Originally Posted by
lillamy 
But I believe it's the second -- that you can pick them out of a crowd pretty easily after having intimate experience of one. Even if they're sober you can pick them out.
I agree with this too - it's gotten to where I can pick up the most seemingly innocuous clues and just KNOW that addiction is afoot somewhere in the equation I am looking at.
Last weekend RAH & I went out for the first time in about 6 months. We used to be very socially active but since most of it revolved around bars & bands, it's been a difficult part of RAH's recovery. I haven't pushed the issue because as much as I miss seeing my favorite bands & live music (& I DO!) I can always arrange to do that on Girls' Nights without RAH.
So, he's finally at a point of having some time for music again & found a great project that is exactly what he's been looking for for quite a while. We ended up with an unplanned babysitter & just decide: hell with it, let's just go, check out our fave old hangout & see who's playing, who's hanging, what's the scoop on the peeps & projects right now.
This particular place has a great open bar seating area that faces the band & dance floor & the "pit" of tables down front, but overlooks from a few feet higher. It's my favorite spot to watch the crowd. We got there just before the music started & started playing "Name that Drunk"..... which dancing freak will be the first to fall on her arse? How many shots CAN one table of 6 order in 2 hours? Which drunken man at that table will be the first to get into an argument or outright fist fight? Who will be carried out at the end of the night? Who showed up already loaded & is drinking from their private flask in their pocket/purse/etc? How many people will fall down the 3 steps that separate the bar area from the dance floor? How many people will lose their equilibrium once they close their eyes on the dance floor & then get tripped up in the strobe lights when they reopen them?
I was right every. single. time. RAH was like, WTH!? I said, Oh PLEASE! Do you know how much more experience I have from THIS side of the stage? This is what a night at the bar has ALWAYS entailed when you aren't hammered & propped up against a drum kit! It was quite a lesson for him & we had a bit of fun with it, but I think it opened his eyes just a *teeny* bit wider.