I wanted to take a break from the depressing news here in the States, so please join me for a quick getaway across the great pond I’m calling TDA’s European Inebriation (in honor of the Griswalds).
We start out in the UK where a Dorset prison had to uninstall the hand sanitizer pumps initially put in to help prevent swine flu. Apparently the prisoners discovered the cleanser was made mostly of ethyl alcohol and promptly became intoxicated.
Prison officials said,”When you get something called alcohol gel you can see what is going to happen. You don’t want drunk prisoners running around the prison.” ~ BBC
I think the guards have decided they would rather have sick than drunk prisoners. Good choice. Now on to France.
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This one comes courtesy of TDA researcher Norm who sent us this link from the French town of Neuf-Brisach where a man drove himself to the local police station to drop off AA flyers. Unfortunately he was twice the limit drunk at the time and was immediately arrested for his second DUI. Talk about a self service arrest!
The kicker of our old world tour comes from Germany where a tipsy private pilot took off from Schoengleida airfield and continued to drink while aloft. He became so drunk that he apparently couldn’t see his instruments or the airport for that matter.
The UK paper The Telegraph reports that after two hours in flight, he was unable to read the instrument panel or find his way back to the airport. He apparently knew he was still in the neighborhood, though. His conversation with the control tower included a couple of songs and a mother-in-law joke. “Come on, I know you’re down there,” he radioed. “Where the bloody hell have you hidden yourself?” ~ Aero-News.net
A rescue helicopter was dispatched to guide the wayward pilot back in where he somehow landed safely. For some reason the man was not detained so he promptly got in his car and drove away. This was quite a feat considering his blood alcohol level was 4 times the legal limit for driving- not to mention flying! Thank goodness the authorities eventually tracked the man down who will no doubt lose the legal right to both drive and fly.
While funny on the surface, each of these light hearted stories from Europe could just have just as quickly turned to tragedy. And when you consider that most of this behavior is chronic and will surely be repeated- it is just a matter of time before the laughs peter out and the pain begins.
