Vacation, party time!

Ha! I did not purchase this alcohol. I was asked what I wanted to drink. We were heading South about 200 miles to visit relatives smack dab in the middle of Wild Wonderful West Virginia. I said I would get it at the store when we arrived at the motel. My daughter's beau would not take no for an answer, so I suggested lime-a-rita.

As I predicted we ended up hauling all this liquor down to West Virginia and all the way back to Ohio. I didn't even open the case of lime-a-rita. The Jack, vodka and Bud were missing a few. And the jagermeister is down about 1/8th. Whoop! 

I had one margarita at the bar. Then ginger ale.

Sigh.

We had 14 show up. Usually it is 20 or more. The young ones who really like to drink were unable to show. That's what happens when you have kids! One niece was kind of excited though because she had not had a drink in....I don't know how long. She had just weaned her little girl and was going to celebrate. She drank two drinks that I saw and got silly. LOL!

We did get to visit with some wonderful people. Our relatives that we visit are just the best. There are others, but we just do not seem to meld with them as well. Not that they are not just as nice and funny. There is only so much time to visit.

Sunday I awoke with a crushing headache. Advil (or the generic form) did not touch it, another migraine tablet and I felt the nausea. I was miserable. My daughter and her beau stepped in and packed me up and into the car and drove me home. As I was resting in the back seat - my headache finally abating (after some weak coffee - caffeine!), I thought to myself "Hey, I could get used to this!"

Note: I am kind of Independent. I have to be the one driving, I have to pack all my own stuff and I have to do this myself and this....it was easy to let things go this time because I was so damn sick.

So, I missed out on the last visit or two. The others went and took pictures. We had a great time. I am going to talk to the doctor about changing my migraine medication. I have been on Imitrex (or the generic form) for about four years and the rebound headaches are killing me. Causing me to take a second tablet the next day to fix the rebound headache. I took another the third day and today I awoke with the same crushing headache.

But, I was home. I had my fan blowing cool air on me. I gulped down three generic Advil (no migraine pill today) and moved around and got my coffee in me.

In no time, the headache was gone and we will see what tomorrow brings when I return to work.

I always take an extra day off after vacation to recuperate. I know from experience that I am drained and can barely function, so I had today off also.

I think I will be ready to tackle getting up and going and having my head on straight by tomorrow  morning.  Whew! These darn headaches just slay me!

Hibachi - style

I joined some friends and we went to Wasaibi's Steakhouse a few days ago. I love this place but the night turned kind of sour.

I've been here before so I understand the fun of the chef squirting sake into the customer's mouths across the table. (Using the squirt bottle shown above in the photo). The last time I was there the sake tasted like water.

This time it was very strong tasting. I closed my mouth and he continued to squirt sake all over my chest and top area. It dried sure enough, but in the car it was all I could smell. Sour sake.

The other issue I had that evening was one of my friends that sat to my right became a little juiced and smacked my leg almost all night long.

I hate this. I swear, I looked for a bruise on my leg the next day.

They just kind of smack  you with the back of their hand as if they are used to people ignoring them and they have to smack them to get their attention. I came very close to saying something to her but I bit my tongue. It was her birthday celebration, after all.

The grand finale was when one of the waiters bent over in front of us and his clothing was quite tight to say the least and she continued to smack my leg for about 50 whacks as if saying "Look! Look! Look!"

For starters, I don't care to make an ass of myself and ogle men (or women).  And, I certainly believe that one short discreet  look would have been plenty and not fifty whacks of her hand to let me know she was looking at him.

I bucked up and just enjoyed the food for the evening. She had the nerve to say "You were awfully quiet tonight."

Probably because I was biting my tongue.

One tequila

This is a bottle of tequila. 110 proof the label said. My niece brought it to the family get together at Thanksgiving, I think. She did not open it and took it back home. Wait. Maybe it was March birthdays. Yeah, that was it. March birthdays.

One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, four. I don't sing that song anymore.

Had a relapse over the week end. Still coughing. But was sick to my stomach over the week end. Whatever this is, it has a hold of me good.

Work is crazy busy for me.

Finally, I may be starting to feel like doing things around the house again. Gah.

Way behind on yard work. I don't like it, but I am going to have to refuse family invites to do things. They get kind of grumpy when I do that. I get the guilt trip from some who say "No sense in going if you are not going."  That is such a sweet and nice compliment and I feel very honored to get it. But it also makes me feel pressured and I don't want to let anybody down.

I saw some pics of my sisters who were out this past week end. Let me just say this. I am so glad I quit the bar and drinking scene before the digital photo age and facebook. LOL! Good gawd!

Sake

I had my first "intentional" sake last evening. When a group of us went a couple of years ago, the performing chefs squirted some in our wide open mouths with a squeeze bottle. Hell, could have been water they were squirting at us for all I know.

I liked the immediate "punch" feeling that it gave me. The atmosphere was right. I was with other women from work. I had an empty stomach. The air was full of friendship, laughter and gossip. The first little tiny cup of sake went down quickly and "bang", I was buzzed.

As with all alcohol, after you eat a meal - that same little cup of sake has no effect. Or not near as much. I long remember the days where I had to keep that buzz going and food was forfeited and in return I was blessed with a long, painful hangover the next morning. Ah, those were the days. (NOT!)

Getting pulled over

There was no doubt this little tyke was the hit of the party Saturday evening. I need to get a shot of him in his duds. His mother dressed him up in a little golfer outfit. The dinner was at a restaurant at a Golf Course. Huh. Not a one of us golf. One nephew used to. Eh...

We had a great time. We were loud. There were 17 of us and two children. There was plenty of drinking. The drivers did not imbibe or only drank a couple. Such as I. One beer and I was like - give me ice water from now, on. I did taste my daughter's drink. Grey goose and vodka. Uh, no thanks! Yech!

On the way home I was to drop sister 1954 off at a bar and my daughter was anxious to get back - she had plans to go out and meet friends. We were chatting. At one time I looked at my speedometer and thought, "Oh, I am such a granny driver."  I thought perhaps my daughter would say something eventually. I really have slowed down even more since hitting the deer in 2009. Everything I see alongside the road is a potential deer.

So, I was very surprised when I was the one pulled over. I saw his lights in my rear view mirror. I pulled over immediately and glanced at the tail lights of the car in front of me. My first thought was 'I wonder what the guy in front of me did.' My second thought was 'I wonder what is going on that he (the patrolman) has to rush lights flashing.'

I giggled and said 'He is after ME!"  Like I was some giggly girl in high school and just found out a boy liked me. Good gawd!

He said I was doing "65" in a "55" zone. I said "Sorry, we were probably chatting and I didn't realize."  I could find my drivers license. I found an old registration but could not find proof of insurance to save my life. He said given the state of my car he was certain that I had insurance and let me go with a written warning.

Both my sister and daughter said there was no way it was ME doing 65. The more I thought about it the more I realized that they were right. I am a granny driver. I don't even go the speed limit. My daughter said he must have "clipped" the guy in front of us. Things were not so funny, then. What if he had given me a ticket? What are they now $120. Ten dollars for every mile over the speed limit? $100? I would have been pissed.

I had not been passed. In fact, I recall somebody pulling out in front of me shortly before the straight stretch. Ah, well. I did NOT get a ticket, but it un-nerves me to think that I can get a ticket because they "clipped" someone else.

And for ONCE sister 1954 did not have a beer with her in the car. She manages to sneak one in her purse from the bar almost every time.

I dreamt that the same guy pulled me over again. I killed him - with a machete knife and I was trying to get rid of his head.  OMG! WTH?! WTF?!  How angry WAS I?

Nihonshu

At the Japanese steak house on the 9th of February. The one receiving the sake is my nephew (who is currently in Chile), next to him holding her hand over her mouth is my daughter, and next to her is a newer member of the family, expecting in June. (YAY!) The nephew she is with is just outside this photo to her right.

Beer before bread

I don't know, guys. The documentary "How Beer Saved the World" stated that early humans settled down to grow and harvest barley. Originally it was thought the reason was for bread. Now, they state that beer vessels were found 3,000 years before evidence of bread-making was found.

The story details how early civilization survived by drinking beer instead of bacteria-laid water. That is just one small section of the world. How about the Native Americans and the people of Africa and China? They did just find without the invent of beer in the early days. 

Me thinks the show was created by some beer-loving, speculating historians.

On another note, I have always enjoyed the actress Toni Collette. I watched "Mental". Spoiler Alert! The movie was predictable for most of the time. I did not care for how the main character (Toni) actually turned on the girls in the end, calling them names and belittling them. And the fire scene at the end (and quite a few in between) - I really could have done without. Not so much the fire, but how it was started. That just really disappointed me, but I suppose it was meant to be funny. The messing of the "white couch" horrified me. Did we really need to go there? They could have just as well eaten chocolate bars or spilled their tea. Instead Hogan had to go with the "gross" factor.

My daughter and I thought that Lily Sullivan and Sam Trout did a spectacular job. He wrote that song and sang it? Loved it!  And how they made Rebecca Gibney look like a dowdy housewife and mother of five is beyond me! This is what I love about the foreign movies. The actors get dirty and let themselves be filmed dowdy. Rare in the US actors. I believe (but cannot find proof) that she actually sang in the movie. It certainly looked as if she (and the children) were singing the parts themselves. I hope so. It was lovely.

Rice noodles and vegetables

Yum. Saturday night - near the beginning of the meal. The cook is tossing an egg in the air. The ladies at the far end? Sister 1954 and 1956. Sure, they are getting along here. Five hours later after continuous drinking - eh...not so much. I do not drink with them. I have maybe two drinks and stop. I am on too much medication. One sister did not take her high blood pressure medication that morning "so she could drink."  I know, I know - don't look at me! The other one - does not eat all day and gave her food from this meal to a nephew.

They were staying at my house. They went to a bar with another nephew and I was to pick them up at 11 p.m. Except (of course) they were not ready to leave. They went to a big dance place. There must have been hundreds of cars in this tiny parking area. Cars were backing up, moving and all over the place. How anybody went home that night with their vehicle still in tact was beyond me. Sober eyes (mine) watching outside a dance club for over half an hour while I waited on my nephew to round up my sisters was a real eye opener.

Another reason I do not drink any more. The hangovers. My God - the hangovers. I would throw up so much I thought my head was going to fly off. The pain was so great.

Speaking of hangovers...this trip I went on for work? This past Monday through Wednesday? Two fellows from my establishment drank Monday night on one of the vendor's bill. The group I was with stayed away. We went out to dinner on our own. We are not drinkers. One of those fellows made it to the convention Tuesday, but the other ?... stayed in the room throwing up all day. Your tax payers money - hard at work! The money that pays for this is not from a levy or your local taxes. It is earmarked from the state as "pr0fe$$ional devel0pment."  Nothing much pr0fessional going on here.

Bleary eyed

I was a binge drinker. My alcohol favorite was beer. I remember well drinking lots of beer and I remember being very bleary eyed very often. I do not do this any longer. I am not certain if it is my medication that has stopped the "yearning", the age, or what. I am not questioning it too much, I am just glad of it.

Family met up at a Japanese steak house Saturday night. 18 of us for three February birthdays. It was sensational. I drank two very weak Long Island Iced teas. We had to "tail-gate" the birthday cake. Dealing with drunks after the dinner was not so pleasant. I was awoken about every hour with something. I got very little sleep. I headed out to Columbus for three days for a work convention after this ordeal. I needed the break away from home.

After coming home this morning, I was browsing some documentaries to download and watch and I came across "How Beer Saved the World."  I don't know. I may have to watch this one. It certainly spiced up my dull life. Without beer I was in total social isolation. Fact.

Annual Christmas party

Photo courtesy of nephew 1977.

We had a record 37 show. Oldest is 70 and youngest is 10 days. The ten day old one barely opened his eyes the entire time. With a crowd and noise level like this, I don't blame the wee, little one. Keep your eyes closed. You are not ready to deal with this mess, yet.

The group was unmanageable. I lost control early into the evening. The games were sporadic at best. I did better playing the games with the bar staff - they were much more interested. This group (my family) were out of control. They were having a good time. And, that is much more important than any games or regime. Games are good if folks are bored - but this was not a bored crowd. They (we) entertain ourselves.

The kids were numerous this year. YAY! Our family is producing again! The three in the photo below are extras to the family - no blood relation at all. LOL! We (as a family) don't care. We love everybody. The more the merrier!

 

Photo courtesy of niece 1982.

 

I picked up flashing sunglasses that were "cartoon-themed". Here are three rambunctious boys showing off their shades and their latest gangsta movies. Or, dance move  - I don't know. I can't keep up.

My cheeks hurt from laughing so hard. I like to see folks having a good time and when we dispersed there were the younger ones still at the bar. I got more "alcohol-related" hugs than ever. I mean hanging on to me for dear life hugs. I guess they were trying to stay in an upright position. All had designated drivers, and all got home safely. Though I am getting the impression (from reading facebook) that something went down with a cop and Taco Bell that I am trying to pull the story out of my niece. Hee, hee.

An addict is an addict is an addict

I tell everyone "I hate to shop."  Actually, I am an addict. Probably. I don't know. I am a binge shopper. I was a binge drinker. You can go through life and never have a drink again. You can't go through life and never shop again. Not realistically. I have to be very careful when I shop.

I don't quit.

Christmas is the hardest. I have to start late because I do not quit. I have to keep buying gifts for people. I love to give, give, give.

We are having our annual family party tonight. At a restaurant. A record 40 are showing. There are a few friends coming, but still...mostly family. And their significant others.

And, babies. We have new babies this year. YAY!

Out of the immediate family two nephews cannot make it.

All 8 children will be there. I have to find my cameras and get them charged up!

I stole a couple of games from the party I went to on the first and I made up one of my own. I watched The Grinch carefully and came up with 10 wacky questions about the show. From the easiest "What color is the Grinch?" to the hardest "How many years has the Grinch put up with the Who characters making noise?"

We are in a new restaurant this year. They have promised us a private room. I tell them that there will be singing, laughter and noise. I don't want to disturb the other patrons.

Hopefully, I will have some pics to post tomorrow.

Games

My family enjoys playing Left,Center, Right and Tripoley after the Thanksgiving meal. I notice that football was scratched from the menu this year. I did hear somebody  mention it, then somebody else said "Wait until after this play" as they were watching football on TV. They never got back to the actual going outside and throwing the ball around. One person did duck out at six and go shopping. She came back by nine with stories to tell us about the chaos.

Left, Center, Right is safe enough. We play with nickles. Only about five of us played that. When the Tripoley board came out, though - it turned to eight and nine. We only play with nickles and it always take a few rounds for us to get into the "swing" of things as we never remember how to play until two or three hands in.

I tallied up that if I had never won any of the money on the board and if we played (I estimated) 25 rounds, and having to pay an average of ten cents at the end of each game the most one could lose was about  $12.50 total. Not too bad if you are working, but for those not working it may be hard. I think the only one we had not working this year was the six year old. My sister made certain that he had his little satchel of nickles, though. He was slow, but most of us were patient. The trick is to wait out the players. Most had to bundle up and leave and the die hards that stayed until the end had the best chance of winning. I was spending the night so I was in for the long haul.

The meal was fantastic. We had way too much. My corn pudding went over very well. As did my cheese ball and tray. The tray consists of various sliced cheeses, pepperoni slices and trail bologna sliced up with spicy mustard. I must have picked out the extra hot jalapeno cheese this year as a lot of people were loving it. Not one of my favorites. I prefer brick/butter/muenster cheese.

Another hit was the cranberry nut bread that I made. I may make more of that today. It goes very quickly.

Today I plan to bake a turkey with all the trimmings. I don't feel like it. Yet. I slept in until 9:00. That is so rare for me. I did not sleep well the night before (being in a strange place) and now I am out of sorts. My head hurt all day yesterday and by evening we were getting a light dusting of snow. The day had started out at 51º . It became colder all day. And, yes - I did have to take a migraine pill later in the afternoon. Ugh!

Sister 1956 and I had planned to spend the night and chat with sister 1944 after the dinner because she is always so sad when it is time for everyone to go and she and her husband and my oldest brother are left in the house. Sister 1954 had to work Friday and was going back that evening until she got wind that we were staying. She was drunk before she even go to the dinner so she was determined to stay. She did until 3:30 a.m. and more or less ruined it for us. Again. She picks at things with us trying to get a reaction. I try to tell the rest of the family not to believe what she says. She starts rumors about family members etc, and my other sisters believe her. I told them the next day not to.

Side note: sister 1954 had a driver and she lives over two hours away. Whether she made it to work on Friday or not  has not been determined. I am almost certain she did. She only had to work 9 to 1 and she usually can function well enough to get by when she is hung over or drunk or both. She has had enough experience doing both.

Now, to go and get that turkey in the oven and peel some potatoes. I can't believe it is 10 o'clock and I have not even had my first cup of coffee. What is wrong with the world? My head will be in a fog all day!

Let me re-phrase that

My little aches and pains are nothing right now. It is pouring a cold, steely rain outside and I feel just fine. A little ache here and there is nothing to mention. My Mom said her grandmother (the lady that raised her) was bedridden for the last 7 to 8 years of her life with painful arthritis. She kept a bottle of Four Roses under her bed. That was the only medicine they knew of back then and in her part of the country, I suppose.

So, I can get out of bed just fine. I do not want to sound like a baby. It may be starting but we have great advances in medicine and I realize that certain exercises can keep that pain at bay.

This poor lady did not have anything but a decent and friendly neighbor lady who took care of her and her bottle of whiskey. I think I will count my blessings!

Buzz Ballz

I saw these little ballz in the grocery store last evening. They are clear plastic with aluminum lids. They came in red (cranberry), orange, yellow (lemonade), and green - tequila w/vodka. 20% by volume. Yeesh! Check the web page - there are a lot more flavors. The suggested retail is $3.99. They float, won't break and can be frozen to a slush.

My black babies

I did not take pictures Saturday night. I don't know why. I did not even think about it. My niece 1982 snapped this one of my babies. I had 23 show up from the family. My daughter had an after-the-family-leaves party for her age group. 21 - 23 crowd. From what I could see, she had about a dozen. She came in and chased me out of her bed at about 5:00 a.m. I was sleeping in her room with the window open so I could keep an "ear" out for their noise level. At 2:30 she had the group move inside the garage to continue.

I am just concerned about the one neighbor lady whose bedroom is almost butt up against my patio. She is 95 and has had many falls the past few years. She has somebody staying with her. I heard a man coughing while I was hosing off my patio Sunday morning.

I felt great the next day. No headache. But then again, I only drank a couple of the Bud Lite Lime-a-ritas that are kind of popular right now.

Survived

Survived another family reunion. This time with extended family members is so special to us, but alas - not everybody feels that way. Our attendance was so low this year we doubt we will have it again next year. Or, we need to change the format to a much less activity-based event.

Our first year we had over 150 attend, this year - maybe 38. It was our fourth one and the heat was so intense I believe some of us suffered a mild heat stroke. So many were dizzy and we just sat around limp. Not to mention the body odor. It was a good idea to choose burgundy color shirts for our matching tee shirts but not healthy. The heat was intense and with a dark, thick tee shirt on - well, you can imagine. Some of my family members refuse to wear them and opt for spaghetti straps and what not for a cooler outcome.

I certainly will have to do something next year. I have expressed my desire for an air conditioned building and having it inside. That seems to be the major reason for absenteeism. The blessed heat.

The party on the patio at the motel was rather tame, also. Just a few who wanted to burn the candle at both ends, and the staff finally moved them into the lobby because of motel visitors complaining. I had gone to bed long ago. I do not party any more. Especially since I am on this medication. I asked to try the bud light lime a rita. It was so delicious and I only drank 6 oz. but it knocked me on my butt. (Medicine intensified, I am sure). I am not one to follow the rules, but when I felt woozy - I stopped cold. I don't push it too much. (Any longer).

We had two siblings that could not make it this year. The first time all 8 of us have not been to the reunion. Well, the first reunion sister 1954 could not make it. Not because she did not want to, though. Most of us find it difficult to understand why they would not want to come to the reunion but you have to let stuff like this go and let people be. Their "excuse" was that they had to work but we all knew about the reunion months in advance. The actual date, anyway. And the ones who could not make it got days off just prior to the reunion and another one - they are going to the ocean in a week or two. So it isn't like they CAN'T get time off. They just decided not to. We held the reunion on a Saturday this year to make it easier for folks who have to travel and get back to work on a Monday. That backfired. All the ones who requested that option, did not show anyway. Claiming they had to work. What is up with that?

Whoops. I am not letting it go, am I?  My daughter showed up and the ones that did show - we had a fantastic time. When the heat was so bad, we got out the water balloons and the mister (sprays water). I find it nice that we have coolers full of water bottles in the same amount as soda. I did not drink one soda, all water. I crave a soda once in a while - but drink water all day.

The food was fantastic - a lot less to choose from - but there is still plenty to go around. Desserts were almost non existent this time. Some cookies, pies and nut bread and that was it. I made calico beans. Once I heard my nephew was bringing a generator (my sister told me he was bringing it for me so that I can have a fan on me) I grabbed the chance to make my beans. The generator would run fans and a crock pot or two on low. I am just grinning to think that he would bring that for me. I love that boy (he will always be my little boy to me) so much! Even though he and his mama are very close and I am so happy they are. For all the hell they have gone through with each other they are so very, very close. It just makes my heart burst.

I find it strange to hear stories about other families that do not step in and take a child if their sibling is having trouble or problems in their life. My sister has been in and out of prison and I had no problem taking her daughter into my home.  Her son was old enough to be on his own. When she moved back home in the early 80's I was working a daylight job. She was tending bar at night. I watched her little boy every night and cared for him. This is family. Her children are my children. That is how I feel. My sisters ALL feel the same way.

Anyway, reunions are a special time for me. I grumble about them. I grumble about the heat. I grumble about the work. I grumble about the money - not so much because to me, complaining about money is vulgar. If you want a wonderful time - sometimes it costs a lot of money. But (to me) you cannot put a price on family and love.

Last, but not least - headache update. Although I did not have a migraine, I had a very bad headache through out the week-end. I attribute that to sleeping (or NOT sleeping) in a motel, the heat and the upset in the schedule. And driving long distance. If I were still on my migraine medication, I certainly would have taken one. Although the pain I felt was not a classic migraine, it was bad enough to warrant a migraine pill. The migraine pill would have knocked it out of the park. Alas, I did not and just kept taking Advil which was not touching it. Many more of my relatives were suffering, too.

This morning. No headache at all. I have taken this Monday off from work (recovery day!) and will releax, wash clothes and enjoy my daughter and her beau's company. The laughter is rocking the Peruby household once again. Quiet time is over. And... the dogs come back today. Ugh!

Keeping warm

I did not take this photo. I believe my nephew did. Quite a few campers came in on Friday night (the 1st of June). It had rained all day and the weather was very cool for this time of year. Many chose to sit around the big campfire to stay warm before heading to their tents to sleep and prepare for the next day (the wedding).

I drank earlier in the evening at dinner but stopped when we got to the campground (private field). It was not a public campground. My nephew and I went to rescue a couple who had broken down on the expressway. Tolls are tricky when you need to get on the road and pick up people. We had to travel 12 miles past the broken down couple to exit properly (pay the .50¢). No illegal U-turns allowed. If we had not exited properly, the ticket booth lady said if we brought the original ticket back to her (or that checkpoint) we would have to pay the full toll fare (which was $80). Ouch!

The couple could not get their car started after it cut out on them, so we gave them a lift to the party. I spoke to them on Sunday and they had to have her mother drive all the way (across state) to get them and use her Triple A to tow the car back home. They had just picked the car up from the garage. (They used wallet mart - but I am going to refrain from any comments here).

The next day my nephew chose to ride with me and leave his car at the motel. He gets real tired of being the "sober" guy who has to drive everywhere and do everything. I don't blame him. This may not have been the issue, he said it was because of parking room (there was plenty). I think the colder rainy weather may have kept a few of the party goers away. One guy counted 220 people, but I wonder. There were so many people and they kept moving, I don't know how he could have counted them. Anyway, there were tents on the fields all around us - as far as I could see.

I think a lot of people had a really good time. If I were 25 years younger and I did not have the impending headache, I well may have been one of them. Minus the smoke. I cannot stand smoke of any kind. I learned something I did not know. A "nugget" is a ball of of weed. Some sites say it is a bud. I think they roll it and smoke it in a bong. I am not certain because I usually was not around this activity. From what I see on TV, it still requires using a cigarette lighter (the movie Hesher) and I say that means smoke of some kind. (maybe? - maybe not).  Ha, ha - I really DON'T know.

There were no other drugs that I could see (except for alcohol). No pills, no cocaine, no sniffing or huffing. Just weed. A real hippie festival. 

What am I talking about? How would I know if anybody took pills or imbibed in ecstasy? How do you take ecstasy? Ah...thank-you Google. It's a pill. They did not have this kind of stuff around when I was in my 20's. And meth? What the hell is that? One of my ex-boyfriends OD'd on this (years after we broke up).  Wow. Looks like you can snort, smoke or inject this drug. The pictures of people on meth are horrible! 

Hey, it is way too early in the morning for this sh!t!

No, wait! One more. My neighbor told me about this one. He said they used to breathe nitrous oxide out of a balloon when he went to the festivals in the 90's.  This is laughing gas like you would get at a dentist's office. I have never had any at any dentist so I do not have any idea what effect this has on folks. My daughter has had it (at the dentist) and she said it feels like you are floating. Man...I need to switch dentists. :)

The children

Remember the saying "Not in front of the children?"  Many people brought their children to the festival. Beer drinking, whiskey drinking, pot-smoking, and hippies stumbling around. 

I saw many moms watching over their children. I saw no dads helping to take care that the children stayed out of harms way.  Except for my niece and her new husband. He watched her six year old like no other.

The children were having a wonderful time. From what I could see. There were no tears. There were not tantrums. The children danced, hula-hooped and laughed.

What do I know?

One family had all their blankets and sleeping bags stolen. They had to rent a motel room because they had small children and needed to provide them with warm shelter. 

I overheard others talking and one guy said "Possessions are not important." Kiss my ass, mister.

It may have been my headaches that soured my experience at the festival also.

Oddly Familiar

I watched "On the Bowery" the other day. It was so oddly familiar to me. I didn't catch the fact that it was a documentary until afterwards. I was astounded at the authenticity of the actions, mannerisms and speaking of the drinking men. This is how I remember my father when he drank. Looking like the lead character (although a bit older) but the style of clothes and hair almost identical. The mannerisms in the drunks around them - the walk, the slobber, the loud story telling, the grabbing of another man's arm to get their attention. The stumbling, the swaying. So oddly familiar. So real. I have witnessed my father's friends when they were under the influence.

We think there are vast groups of people who are lost in this life, but if you dig deep enough - you discover that this form of "losing one's way" or wasting of life has been going on for all time. If you read up on the documentary you find out that the guy with the white hair died shortly after filming and the main character - with the neat haircut was offered work in Hollywood but decided to stay on the Bowery. The pull of alcohol (or rather the mood alteration that the effects of alcohol brings) is very powerful indeed.

While watching, I just got the feeling that most of the dialogue was not scripted. Or the actions, for that matter. I don't see how they could have been. The stagger was just too real. Were the men actually 'acting' drunk on the set or was this a real documentary? How did the filmaker get around permissions? Was this even an issue in 1955? Maybe they did not need permissions. Maybe documentaries such as this created the need for TV production companies to get authorization before they placed somebody on film. Hell, maybe the guys signed the authorization paper for a drink.

It made me feel a bit better knowing that this seemed to be an epidemic of some proportion. How many of these men had families at home? Families who stopped expecting them to come home. Maybe they had been abandoned by family members and ended up on skid row. Skid rows still exist. Maybe we need another documentary. Maybe there is one and I just have not found it, yet.

Regardless, this film was gritty and messy. It was not the choreographed films you see today that show you how things were back then or how things are in 'loser territory'.  No matter how hard they try - the films today always have some sort of glamour or gloss to them. Not this one. I kept expecting one of the old men to stand up to see that he had pissed his pants. Maybe they cut those scenes out. 

Why such small glasses? When I worked in a bar in the mid 70's all the drunks at the bar drank out of those big fish bowl mugs. Or the big handled mugs. My dad had a dozen of the big handled mugs. He kept all kinds of doo-dads in them. One would be full of watch parts. One would be full of odds and ends. I spent hours going through those big old mugs of junk.

I think my Mom threw them all away after he passed. I think she just went in his room and tossed everything out. I would guess he had a hundred ties. I think I recall him teaching me how to tie a tie when I was young but I seriously doubt I could do it now. I did love to go through those ties though, and look at them. When he was sober he was a very kind man.Well, I thought he was. Different siblings have different memories. I think my dad had his favorites. There may have been a brother or two that do not recall him as being so nice. 

I remember (laughing) one time asking my Mom why she married him. Because when I came along in 1960, she had been married to him for twenty years. I only saw the drunk who could not keep a job. It was hard for me to imagine that he had been anything else. My mom laughed. She said he wasn't like this when she married him. I laughed at myself. Of course he wasn't. Who would marry something like that?

Bar is Open

Key West is known for the bar scene. I guess. A group of us did go out one evening and meandered in and out of bars. We started at the Hard Rock for dinner. A lot of the bars in Key West are multi-faceted. You walk in one place and if you continue to walk around or upstairs, you enter another bar area with different music and a different crowd, but it is the same named bar.

On our trolley tour, we were shown the bar that opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 4 a.m. We didn't make it to that one. Heh, heh. There is an open atmosphere in most of the Duvall street bars. There is no glass on the windows. I am not certain there were any doors. I have no idea how they lock up after hours. I would have to say our favorite was Pete's Dueling Pianos.

A lot of the drinkers stood outside on the sidewalk. No drinks allowed outside but some had one foot in the bar and one foot outside. They spilled out and mingled with the tourists. Perhaps a lot of them were tourists. It was odd for me to see this mixing of people drinking and families walking (with little children) through the same drinking crowds of people. I'd say it was about eleven p.m.

There was one group that came in. Four in total. I only saw the two guys dressed (horribly) as women. They had exagerrated make up on and scarves and old lady skirts with tragic white hose on. Somebody in my group said that there were two women with them. I only saw the men. It was amusing.