A very civilised tradition.
Alas, I have to postpone opening time to a bit later in the afternoon if I am to get any useful detail work done on various creative projects…
By dinner time, though, it’s time to open the wine.
Though I get too hungry for dinner at 8…
The wife is more degenerate then I am with all her gambling and pawning. Hey, it’s her social security check, not mine. So I got sent to the pawn shop as I have done numerous times before to pawn a $1200 gold necklace that has been pawned and retrieved many times. The shop employees know us well, she is probably their best customer. After I got the cash the guy says, “Hey Denny, we have a surprise for you. In 2020 you guys paid a loan but somehow the items never got picked up. We did an audit and discovered it.” He handed me an elaborate ring with numerous diamonds plus a 1/20 troy ounce Panda gold coin from China, mounted in a 14K holder. Worth a few hundred bucks.
I surprised wifey with the ring and she was happy. But I kept the Panda. Theoretically I am holding it for the inevitable time when she needs more money and wants me to lend it to her until payday. But I really like that tiny coin. It’s the only gold I have since I collect silver coins. It’s shining in my stash right now.
Orgy!
Oh hell yeah! That’s some good ol degeneracy right there!
Does she smoke cigs?
Does she eat pork rinds?
Does she drink Natty light?
Does she play the Lightning Link slot machine? That’s the #1 degenerate slot!
Don’t make me choose!
You need to go update the thread, inquiring minds will want to know!
Degenerate… hmmm… Do thoughts count, or just actions? 
Actions wise, I think I successfully persuaded my father to NOT vote in this election, because he’s been watching too much Fox News and was considering voting for Trump. He won’t vote for Harris, but not voting for Trump is a win, but I did persuade him to not exercise his civic duty. Hmmm. Probably a +/- one for a net zero.
Oh, on the 630ish mile drive, I set the cruise for 2 miles above the speed limit the whole way, so I’m a filthy speeder, despite much traffic passing me like I was standing still.
But, finally, I come to my darkest, most hideous confession as something of a foodie. Something I’ve not told anyone who can identify my face, but will share due to the safety of the internet.
I was tired for the drive back. I know it’s not an excuse, but maybe it’ll apply to the sentencing? So after the first two hours on the road, I stopped at a truck stop and filled my 24 oz travel mug with the store “French Vanilla Cappuccino” that comes from a machine that vends super-sweet caffeinated beverages that have never once experienced a real coffee bean in their lives. It came out to a noise like my cat horfing out a hairball, if said cat was 200 lbs and part jet engine.
And god forgive me, I DRANK IT ALL.
I DRANK IT ALL.
-wanders off weeping and gagging-
When we travel internationally, we smoke cigarettes. Not a lot, but we do. We just got back from Japan and, yes, we smoked cigarettes. We also learned about new e-cigs. It’s not vaping, but it is popular there and I don’t think available in the US.
And now, we go back to not smoking.
Oh god…I know exactly what you are talking about since I used to drink those on long drives in my younger years. Haven’t had one forever and don’t think I will ever again. When in those desperate times now, I go for one of those big Starbucks doubleshot energy drinks. A slight step above the coffee machine stuff.
Speaking of coming back from Japan, their convenience stores have coffee machines with real beans and they made awesome c-store coffee! I wish we could get those in the US. Also, Family Mart coffee machines >>> 7-eleven machines.
Wait, wut? You don’t have that where you are? I thought everyone had that these days, grinds and brews by the cup, yeah?
All the gas stations here in southern Idaho have had them for a couple years now.
Gotta have a c-store staff that gives a damn and properly cleans the machine or you end up with foul ashtray tasting glurp, not yummy freshly ground and brewed coffee.
My Best Friend drank himself to death with Jack Daniels.
I bought a bottle to see what it was he saw in it.
I counted the hours in a 24 hr. Period some person I knew drank Jack and slept between shots and a chaser or two.
It’s one way to cut down, I suppose.
I never do degenerate things, I’m angelic…well, there’s that stalking thing…umm, er, NM.
Your drive would have been ~10 hours. You got the stuff at the two hour point, meaning about 8 hours to go.
I’d have been too terrified of violent unstoppable artificial french-vanilla shits at about the 4 hour point while well out in the boonies to have drunk any such thing. After years of avoiding fake chemical pseudo-foods a good stiff dose of Modern Science can play Hell with one’s innards & nether regions.
You, Sir, are either brave, foolhardy, or very, very lucky.
It gets worse.
GF & I are going on a weeklong cruise together soon. Now the whole dang posse wants to come along and join in the fun.
I’m up north from you and I haven’t noticed them, but I don’t go in c-stores much these days. Next time I’m traveling, I’ll pay closer attention. Seems like the Maveriks have a bit more going on than the common Tesoro or Chevron.
Or very, very slow in drinking it. I got it, rather than a double shot for example, because I didn’t want to STOP on the trip, so I got something I could sip on for little hits of sugar and caff the whole way. It took about 7 hours to finish. So minimal over-hydration leading to bathroom breaks, and thankfully no GI distress. It’s still an awful thing to have to admit drinking.
No smoking.
She loves pork rinds.
No drinking.
Slot machines - Hell Yeah!
Ah, yep that tracks, Maverik would have them, and I need to correct myself, I don’t know about tesoros round here and the chevrons will depend on the franchisee, some do, some don’t. I guess I should have said, “All the gas stations I go into regularly have them”.
Most Jacksons, all the Stinkers, some certain specific Chevrons(Fast Eddies) Maverik. None of the truck stops have them that I’m aware of.
you guy’s are a rowdy bunch … but not the only one…
Yesterday - thursday - I did not take the trash out
fugg, I didn’t feel it
Haven’t shaved in 3 days. Then again I’m ill and mostly sheltering at home.
I miss the fully remote pandemic days. I didn’t shave for over a year! Beard trimmer was all I needed. It was painful when I had to start shaving again.
Not shaving is not degenerate. It is decadent. And something I look forward to doing away with when I retire.
Hope you recover soon and can get back to your normal shaving routine.
I haven’t shaved in over 40 years. I resolved that when I got out of the service, I would never shave again. And I haven’t.