Drunken Behavior – Sober Thoughts
St. Patrick’s Day has just passed where the tradition is to wear green and imbibe a little extra in celebrating the holiday. In discussing this with one of my faithful blog readers, she suggested I write about persons who drink just a little too much. Of course, this brought to mind one of those old sayings of my grandmother and a bad date memory from my past.
My grandmother always said “A drunken man’s behavior is a sober man’s thoughts.” When you are young and you hear these sayings you wonder their meanings but in time you will probably have an experience that will make it all clear.
When I was in my early 20’s and still partying a lot, I met a guy who was sexy, had a fast car, and was a great dancer. He was just what you looked for in your 20’s. He was a pretty amicable guy but he had one bad habit that I conveniently overlooked at first. He drank too much and to make bad matters worse he was always buying me drinks, too.
Being a person that likes to be in control, I soon noticed that I was drinking a little too much so I started refusing his offers of drinks. I also noticed that he even started carrying a flask in his car and was never without a drink – – – – – even before noon —-and slowly my opinion of him became a little tarnished. One night it all came to a head.
We had a date to go dancing and at the last minute he told me we were invited to a birthday party of one of his friends. While we were there he started to drink more than usual and his behavior became a little bizarre. It soon became apparent to me that I would have to drive. I also noticed that maybe it was something more between he and his friend who was an older married woman. Her husband was throwing this party and I suspect this was getting to her secret admirer, my date.
Needless to say, I was fuming but since I am not one to make a big scene I whispered to him I was ready to leave. His answer was to shove his hand down the front of my dress and grab my breast. I slapped him so hard that it felt like I broke my wrist. It was swollen for 2 whole days.
Now, I had made a big scene but I did not care. Everyone rushed over to us. The hostess of the party asked me to forgive him because he had imbibed too much. Her husband wrangled the keys from him so I could drive.
Prior to that date, he had been making comments about my not drinking with him anymore. I know he did that to me to humiliate me because I was no longer imbibing with him.
I can still see myself stomping down those steps in my high-heel shoes to the car. He hung his head and passed out in the passenger seat while I drove to my home. I left him passed out parked in his car on the side of the street near my home.
He called the next day to apologize. I listened and told him to go to hell. It was over.
Now, I do not tolerate drunkards. A man who drinks to the point his speech is slurred and his mobility is impaired is definitely a turn off and a sign that something more is going on.
Question:
Have you had a negative experience due to someone drinking too much? Please share.
Ok, so I’ve been in relationships where the drinking went both ways. What I mean is, there are occasions when he drank too much and others when I was the over-indulger. The difference was that when it was me, I said stupid things, but had enough sense to apologize (although after the fact) and basically drifted off to my personal porcelin bowl to take care of business so I didn’t feel totally hopeless and embarrassed the next day. That doesn’t mean I didn’t inadvertently hurt someone’s feelings — I did and it’s hard to be forgiven for your own stupidity.
The guys on the other hand (and there had been plenty) were verbally abusive and thought they could take advantage of a drunken me. Fortunately for me I always had just enough sense not to allow anyone to take advantage, but there were some scary moments that I have no desire to relive or think about as it is a reminder of poor decisions I’ve made.
I do enjoy my wine and beer but as I’ve grown up and hopefully matured somewhat, I know my limits. What starts out as a way to relax and start socializing can end up with us saying mean, inappropriate things that we most always regret later. Having friends respect me is more important than celebrating with a green beer and a bunch of people you don’t know. Why do we think we need to impress others? We just need to be impressed with ourselves!
Women are a great support system for each other and we can all have a good time with out the excessive drinking.We need to trust ourselves. It’s not about the guys! It’s about the power we have as women!
Some people drink to drown away problems. The next day you have a hangover and the issue still exist. In life we all experience disappointment. The key is how you overcome it.
A girlfriend invited me to attend a huge frat party. We were in the hall for a while where she sold her product. I saw my friend later at the party and it was apparent he had too much to drink. We were leaving the party and he did not know where his car was in the garage. I drove him home because I did not want his drinking to hurt anyone or himself in an accident. I was really upset and disappointed. Excessive drinking is a turn off.