Seriously Dude...I Mean F@#KIN' Dude!
My Boy Scout tends bar in a seafood restaurant. It has it's regulars....REAL regular. This is about one of them.
Keith is about 40ish and is a painter by trade. He is a little world worn and the lack of care given to him by a now dead alcoholic mother and a long dead heroin addict father shows even now. He usually looks as if a good shower and shave would do him well, as well as a trip to the dentist. He is sweet and loyal and loving (the more drinks, the more loving he gets) and his favorite words are most definitely DUDE and FUCK. On the occasions when he has consumed a little too much, the restaurant workers have to ask him to quiet his dude and fuck's down just a bit as it is a nice little restaurant and not a dive bar where nobody notices when colorful language gets thrown around. Unmarried, he has travelled and lived here and there but now is back in his small hometown where he knows everyone and everyone knows him and he is well liked.
Keith is about 40ish and is a painter by trade. He is a little world worn and the lack of care given to him by a now dead alcoholic mother and a long dead heroin addict father shows even now. He usually looks as if a good shower and shave would do him well, as well as a trip to the dentist. He is sweet and loyal and loving (the more drinks, the more loving he gets) and his favorite words are most definitely DUDE and FUCK. On the occasions when he has consumed a little too much, the restaurant workers have to ask him to quiet his dude and fuck's down just a bit as it is a nice little restaurant and not a dive bar where nobody notices when colorful language gets thrown around. Unmarried, he has travelled and lived here and there but now is back in his small hometown where he knows everyone and everyone knows him and he is well liked.
I like him too, which is unusual because I usually keep my distance from heavy drinkers. I like that I have knocked down that protective wall just a bit. He's a good guy who drinks not just "a drinker". It also helps that when I am with Keith, the Boy Scout is right there tending bar, so that if I felt any discomfort I could look to him for help. Drunks still scare me.
I am uncomfortable around drunks too. My feelings can make it tough to see the person and not the alcohol.
ReplyDeleteThere are very definitely different "types" of drunks alright. Some are more destructive and volatile than others.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone like a drunk? I understand your issues here that come into play. But I don't have those and I don't like a drunk. A happy tipsy person, okay. But not a drunk. But to him, wow, what a difficult life it must have been to have a alcoholic mom and a heroin addict for a father. I can't fathom what pain this guy has been through. He needs the love of a good woman and less drink. :-) That will be $300 please. LOL
ReplyDeleteHahahahaha. You make a good point but I am at a loss to know the difference. That’s fairly common for ACA’s.
DeleteI think also, we know that it is a fine line and are hyper aware how quickly things can go badly
DeleteAs long as the conversation stays light and friendly (no politic or religion) I have no problem being around a happy drunk. The moment anything remotely looking like conflict starts to arise, I'm outa-there! No apologies, just color me gone!
ReplyDeleteI am very uncomfortable around alcoholics too. Men especially frighten me. My (step) grandma was an alcoholic and she really was loved by anyone who met her. She was kind and generous and so funny. She used to volunteer at the Legion with my grandpa and I still run into people that knew her and loved her. My most recent one was talking to some students where she was the cook at a high school. They adored her. They told me that she used to let them drink the half and half while volunteering in the kitchen. I am pretty sure she was a one off. Most alcoholics have a lot of baggage. As do I.
ReplyDeleteDrunks SHOULD scare you. They're just a bit too unstable to trust. I don't even tolerate them very well anymore. It took a long time and more experience than I wanted to know these things.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that you've taken that step. I'm also glad you are wary. And yes, always good for Boy Scout to be at hand.
ReplyDeleteLoud, drunk men specifically scare me. I understand why they drink but they still scare me. Pain is pain and in some men it quickly turns into aggression and violence.
ReplyDelete