That's an old Irish drinking song - Whiskey Yer The Divil, Drunk Or Sober.

I can't recall if devil was spelled with an i (divil) but that's the way they pronounced it in the song and that's the way I picture it, so there it is.

My mother was all Irish but I've got a lot of Scotch in me too (up to a 1/5th on occasion) - Laphroaig is my favorite. But I'm also the son of a full-blooded Scot and I'm not aware of any Scottish drinking songs so the Irish ones prevail in the rotation.

I don't care for Irish Whiskey though. They all taste like cheap Scotch to me. It's like comparing Kentucky Bourbon to Tennessee Sippin' Whiskey; I just haven't found a bourbon that can measure up. I like Jack. Jim Beam tastes like perfume mixed with lighter fluid to me. I don't know how people can drink that stuff. Gack!

There are a few reasons for drinking

And one has just entered my head

If a man can't drink when he's living

How the hell can he drink when he's dead?

(An old Irish Proverb)

But the point I wanted to make was that whiskey is not the Divil for me. Nicotine is my Demon. I can get by without whiskey with no problem at all. Hell, I can get by with a lot less food without too much of a problem if I need to lose weight. I could even give up coffee if I really needed too (Please God, not that!). But Nicotine? Now that's a horse of a different feather.

Cigarettes have ruled my life for years. Mr Nicotine never rests. He roams the back alleys of my mind and haunts the shadows of my soul 24/7. Yes, 24/7, relentlessly. He makes me go out in the cold; he makes me go out at 2 AM in the morning; he makes me go out at 2 AM in the morning in the cold. He accompanies me everywhere; he doesn't allow me to go anywhere without him. I plan my life around him. I schedule my activities around him. I indulge his constant need for attention. I breathe his essence and carry his scent like an aura. But that's enough, no more.

I've gone 3 days and 2 hours without a cigarette now and I ain't going back. Yes, I'm getting help from the patch and an electronic cigarette but will eventually wean myself off those and be free again.

I guess for those who have never smoked it's probably hard to understand but Nicotine is an extremely powerful addictive substance. It makes you want to jump out of your skin if you don't have it. But if I have to jump out of my skin, so be it. I'm not going back and I take an oath on that.

One day soon I hope to climb one of my mountain ridges and stand on top and proclaim to the world:

Free at last, free at last, Good Golly Miss Molly, I'm free at last!