Easy Does It Doing It

I was the youngest of four boys with a younger sister; we lived in a small industrial town in northern Ohio outside of Cleveland. A place where everyone worked hard and drank hard, including my father. My father drank daily, but also went to work regularly and provided for our family well. Drinking was an acceptable thing in our home. At holidays as kids we were served Shirley Temples and it was okay to take sips from the bottle of beer I'd get for my dad. I also accompanied my dad to the bar on many occasions. To me it was all an acceptable, normal way of living.