Around the World
With The Bartender:
-- Amsterdam
-- Chicago
-- Greece
-- Greece 2000 Trip
-- Key West
-- Los Angeles
-- Las Vegas
-- London
-- Ski Resorts
-- Toronto
-- Jimmy Buffett Concerts
-- Mexico Bike Race

Past Columns:
° Party With A President
° If You Drink, Drink Often
° Why We Love L.A.
° True Survivor Test
° At The Horse Races
° Driven by Diversity
° Breakers to Buffett
° Growing Older,
But Not Up
° The Pacific NW
° More to America
Than Buildings

If you're going to drink, drink often.

If You're Going to Drink, Drink Often

Enough of this hype about New Year's Eve. Or the Fourth of July. Or other big party events and weekends.

The events are,, for far too many a fool, the drinnker's equivalent of Amateur Night. It's the one time of year that people who are consumed with other activities the other 364 days suddenly cut loose. Just because it's New Year's Eve! They drink more alcohol than even many seasoned pros and do so like a dog being fed a steak: all at once rather than at a good pace where it can be savored.

It seems they must make up for a year's worth of lost party time in a few short hours. Pity their poor souls that they don't get out more often.

Their systems, unaccustomed to such abuse, react violently, sending the amateur quickly to the porcelain bus. Another New Year (or insert any three-day weekend here) successfully celebrated!

Now, The Bartender is not one to pass up a good celebration, and the next time the Berlin Wall comes down or a Greek wrestler wins an Olympic medal or a long-suffering college team wins a championship, then cart me off to Germany, Mykonos, Norman (Oklahoma) or wherever is hosting the party and I'll do more toasts than the biggest drunk at Oktoberfest.

But the lesson is clear: If you're going to drink, then drink often. This isn't a college exam; you can't cram the night before and pass the next day. Pass out, yes. Pass the course, no.

Amateurs should enjoy the occasional glass of wine, beer with your buddies during a backyard barbecue and even a few heavy cocktails for birthdays or office promotions. But leave the real partying to those who consider New Year's Eve just another night on the town.

I suggest, for those who want to cut loose every now and then, to dive in like it's a swimming pool. Do at least one of these events each year. Consider it your Party Starter Kit:

• A Jimmy Buffett Concert
• Bay to Breakers in San Francisco
• The Kentucky Derby
• New Orleans JazzFest
• New Orleans JazzFest

Let it loose! Then when New Year's Eve or the other annual big bash comes around, you'll be ready.

Cheers!

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