Noise

Well here I sit on a blustering, chilled, snow laden Saturday morning. We have had our fair share of the snow, more than our share last year but hey, this is NE Ohio and I have seen a seven inch snow on April 1 so this winter is far from over.  Speaking of noise ...  How do you like that segue?

 

We live in a world of noise.  We even have noise makers at our bed side as do our children in their homes to generate "white noise" to aid in the going to sleep.  Noise is relative to the individual I would imagine. The music I love to hear and sing no doubt is noise to some either in volume or style or whatever.  You are perhaps wondering why I am not writing about a global issue or a strategic dilemma or a social decay as I usual invest my fingers into but no, today I want to talk about noise colored by disrespect and rudeness for others. On a celebratory evening such as last evening, going to a restaurant for a nice meal, though crowded, one would expect, this one at least, for the ambiance of a national franchise steakhouse to be at least at a noise level where normal people can converse facing each other not two feet apart, right?

 

As my wife and I quietly sat in trying to talk and share a meal, there was this cacophony of loud laughing and squealing and just downright rude degree of loudness that was causing people in our area to turn and see what in the world was causing the noise just behind us. The culprit was a group of eight thirty-something women, all alcohol fueled bringing their beers and wine glasses from the bar to the table behind us.  The frolic and loudness and stupid comments and trying to out-laugh each other not to mention shouting across the table at each other was repugnant to say the least.  I felt my stomach churning at the rudeness for the many others paying good money just to enjoy a meal. And then another group of eight made their way in taking their place at the noise machine with their loud alcohol-fueled shouting, joking.  Sixteen women, not a one with a husband or boy friend, but sixteen women out for the evening drinking heavily and being disruptive and rude.  I was within two breaths of going over to the table to confront the degree of rudeness or to speak to the manager but my wife convinced me to just let it go. It spoiled an otherwise good evening, frankly. But let me come to my thesis.

 

See, I HATE alcohol and that HATE was rekindled last evening.  These young ladies were probably professionals out for an evening to celebrate something; I have no idea.  But in listening and watching and becoming more irritated, images of alcohol and its terrible addicted character I witnessed for too often growing up in my own home came rushing back.  Working in prison ministry these twelve years and working with hundreds of thousands of male and female prisoners realizing that the great, great majority of them have been addicted to alcohol, at least, most of their lives.  Seeing families torn apart my entire life over this addicted serpent or to alter a family lifestyle so negatively due to the selfishness of the one consuming alcohol is very sad.  Then to have sixteen young women blatantly "party" at the expense of paying patrons in a nice restaurant was simply inexcusable. I moved from being angry to feeling sorry for them back to anger several times.

 

I realize social drinking is accepted as normal but for this man that saw first hand in my father the terrible devastation alcohol creates as well as other men in our neighborhood with wrecked cars, fights, spousal abuse, etc, etc, all fueled by this terrible mixture, still leaves me cold and detested. You are to hate the alcohol but not the alcoholic but I have to say that is much harder to do than many would imagine if you have been on the receiving end of the results of endless days of whiskey consumption. So given that, I wish I could sit with all sixteen of those women this morning face-to-face and have this conversation.  If they claimed to be Christians, their testimony was certainly demeaned. If they claim to be professionals, they certainly did not act in that regard.

 

So Noise, for me last evening, awakened in me lifelong disgusts that have scars to this day emotionally.  Why our nation has not attacked the alcohol industry as it has the tobacco industry is very sad for me for the very reasons I posit above. Alcohol kills more people each year in this country than guns and there were sixteen women on the cold, snowy roads last night that should not have been.  So it lets me know the alcohol industry money flows to the politicians to keep it off the radar screen.  Being the son of an alcoholic,  I have spent a lifetime literally scared to death of the potential genetically of alcohol thus never consuming it. As a Christian, I believe my testimony would be damaged as would be my credibility if i did what I experienced last night.  Please know a prude I am not and have seen much of this behavior in my career and in the military in others.  But in realizing many, many times people saying really stupid, career damaging things under the influence, I chose to drink a lot of water and be a sponge listener.  I believe I have salvaged several good careers in others in deflecting criticism and attacks on the person because I heard exactly what was said and what was intended to be said.

 

Alcohol is a drug and it is addictive.  Let me say again. I HATE ALCOHOL and last night's noise event sparked that hate for it displays stupidity, bad things being said, opens the door for bad relationships, destroys families and is a terrible example for children. I hope one of the sixteen ladies see this and that they know I am talking them concerning last night. See, acting a fool is not cool!