Why shouldn’t really STUPID motherfuckers have the right to get blitzed like the rest of us? Equal rights, and all that.
Make sure that you call him “little grasshopper” a lot.
The assumptions being made here about a mother’s 2 A.M. concern for her child and the relative harm done in attempting to use a fake I.D. to get a drink in bars prevent me from telling you about a hundred bar tales of genuine stupidity. You all would lose your fucking minds, believe me.
Way back when I was underage, I used to do this sometimes, and it worked a surprisingly large percentage of the time. I figured that the bartender/bouncer would rather see a legit ID rather than some bullshit story or the obviously fake ID I had gotten in Times Square. Maybe a third of the time the bouncer would see that it was a valid NY state drivers license and just pass me in (this was before they had Under 21 or whatever printed on them). If the bouncer realized I was underage, he’d usually look at me quizically and I’d smile back at him with a “yup, that’s my ID” look. About half the time, he’d figure that I wasn’t bulshitting him, was cool about things, and I wouldn’t be a problem, so he would let me in.
Once, a long time ago, when I was underage, I went to a club to hear a band. A club I’d never been to before because I was out of state. In my home state there are many clubs where you can enter if you’re underage but you’re not allowed to drink. I went with a group of people who were of age. I just planned on enjoying my evening, but not drinking. When we arrived, the owner was working the door for some reason. Everyone had to pay a $5 cover and have their ID checked. I was last in the line. When he got to me he said, “Hey, you’re underaged.”
I said, “Yeah.”
He looked at me. He said, “Well, I’ll let you in, but I’m gonna have to charge you $10.”
I said, “Okay.”
He kept looking @ me and then said, “I don’t want you drinking in here. I don’t want to see you ordering any alcohol.”
I said, “Okay.”
He said, “Now I’m not gonna check on you or anything. I might even go home before long. But I don’t want you drinking.”
I said, “Okay.” I handed him a twenty. He gave me a ten and a five for change.
I thought about it for a minute. I stayed for six hours while the band did three sets. Terriffic band, Trout Fishing in America. We went because I’m a Richard Brautigan fan. We all got very drunk and had a marvelous time. We were able to sit back a bit but directly in front of the stage at a table that was marked RESERVED.
One of the most fun nights of underaged club drinking I’d ever had. I guess that the owner just liked the looks of me. I dunno.
My sister, when she was a barmaid, had no problems serving underaged drinkers. Before she started pouring she would just ensure that the underager understood his/her drink was going to cost $1,002.50.
“What?!”
“$1,002.50. That’s $2.50 for the drink and $1000 for the fine I’ll have to pay when the cops find out I’ve served you. Cash in advance, please.”
Now granted, it didn’t always work, but it got the point across.
I have to admit I got a little pissed off when I was denied a drink for not having ID a couple months back. It was a stinky neighborhood dive a couple doors down from my apartment. It was a Monday night and the place was pretty empty. I’ve looked 21 for about the past 15 years, so it was a bit of a shock being carded. So my friends and I went to one of the other dozens of dive bars in the neighborhood, and the bar lost half its business for the evening. In NY, if a place is carding adults, that probably means it’s a place I don’t want to be. Neighborhood dives are not supposed to card, nor are nice places. It’s those in-between places that attract obnoxious drunks and underage people that need strict exforcement.
I forget that last time I was carded. Been a bit.
Your doubt is well-founded. In my city, all 44 cases of alleged drink spiking last year turned out to be bullshit. In each of the women tested, the only depressent detected in their systems was alcohol.
That’s not to say drink spiking doesn’t ever occur, but clearly it’s often used as an excuse for over-drinking.
(Incidentally, I do have some sympathy for people who feel like their drinks have been spiked. After a sundowner a couple years ago, I was so wasted and sick after half a dozen weak drinks that I was positive someone drugged me. In hindsight, it was more likely I had an unexpected adverse reaction to the booze.)
Huh. Except for the blond and (maybe) bimbo parts, that could have been me. Oh, but my son was 5 when I was 23. Gasp! I’m a whoooooore!
My parents keep my son overnight one night a weekend, pretty much every week. Sometimes I go see a movie, go to dinner, go bowling…sometimes I go out drinking and/or dancing and get absolutely shitfaced drunk and stumble in well into the wee hours. And then I get up the next morning, pick up my son, and do normal weekend stuff like every other mother in the world. Where in the Generally Accepted Parenting Practices does it say that giving birth means you can never tie one on again? I’m not driving drunk, I’m not sucking dick for drinks, I’m not missing my son’s ball games because I’m hung over, I’m going out and having a good ADULT time with my friends. I don’t think it’s for you to decide what activities are proper for parents, single or no.
Yeah, stupid motherfuckers hang out in bars. So do plenty of other people. I fail to see the revelation.
And this little gem is just reprehensible. It was a Sunday night before a holiday, so even though it shouldn’t matter (golly, it’s not like people might have a non-traditional schedule) , I’m sure you can rest a little easier knowing the people in question didn’t have work the next day. And the “mommy looking for a daddy” characterization smacks of bigotry to me.
I’m trying not to be defensive or apologist, but obviously I have a personal bias. Certainly there are bad parents out there that spend every night at the bar and leave their kids at home alone or foist them on others all the time and of course that’s not okay. But I don’t see why anyone should have a problem with a parent – even a single parent – going out late and drinking once in a while, as long as the children are left in safe hands. How is that bad? How is that different than the same parent going out and catching a late movie? Why does it become unacceptable for an adult to go out drinking once they become a parent? Diogenes? Anyone?
Tell, tell! Open another thread if you want. I love bar stories!
Diogenes, I respect you, and I agree with most of your posts, but I’ve got to side with Wierddave and SimonX on this one.
There’s nothing wrong with a parent going out to party hearty every now and then, as long as he/she leaves the little one in the care of a responsible person. In fact, it’s more than okay, it’s downright necessary!
Ms Tarantula is always getting carded. Some nightclubs want you to be 21 and apparently she doesn’t look 21 (she’s waaay older than 21).
Anyhoo - it’s such a compliament that she get’s all happy and giggly when they ask her, and then they think she’s locked… it’s a no-win situation. Except for her. She’s chuffed at the mistake…
I suspect that DtC has no kids.
Believe it or not, it’s illegal to restrict access based on age, sex, race or religion in Ireland. sure, bouncers are alllowed not let you in if you are under 21, but its got to be for a different reason. You can sue if they say that you aren’t old enough. If you are over 18, you are allowed access to a public establishment that serves alcohol.
some of the best reasons I’ve heard from bouncers who want to cirumvent these rules
- “It’s Couples night” -which it wasn’t, after we went in the other door that didn’t have bouncers on we found that out.
- “IBM have booked out the venue” - which they hadn’t, as some of my friends had already gone in
- “I don’t recognise you, you are not a regular” This is the worst of the lot. How are you supposed to recognise everyone who goes in to your venue, especially if its in the middle of tourist district and you get about 1000 different people a night coming in? I hate bouncers, and all who sail in her.
The first bar I ever went to, I was 15 and used my brother’s ID (they didn’t have pictures on them then; the drinking age was 18, too). It was a strip joint in Dallas called The Doll House. So, I had my first drink in a bar and saw my first nekkid adult woman who wasn’t a relative. BTW, the dancers sussed out that I was underage and teased me mercilessly. The guys at the bar told me they couldn’t have gotten that treatment with a fistful of dollars…
Hear her! I’ve occasionally gone out and done some heavy partying when my son is doing visitation with his dad. This is the first time I’ve been called a bad mother for it.
We were talking about a mother coming home sloppy drunk and stoned. Do you really think this is no different from going to a movie?
Regards,
Shodan
Assuming her child is in responsible care (and there is no reason to assume otherwise), no, I don’t. Whatever she’s doing, she’s not at home with her child either way. A parent who leaves his kids alone every night to play Dungeons and Dragons is just as irresponsible as a parent who leaves his kids every night to get drunk.
Nor do I think it’s necessarily irresponsible for people to get sloppy drunk and stoned in general. They’re adults, it’s their business what they do on their own time. My son is fully aware of my activities when I go out; he knows that I go to bars and drink sometimes. He also knows that I get up and take care of him the next morning same way I take care of him any other morning, because that’s my job. If I felt (or he felt) that doing so was affecting my parenting, I’d stop. So going on the information we have about this woman, nope, I don’t think she was doing a damned thing wrong.