BYOB

[Martin Hash]

Keep Calm.png

I got caught in something that, after I thought about it, really irritated me, and also shows how society norms are used as clubs to beat people over the head. My wife, Gwynne, got a call from a long-time friend of hers inviting us to a BBQ at their house. Gwynne bought some cookies and cake because that's what she does. I didn't take anything but myself. When we got there, I went outside to the patio. There were a half-dozen people there, all of whom I vaguely recognized from BBQs past. I shook everybody's hand, introduced myself, and found a place to sit around the patio table. Everyone had a beer in their hand, so before sitting down I looked around for a kooler; there was a small one near the table, I opened it up, there was some random bottles and cans, I didn't take anything because it looked like somebody's personal stash but before I could close the kooler lid, one of the women there who I knew somewhat says to me, "What? You just look into somebody else's kooler? You're too cheap to bring your own beer?" (It wasn't even her kooler.) I thought she was just joking but needed some work on her delivery because it seemed really snarky. I blew it off, looked around some more.

"Where's the big kooler?" I ask the host.
"There's no kooler?" he replies, matter-of-factly.
I'm off balance, "Is the beer in the refrigerator?"
"Not that I know of," he says then continues talking to somebody else.
I look around one last time; there's no kooler, nobody offers me a beer, I sit down. The person whose kooler I looked into wouldn't even talk to me. I go all evening without anything to drink. About 8 pm, I grab Gwynne, make an excuse, and get the hell out of Dodge. I wanted to put a positive spin on the situation: Gwynne and I had been out of the country for a while; maybe BYOB was the new norm? If so, somebody needs to tell me these things.

[Fife]

Did we have this discussion before sometime?

I seem to recall my initial thought was to chuckle "F***ing left coast Yankees," or the like.

:goteam: :drunk:

[Ex-California]

Yeah we did. This is how my midwest inlaws do it, and its really weird

When I grew up drinks were either provided by the host fully, or if someone brought something they dumped it into the community cooler

I blame Michigan

[Martin Hash]

Good threads get recycled into my books. This is the last story in "Even More Memoirs of an Old Cyber-Cowboy."

[DBTrek]

It should be followed by an epilogue of how you traded in your lame, beer-frugal friends for online ones.

[MilSpecs]

We had this discussion before. No, it’s not normal here. The guest is God. All food and drink is provided, and people are usually sent home stuffed, with food for the next day.

[Martin Hash]

It should be followed by an epilogue of how you traded in your lame, beer-frugal friends for online ones.

What makes it more ironic is that they wanted some free legal advice (which I was happy to give).

[Speaker to Animals]

That's how it was in the barracks. You brought your own beer, or somebody was nice, they'd give you some and you'd reciprocate later.

I almost murdered about six airmen after we all chipped in to make a huge vat of jungle juice we'd drink way up in the wilderness (literal wilderness, beyond the borders of the national forest). I had weekend duty and could only set out after about five. We arrived to the camp by 4x4 around midnight (takes six hours to drive through the forest to get to the edge of the wilderness areas).

Those degenerate crew chiefs and E&E troops had already drank all the jungle juice, leaving nothing but a half a plastic cup for each of us.

I shot you not, I was close to murdering about six completely drunk bastards with a rock.

[K@th]

Very poor form to not provide potential guests with this information.

In the absence of such knowledge, I assume everything is provided. I have absolutely no issue if a host says, "hey, please help out and bring some beer." You just have to tell me.

[DBTrek]

It should definitely be advertised. That way each participant can decide “Will this beer taste better alone, or in the company of a bunch of rude cheapskates?”