So, today I had an unfortunate encounter. I was checking my e-mail at McDonalds, when I noticed a pack of tweakers walk in...with young children in tow. I try and not judge folks right off the bat, but my own life experiences told me that they were TOTALLY on the pipe. I tried to distract myself, but I watched as the mother, did a casual dope deal and then adjourned to the bathroom. The fact that she came out with the sniffles only solidified my original impression. I did my best to ignore them, but after I left to have a much needed cigarette (I'm down to 5-10 a day...) I saw the mother empty an entire can of 4Loko in a matter of MAYBE 2-3 minutes, and then proceede to call her children over and buckle them in.
That's when I couldn't hold back. I asked the mother "Ma'am, do you think it's a wise idea to be drinking and driving with your kids?" Of course, this backfired. She flipped out and screamed at me. Her "man" came outside and also screamed at me. This continued until I offered, calmly, to call my Uncle. I'm not thrilled at the prospect of doing this, but since he's been the Sheriff in this county for awhile, I figured he wouldn't mind dispatching a few of his guys to my location. That cooled them out in a jiffy.
Afterwards, another couple came up to me and said "thank you" for trying to do the right thing. I suppose it was the right thing to do, but it left me feeling slightly ill. I'm no stranger to the darker elements in society, but that's kind of why I "dropped out". To avoid the very thing(s) I saw today. On a psychological level, incidents like that hurt me in a way that even your average news broadcast cannot. All the while I was witnessing this, a little voice (who sounds suspiciously like Jiminy Cricket...damn you Disney!) said, "You can't just LET her get into that car with those kids! She's intoxicated!" I'm no saint. Far from it. However, I've always had a rule: "Screw your life up as bad as you want to. Just leave the innocents behind."
I had a great post on learning to cook with my new propane stove, but this incident has left me mute, save for the topic I just brought up. Ok, I'm whipping up some Earl Grey and hitting the sack early tonight. I'm still disgusted. :/
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