Rage: I drank alcohol!

Ah well, only hours after my peaceful post about Lent, I found myself fighting rage. Why? Because some other human made a mistake, and I felt vulnerable.

I took my husband out to a fine, upscale Afghan restaurant for his birthday. So far so good. This place is wonderful.

We had a young, white, female waitress. She arrived with a huge wine and bar list. I asked for a mocktail list. She said they didn't have one, but that the bartender was very good at making alcohol free cocktails, such as cosmos and dacquiri's. I said ok, but let him know it would be great if they created a mocktail list. (This is my "campaign" and I ask for it at every restaurant I go to...)

She returned to the table and I asked for a fruity drink with lots of seltzer in a tall glass that I could enjoy all evening. (Just like what I have at home.)

She brought it to me. The glass was not tall at all, but at least it had ice and didn't look like a martini.

I had three sips. I noticed it tasted medicinal. I thought: weird: it tastes like it has something really strange. I have been adding pomegranate juice to my drinks and I wondered what was in mine.

Then like a bomb hitting me, I thought: could it be alcohol? I quickly gave the drink to my husband (who was enjoying his one glass of red wine) and asked him: does this drink have alcohol? He said yes.

In horror, I asked the waitress if the drink had alcohol. "Oh yes," she said cheerfully, "Absolute Vodka!!!!!!"

My God. Can you imagine if I had consumed the entire glass? What a headache I would have gotten. I would have felt sick from the effects on my mind. It just makes me feel horrible to imagine.

I felt so vulnerable. I felt like crying.

My husband is a physician and he assured me that the few sips that I had taken would have no effect on me. Yet, almost immediately, I began to feel a headache!
(He assured me it had nothing to do with my sips. He was so reassuring and supportive and nonjudgmental.)

We have a close relative who is a recovering alcoholic. (For myself, I feel as if I had a close brush with that, but I dodged it. Still, I got close enough to be pretty darned terrified of the possibility for myself). I said to my husband, what if this had happened to her? It is just horrifying to imagine. Thanks God it was me and not her.

The waitress, without remorse, took the drink and offered to bring another. "No thanks," I said, "I'll just have water."

I am pretty skilled by now, at shrugging things off, but it probably took me a good two or three minutes before I could regain my composure. I felt angry, scared, unsettled, and horrified.  I fought tears.

Should I never order a drink again at an establishment that serves alcohol? Should I always have a friend with me who will "test taste" the drink for me? Should have I reminded her a second time that the drink must be alcohol-free? (This is what my husband suggests).

During our long trip to a Muslim country (we got back a week ago), we ate out every night. So few Muslim people drink, this was never a worry. They had beautiful non-alcoholic drinks available.  I felt normal, and healthy.

In upscale American restaurants -- even an Afghan restaurant -- the places are saturated with alcohol. The whole idea is to get everyone to have at least two drinks.  At this place, there were five coffee selections on the dessert menu, and four of them were loaded with liquor!

I am sure that the rage is showing in this post. It is the first thing I thought of when I woke up this morning.

If I hadn't explained everything in such detail to the waitress moments before I placed my order, I might not be so upset. We all make mistakes, she is just a young girl. But still. Alcohol is a poison and I am not pleased with how we treat it in this country.

On that note, off to church. I am sending this blog post out into the universe and letting it go. After all, today is day 120 for me and I am celebrating.

Love,
Me

Comments

  1. I just saw people talking about this on Twitter. It has happened to many people.
    I once saw a man who was sober for many years getting married. I saw him smell his glass of fake champagne to be sure it was fake!
    You did the right thing!
    Celebrate 120 days!!!
    xo
    Wendy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PS - I just keep it simple now when I order. I usually order a tonic with lime, or a seltzer with lemon.

      Delete
  2. The last time I was in vegas I ended up with red bull and vodka instead of just red bull.
    I prefer getting the can.

    I stopped drinking after a few sips and sent it back.

    That was the first time I had that happen in 4 years.

    I’m sure your relative would have handled it in the exact same way. Good job.

    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Over the holidays, I ate half of what looked like a piece of cake in caramel sauce, but I noticed it tasted really strongly of rum. I know alcohol cooks off, but when I asked the hostess what was in it, she said she takes a small cake, pours a half bottle of rum over it, and then lets it soak. No cooking involved. Her exact words: "That cake will definitely give you a buzz. Keep it away from the kids."

    Ugh. It did make me kind of mad. There were dozens of people there, two of whom I knew were abstaining from alcohol. It would never occur to any once else that adults wouldn't LOVE this cake.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello, I've had the same thing happen. I ordered a Virgin pin colada and got a very non Virgin drink.
    It happens, it's up to us how we choose to react to it. I let it go but it did make me a bit wiser. It's so hit and miss finding places which offer mock tails but like you I always ask and suggest they should explore this further.............planting seeds.

    ReplyDelete

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