Hell in High Heels

     No matter how nice you are, there is always a button that can be pushed. I'm no different. The question is: What does it take?


     I don't consider myself a confrontational person, but if trouble comes my way, I deal with it. One night last December, Liza and I decided to have a much needed girl's night out. The bar that we went to was one that neither of us had ever been to before. I thought one of my favorite local d.j.s was spinning. The problem was he spins on Saturday and we were there on a Friday. Liza and I made the best of it. The music was good and the wait staff was awesome. Our seating was not so great. We were sitting against the wall behind a round table of about 13 guys and 2 ladies. In spite of our awkward placement, we were still having fun.


     As the night progressed, one of the guys at the table that we were sitting behind had a little too much to drink. He thought it would be funny to knock over the Club Keno slips that were on his table. The waitress picked them up and tried to laugh off his bad behavior. Next, he knocked a pitcher of ice water on three women sitting by the door. The woman who got splashed the worst was wearing a short skirt. Keep in mind this was in mid-December. Noticing his behavior, Liza moved the bowl of salsa that we'd had for our chips towards her and asked if I wanted to move. I told her that he should move because he was the one causing trouble.


     As Liza and I chatted, I felt a slight touch on my arm. I looked over to see "the jerk" touching me.


     "What are you doing?" I asked pointedly.


     "I can't touch you?" he asked.


     "No. I don't like some men  I know touching me, so I really don't like men I don't know touching me," I replied.


     He stopped for a couple of seconds and began doing it again.


     "Stop it," I said turning toward him.


     Finally, he stopped touching me. He then decided to interrupt Liza and I as we were talking.


     "Are you going to keep doing that?" I asked.


     "Yes." he sneered.


     " Stop it. You're pissing me off," I warned.


     Finally, he went too far. A few seconds later, he stretched out his arm to our table and tried to flip over our bowl of salsa on us. Luckily, Liza caught it in time. All I could envision was this red salsa on Liza's nice semi-new light pink sweater and I lost it.


     I'm not afraid to tell you I used some "unorthodox" language. I was so mad that I don't even remember everything I said. I apparently startled his friends, who moments ago had laughed at his antics. They rushed over to me, imploring me to calm down and even offering to pay my bill. This only made me more angry. When a woman's angry, telling her to calm down is a bad idea.


     "I am calm! Your friend is still sitting upright, so I am calm!"


     Long story short, he was asked to leave and his friends got him out. As with anything, it's the principle that matters. I shouldn't have had to go temporarily insane for his friends to check his behavior.


     We all have things that will pull us out of character. Before losing your cool, you have to ask if it's worth it. Standing up for my friend and I was worth it to me. If you want to see my temper, keep bothering me or those I care about.