Thursday, May 9, 2013

Demon in a Bottle

"You know, sometimes, when I drink, it makes me drowsy, and then even I'm driving and I almost fell asleep, haha. That ever happen to you?"

Despite that "haha," the lady appeared to be in earnest in sharing her personal findings on the effects of alcohol consumption on one's ability to operate a motor vehicle. At least, if she was joking, I couldn't tell what the punchline was supposed to be, unless this middle-aged, mumbly Filipino lady was playing the part of some sort of living satire of the impaired judgment of the intoxicated. Then again, supposing hers was a serious question, I was at a loss at how to respond to that either.

"What the hell?!" answered her appalled companion, a younger Mexican woman. "That's why you don't drink and drive!"

Apparently not one to suffer fools, this second woman sounded legitimately pissed. I wanted to step in and suggest that maybe she was being a tad severe. Like, I dunno, maybe the first lady came from a land without automobiles, and so, even having reached her forties, she had never properly been acquainted with the concept of driving under the influence. But then it came out that this second woman had once lost a high school friend to a drunk driving collision. I could see that there was naught to be done but let her speak her piece.

A few minutes later, they were friends again. They started discussing Iron Man 3, and suddenly it was my turn to lose it.

"It's Tony STARK! Not 'SPARK!' You don't know what you're talking about, you should just do what I do and shut your mouth. Just shut your mouth."

At least, that's what I might have said, were I not versed in the art of self-control. I held my peace. You'll appreciate, however, that it was a sensitive subject for me, having lost a friend to an Iron Man.

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