Basic Pursuits

My grandfather was a small businessman. He lived in Greenville, SC for most of his adult life. That's where I knew him. He was tense, quick to anger. He attended church every Sunday and never touched a drop of alcohol.

He smoked cigars. Lots of them. He ate great heaps of fatty Southern cooking, as if storing up for another Civil War scale holocaust. Here's a typical breakfast that he gobbled up every morning:

• Grits (a nod to health)
• Bacon and/or sausage
• Eggs
• A bowl of melted cheddar cheese
• Biscuits
• Coffee (another nod to health)

Not surprisingly, he developed heart trouble. He had his first heart attack in his late fifties. His doctors advised him to relax. They prescribed an ounce of bourbon a day before dinner. I'm sure he was the last member of my family who had to be persuaded to have a cocktail before dinner.

My grandfather wasn't pleased to be violating his belief that alcohol was evil, but gave in to the doctors. He held his nose and took his drink. Wonder what he would have thought if his doctors had prescribed medical marijuana?

He lived a few more years and died in his early 60s. Maybe he lived longer because of his despised bourbon. Who knows?

But the bourbon prescription, which always seemed to me to be a sort of backwoods remedy, turns out to be right in line with modern medical facts.

A recent study by Harvard researchers suggests that moderate drinking, one to two drinks for men, one for women, lowers the risk for heart attack. And it doesn't seem to matter what you drink, beer, wine or whiskey.

Once again, the path seems clear and it's the middle path. Drink too much and you have real problems. Don't drink at all and you raise your risk of heart disease.

For Even Healthy Men, Alcohol Seem to Lower Heart Attack Risk