Flashback!

It's 24 minutes into the 31st year of my life. September 18th in this foul year of our Lord 2010. What I'm thinking about now is not the future but the past...Ten years ago, almost to the second, I hit that magical age of 21. And that's what I'm thinking about.

I generally don't get all sentimental and philosophical in moments like these, but I can't help it with this one. Ten years ago today, I was sitting in a bar called The Booth (without a doubt one of the greatest bars to ever grace this Earth) in Tuscaloosa, AL, drinking God knows what (I'd bet good money on bourbon and coke) with my brother Matthew and one of my best friends, Matt. After The Booth closed for the night, we stumbled up University Boulevard to the BP where I, for the first time, legally bought a whole mess of booze. It was, if I remember correctly, a lot of Blue Moon beer. We then proceeded to [censored for all parties concerned although keep in mind it was college and experimenting and smoking things and what not was accepted and don't tell my parents] and drank beer and watched "Apocalypse Now" til the wee hours of the morning. I dimly recall being really drunk and eating quite a lot of leftover Lai Lai rice (Oh, Lai Lai...another Tuscaloosa landmark that I'll never forget. Unlike The Booth, however, Lai Lai has persevered to give another generation of college kids much needed sustenance).

Fast forward to the next morning. I awoke feeling not too bad, and actually feeling somewhat responsible for having the wherewithal to even attempt going to class the day after my 21st birthday. In retrospect, I was still wasted. Long story short, I sipped ice water, battled the hot and cold sweats, and fought the urge to vomit...all before the professor walked in the door. In no time, I was safely back in bed, feeling like Death incarnate, and throwing up. A lot.

Now, ten years later, I realize I was simply another college kid celebrating his God-given right to waste his life and abuse his liver. And I'm still doing it. You know who I blame for this? That fucking clerk at the BP on University Boulevard in Tuscaloosa, AL. I can't even remember if she carded me or not. But I know she ruined my life...it's all her fault, not mine, that I drink every day. Hey, BP clerk from a decade ago...Fuck You.