An Important Lesson Learned

     Today’s post is on a very important subject, not that all my subjects aren’t important but, this one is probably more so than most. Please, read on to find out.

     Last night was not a good night for a couple of friends of mine. Both of these boys are under the legal age to consume alcohol but, boys will be boys and they were inebriated. Actually, if you think about it that, in itself, is not really that bad. Underage drinking is a recurring theme across America whether we like it or not. It doesn’t matter how much the government, the parents, the schools, churches or anyone else warns kids about the dangers of drinking period, much less driving while under the influence, those kids are going to consume that fire-water and ale.

     These two boys, in their drunken state of mind, decided to drive to Casey’s to get something to eat. Mind you, knowing that kids will drink regardless of warnings, I have told innumerable kids that IF they are going to do it, STAY WHERE YOU ARE! Don’t get behind the wheel of a vehicle. I don’t want anything to happen to anyone because of someone else’s stupidity. So, knowing the warnings, knowing the danger, knowing that they could get caught and into trouble with the law, they drove the eight or ten blocks from where they were to Casey’s, for something to eat… You gotta be kidding me! There wasn’t something they could munch on in the cupboard?

     Back to the story: On the way back, the owner of the vehicle was not driving and his friend ran his truck into a tree, thereby totaling, or at least making inoperable, a perfectly good vehicle that didn’t belong to him. Thank the gods in Valhalla that no one got hurt. The only damage was the truck and the tree. The bad part was that the driver ran. Yep. He ran and left the owner to take the fall for him. Why, you ask? Because he would go to jail for drinking. The owner took the blame and ended up in jail overnight. A person with an unblemished record, never been in trouble at all.

     Now, loyalty is a good thing. You should be loyal to those friends that deserve it. Did this kid deserve the loyalty that the vehicle owner showed him? Not at all. Why? Because he ran. He left his comrade to fall just so he wouldn’t end up behind bars. That is a low-life not worth the time of day. His friend, who had never been in trouble, could have, possibly, ruined his career, therefore, his aspirations in life.

     Fortune prevailed and good sense came to the driver, though. He turned himself in and let the local constabulary know that it was he, not the owner, that was driving and, at this time, the charges have been dropped on the owner. This is, however, Chariton “Black Hole,” Iowa and Chariton Law. I hope, beyond all things, that he does not get charged with anything. He doesn’t need that on an unblemished record but, he was inebriated in public, he allowed someone inebriated to operate his vehicle and therefore was in the wrong, also.

     There are two points that I am trying to make here. Point Number One: If you are going to be drinking, doesn’t matter if it is one beer, one shot or a case and a fifth, do not, under any circumstances, get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Stay where-ever you are and don’t leave. You are protecting yourself and others by doing this. If you stay where you are you are not only keeping yourself from being arrested if caught but could be saving someone’s life.

     The second point I want to make is this: Loyalty is earned, not given. It is good to be loyal to your friends, expected even. But, if you give someone loyalty you damn well better be sure that person deserves it. In the story above I honestly believe the loyalty was misplaced. The driver ran, for gods’ sake. That shows that he would leave a comrade in time of trouble. Granted, he did do the right thing and turn himself in after the fact but, that does not make up for his running and leaving someone else to take the blame for his screw-up. How is the owner going to replace his vehicle? I believe the driver is going to be going to jail for some time because this was a parole violation. So here is the owner, without a vehicle, being arrested for something he didn’t do. Is this someone who deserves loyalty? He would have to work damn hard to earn it back.

     Don't get me wrong, both of these boys are friends of mine. I think the world of both of them. I do, however, realize that one is going places and the other is going to stay here in Chariton and live the life of a Charitonian, which isn't exactly that upscale. Does this one have potential? Of course he does. It's a matter of whether he will take that potential and exploit it or leave it to wither and die on the vine. Only he has control over that. It's the choices we make in life that make us who we are. It isn't our environment or the way we were raised. Each and every one of us has the choice to do good or bad in life.

     I know that I have been hard on the driver here while not being so hard on the owner. Believe me when I say that both of these boys were in the wrong. My topic was drinking and driving and loyalty, not to be the judgmental arsehole that most believe me to be. I wanted to make a couple of good life lesson points here and I think I did. These boys both know me well enough to know that they will not be able to use their delicate derrieres for a while once I am done chewing on them when I see them next. 

     Will Owner still be friends with Driver and still be loyal to him? Of course he will; that is just the way that man is. I would expect nothing less from him. It is just my general observation that he probably should re-evaluate his priorities when it comes to Driver. But, alas, I know him too well and know that no matter what, they will be comrades-in-arms until the day they pass from this life to the next. Once, again, that is just the way things are, not to be challenged lightly or changed easily. That is what being loyal to a friend is.