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Holiday cheer
Eggnog spiked with the “recipe.” Steaming bowls of wassail. Hot buttered rum. And, of course, the usual gamut of cocktails.
The holiday season has arrived. During this time of year many people like to entertain, be entertained, and generally “toast the season.”
During this time of merriment, the consumption of alcohol is for many, but not all, an obligatory ritual. A feeling persists that the holidays just aren’t the holidays without a cup or two of cheer.
As we entertain, or are about to be entertained, we should remember that driving and alcohol is a deadly combination.
This year in Virginia about 300 people will die from alcoholrelated automobile accidents. Many more will have been injured. Sometimes, these injuries are not mere bruises — many people become comatose or paralyzed.
Alcohol-related automobile accidents have nothing to do with holiday cheer.
Later in December we will observe Virginia Drunk and Drugged Driving Awareness Week. Although observance should have begun yesterday, it is fitting that it comes at a time of year when alcohol consumption rises.
We support the statement of John T. Hanna who is deputy commissioner of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. He said, “We need to take away from drinking drivers the social acceptably they have enjoyed, and let them know this irresponsible behavior is no longer accepted in Virginia.”
If you plan to drink at a party or other social function, it is your responsibility to pre-determine a method of transportation that will ensure your safe arrival home. If you do not plan ahead, it is too easy to rationalize later. Excuses come easy after a few belts. “Everybody drinks at Christmas... I won’t be the only one on the road who has had a few... I’ll be careful...”
If you are giving a party it is your, yqsponsibility to determine that no one drives who has had to<y rhuch to drink. It is also your responsibility to offer non-alcoholi^beverages. Too often a guest is confronted with one of two choices at parties. A cocktail. Or a mixer.
Now, there is nothing wrong with a glass of cola or club soda with lime. But there is nothing particularly right about it either. Offering this choice is an act of laziness. You can do better.
A non-alcoholic punch, in which a little effort goes into the preparation, would perhaps encourage guests who are drinking to slow down. And for those who will be driving and cannot drink, such a punch — such an expression of caring by the partygiver — provides a satisfying alternative to the vodka cranberry or bourbon and ginger concoctions.
All of these measures do require some effort. But if this effort prevents just one alcohol-related death or accident, we will really have something to cheer about this holiday.
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