Thursday, April 20, 2006

Liquor Laws

Liquor laws are funny, in that they are different everywhere you go, and the locals in each case believe that they have come up with the perfect balance of regulation and freedom found anywhere.

I live in a dry ward. Yet I can buy low alcohol package liquor (beer and wine)just down the road. Then I cross another invisible line and the law gets dry again, then cross another invisible line, and everything is wide open, with hard liquor, liquor by the drink, dance halls.. All in the space of twelve miles.

A bunch of us were stationed at Fort Dix and went into a place during happy hour. We each got a beer. When we tried to order again, the bartender refused, saying that under the local law, between 5 pm and 7 pm you could only order once. We asked if we could have ordered a case each and he said yes, but we could only order once.

I remember trying to be served in a restaurant, in Kentucky in the late 70's. I was 20 and my wife was 19, and we ordered a cocktail with our meal. They carded us both and when the waiter returned, my wife had her drink, but mine was cola. I asked the waiter to explain, and he said that I was under age. I asked about my wife, and he told us the local laws allowed married women to drink at any age. My wife thought it was hilarious.

My generation fought and marched and complained and raised hell till we could legally drink at age 18, here in Louisiana. The succeeding generations lost that ability, somewhere.

Personally, I'd like to see a honky-tonk on every corner, but the laws just don't allow that around here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pawpaw, listen to this. Up until last week, I had been working in north Mississippi for 6 month. A co-worker and I would often pay visits to the local bars. Well, one night, he decided to leave at about 10, but I was still playing pool w/ some locals. So, I told him I'd hop a ride or call a cab. Well, the hotel is only about a mile to 1.5 miles from the particular bar. Therefore, when I decided to leave, instead of asking someone for a ride or paying for a cab, I walked. That's where I went wrong.

Only about 2 blocks from the hotel, a local cop pulls over and starts questioning me. He then handcuffed me and put me under arrest. I asked him why, and he told me that walking intoxicated was against the law. Here I am, walking, instead of DRIVING, peacefully, and I get arrested. They made me spend the night in jail and released me the next morning at 6am w/ no fine or courtdate.

Well, the jail is downtown Columbus, now 4-5 miles away from my hotel instead of the 2 blocks away where he arrested me. I asked them how I was supposed to get back to my room. They asked "Don't you have a co-worker you can call?" To which I responded, "Yes, but it's 6am. I'm not waking them up and, quite frankly, you're the ones to decided to arrest me as I was just 100 yards from my hotel. Instead of just making sure I wasn't causing trouble and making sure I got back to my room ok, yall decided to arrest me and haul me 5 miles away. I think ya'll should provide me with transportation."

After that, they called one of their officers who was on duty, and he gave me a ride back to my hotel. On top of that, when I told him what happened, he responed, "That wasn't necessary. I would have just given you a ride the rest of the way to your room to make sure you didn't disturb anyone." Needless to say, I was pissed, and for the last couple weeks after that, I brought left over food from home up there so I would spend as little money in that town as possible.

I can't count the number of times here, in Louisiana and in Houston, TX, I've walked from a bar to a sleeping destination to avoid driving and endangering the public. Yet, in Mississippi, I got arrested, with no punishment at that!! No fine or courtdate really makes me wonder how much of a BS arrest that was.

Anonymous said...

Nick, guess what? In some Mississippi counties it is illegal to possess alcoholic beverages--period. That means in your house. In your refrigerator in your house. In your hand in your easy chair in your living room watching a football game. In the trunk of your car passing through that county. . . .