Tuesday Open Thread ~ If 2020 Was a Drink, What Would it Be?


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“What are you doing?"
"I'm darning a sock," he said, holding it up to show me.
"What's that lump inside?"
"A sock egg."
"A sock egg? I didn't know socks hatched from eggs."
"Only the best ones do. I can't wear the cheap kind, the ones that grow on trees. They give me blisters.”
~ Polly Shulman, The Grimm Legacy

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In case you're wondering, the title of this morning's Open Thread was taken from a 2020 meme I stumbled across over the weekend. What I left out was the answer. So, what drink would best represent 2020? How about a colonoscopy prep? Pretty much sums up the year for a lot of us. Most recently because of COVID, many of us spent our Thanksgiving without our extended family, or our friends. While I'll admit my Holiday wasn't awful, it wasn't particularly joyful either. Yes, there was a quiet appreciation for the many comforts in my life, and I did enjoy spending the day in my pajamas and fuzzy slippers, but I certainly hope this is the last holiday I spend this way. Which brings up the theme I’ve selected for today. As we continue to live with the uncertainty of this pandemic, finding ways to reassure ourselves that there is an end in sight can sometimes be a challenge. For me, I go straight for the absurd. Somehow laughing at the each others endearing eccentricities usually makes me feel better. How about you? What little things do you do to make yourself feel better in these very strange times?

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dog art.jpg
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Come Mister Tally Man Tally Me Banana

It must be difficult to be this young and not understand how things work yet. Especially when it's your own arms. Hopefully this kid won't need to go into therapy because his parents thought it was hilarious giving him a banana when they knew he’d never be able to eat it. Which I guess makes me a terrible person for laughing at this video. Not to worry lil dude, cognitive development is on its way and the relationship between those inflatable thingies on your arms and your banana will make much more sense in another year or two!

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“It Look Like He's Staring Into My Soul”

One of my guilty pleasures is watching reaction videos on YouTube. What are reaction videos? They are videos people take of themselves listening to music they've never heard before. Why the heck would this be interesting or entertaining? Trust me, it just is. And believe it or not, YouTube is full of these kinds of videos. My favorite reaction videos are done by twin brothers named Tim and Fred Williams who select the songs they listen to from their viewers suggestions. What I found interesting about these guys is that in the crowded field of reaction videos, they have somehow managed to attract over 700 thousands followers. How did they do that? Well, they seem to appeal to a wide demographic of subscribers, including a lot of 50+ white women who, judging from their own comments, find the twins appreciation for their music kind of refreshing in a climate of “boomer” disdain coming from the youth these days. From Dolly Parton's "Jolene", Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", to Steely Dan’s "Do it Again", it's clear Tim and Fred appreciate good music no matter the genre. Here are the twins listening to Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”. A video that immediately went viral, racking up over 6 million views, and put Phil's song back on the charts. Not bad for two 18 year old college freshman, eh? As for the song itself, I loved waiting for their reaction when that beat finally drops. Smile

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Well, that about wraps things up for this week's edition.
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What’s on your mind today?
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magiamma's picture

And everyone

Well it’s done. All 1500 pieces. Apparently the puzzle image is a photo of painted rocks.

474321E0-54D6-46E1-9EF8-7D29C6AB7BCD.jpeg

Artist Turns Ocean Stones Into Tiny Mandalas By Painting Colourful Dot Patterns

https://www.demilked.com/rock-art-mandala-stones-elspeth-mclean-canada/

Colorful dots are arranged in a radiating (or centered, depends on how you look at it) pattern, making the stones a treat for the eyes. The comparison to mandala isn‘t accidental, either – that‘s how the artist calls them herself. And for Elspeth, painting the stones is a meditative practice.

Lots of kits and how to videos. Who knew.

Have a good one y’all. Stay safe and take good care

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Anja Geitz's picture

@magiamma

1500 is a lot of pieces. Clearly you don’t have a cat in the house, or you would never be able to leave the puzzle pieces out in the open. Which is one of the reasons I stopped playing with puzzles.

Thanks for the link to Elsbeth’s stones. That’s a brilliant idea. Her stones truly are little pieces of art. My Sister likes to paint stones for her garden so I look forward to sending her the link.

Have a great day and thanks for sharing Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

RantingRooster's picture

@Anja Geitz You crack me up, because I understand...

Clearly you don’t have a cat in the house, or you would never be able to leave the puzzle pieces out in the open.

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C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

magiamma's picture

@RantingRooster

He’s a gentleman and a scholar.

IMG_2985.jpeg

Charlie and his kitty condo which includes a telaporter to NYC so he can attend the Cats' cast parties.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@magiamma

Charlie and his kitty condo which includes a telaporter to NYC so he can attend the Cats' cast parties.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

RantingRooster's picture

@magiamma
Gigi discovered the filing cabinet gives her super powers!
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She can even detect Russian bots in the internet!
gigi on modem.jpg
Drinks

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C99, my refuge from an insane world. #ForceTheVote

Raggedy Ann's picture

I’m not a fan of the holidays ~ the November and December ones. There’s too much emphasis on not being alone. I’ve been alone for many of those holidays. For me, there’s less pressure. I don’t like the pressure. I grew up with parents who married during the depression. They never put unnecessary emphasis on those holidays. That mind-set has served me well. I just want to live my life in peace, which is the challenge.

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Anja Geitz's picture

@Raggedy Ann

There is much sense in what you say. And I can appreciate the comfort quietness can also bring. But you mention another good point. We are definitely a product of our upbringing. My German Mother adored both of those Holidays. Even with what little money she did have, she celebrated them with a particularly generous heart. I still have no idea why Thanksgiving appealed to her as much as it did not having celebrated in her native home, but when she arrived here she adopted it as her own. Christmas makes a little more sense since it is a big deal in Germany. Our house was always decorated in such a lovely way. She was big on natural foliage and arranging tableaux with candles, pine branches and pine cones. Baking and food were also a big part of the holiday where neighbors would drop by and share what they had and I just remember a lot of laughter and a lot of special treats. Now that my Mother is gone, those holidays are still viscerally memorable for me as the part of the year my Mother was truly joyful. I dunno. It’s like she came to life during those times. So maybe it’s just hardwired in me to want to pass the tradition down. Not so much the commercial gift giving, but the neighborly bonhomie with food and drinks. Which made being alone, for me, the antithesis of what the holiday meant for my Mother. I can only hope this year will be a weird memory we refer to with sardonic humor in the near future.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

otherwise

A Journey, by Nikki Giovanni

It's a journey . . . that I propose . . . I am not the guide . . . nor technical assistant . . . I will be your fellow passenger . . .

Though the rail has been ridden . . . winter clouds cover . . . autumn's exuberant quilt . . . we must provide our own guide-posts . . .

I have heard . . . from previous visitors . . . the road washes out sometimes . . . and passengers are compelled . . . to continue groping . . . or turn back . . . I am not afraid . . .

I am not afraid . . . of rough spots . . . or lonely times . . . I don't fear . . . the success of this endeavor . . . I am Ra . . . in a space . . . not to be discovered . . . but invented . . .

I promise you nothing . . . I accept your promise . . . of the same we are simply riding . . . a wave . . . that may carry . . . or crash . . .

It's a journey . . . and I want . . . to go .

Cheers

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Anja Geitz's picture

@QMS

Autumns exuberant quilt. Love that. Here’s a picture of my yard right now where kitty cat Ziggy likes to play in these days because the leaves makes such a nice crackling sound.

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Thanks for the poem!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

smiley7's picture

@QMS

for this poem. Ta.

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Lookout's picture

We had a light dusting of snow during the evening which has persisted into the morning with upper 20's. Headed into the 40's today so it won't last. The full moon lit up the woods and snow cover. The frosty moon is a good name for it...

• Full Beaver Moon - November, This was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze, to ensure a supply of warm winter furs. Another interpretation suggests that the name Full Beaver Moon comes from the fact that the beavers are now actively preparing for winter. It is sometimes also referred to as the Frosty Moon.

Learning to control hunger is a trick...usually it is insulin screaming at you to eat. Wearing water wings probably isn't the best strategy, but might work for some (little) people.

I'm still eating in a 4-6 hour window with a three day water only fast once a month or so. The longest fast I've done is 10 days, but that was back when I had lots more fat to work with....three days seems about right for my body to reset these days.
Just saying that what works for me, mileage will vary.

If 2020 was a math word-problem:
If you’re going down a river at 2 MPH and your canoe loses a wheel, how much pancake mix would you need to re-shingle your roof?

Y'all have a nice day! Thanks for the OT Anja.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Anja Geitz's picture

@Lookout

I guess if we could figure out your math problem, 2020 would make a lot more sense, eh? Pancake mix was a nice touch. It reminded me of the first time I ate pancakes made that way. I was seven years old on a sleepover with my friend Kimberly McDuffie and her Mom made us pancakes from an Aunt Jemima mix the next morning. When Kimberly’s Mom presented her pancakes to me, I remember thinking to myself that these small flat little things on my plate didn’t look anything like the big fluffy ones my Mother would make us. And I was a little horrified. “I hope you were polite” my Mother said when I told her. I was. But it was the first food memory I have that sometimes things were done a little differently in other Mother’s kitchens. Although in Carol’s defense, she did made a pretty great clam dip.

Glad you enjoyed the banana video. Have a great day!

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz

Mrs. Douglas would make flat cakes
and Eb (?) would use them to patch the tires
on the tractor.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@QMS

They also made for a great head gasket! Lol.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

It was the best of times...the worst of times.
The drink? Start out with a cold beer, end up with a warm beer with a damn wasp that flew into the bottle when nobody was looking.
Fun stuff, Anja!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

Warm beer with a wasp in it. Sounds about right. But ya gotta keep laughing, right?

Thanks for stopping by and sprinkling your special brand of magic here Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz I wound up spitting out the beer and the wasp. I didn't get stung, but I did get my tongue scratched by a prickly wasp foot.
Christmas decorations make divorce lawyers go into a deep depression. We get the real estate divided. We divide up the money and guns. Furniture and fixtures, no problem.
But then, the Christmas decorations. The fight is generally over the Nativity Scene and the Santa in his sleigh pulled by reindeer that is all alight and placed on the roof that all the neighbors envy...Those items bring out the beast in the divorcing couples.
Thanksgiving is the time off to rest up for the Christmas decorations battles. Christmas is time off to rest up for the income tax refunds of January that fund dozens of new divorce cases.
I have been doing that for half my life, so childhood memories are so distant as to be barely existent.
I am happy that some of you can look back upon wonderful times.

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Anja Geitz's picture

@on the cusp

Although the idea of fighting over the possession of happier memories seems poignantly ironic. But I understand because happy memories is all I have left of my Mom so I guard them just as possessively.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Bisbonian's picture

@on the cusp

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"I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.” —Malcolm X

@on the cusp .on my front porch in east Texas. It is everywhere!

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"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

lotlizard's picture

… what else the glass it’s served in has just been used for, you have no idea.

Image thanx to Comix Joint dot com.

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Anja Geitz's picture

@lotlizard

You make a very good point. 2020 was definitely served up to us in one dirty ole glass. Although I think when you’re drinking a tankard of Cyclopsarus Bites with Rabies, a dirty glass might seem a bit superfluous at that point. Hahahahaha!

Thanks for the visuals.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

usefewersyllables's picture

The only drink I can contribute is a reprise of the recipe I posted when I first started posting again on the site a few months ago. It is a cocktail recipe that my then-girlfriend and I developed during a particularly intense post-hockey-game party. It features the singularly Scandahoovian spirit Aquavit (or Akavit), which tastes like licorice, caraway, and maybe dill had an ill-advised drunken cuddle session with some cough syrup, and an unexpected cordial was born some time later. It had to be tried- and so we did.

1. Take a newly bought, clean cellulose kitchen sponge
2. Cut it into 1" squares
3. Put them into a bowl and saturate with Aquavit. Add some ice.
4. Drink by popping a chunk of the sponge in your mouth and sucking on it.

We named this drink "Face Down In The Gutter", because the odd sensation when the sponge gets dry is almost identical to how the drinker will actually feel the next morning. It's a time travel beverage. It is therefore the perfect beverage with which to celebrate this uniquely horrific year.

This was 30+ years ago: I married that girlfriend, and remarkably in that 30+ years we have somehow managed to never make these again...

Be safe, be well, and stay sane (within reason). And soon come!

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

enhydra lutris's picture

@usefewersyllables

In a clean trash can or similar container mix
1 5 gallon bottle of Red Mountain(tm) or Carlo Rossi(tm) red
2 pints Hawaiin Punch(tm) concentrate
4 family size 7-Up
1 quart cheapo vodka (Tres Osos(tm) brand smuggled across the border is best)

stir with tennis racket, swim fin, or other handy instrument and serve un-iced in xl size paper cups on the beach of your choice

makes you crazy
makes you barf
makes your head hurt for days

be well and have a good one

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Anja Geitz's picture

@enhydra lutris

You definitely had me at trash can and tennis racket. Although the swim fin as an alternative was a nice touch as well. The added detail with the barfing and aching head was also good. Sounds like a perfect drink for the clusterfuck this year has been.

You win. Smile

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@enhydra lutris

The host would supply a garbage pail, all the neighbors would bring their leftover poisons.
Dump it in the pail, throw in some ice, mix with a paddle and voila!
Just dip your mug in and screw the closest thing to something desirable.

Oh, the f'ing hangovers. Swore we never do that again. Until the next time.
Had some effect on memory loss. Wink

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usefewersyllables's picture

@enhydra lutris

that much sugar on top of the alcohol will absolutely *wipe a body out*. Add that to a nice hot day at a beach (which I could certainly use right now) to dehydrate you even more effectively, and you have the perfect storm for hangovers. You have that one spot on! If I had any of that under those conditions, I wouldn't know what species I was for at least a week afterwards.

As my dear departed gray-haired mammy used to tell me: "Your liver's a muscle, son: if you don't use it, you'll lose it"... I yield in the face of vastly superior force!

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Twice bitten, permanently shy.

magiamma's picture

@usefewersyllables
your gallbladder. heh Lol

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Anja Geitz's picture

@usefewersyllables

As Aquavit is Latin for “Water of Life” your choice for 2020’s Drink of the Year is oddly perverse. Smile

Nonetheless, I’m including a little Swedish drinking song that can accompany the Aquavit drinking. No sponges necessary.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

one of the streaming services, I sat down to watch the pilot with one of my kids. Some of you may remember seeing it. I do -- I remember watching it, way back then, and recognizing that TV was now different from what it had been an hour earlier (much like when I'd watched the pilot of Hill Street Blues a few years before). On campus a few days later, I ran into one of the most intellectually advanced guys I'd known in college. He said, "Did you see that new show? Miami Vice?" He confirmed my own sense that I had experienced a cultural temblor of some significance.

Rewatching it with my son, when they reached the driving scene that builds up towards the climax, I couldn't refrain from priming the pump. As the first strains of In the Air Tonight came on, I told him, "In a few minutes, American television changes forever."

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Anja Geitz's picture

@UntimelyRippd

Never saw the show but just went to YouTube and typed in “Miami Vice & In the Air” and this came up:

Fantastic blend of music and television. Considering this was done back in the 1980s, I can see why you couldn’t resist priming that particular pump. Or as one viewer in the comments stated “This scene is so 80s, even the 80s are jealous.” Lol. I suspect Tim and Fred have never seen this Miami Vice scene either but might appreciate it. Did your son?

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

@Anja Geitz

driving shiny cars and busting the 'bad' guys.
Big guns, bigger balls and cool music.
Became a bit of a theme there for awhile.
Lived in the Miami area at the time.
Kinda adolescent, now that I think back on it.
Drugs, sex and rock-n-roll.

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snoopydawg's picture

I bet I am not the only one who watched Hawkeye make his daily martinis on MASH. They looked so good I asked my sdad to make me one. ICK! To alcohol'y. So I had him put in some Sprite and then some coke and gag me from here to Sunday.

This is what this year seems like to me. It does seem like each month something more came along to futz with us. 30 more days till this year is over.

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Anja Geitz's picture

@snoopydawg

Funny you should bring that up. When I first turned 21 my boyfriend took me to a restaurant and bar called TGIF in Marina Del Rey where sat outside under TGIF’s iconic striped umbrellas looking out at the boats and the sparkling sea. Wanting to be elegant and very adult, I eschewed the tropical drinks on the menu like the chocolate monkey and ordered a Martini. An idea that came partly from watching MASH and partly from the title of a lurid party book written by none other than Johnny Carson and titled:

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

earthling1's picture

for 2020 has to be a "Novichok Cocktail".
The fear of dying from it is there, but you know you're gonna be alright.
You'll be sick as a dog for months, but you will soon disappear.
The waterwings video was hilarious.
Thanks, Anja.

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Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Anja Geitz's picture

@earthling1

Although I imagine the Novochek cocktail would be something one drinks unknowingly. As in a spiked drink. Which definitely fits the theme of 2020.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

Anja Geitz's picture

@earthling1

Is that what those inflatable things that little boy has on his arms are called? I had no idea. Lol! Yeah, that video sure put a smile on my face. Glad you enjoyed.

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There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

travelerxxx's picture

Wow! Hilariously bad drinks all. I can't best any of them.

Closest for me was in a restaurant, topping off an iced tea at the serve-yourself drink dispenser with cola. Barf! Sorry to admit that I quaffed most of it before realizing what I'd done.

The only other thing that comes to mind was back in high school days when we'd sell emptied bottles of peppermint schnapps to under-aged kids after we'd refilled them with Colgate 100 mouthwash. They all thought they'd gotten drunk as skunks and were repeat customers.

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snoopydawg's picture

@travelerxxx

but your comment reminded me of when I broke my jaw and the nurse was showing me how to use the water pic. It got low on water so she threw mine in except that it was sprite. There I was wired up with a pic full of water in my mouth and I started laughing. Then choking, but it was funny. Maybe you had to be there...

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

travelerxxx's picture

@snoopydawg

Whoa! Hope you realized it was Sprite before using it again! It would be bad enough without having your jaw wired...

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smiley7's picture

Having mixed everclear in a bathtub waiting for BB King fifty-two years ago, i leanred i'm not the best judge of the best drink.

Charlie's cool. I like Charlie's.

All's well that ends well. Great thread and poem.

Cheers.

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Jen's picture

This what popped into my head when you asked. Sorry I'm a day late. But since no one else mentioned Bear, I feel like I had to include it.

[video:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4U_xmfSwYSw]

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Is it great yet?