Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2006 > January > 28 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USBinge drinking a problem, but also a choice
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff was awakened by a gurgling sound. It emanated from the other side of the room.
He was a student at the University of Georgia, living off-campus in a cool apartment. He and his friends studied hard and partied often. On this night, they imbibed quite heavily.
They never needed much reason to celebrate, but this night was special. His roommate was turning 21. Time to party. Everybody chipped in for a fifth (or maybe it was a liter) of Bacardi 151 rum.
Copper-colored rocket fuel.
They consumed one rum and coke after another. No one complained about being sick. No one spoke with slurred speech or stumbled around. Everything seemed to be under control.
A week ago, Lewis Fish wasn’t so fortunate. The 19-year-old UGA student died after a night of drinking. UGA police say he went to a party at a private residence and then to a fraternity house, where he drank a bottle of whiskey he’d had in his pocket. The authorities are trying to piece together his last few hours in the Classic City.
When a tragedy like this happens, a familiar script unfolds. We wait for the police to complete their investigation, one that may find culpability. We lament over the young generation’s sense of invincibility and carefree existence.
There’s a renewed concern about binge drinking, especially among the underaged. We turn to college officials, bar owners, students — anybody with insight on ways to curb excessive consumption of alcohol.
All this we do in post-tragedy mode. It’s all commendable, responsible and sincere. The goal is noble. Who wants another family to lose a loved one to an alcohol-related misstep?
But there’s a bitter truth that will always detract from what we do.
There’s an element that’s key to whether we have another alcohol- related death next month or next year. It packs more power than anything we do, and we can’t control it.
It’s free will — the way it’s exercised. It’s the choices we make and how we decide, exactly, what we will or will not do. At any given time. In any given situation.
Jeff Aaron, my roommate in college, was never a deep sleeper. Which was lucky for me. I might not be writing this column nearly 20 years later.
My friends and I chugged rum and coke for hours that night. I woke up to find Jeff leaning over my bed. He was tapping me on the shoulder. Calling my name.
I’d been the songbird emitting that gurgling sound. I wasn’t snoring, though. I was vomiting in bed and, apparently, choking on it. That could have been the way I spent the last hours of my life — lying in a pool of vomit, asphyxiated. My 21st birthday would have been my last.
I made that decision 20 years ago to consume high-octane rum and coke. I lived to tell it.
Not everyone is so fortunate.
Mr. Fish, bless his soul, reminds us of that.
• Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875. Or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com
Comments
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By Tres
January 28, 2006 11:52 PM | Link to this
wow, thats a powerful column, I hope that many kids read it a take to heart the lesson you obviously wrote from your heart.
By mom2005
January 29, 2006 08:12 AM | Link to this
Great article and it was obvously written from your heart. I too hope that many kids read this and take heed. Just because it never happened before doesn’t mean it can’t happen at all. Some people are lucky, like you were, and unfortunately some aren’t, like the young man last week. Free will needs to exercised through friendship too. You have the free will to help your friends make smater decisions to exercise their free will the right way.
By Bruce Wilcox
January 29, 2006 09:16 AM | Link to this
When I grew up up the drinking age was eighteen and of course the rite of passage was getting drunk. Friends would buy you beers and a few shots, you got sick and they dropped you off at HOME. The key being is most still lived at home at the time.
Now with the higher drinking age most are away from home when they turn twenty-one. There are no responsible adults that you have to check in with after celebrating. I’m not advocating lowering the drinking age but it is a factor that has to be considered when talking about binge drinking.
I spent some time in Southern Europe where I never witnessed a case of public drunkeness. But there wine is always served at dinner, even to the younger ones of the family. The house wine is a weaker version of what we have here. I suspect that because it is so much a part of their lives from a early age abuse is rare.
Believe it or not, on this I haven’t an answer. You can’t hire an adult to supervise a bunch of twenty-one year olds, the party would just be delayed. The only thing we could hope for is that a GOOD friend is around to keep an eye on you.
By Dave Oliver
January 29, 2006 11:57 AM | Link to this
I started sneaking beer from one of my parents restaurants when I was 15. I loved the stuff then, and I love it today. However after spilling out my dirty laundry, I never remember in my life time, from high school through college, that I was drunk. Two 12 oz bottles of beer, ALWAYS with food, was my total consumption. I still do the same at a rather senior age. My advice to the kids that think drinking alcohal until that are minus what liitle brain they have is nothing more that stupid. Of course I agree with the article written by Rick that free will is the most dangerous thing that happens to a child. The only person in control is the child. It’s sad but true. I would hope that all kids craving for attention will find it in a more safe way.
By Beth
January 29, 2006 01:12 PM | Link to this
Is there a real answer to this problem? I dont believe changing the legal drinking age helps. You can always find a way to get the alchohol. Some parents say, by letting their underage kids have a few drinks supervised will curb their curious nature. Not sure if I agree with that. At 18 in college, I was a binge drinker among doing other things. I found myself in some not so pleasant states more than once. My only saving grace quite a few times, just like Rick, were some wonderful friends that I had made. By the time I was 21, I was married and had my first child. Drinking didn’t interest me anymore. I didn’t even have a drink for my 21st. I didn’t even by alchohol until I was 23.
By Deborah Lee
January 29, 2006 01:17 PM | Link to this
My condolences to the family. I recently heard of a wake for two families who lost their children to bad heroin. My 22 year old neice is in a rehabilatation clinic for heroin addiction. Parents, you need to talk to your children. I recently talked to a parent of a child who attends Emory. The daughter said that they all are smoking crack and going in ambulances to the hospital. Parents need to wake up and smell the coffee. Why are our children abusing drugs and alcohol like this? Have we all gone mad?
By Steven
January 29, 2006 03:49 PM | Link to this
It’s not always the parent’s negligence or lack of emphasis on the ills of alcohol. I have a daughter at UGA. My wife and I do not drink. We have and always had an alcohol-free home. We spent my daughter’s entire lifetime cautioning her about drinking and not getting sucked-in. We taught her about the potential problems, health issues, and undesireable situations it can cause. We had the lectures in the summer before she left for campus. We discovered over this past semester that she is drinking at school - at social events, at parties, etc. The influences of her peers and the pressure to fit in or be accepted has won out.
By Swangirl
January 29, 2006 10:35 PM | Link to this
Rick, I think you make a good point. Folks can point as many fingers as they like at bars, the media, parents, etc. But it really does rest with the individual. If someone wants to drink until they pass out, they’ll find a way.
I went to UGA in the late 80s and early 90s. Like any big school, the atmosphere of binge drinking was huge. Nobody questioned it. They reveled in it. I cannot count the number of times I overheard the comment “I can’t believe how drunk I got last night” when I would take the bus to class.
When I saw my roommate’s boyfriend do shots until he was in the bathoom puking his guts out, I vowed never end up like that. Thankfully, I never have. It’s just not worth it.
By Tommy Woodsmall
January 30, 2006 05:34 AM | Link to this
Very personable Mr. Badie, very good …
By Becky
January 30, 2006 07:52 AM | Link to this
I did some heavy binge drinking in college too. We only drank on the weekends so we thought it was ok. There are many weekends when I visited UGA that I don’t remember. My last binge was when I was 25 and I spent all night on the floor in a hotel bathroom. I vowed then, never to get drunk again. I do still enjoy the occassional beer or glass of wine, but I haven’t gotten drunk in 30 years.
By Brad
January 30, 2006 11:29 AM | Link to this
I am glad you told your story. You are to be commended on stepping up and taking accountability. Hopefully some teen will take the advice of a “stupid parent” as I am told and realize that past mistakes can be a learning tool for us all- kids and adults!