
11.Get my Six Boxes of Vinyl
12.Eat A Lot
13.Drink Old Style, and Bring a Ton Back

Can't think of any more. So yeah, that's where I'm at for now.

Let the healing begin.


(funny that Wendy's nickname is Devilmama)

Looks like the Pain's Been Good to you, New Clothes and a Brand New Hairdo...and a New Bed too

Got home and cracked a bottle after seeing Or, The Whale play at VAC with the Dead Acorn. Thought there would be a better selection at the Stinker but settled on something called 3 Blind Moose a chardonnay. Don't need to get that again. Of course look at the name should have known better off the bat.
Work is starting to wrap up now. Not sure what I'll be doing for the summer. Still will get a check, just not sure what to do for extra work...
So I decided as of the last 3 weeks to use the EAP we get as part of our benefits. That is Employment Assist Program. Basically I've been talking to a shrink the last 3 weeks. Since I get some free sessions to use at will why the hell not. Let the healing begin...
It's been good to get an outside opinion on some things.Basicaly I talk about my current situation and Wendy. I got to role play how to break up with a girl. That was surreal, I thought that only happened in 80's movies. I mean as i was sitting there I was thinking, is this really happening, I'm fucking role playing this out?
I'm thinking of writing a letter to Wendy...just a "hey, I hope your happy with what you're pursuing/wish you the best" type of thing. It may be a mute point by now but meh...
No really, this chardonnay sucks, but I'll keep drinking it of course...
I'm very very very lucky to have the Boise friends I do. I've thought recentally how I could be with nothing and left a couple years ago had I not met cool people...what's funny is I think my Duluth friends have left me for MIA. Mybe people do that all the time when people move, they're not around so they weren't here before. Or they are now a distant memory...I feel kind of betrayed by them, I miss them and I feel as though me leaving to better myself is now they're resentment towards me. They may not say anything but the silence speaks volumes. i could make an effort but when I try it seems to fall on deaf ears. I don't know, maybe I think the worst...okay I know I do cause that's what me and my therapist figures out. Just that, fuck...with how much communcation is in the world you can't reach out a bit? I knew these people for over 8 years, beause I left the "sancutary" of the Twinports, what do they think I have the attitude that I'm better than them? i proclaim my alliance to the midwest with a full heart but I also live here which is my home that welcomed me with warmer hearts than there climate wise and company wise. I worked hard to get where I was in the twinports, and it came not easy in Boise but i was lucky to find people without bullshit, because I was tired of bullshit. times I think of moving Boise, but I would miss my frineds in Boise more than I would Duluth/Superior. I feel secure my Boise friends would always be there. funny I trust people I've known 3 years i trust more than I do peopl I've know over 8 at least.
i thought of something today...the twinports are like Neverland in Peter Pan, no one grows up, they do the same thing everyday and are around the same people. But the big thing is no one grows up that's the conclusion I've come to. Maybe I miss some friends and just figure they don't miss me. Of course they have their own shit with being married and having kids and being friends with Wendy when they talked a bunch of shit about her but...hey i'm not bitter. i won't hold it against them. i'll just become everything they thougth they wouldn't become and show them that it is possible to get the fuck out of a shit hole and not worry about "oh am I gonna make it as os and so am I gonna be able to???" shut the fuck up live life and do soemthing. life's too god damn short and I hope at least i didn't fall to being a pussy when my time comes. god damn it!

I Started looking, Lookin’ from Dusk ‘til Dawn, For Ways that I Wouldn’t Miss You so Much, I even Bought a New Dress

Kind of a surreal thing occured tonight. I was listening to my friends college radio show online that comes out of the Twinports. Wendy was in studio promoting her roller derby. I haven't heard her voice in exactly one year. Crazy thing is it didn't really bother me. The real thing that was weird was that I could barely recognize it. It didn't sound like her. i thought of requesting my old bands song for my friend to play, but why open that can of worms right?

That's all, just weird to hear her voice. Didn't sound like her. Wonder if she knew I was listening?

Crazy.