
                 Intoxication and Other Near-Death Experiences
                                 by Dave Barry

Like you, I am frequently haunted by profound questions related to man's place
in the Scheme of Things.  Here are just a few:

Q -- Is there life after death?
A -- Definitely.  I speak from personal experience here.  On New Year's Eve,
     1970, I drank a full pitcher of a drink called "Black Russian", then
     crawled out on the lawn and died within a matter of minutes, which was
     fine with me because I had come to realize that if I had lived I would
     have spent the rest of my life in the grip of the most excruciatingly
     painful headache.  Thanks to the miracle of modern orange juice, I was
     brought back to life several days later, but in the interim I was
     definitely dead.  I guess my main impression of the afterlife is that it
     isn't so bad as long as you keep the television turned down and don't try
     to eat any solid foods.

Q -- Why were we put here on Earth?
A -- I would say, just from going through the mail, that we were put here on
     Earth to enter the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes.

Q -- Is there life elsewhere in the universe?

A -- Unquestionably.  It is a known scientific fact that life gets steadily
     more intelligent the farther you go in any direction from Waco, Texas.
     This is why the Orient, which is on the opposite side of the Earth from
     Waco, has historically been the source of philosophy and reliable
     electronic products.  It is only logical to conclude that beings in other
     galaxies, some of which are millions of light-years from Waco, would be
     *very* bright.

Q -- What is the gender gap?

A -- Let me first give some background for the benefit of you less-sensitive
     males who have been unable to concern yourselves with women's issues
     because you have been too busy standing on the street corner and making
     little kissing noises.  A while back, President Reagan and his aides were
     flying out to the Western White House to chop wood when they looked out
     the window and noticed this enormous gender gap covering most of Ohio.
     They realized immediately that this gap could prevent the President from
     being re-elected and implementing his policies, assuming he develops some
     policies.  So they appointed Sandra Day O'Connor, an admitted woman, to
     the Supreme Court.

     Then, to improve his image with women even further, he enlisted the help
     of a woman whose objectivity cannot be questioned: his daughter, Maureen.
     Here is what Larry Speakes said in announcing Maureen's new role: "As the
     President's daughter, she has strong credibility".  I am not making this
     up.

Q -- What do you do if you're talking with somebody at a party for a half hour,
     and he remembers your name but you can't remember his name, and another
     person walks up, and you have to introduce them?

A -- First of all, remember that these are the 1980's.  People understand that
     this kind of thing happens all the time, and it's no big deal.  The key
     is to be as open and low-key as possible.  Simply turn to the person
     whose name you don't remember and in a natural way fall on the floor and
     feign a seizure, contriving somehow to hurl your drink into the person's
     face on your way down.  While the other guests are trying to stick things
     down your throat to prevent you from swallowing your tongue, somebody
     will see the person wiping your drink from his eyes, and say, "Are you
     okay, John?" and you'll know the person's name is John something.

Q -- What lies ahead for mankind?
A -- Despite all the prophecies of gloom and doom, I'm optimistic.  I am
     particularly heartened by the willingness of a growing number of everyday
     people on both sides of the Iron Curtain to question the conventional
     "wisdom" of their military and political leaders and demand an end to the
     insane policies that for 30 years have kept both sides on the brink of an
     unthinkable nuclear confrontation.  I believe that within our lifetimes,
     this popular groundswell will bring us -- slowly but inevitably --
     towards the first meaningful reduction in nuclear arms.  Then the Earth
     will be struck by an enormous comet.

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