Quote 10
"If she loved you so much, why did she leave you that night? And if you loved her so much, why'd you help her go? I was drunk. What's your excuse?" (20after.15)
The Colonel calls Miles out on his passivity. Why didn't he assert himself like he did when he was making out with her earlier? How do Miles's emotions get entangled in the choices he makes? Think about his nature and Alaska's nature.
Quote 11
"This isn't milk. It's five parts milk and one part vodka. I call it ambrosia. Drink of the gods. You can barely smell the vodka in the milk, so the Eagle can't catch me unless he actually takes a sip. The downside is that it tastes like sour milk and rubbing alcohol." (122before.25)
The Colonel's take on alcohol has to do with celebration and breaking the rules. He, like other students, seeks new ways to subvert the rules and order at the Creek.
Quote 12
"You are a nerd, Pudge. But you're not gonna let a detail like that keep you from drinking." Actually, I hadn't drunk since that night, and didn't feel particularly inclined to ever take it up ever again. (27after.5)
Miles (Pudge) has some serious reservations about alcohol and drinking after Alaska's death, but the Colonel doesn't have the same reaction. It might behoove us to remember their backgrounds and think about the pain and suffering that each character experiences beyond Alaska's death. For Miles, quite frankly, it's not much. But for the Colonel, he's got his poverty and his dad's departure from his life, as well as his dad's drinking, to contend with.