Dedication to Degradation

This is from the Associated Press:

Dec 12, 5:56 PM (ET)BERLIN (AP) – A man nearly died from alcohol poisoning after quaffing a liter (two pints) of vodka at an airport security check instead of handing it over to comply with new carry-on rules, police said Wednesday.The incident occurred at the Nuremberg airport on Tuesday, where the 64-year-old man was switching planes on his way home to Dresden from a holiday in Egypt.

New airport rules prohibit passengers from carrying larger quantities of liquid onto planes, and he was told at a security check he would have to either throw out the bottle of vodka or pay a fee to have his carry-on bag checked as cargo.

Instead, he chugged the bottle down – and was quickly unable to stand or otherwise function, police said.

A doctor called to the scene determined he had possibly life-threatening alcohol poisoning, and he was sent to a Nuremberg clinic for treatment.

The man, whose name was not released, is expected to be able to complete his journey home in a few days.

Summer Surge Slowing in Newport

After leaving town for a few days, I come back to find that things are pretty tame. There are definitely plenty of tourists still running around Thames and Bellview, but there are not nearly as many as, say, early July. Maybe things are winding down?

Hopefully this is not a fluke. With so many people vacationing in my new town, it really brings me down. I try to go out and have a good time like (seemingly) the rest of the town, but I don’t have enough money to. I try to chase the beautiful girls dressed in their sundresses, but I don’t have enough money to. I try to drink every night at Pour Judgment on Broadway, but I don’t have enough money to.

I know this is largely my problem. Who else can I blame? But still, it brings me down to see the rich happy people getting drunk and having the time of their lives while I sit in a park and poorly play guitar.

I hope the summer surge is slowing, and it probably is. The weather is certainly starting to turn. I was awoken the other night by a frigid blowing through my window, a sure sign that autumn is coming. I haven’t seen Newport, or even Rhode Island, in the fall and I’m looking forward to it. I wonder if it can compete with the amazing beauty of Western Mass.