“A short little read, this slim book is a reminder of how young a city Denver really is and how close it remains to its past.
Oh, and apparently Denver was named the Drunkest City in America by Men’s Health Magazine in 2004. This was based on a combo of factors including annual deaths due to liver disease, how many drinkers averaged more than 5 drinks in a sitting, drunk driving arrests, number of fatal vehicular accidents involving alcohol, and finally how the driving statistics stacked up compared to efforts made to contain the drunk driving (of which Denver didn’t make many).
The main argument against this dubious honor was that Denver could also be a contender for other things like most bike trails or hiking trails or outdoor sporting opportunities and things like that. Oh, and that Las Vegas probably has higher stats in terms of drinks sold per capita.
I guess it all depends on what your definition of a drunk really involves. I mean, to me, the Las Vegas thing is totally bunk. Most of us who, to put it delicately, enjoy a drink, would probably agree that in a vacation setting all rules are off. Not LAWS mind you, but RULES. No drinking before noon? Well, the airport, and the airplane especially, are international waters in my mind. Clock time has no real meaning. Plus, if I’ve been up for 7 hours, gotten a pat down and had to wait in three separate lines of awful humanity, it’s drink time. I don’t give a damn if it’s 5 AM and I’m on the way to my grandmother’s funeral. Any argument you can make against it is probably going to be the same one I make FOR it.
Second, the mistake is thinking that people who ride bikes aren’t also loaded when they’re not riding bikes. Or people who are hiking. In fact, beer history has been changed by Colorado’s unique combination of drinking and being in the great outdoors. Oskar Blues, one of the larger craft brewers, puts their stuff out in cans. The story goes that this came about because the folks there were outdoors-y, and they were tired of having to choose either bottled beer or good beer. Why not both? So they started craft brewing and throwing it in cans.
Now, there are arguments I think one could make against the Denver coronation. For one thing, Denver and Colorado in general are pretty much the worst when it comes to public transportation. So naturally you’re going to see a higher rate of drunk driving incidents as more people take to the road. It’s bound to happen whereas in a city with a late night train system you’ll get fewer. In fact, NYC often ranks amongst the lowest of drunken cities, however I suspect this has to do with the fact that many people there don’t even OWN a vehicle.
Like this book points out, there is an ugly side to drinking. The fights. The wasted time and money. And let’s face it, there’s a difference in seeing a guy passed out on the banks of Cherry Creek next to a cart that contains all of his possessions and a guy enjoying a Sunday brunch mimosa on a restaurant patio. Those two things FEEL very different. They might be more similar than we’d like to admit, but they sure feel different.
The book is a definite reminder that the ugly side of Denver is still alive, and we’re not as far from it as we might like to think.
Since then it’s slipped a little.”