My first beer story

Well. It appears to be the blog topic of the night! Thanks to aj and lisa for that little gem of an idea. Here's my story....

It's not actually about my first beer, rather the first time I got drunk that I remember. I used to play a bit of basketball when I was young. That is, a lot. School team captain, local A-grade, regional rep, etc. Anyway, my local A-grade side (a men's side) had decided to celebrate the end of the comp with a few ambers down at the local. Note: they were all "old"... aka late 20's to early 40's. I was 16.

This was 1989 and Tooheys Dry was fairly new to the market. I can't find a picture, but it was the one in the brown bottle with the silver label. I didn't drive (remember, I'm 16) so I got a lift from the courts to the pub. I was meeting up with my mother after her tennis match later on so I had time to have a beer and get back down there in time.

What'll you have M?
I don't know, whatever you're having.
Tooheys Dry? Fine.

Glugg Glugg Glugg.

Not bad. Not like the shandy I was used to..... better! Of course, I'm sh!tting myself because I'm a shy 16 year old in a big dirty smelly pub with a bunch of dudes who now seem not only unperturbed about buying beers for someone underage, but also on getting him a little drunk.

Another?
Sure, but I don't have any money. You do know that I'm only 16 right?
Sure! No-one cares. I'll shout you this one.

I do remember arriving at the tennis court, and I do remember that my mother immediately knew that I'd had waaaay more that I ever had before. She smiled that special mother smile. You know the one, you don't know if you're in trouble or not.

I don't think that the entire team shouted me, but who can really tell by now. Sure my head was spinning, but I felt OK. I was confident I'd survived the night. Memories of the first (and only) time I'd seen my father really drunk came back to me. I'm not like that. I can hold myself together!

Tennis over, we hopped in the car.

Are you OK?
Sure. Yep. Fine. No problem.
20 minutes pass. We're home.

Are you sure you're OK?
Yep. I just need to sleep. I'll be fine.
I wasn't. I was feeling worse now. What did I do? Why? Oh God why?

I won't describe the next half an hour. If only I could erase that 30 minutes of my life.
When they changed the formula, I could safely drink Tooheys (now Extra) Dry again. I guess I'm more like my father than I thought.

I never really drank too much in the past 18 years. (Boy do I feel old now!) But I went though phases. In chronological order...
-Tropicana.
-Sangria (Mexican wine punch) Yum!
-Vodka
-VB
-Home Brew
-Tooheys Old
-Guinness
-Midori (Sorry, it's true. A short lived phase but an important one. I met my wife while drunk on this stuff. Story for another day!)
-More Guinness
-Old Speckled Hen (ooooh yeah! On tap at the old Gymea pub!)
-Red red wine (Shiraz in particular. This phase is long and still lingers today)
-Pilsner Urquell (the original and the best)
-Any Japanese beer (love them all, but better when actually in Japan. Again, a story for another day.)
-Bundy (the current drink of choice)

Anyhow, I digress. So that's whet my appetite, not only for a bundy, but also for future posts.
For now, goodnight!

Skol!
Campai!
Prost!
Salud!
Cheers!