Oh my, Chris, you really hit a nerve there.

Alcohol really does mask certain activities, doesn't it? I am not much of a drinker but there are some things I do which, to me, feel like they should involve some alcohol.

I went to a dance night that some friends had organised last year (it was that memorable because I go out so little these days) and I didn't know if there would be a bar or if we were supposed to bring something along, so I brought some beer but left it in the car, thinking I could go back for it if there wasn't a bar.

There wasn't but once inside I actually couldn't be bothered to go back outside, so I didn't drink anything all evening and had the best time. But the idea of showing up without the possibility of having an alcoholic drink at a social event seemed like something I couldn't do.

Though obviously not the same as dealing with the vulnerability of sex, I can see how hard it must be to navigate what is, effectively, losing your virginity as a forty-something. It takes courage to be you, unmasked by the effects of alcohol.