Comments on: The devil you know

By: anonymous for a reason

anonymous for a reason — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:03:43 +0000

Sundry,
I was thinking about my comment to this post made a few days ago, and it’s been bothering me. I know you had an absent parent, and I didn’t mean to belittle that or give the impression that I had any perspective on what that would be like. Hope I didn’t offend. I have a huge amount of respect for my Dad and others, such as yourself, who’ve managed to stay sober. I’m lucky that I didn’t inherit my dad’s disease, for one because I don’t know if I’d have the strength to beat it.

By: Shawna

Shawna — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 01:55:33 +0000

You know it’s funny – though you might not find it as such – but my problem with alcohol is the exact opposite. I think how nice (and sophisticated dah-ling) it would be to order a glass of wine with dinner, or how it seems like I’d have had an in with certain people if I could share a beer with them (in my younger, more insecure days when I wanted everyone to love me), but I know that even that one glass could make me throw up the entire next day. My dad and I both have an intolerance to alcohol that builds up over time, so sometimes I can have a drink and I’ll be okay if I haven’t had any in awhile, but the more often I drink, the less it takes to make me ill. It’s almost never worth it to drink for me, but I’ve gotten my share of being hassled about it over the years. So, for the opposite reasons, you and I could raise a glass of sparkling juice together and kick back.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:14:06 +0000

Don’t mind me, terribly confused. Mixed up with other comic.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 23:11:36 +0000

Welsch, not Scottish.

By: Jenny

Jenny — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:19:14 +0000

I always am glad when you write about this, not to sound awful, but because I understand. I GET IT. And I don’t see a lot of people talking about it. I remember awhile ago you wrote a post (and I’ve tried finding it, couldn’t) and something along the lines of you knew you maybe had a problem when you would open the refrigerator and think “only 4 beers?” and when I read that I thought YES. I did that too. I remember thinking that I didn’t need to have a drink to have a good time and then I went to just SAYING that but thinking “where am I going to get alcohol for this?”, “We should have a drink before going to that” and before I knew it I had a problem. We went from buying six packs occasionally to buying cases of beer. CASES! For just me and my husband. Then I got a DUI one night. It was the most humiliating and awful experience of my life. Even during the required alcohol and drug awareness class I had to take, I sat there thinking “I am not like these people, I shouldn’t be here”. It wasn’t until I found out that I was pregnant that I was able to just. stop. with. the. drinking. And never really wanted to since, and that was two years ago. After stopping I was really able to see just how stupid I looked sometimes, how annoying I must have been. Another reason I just don’t want to is because I don’t want my daughter to ever see me with a drink in my hand. Not that seeing that will make her an alcoholic, but I think it would have deterred me from drinking if I didn’t see my mother do it all the time. I am afraid that seeing a parent do something will make it “okay” and I just am not down with the whole “do what I say not what I do” thing. Besides, I just can’t handle it. I’m not a one drink gal. I am a drink until I am drunk gal. Unfortunately.

You may have written about this, but did J.B. stop drinking also? Did you have to ask? Am I being Crazy Invasive Questioning Stranger?

By: kj

kj — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:05:12 +0000

okay, you hit me first with that REALLY perfectly timed introspective on marriage and big-life jumps… and then you follow up with Craig Ferguson AND Jayne Cobb? Gods, how cruel that I don’t get to know you in person.

Also – just thanks again to you for being my own personal “Craig Ferguson” on the matters that matter. You = Rock and Rock = You. I don’t mean to burden you with the weight of my undying adoration, but there you go.

And look, there’s MORE to read? :)

By: anonymous for a reason

anonymous for a reason — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 22:09:51 +0000

Sundry, my dad got sober 17 years ago–when I was 23. I love him dearly, and our relationship is wonderful. . . now. The gift you are giving Riley cannot be underestimated. I grew up knowing that the booze came before me. I don’t know if it’s better to have an absent parent than one who is kind, but pretty consistently incapacitated by a hangover. I do know that question gave me a lot of food for thought growing up.

Re: Britney, call me the fun police, but I put down the People magazine a few years ago after hearing Reese Witherspoon tell Oprah what it was like trying to bring her kids to Disneyland. That was before the divorce, when it was just a routine family outing. The photos and videos wouldn’t sell if there was no market. With everything that should be demanding the attention of the American people these days–global warming, the death toll in Iraq–all anyone cares about is Anna Nicole Smith. It’s shameful. Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan are fish in a barrel. I know people say they are asking for it, but I think it’s more true that what they are asking for is help. I hope I am not taking your comments in an ill-advised direction, but I am glad that someone like Craig Ferguson is saying it’s time to draw a line. He did it so artfully too. At some point empathy is appropriate. Also, I hope people start paying attention to the things that really matter before we find things have gone completely to hell in a handbasket.

By: fifi

fifi — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:32:53 +0000

Craig Ferguson is getting the recognition he deserves, in the US, after being largely unappreciated in his homeland. He has a sister Lynne, who is also a very funny comedienne, btw.
I read your post about Britney after reading Heather’s, and thought you had been uncharacteristically hard on the poor girl. My hardnosed 19 yr old daughter had more sympathy! Anyway, I’m going to lay a little bet on here with myself. That boy of yours, whose visage has charmed me endlessly on your pages, is going to be both super-smart, and also…rather…well… naughty. His schoolteachers are going to keep him at the front of the class, where they can keep an eye on him. Don’t ask why, I’m just saying. Butter will not melt..

By: anne

anne — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:06:01 +0000

Linda –

I wrote to you a while back about my issues with alcohol, in particular about a DUI. Today is my sentencing. I never wrote to thank you for your words; I was very much lost in my own head and in the emotional hurricane of what happened. Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to talk to someone you don’t know, and thank you for your brilliant, honest writing. Thank you also for today’s post.

Like Shannon above, I am much impressed by your quoting Jayne, but it doesn’t really surprise me. I couldn’t think more highly of you.

Thank you dearly for your words. You might not remember me, but your words meant a hell of a lot to me, and they do still.

Best to you,
Anne

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:58:40 +0000

Keep up the good work, Linda. Thank you, as always, for your honesty. It’s a reminder that we are all human…these things don’t just go away if you become a mom or parent. I don’t go through the same exact struggle but I can relate. :)

Riley is getting so big!