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Burt
The Burt show so late October I went to Nashville for the Georgia game for the Georgia Vandy game and just really did it up alcohol wise with Mark. Really did it up. I mean in an ugly way. And the weekend after that we had some friends in town from Pennsylvania, did it up again on Friday night. Then we had Jackie Lantern on Saturday night and I got stupid again.
Interviewer
Big Wicked.
Burt
Big Wicked. Yeah, on Saturday night.
Friend/Co-host
The Big Wicked stories were funny because for about two, three weeks after Big Wicked people would come into the studio, like either salespeople or other people, you know, management or just people coming in like guests on the show. And everyone would say, oh dude, I saw you Big Wicked man. You look like you're having a good time. And you could see the vacant look in Burt's eyes where he's like, I saw you. When did I see you? And even one of them was like,
Burt
we rode there together at one point of the night. And I'm not bragging about this. I'm embarrassed by it. But at one point of the night, we had a whole bunch of people in the limo, and the limo had to stop because I thought I was gonna throw them up. It's right in front of, like, the varsity. So they stop the limo, I get out, take some breaths, do that whole self talk thing. You can do this. You don't have to throw up. You're gonna be okay.
Interviewer
Oh, that's not a good place to be.
Burt
And I didn't yak. And I got back in the limo, but I was embarrassed, and I felt like an idiot. You just get to an age, you know? I feel like I got kids now. Even though the party's always in me, I just don't want to be that guy. And I haven't wanted to be with him for, you know, a while, right? So I thought, all right, I'm taking November off from drinking. So I did for, like, three and a half weeks. And the target date really was Thanksgiving, because I knew once I got around Stacy's family that the alcohol was going to be flowing. But I talked from, like, the first all the way to November 25th off.
Friend/Co-host
And I was around Bert on two occasions. One, we ended up at the same time at the same. Well, we were going to. Having dinner together, and Burt pulled into the parking lot and saw that the new Sandy Springs Taco Mac was open. Smelled new.
Jake Stauch
The beer.
Friend/Co-host
Smelled new.
Burt
Love that new bar smell.
Friend/Co-host
So we get in there and, you know, say that the. The server comes over, and I say, yeah, I'll have a basket of fries, 420. And I look at Bert, and Bert says, I have the chicken wings and a seven up. Not for me, but that was. Yeah, that was strong, right? And then, like, the next week, we did that softball game with Brian McCann. And afterwards, we all went over to stats to. I mean, like, half a dozen of us, 10 of us. And we sat at one of the tables. They have the taps built into the table. And I'm looking at Bert. We are sitting opposite. Yeah, I'm looking at it. We're at opposite ends of the table.
Burt
It's an arm's reach. The tap is right there. You pour your old bone.
Friend/Co-host
And the server comes, and he's handing out glasses, and he gets to Burt. There's a little bit of hesitation. And Burt says, could I just have a club soda? So.
Burt
And it really wasn't a problem.
Friend/Co-host
It was impressive.
Burt
And I am, and I have always been a binge drinker. I drink with intent, like people that go home and they have one drink a night just to calm down. I have never understood that. I mean, started in high school, I just got into that pattern, and that's how I drink, you know? So I thought, all right, I gotta put the brakes on this, and I gotta relearn how to drink, so I'm not gonna drink at all in November. And I passed up parties where I knew that I'd be tempted. That part of not drinking was no problem at all. When the alcohol was in front of me, when Jeff and Jen were drinking and I didn't have a drink, no problem at all. 0. Staying away from the parties, no problem. But Stacey's always maintained that the real test is just social drinking.
Friend/Co-host
Having three drinks in a night and being done with it.
Burt
Drinking like a normal, healthy person and then just being done, and then going to bed without a buzz or without getting a total drink on. And down in Hilton Head for Thanksgiving weekend, the whole family went out. And I tried this. This whole pacing yourself through the night thing. And I did it. But it was way harder than I thought it was gonna be.
Interviewer
In what ways? What made it hard?
Burt
Once I have a drink in my hand, and I know that there are probably alcoholics listening right now, going, this dude is describing himself as an alcoholic. Once I had the drink in hand and I started drinking, it is like I wanted to pour it down my throat, like one. I was doing one an hour.
Friend/Co-host
That's a type of alcoholism, without a doubt.
Burt
I haven't looked it up online, but I'm absolutely sure it is.
Friend/Co-host
I think it's called binge alcoholism, and it's where you could go a year without ever having a drink. But when you do get that first one or two in you, then you go hard. And that happens every single time you drink.
Burt
It was really hard. We started with a drink at 7 o' clock at dinner, and we probably stayed out till 12 or 12:30. And I had four drinks all night long, so one an hour, which for me is really, really slow. Normally it would probably be two, and I'd be buzzed by the end of the night, and I'd be the guy pushing everybody for shots. It was way more difficult than I thought it was, and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it. I don't know if I should give it up entirely now or I should give it to you.
Friend/Co-host
So what do you do now?
Burt
I don't know. I'm not really sure.
Interviewer
Like, what's the conversation going on inside your head? Because everybody else is probably focused on the conversation that's happening. You know, your family's chatting and you're talking and they're just sort of sipping on whatever they have in front of them. Well, your mind, is there a whole different conversation going on?
Burt
It's two different answers. First of all, their family drinks a lot anyway. So pretty much everybody in that family drinks with the same intention. Like, if we're all going out, we all know we're probably going to get.
Friend/Co-host
It's a taxi night.
Burt
It's going to be. It's a taxi night, Right? But for me, it was a constant reminding myself, slow down, you don't need another one. When the server came and asked everybody if they wanted a round, a couple of times I passed, which I never have done. Even if I have a full glass, I'll get another one. Just making sure that I don't run out of it.
Friend/Co-host
The server doesn't come back, dude, that's an issue.
Burt
So it was a real battle, man. I mean, it's a real problem because
Friend/Co-host
I think the people that drink just a couple drinks are just wanting to relax, and that's their intention. And then when they feel like it's getting beyond relaxing is when they stop because they think, oh, I don't want to. You know, because if there. It's like the intention of the night is just to chill, you know, and just to relax and unwind a little bit.
Burt
And my mentality has never really developed past, like, being 22 or 23 years old. Like, if you're gonna drink, you do it to get stupid and have fun and not relax and be social.
Friend/Co-host
Right.
Burt
So all night long I kept sort of like reserving the urge to say, hey, let's do a shot of Patron. What about another round for everybody? It was really difficult.
Friend/Co-host
What about drinking as an accompaniment, like, to a meal? Like, for example, I had dinner last night with a friend, and while we ate, we each had two beers and that was it. Like, there was no intention. We certainly weren't.
Burt
I don't understand that mentality. Like, it adds to the meal for you.
Friend/Co-host
Well, I just think, yeah, definitely. Yeah.
Interviewer
Like, we were especially with wine or, you know, like selecting a good wine to go. We met and have one glass and that's it.
Friend/Co-host
We met at Five Seasons, so it's a beer place, and we Were sitting in the bar, so it just kind of seemed like, I got a pizza. I'm gonna have a beer with it. And then we were talking, and it just. You know, he talked through two beers, and then that was it.
Burt
Yeah, I don't really. I mean, if I had to be totally honest and totally strip it down, like, I don't like the taste of alcohol. I don't like the taste of beer. I don't like the taste of vodka. So if I'm drinking, it's. For one thing, it's escapism, really. It's just to get numb through the night.
Interviewer
Now, when you guys were in Italy, didn't you say it was a little bit different when you guys were on vacation and you were, like, having the long dinners and the wine and stuff? Like, was that any different, or was that. Still drink wine until you get to that stage?
Burt
It was a. It was too. It wasn't as bad, but it was definitely like, if we're drinking wine, we're gonna drink to get buzzed. And we did.
Interviewer
Right?
Burt
Good morning. Is it eerie?
Eric
Eric.
Burt
Eric. She forgot to see. Good morning. What's up, Erie? How are you?
Friend/Co-host
It's a small but an important letter,
Burt
and there's only four letters to it. Each and every one of them are very important. What's going on?
Eric
Nothing. I was just gonna say, years ago, when I was in New York, I actually had a psychiatrist tell me that that's called dipsomania, as crazy as that sounds. And he said, basically, it's. It's that you can, you know, you have that one drink, but you can't. It's like, you know, you try to set that limit for three. You know, I want to have three. And then you'll find some excuse, but you just. You basically can't stop drinking Months without drinking, you know, several months, you know, quit drinking. But then whenever you have those couple of drinks, it's just. It starts creeping up on you, and you just. You can't stop till you just keep getting higher.
Burt
Yeah. And it's not that you can't stop, because I did. It was just the first time I'd ever tried it, and it was way more difficult than I thought it was gonna be. And like he said, I could probably go months without a drink and be fine, no problem. I did it with weeks, for weeks, and I had no desire at all to have any alcohol.
Friend/Co-host
I think it's. Well, you know, it's also, like, with smoking or any. Or eating or anything. When you're in a pack or when you're at home or with your buddies, you know, the difficulty comes not only. I mean, if you were by yourself, you could do whatever you wanted to do. But I think the temptation comes if you're going out then. I mean, do you avoid your friends all the time? Because, you know, when you go out with them, they're gonna party.
Burt
I know, and I did have to do that a couple of times during those three and a half, four weeks that I didn't drink. I mean, there were some parties going on. One of my best friends was having a party at his restaurant, and I avoided it completely. Cause I knew if I went in there for one, it was gonna be the same kind of pressure I give. Everybody else was gonna be on me. So I just avoided the night altogether. Yeah, do you.
Friend/Co-host
Go ahead.
Interviewer
No, go ahead.
Friend/Co-host
I was just gonna say, do you have any friends that would be. Would back you up, like, if you went out? I know most of the people you hang out with, so I think I can answer this with a no. But, like, if you said to one of them, hey, look, you got to get my back on this. I'm not gonna. I'm gonna go out tonight, and I'm gonna have three vodkas, and that's it. Three, whatever you drink. And so help me out. Don't let them pressure me, distract them.
Burt
Yeah, I've got two different groups of friends. I've got the friends that you're talking about right there that go out that don't have kids, and. And I've got friends that have kids. If I go out with the friends
Friend/Co-host
that have kids, the ones with kids are the big drinkers, aren't they?
Burt
The ones without the kids are the big drinkers. If I go out with the parents, then it's. Then that's no problem at all.
Friend/Co-host
Right.
Burt
Good morning, mary. You're on Q100.
Mary
I'm just calling. I'm laughing because you guys are describing me. Absolute tea.
Interviewer
Really?
Mary
I mean, I think the difference is I can go out in a social setting and not drink. That is not a problem. I don't avoid social situations. But this second that I have that first drink, glass of wine, martini, beer, whatever, it's on.
Burt
That's exactly how I feel like I could be around people that are drinking, no problem. But if I have the first sip, then I'm in for the night.
Mary
Well, I think the difference is, too. I'm definitely a social drinker. I mean, there is no way in the world, you know, if my husband were out of town or whatever. That I'm going to come home, crack a bottle of wine, open a beer or whatever and have a drink by myself. I mean, it is absolutely a social setting for me. Same with smoking. I don't smoke at home. But this. Open that first beer, Open that first, you know, had the first glass of wine, you know, cigarette in hand. Definitely, definitely binge situation.
Interviewer
I was curious, like, is it the feeling of the buzz that makes you want to keep going till the ultimate end? But you just said it's the first sip, so it's not the feeling of a buzz that makes you want to keep staying more buzzed.
Mary
It's like, well, I definitely have an agenda. I'm the same way. I mean, like, there's. I think there's a difference in beer that you like and then there's beer that you drink. I mean, like, I can go out and have, you know, a higher gravity beer or Guinness or a dark beer and have that. But, you know, I definitely don't drink for the. In any sense. I mean, I do enjoy alcoholic. I enjoy good wines. You know, I enjoy, you know, a nice martini. But even in my mind, I'm not drinking it for the taste.
Burt
Yeah, me neither.
Friend/Co-host
Not Burt. Burt, enjoy.
Interviewer
It's like once you start your head, your direction is the finish line.
Burt
I equate more fun with more drinking. The more fun, the more buzzed you're gonna be. And I gotta totally change that mentality or give it up altogether.
Interviewer
Right?
Burt
Cause just having one means having eight.
Interviewer
So.
Friend/Co-host
Yeah, it's just. Yeah. I'm more worried about the friend groups than anything and you being able to give it up. Because one of my friends is a recovering alcoholic. And it is. It is a totally different setting when we're out with her and her girlfriend than it is with other people. And I'm always having to tell Katie, Katie, remember what we're doing, who we're going with.
Right?
Burt
Oh, no.
Friend/Co-host
Hey.
Burt
The Birch Show.
Jake Stauch
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During Memorial Day at Lowe's Shop Household must haves for less save $80 on the Char Broil Performance Series 4 Burner Grill to chef up something special, plus get up to 45% off. Select major appliances to keep things fresh. Our best lineup is here at Lowes Lowes. We help you Save valid through 527, while supplies last selection varies by location. See Lowes.com for details.
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The Bert Show
Episode: Vault: Bert Is Taking a Break From Alcohol
Date: May 21, 2026
In this candid and introspective episode, Bert, the show's host, opens up about his decision to take a break from alcohol, sharing both the motivations behind it and the challenges he’s faced. The conversation explores patterns of binge drinking, the struggle to moderate, the impact of social settings, and personal growth around substance use. The episode is marked by honesty, humor, and vulnerability, as both the hosts and callers discuss their own complicated relationships with alcohol.
The conversation remains light with the humor and camaraderie typical of The Bert Show, but underlying this are honest admissions, vulnerability, and a real struggle with personal growth. Bert’s willingness to grapple with these issues openly encourages further discussion, with listeners chiming in and the co-hosts admitting their own observations.
This episode offers valuable insight into the challenges of changing personal habits, especially around drinking, and highlights the complexities of social dynamics, self-motivation, and how ingrained behaviors can be. It's a relatable exploration for anyone reconsidering their relationship with alcohol.