Drinking in a Bar? Really?

On Saturday night, I went to see a friend's band play in Parkdale.
Maybe I'm getting old, but I really appreciated seeing musicians with grey hair beating out high-energy ska. It reminded me that we don't HAVE to get all quiet and sedate as we age. They had a great time, and really didn't give a f**k that they could have had their children in the audience.
Plus, the beer was cheap and the crowd friendly.

One downturn was seeing an ex-girlfriend at the bar. No malice, now throwing bottles at each other, not even harsh words. To be honest, I don't even know if she noticed me, but it was sad to see her there. From 2000 to 2003 we lived together. She was an alcoholic who's drunken behaviour lost the trust necessary for our relationship, cost her any job security and workplace respect, and at the high point around $300 per week!
We broke up because I couldn't see a way to fix what had been damaged. We retained a friendship afterwards, which was easier when she managed to quit drinking. I helped her move a couple of times, she gave me solid advice when I needed it, and I ended up giving her a few hundred dollars to replace glasses that got broken. Shortly after giving her the money, I found her blog where she was badmouthing me. Apparently I was a manipulative, controlling liar (and a bunch of other stuff that I've forgotten). I was really hurt after helping her out so much. And I told her so, commenting on the blog.

I hadn't seen her since, until Saturday. Unfortunately nose-deep into a pint. I had really admired that she was beating her addiction, and wanted her to succeed regardless of her feelings for me.

As a fellow addict (mine is nicotine, not booze), I can understand the 24x7 temptation. I just hope she was experiencing a one-off...