homecoming festivities

Sometimes your parents tell you not to do certain things, and they tell you why. And sometimes you assume that the reasons they give are a little exaggerated. Trying to convince you not to do it. But sometimes you find that what actually happens when you don't take their advice is about twenty times worse than anyone ever let on.

I've never seen anyone as drunk as I saw on Friday night.

Or heard, really. I woke up when my roommate came in, about 2 a.m., and I heard another friend say "Call me if anything happens, okay?" I sat up and asked my roommate what was going on. Someone on our hall was very, very drunk, she told me.

"Is she conscious?" I asked.

"She's in the bathroom retching now. Her sorority sisters brought her up."

A little bit later, I took my phone and went to the hallway, thinking: I don't want her to die of alcohol poisoning on my hall knowing I could have made a phone call. One of this girl's friends was in the hallway, and I talked to her. She said not to worry about alcohol poisoning. "She's throwing up, which is good. It'll get it out of her system." She and a couple other friends were there and planned to stay as long as they needed to. She said she'd been in the same situation before and she knew what to do. I asked if this was typical behavior of this girl or if she learned something that night, and it sounded like she had learned something.

I went back to my room.

"Up, up, up." (groan) "You need to sit up." ("I am sitting up.") "No you're not. Sit up. Drink some water." ("That requires movement.") "I don't care if it requires movement. Drink water." ("No. That water tastes bad. No wonder I'm throwing up.") "Drink some water."

She sounded miserable. I heard her say--not as slurred as I expected--how miserable she was. And her girl friends stayed with her the whole time.

I finally fell asleep sometime between three and four, but I wondered.

Most of my friends don't drink or don't drink much, and the ones that do don't do it around me. But what if they did?

I know I am willing to drive someone home (if I had access to a car) and willing to make as many phone calls as I need to to find a car if someone called me drunk.

I know I am fully prepared to tip over a table of shot glasses if someone's being stupid.

I know I am ready to call for help if someone passes out drunk.

But would I stay up all night with a profusely vomiting friend?

I hope I never have to. But I wonder.