By:Karenlyn Barone
Matt, also 16, has been blessed with boyish looks and a smile that lights up any room. He is slender, with the body of an athlete, and he plays football and runs track. His junior year is filled with friends. He plans to join the military next year. And he frequently spends nights binge drinking.
Both boys drink often and drink to excess, and have no intention of stopping anytime soon. Although the legal drinking age is 21, Mike and Matt started drinking when they were 11 and 12, respectively.
The boys met at a restaurant on a recent Sunday morning, and laughed about being hung over. The first menu items they looked at were the cocktails. They spent several minutes naming their favorites as well as those few concoctions they have yet to try. When asked how they wanted to be identified in lieu of their real names, they laughed, and Mike said, I-ll be Jack Daniels and he can be John Dewers. It seems that, even at this age, they don-t just consume alcohol; in many ways, it consumes their lives.
Being hung over sucks, said Mike. Last night I drank six bottles of water before I went to bed to re-hydrate myself, and I still have a hangover. I know when to stop drinking, but sometimes that-s just when there-s no more beer.
Mike attributed his blurred vision and pounding head to the three 40-ounce beers and five or six more bottles of beer he had consumed the night before, as he went from house party to house party. I lose count on crazy nights like that, he said with a smile. The difference between a crazy night and a regular night is the amount of alcohol I drink.
The glare of the bright sun seemed to hurt Matt-s eyes. He complained of cotton mouth and was sweating in the climate-controlled restaurant.
Their stories are similar. Mike and Matt both come from homes where beer can be found in the refrigerator and liquor in the closet. Both took their first bottles of beer, undetected, from home. Nobody noticed, said Mike. We didn-t take enough for them to notice.
At age 13, within two years of that first raid on their respective refrigerators, Mike and Matt got drunk for the first time. Although they drank with groups of friends, they deny that their drinking had anything to do with peer pressure. I felt no pressure to drink, said Mike. It was my own decision.
Matt had vowed never to drink, mindful of the drunk and scary rages of his father, but before long he was caught up in the lure of alcohol. I was definitely influenced by my older brother and his friends, who I hung out with, he said. They were drinking and I wanted to be like them.
Once their drinking became a regular routine, the boys were forced to find resources of their own. They laughed as they explained the routine they refer to as, Hey, mister! They go to a local convenience store or hang out near a liquor store, and approach the people going inside. Hey mister, can you buy us some booze? they ask. They say they succeed every time.
The best people to ask are like 20 years old male or female, that doesn-t matter and if you know them, that-s a plus, explained Mike.
Matt admits that he asks anyone, regardless of age, race, sex or whether or not he knows them. You give it a shot, he said. The worst that can happen is that they say no and you ask the next person. Eventually, you get your stuff. And the store owners don-t care as long as somebody legal buys it.
For their purpose, bottles of liquor or 40-ounce beers are best, because they are easiest to conceal and consume while the boys walk down the street. With the alcohol safely under their arms, they go to a neighborhood park, behind a strip mall or to an empty parking lot to drink.
We-ll drink anywhere, they both said. Under a tree, in a tree or up a tree. It doesn-t matter, as long as there are no cops.
If they-re lucky, someone-s parents are out for the night, and they can drink in the comfort of a friend-s home.
In the past, the boys have been so intent on drinking and so determined not to get caught that they have gone to great lengths to secure a location. One time we rigged the lights to go on when the parents opened the basement door, said Mike. Another time we hooked up a video camera so that we could see if someone was coming down the basement steps. We were slick kids.
Nowadays, the boys often drink in someone-s house, and it is common knowledge which houses are safe for drinking. They happily admit that some parents make it known that they would rather have groups of friends drinking in their homes than roaming the streets.
I would rather they be safe and inside, since they are going to drink anyway, said a mother of two teenage boys who did not want to be identified. Let them drink at home, where I know they-re safe and won-t get in trouble.
When the impromptu house parties are in full swing, drinking games are common. Excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, but the boys qualify their binge drinking by saying it inspires good conversation. We have drinking relays, laughed Mike. No batons required.
Mike and Matt said they drink regularly on Fridays and Saturdays and occasionally on Sundays, but don-t limit themselves to those days. Both admit to sometimes drinking on school days as well.
There are no negatives to drinking, said Matt. Even if you get sick and throw up, tomorrow is another day.
Mike said he once got so sick after downing half a bottle of scotch and then drinking beers all night long that he threw up six times on the way home. Undeterred, he was drinking again the next weekend.
When asked who drinks, the boys holler, Everybody, from 12 years old and up.
It-s our fault, said Mike. There are a lot of younger kids drinking now, and I take the blame. Little kids always see me with a beer in my hand.
Matt conceded that image is probably what attracted him to drinking. I wanted to be like the older kids, he said. You want to fit in, and so you feel obligated to drink. Drinking raises your status.
When asked about their younger siblings and the prospect that they will follow in their elders- footsteps, Mike and Matt grow angry. I don-t want my brother to drink, said Matt. I want him to succeed in life.
Mike-s words were even stronger. I would kill my sister! he shouted, Drinking is bad for you. It destroys your body. It-s a bad habit. I wish I never started drinking.
