Intoxicated father...

This was a scary one! Well, at least for me. Me, mom and dad were on some Greek island for a conference. I was about 12-13 yrs old. Dads company would once a year have a conference around the Mediterranean, and would allow family members to join. Dad would sit in meetings all day, and Mom, I and all other mothers and kids would be in the pool or swim in the sea and just have fun and enjoy the sun. Towards the afternoon the Dads would join, for a quick swim, a siesta, and then we'd all go to dinner.

This particular time we went to dinner in some Greek, local restaurant by near the fishing port. I remember we were at least 50-60 people seated on two or three long tables. I was sitting close to Mom and Dad, and we had a nice dinner. But halfway through the meal, I realised I didnät recognize my father. He said things he normally wouldn't. And acted strange too. And Mom was not much better either. I have no recollection if what they said or did, but just a scary feeling that they were not the people I knew. And the more the evening progressed, the stranger and more unfamiliar they became. I asked them to stop, and they said they would. But didn't. Until finally my Mother realises that we need to leave the restaurant and head home. I thnk we took a taxi home to the hotell, and I remember staning in the hotell reception waiting for the clerk to hand us our key. And there was som hassle with the key because it was lost, or Mom or Dad didn't remember the room number or whatever it was. But it took time, and I was ashamed of them while they were in the receptioin, being obnoxious and trying to figure out where we should go.

We made it to our room somehow, and I can remeber the sense of relief when we were out of everyones way. And no one to be embarrassed infront of.

The following day, Dad and Mom wore dark glasses when sitting at the pool. Something they normally would not wear. But I remember others commenting them, and sying things like 'wow, what a heavy evening last night'. and 'You weren't the only ones. Ha ha ha '.

In hindsight, I realized I saw both my parents get very intoxicated. or Drunk. And this was the first time ever - and it was scary! I had seen them drink before, but never become like this. But on the other hand, by listening to everyones comments the next day, I understood (stil being a child) that this was not uncommon in the grown-up world. Neither my parents nor anyone else thought much of it.

But I do remember mom apologizng to me the following day, and she said it was due to the Greek Metexa or Ouzu that they had never had before, liked it, and misjudged the alcoholic content.

So even grown-ups can make mistakes... Good to know!