As many of you know, I am in therapy. The cause of my mental shortcomings is not what many of you may have guessed, you know, the overstated reasons of poor childhood, major traumatic event, etc. No, my problems can be traced back to my freshman year at the University of Cincinnati.
My roomate, Michael Graves from Roanoke, Virginia (hereinafter referred to as Virginie) went out with the boys one evening. I, of course, was in attendance. We went to Crows, a college bar near campus. As most college freshman go, we were all lacking in monetary means. As such we usually chose the most economical beer to consume.
Virginie, was no exception. This fateful friday night, our evening began at around 9:00 PM and ended when the bars closed at 2:30AM. During that period of time, we consumed numerous pitchers of this local beer called Berger beer. Back in the 70's, this stuff was going for about $.89 a six pack.
Unfortunately, we were drinking draught Berger beer. Since the cost of this waste product fit our respective budgets, we continued to consume it to the point that if Ruth Bader Ginsberg had been in Crow's that night we would have all been fighting over who was going to bag that hot babe.
You get the picture. Anywho, we stumble out of Crows and pool our nickels together to purchase as many sliders (White Castle burgers) possible. Virginie buys 5 sliders with cheese, onions, ketchup and a pickle right in the middle. He also orders a large onion chip.
This tempting meal is placed in the little white bag and we slog our way back to Daniels Hall (our dormitory). Virginie, who is the worst of this most disgusting lot, places the burgers and onion chips on the side of his bed and passes out without eating a bite.
The following morning, excuse me, afternoon, Virginie awakens and sees the cold burgers and onion chips sitiing next to his bed which is underneath the black light picture of Jimi Hendrix. In addition, to the cold sliders and chips, there is a warm, unopened can of Burger beer left over from several nights before.
Virginie, of course, is starving and proceeds to consume the cold sliders and chips washing them down with the warm Burger beer. Approximately, twenty minutes after he finished his meal, I was awakened by an event which has changed my life forever.
Nothing, nothing can erase the horror of that memory. Given the choice, I would gladly spend 1/2 hour chained inside the basin of a portolet filled up to my neck with excrement and urine then spend 30 seconds in my dorm room after that hillbilly let go.
Since that time I have been trying to erase the memory of that afternoon. To this day, whenever I drive by a white castle or if I drive through the commonwealth of Virginia, I repeatedly and violently gag.
Empty stomach, cold sliders and onion chips, warm Burger and a hangover is a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Eddie