Breaking Up With Vodka

I Even Wrote About It For A Russian Newspaper

When I got sober, breaking up with vodka was the hardest part. It had been the one true love in my life for almost 40 years.

It had its beginnings in Russia and Poland. The nomenclature is almost identical: the source word "voda," in Russian, and "woda" in Polish, means water. Vodka, or Wodka, means "little water," which is transliterated as distilled water, which is vodka.

I didn't like drinking at first, but I liked the effect. In high school, I felt I was finally adapting to the new neighborhood we moved to at the beginning of ninth grade when in eleventh grade, I started getting invited to beer parties. The drink of choice was Colt .45 malt liquor. This is not brew for sipping and watching a ball game and chatting with pals. Colt .45 tasted harsh, but as malt liquor it had a high alcohol content. You chugged it to get high. Two cans would get a nice buzz, but a nice buzz wasn't enough. Three cans would get me smashed, and also, eventually, throwing up. Didn't like it at the time, bu…