Medical
opinion on the effects of alcohol seems to sound somewhat inebriated. Some say
a peg a day keeps the cardiologist away, while those who refuse to temper
intemperance thunder that a close association with spirits is guaranteed to
ensure that you will soon join them. Foe every eight octogenarians ready to
testify that they owe their robust good health to abstinence on this count,
there are nine nonagenarians who will insist that the same is due to exactly
the opposite. This is best illustrated by that hoary story of the reporter
who''d just finished interviewing a centenarian who had attributed his longevity
to his abstemious habits when a tremendous commotion was heard in the room
upstairs. "What''s that?", inquired the scribe, only to be
told,"That''s dad, drunk as usual!". If it''s art rather than the
heart, there is not much cause for concern since the muse seems to have no
problem with booze, judging by the immortal works which also happen to be
preserved in alcohol. The heart as metaphor, however, is back on ambivalent
territory, with wine also known to
increase desire and decrease its fulfillment
in sadistically equal proportion. Two recent pronouncements on drinking are of
peace with this singular double vision on the issue. Some universities have
warned that even moderate intake not only increases vulnerability to HIV, but
also hastens progression to full-blown AIDS. Within days of this disheartening
news, a U.S.-British survey discovered, almost by accident, that the
long-sought cure to the common cold might lie in the cocktail cabinet. Neither
of the two ailments is anything to sneeze at, but those clinging desperately to
some pleasure still spared by the AIDS scare may find some consolation; the
research is confined to the
laboratory and hasn''t been proved on humans. Till
such time, people can convince themselves that this is just one more example of
the scientists'' foggy-headedness on the subject. They could continue to quaff
as they scoff, saying;"Drink to me only with thine lies."