It's called the flatliner for a reason

If there is anything I could impart to Ben it would be: Don't eat or drink anything on a dare or a promise of payment from your "friends".

We went out for pizza Friday night. Towards the end, Ben started to get restless. I took him outside while Michael paid the check. There is a hot wings restaurant beside the pizza parlor. Outside, I witnessed a group of young men gathered around another young man who was lying on the ground. He appeared to be in some discomfort. I overheard a waitress from the wings place tell another employee, "His friends gave him $35 to drink the flatliner sauce." This was actually whispered in awe. Note, he wasn't moving. He was just lying there. I didn't even hear him moan. All I heard were his friends' poorly stifled snickers.

There's more. There is a grocery store in the same shopping center. Michael and I went there to pick up a couple of things before going home. We are in there a good thirty minutes. As we are leaving, we see an ambulance stopped in front of the wings joint. I guess idiot thought he was dying and needed medical attention (could you imagine the 911 call? do you think they brought the paddles?). As we were leaving the paramedics were packing it in and leaving as well. I hope they were able to keep straight faces during the whole ordeal.

Sad News

My dad called me this morning to tell me my cousin was killed yesterday. My heart goes out to my aunt who has several highly stressful things right now. This has to be devastating. From my observation of my husband and his parents, the death of a child/sibling is something from which one never fully recovers.