Dogwoods Etc.

I mentioned the peach blossoms yesterday. I am seeing Dogwood blossoms today. Traditionally, when you see those it is the real start of spring in the Ozarks. If you’ve never seen a Dogwood blossom here’s a picture.

The big news around here is Tony LaRussa’s, manager of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, arrest for drunk driving in Jupiter, Florida. I usually don’t like to comment on these celebrity D.U.I. stories but, this is a little strange. You don’t expect this kind of stuff from LaRussa. Also, he was found passed out at the wheel at a stoplight with the car in drive and foot on the brake. If he was just sloppy drunk that wouldn’t be unexpected. But, his blood alcohol level was .009. That’s over the legal limit and he shouldn’t have been driving; but, it’s not what you would think of as passed out at a stoplight with your foot on the brake drunk. I just wonder if there is something else in play here, maybe a physical illness or prescription drugs. I like Tony and wish him the best.

Doesn’t it seem that there have been a slew of these celebrity drunk busts lately? I’ve seen some studies that say that while drug use is down among young people, drinking has increased. Are people drinking more?

I wonder if the prevalence of drug testing has led people to take the legal, alternative route of the bottle for their recreation. I haven’t heard anyone in the media talk about this but, it doesn’t seem far-fetched to me. When I was in my twenties I preferred pot over booze. After a few scary encounters, buying pot from strangers on the road, I swore off the weed and started to drink more. I know guys that, way back in the eighties, switched their drug of choice to methamphetamine because they were being tested but, not for that substance.

I have mixed feelings about drug testing. It is an invasion of privacy. It’s also a one way street. Now that it’s started, you are going to see more. Some employers are already testing for trace alcohol. Some jobs like a pilot or school bus driver, it makes sense. Other jobs like car salesman or say, baseball manager I’m not so concerned about.

Prohibition did not work. I don’t have proof but, I do think people are drinking more because of drug testing and I fail to see how that is better in the long run.