I admit i have had a half-glass of beer every now and then (like maybe once a month) and when I make soups I sometimes add wine (like a good fan of Julia Child. though I think most of the alcohol cooks off before I eat it in that case) I also find it hard to believe that small amounts could be harmful. But I have also had breast cancer and there is at least one study of breast cancer that found that women who drink at *all* even in moderation are significantly more likely to get it than those who don't. So maybe I should watch even the half glasses of beer--but I'm not at that point yet.

Anyway, I just wanted to say again to Cookey--I'm not sure if you were referring to me or not in that post but if you were I am *really* sorry you took what I said (I'm really not sure what it was) as being judgmental. I often felt reading what you were going through that it easily could have been me when I was married to my ex- the primary reason he became an ex is that I was afraid his drinking would kill him (thourgh disease--he was not a person who drove drunk or anything) and just being married to me may have been keeping him from hitting his bottom enough to stop. I turned out to be right about the latter although it took another 4-5 years after we split up for him to really hit bottom and do what he needed to do to quit--fortunately before it killed him, but sadly not in time to save our marriage. Anyway, I felt I could easily have been in your shoes and felt a lot of sympathy for his struggle and your loss. I'm sorry if that somehow did not come across.

Nelie