Sunday, August 12, 2007

Tagay Tuba

On one of the shows, they had an expert give some guidance and tips on "How to Cope at the Wine Shop". I started laughing because I grew up running to stores to buy "Usa Ka Tipo" for Lola. I hated it - especially if it was dark at night - this was before electricity came to Catmon. But Lola liked her tuba. Have to admit - real good tuba tastes like champagne. No lie!

From my current position, education and life experience, I feel sad and more sympathetic about Lola Bette's plight and the other victims of the disease, Alcoholism is a disease. This disease has a biological, psychological and social component.

Genetic components make some folks more prone to the disease. So the prevention strategy that works best is complete abstinence. The younger the exposure to alcohol the higher the risk for the disease.

Psychological stress and issues can heighten the risk of disease. Often times people use alcohol to relieve psychological pain and stress. Anger, emptiness,loneliness, abandonment issues, grief issues, etc. can lead people to self medicate with alcohol and other drugs to ease if not forget the pain.

Non-judgemental, open, supportive conversations and the acquisition of coping skills are some of the healing and prevention strategies that are proven to have worked. This is one of the reasons why Alcoholics Anonymous is the most effective and successful strategy in the world.

The social component is composed of the family and friends around the individual. "Birds of a Feather, Flock Together" is the operative saying. Peer pressure, the need to be accepted and looked upon as "Cool" play a huge part. The strategy to use in prevention is to vary the people around you.

Alcoholism is a family disease. It has a reach of at least 7 generations, even with interventions and complete abstinence. Nobody wakes and decide "I think I am going to be an alcoholic today." The craving and need to drink, when the disease is full blown is completely involuntary. To stop "cold tureky" can be very dangerous.

Incidentally, if you search for "Montecillo" in the web. The majority of the hits is for Montecillo wines from Bodegas Montecillo. The origins are from the Ebro River Valley, South of Barcelona, Spain. If part of our ancestry originated from there, this makes us a high risk family!

So go figure!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Well i think Lola Bette, is a real Montecillo just like our relatives in Spain, who's been drinking and making wines for hundred of years in the Rioja Valley.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Well said Roy, Montecillo's are craftsmen, real Winemakers. This is Marlon, son of Mike Montecillo. If you are Roy, son of lolo Vencio and lola Moning, I Hope you remember me since I was probably just a small kid when you immigrate to the US.

I have a bottle of the Montecillo wine from the Rioja region of Spain which I got at BevMo. It is a 2002 Crianza. Love to display the bottle with the big bold "Montecillo" in gold letters plastered on the label.

Unfortunately, Tuba as I remembered it taste much better than this Montecillo wine. So the bottle will stay for display purposes only unless I'm really desperate and out of wine.

Send me email at mmontecillo@sbcglobal.net so we can connect.

Marlon