Epilogue to the Amsterdam weekend
February 19, 2004 ~ 1:48 p.m.
LONDON, U.K.�My boss paid me what I consider a big compliment this morning. He asked me how �A�dam� was and told me that he�s going there within a few weeks. He smiled and said, �Then I can witness the mess you left behind.�
Shucks, my reputation as a druggie hell-raiser has caught on, but neither is actually true about me. I�m not a druggie and I don�t raise hell. I have enough hell going on in my head; it�s not something I ever feel obliged to raise.
As for drugs? I can say that I saw things these past five days that challenged my perceptions about substances. Things that scared me into thinking twice. Amsterdam is like that. One minute, you�re smiling and happy�and the next, you feel as though you�ve walked onto the set of the latest Quentin Tarantino film. My views, as it happens, have not changed. But what I did see can likely be attributed to alcohol abuse, partially or in full, more than anything. You cannot eat the �speed� (i.e., rat poison) they sell you on the streets of the Red Light District, down three pints of Heineken and then, on top of that, smoke strong pot. Because then you can be sure to act like some of the unfortunates I�ve witnessed. Poor buggers�at least I know to steer well clear of the dealers. The horror show that sometimes spontaneously occurs in the coffeeshops or streets of Amsterdam is not attributable to marijuana, no sir. I�ve come away from this latest trip to the Dutch capital more convinced of this than ever before.
What I have learned, dear reader, is that if you do dope for five days straight�White Widow, of all varieties!�you begin to feel not so with it. People do not believe me when I say that it�s good to be home, back in familiar surroundings, and back to normal at work. They say, �Ooh, but isn�t it lovely to be on holiday?�
Well, yes, of course it is. But now I�ve got a clear head again and I intend to keep it that way for a while.
� M.E.M.
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Copyright � 2001-2007 by M.E. Manning. All material is written by me, unless explicitly stated otherwise by use of footnotes or bylines. Do not copy or redistribute without my permission.
AMERICA FOR TRUE AMERICANS!