Knowing when to stop, when to savor, when to hold back—true wisdom comes in the measure.
There’s a certain humility in realizing that the line between “savoring the moment” and “making a fool of yourself” is thinner than any of us care to admit. I’ve crossed that line before—not intentionally, never with malicious intent—just because I started drinking, enjoyed the moment, and didn’t keep track. Every one of my most embarrassing episodes has come from forgetting this simple truth: measure matters.
I don’t need to relive those moments here; a few of them have already been relived to me more than once. One of the more memorable retellings involved the 1986 Super Bowl. I was the sports editor of The Stetson Hatter, and my editor had me do a point-counterpoint column with another writer. I wanted to defend the Bears because I knew they’d win, but the other guy claimed the Bears side first, so I got stuck arguing for the Patriots—against my will, but apparently not against my conviction after a few pours. According to the tale told back to me the next morning, I had taken my own forced column a little too seriously.
That’s a lesson I’ve taken to heart. I’ve been the one laughing at someone else’s questionable decisions, and I’ve been the one hearing about my own with a wince. And I’ve decided: I’m not going back there. I’d much rather be the one remembering the night clearly than the one others have to correct.
My brother Jeff once told me a story that stuck. He was watching our Uncle Lyle make drinks, and Lyle paused, shot glass in hand.
“Do you know why I always use a shot glass?” he asked.
Jeff shook his head.
“So I always know where I am,” Lyle said.
He meant he could measure how much he’d had to drink—but the line carries a deeper truth. If you don’t measure the pour, you might wake up in a place—literal or figurative—you don’t remember going.
A measured pour is more than a bartending habit. It’s a way of living. Savoring without slipping. Enjoying without losing yourself. Staying present, accountable, and aware.
Tonight, that’s the toast:
To knowing where you are—and staying there on purpose.
Copyright © 2025 Doug DeBolt.
