Savage Words: Flying internationally opened my eyes to spirits and technology

I’m in Japan right now.

It’s a 12-hour flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo, and this trip was a real eye-opener when it comes to Americans and their obsession with alcohol.

Look, I love wine, and enjoy a good cocktail as much as the next person. But what I witnessed on my trip last week from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis, and then onto Tokyo, truly made me do a couple of double takes.

It started on the first leg from Sioux Falls to Minneapolis. The flight took off at 5 a.m., and I left my house at 3 a.m. 

An early day indeed. As I boarded the plane and shuffled my way through the measly three rows of first class, I heard a passenger order a vodka and cranberry juice.

I looked at my watch when they ordered, simply because it took me by such surprise. It was 4:41 a.m., and I literally raised my eyebrows when I heard it. But it was no mistake, just a few minutes into the 40-minute flight over to Minneapolis, this person ordered another. A third one was ordered just before the final descent in the Twin Cities.

Three vodka cranberries in a span of about 30 minutes, all before 5:30 a.m! I assumed the person was coming off of an all-nighter the night before, but they didn’t look disheveled when the first one was ordered. But three of those suckers in 30 minutes is a world-record setter for that time of day.

As impressive as that feat was at 5 a.m., it was only a start. Because of my frequent flyer miles, I’m able to chill in one of the Delta Airlines Lounges in Minneapolis between connections. My flight to Tokyo wasn’t scheduled until 11 a.m., so I had about four hours to unwind and catch my breath.

Upon entering the Lounge, it was a stunner. There were obviously people loading up on scrambled eggs, hash browns and sausage links, but it paled in comparison to the number of people at the bar. The bar!

Again, I looked at my watch when I walked in and saw the bartender slammed as he was filling drinks. It was 6:14 a.m., and he couldn’t keep up.

I boarded my flight to Tokyo at 10 a.m., and got nestled into my seat for the next 12 hours. Once airborne, a flight attendant came by and asked everyone if they’d like something to drink. Their carts were filled with orange juice, cranberry juice, water and coffee in anticipation of the traditional early morning drinks.

But the young lady next to me didn’t hesitate and ordered two bourbon shots. Two bourbon shots, and we hadn’t even left the gate yet. About 30 minutes into the flight, she got another, and two more when we were deep into the flight.

What the hell was going on?

I truly had never seen anything like it. I’ve spent my fair share of time at some of my favorite watering holes, but this early morning barrage of hard drinks absolutely took me by surprise.

And it wasn’t beer or wine. It was the hard stuff, all flowing at a rapid pace well before noon.

It was a tick unnerving, seeing these revelers at the airport and on the plane putting them back faster than Winston Churchill in his prime. 

But still, traveling internationally is so interesting, Sam Malone and Woody Boyd from Cheers notwithstanding. As I continued to keep an eye on my free-flowing companions on the plane as we made our way towards Tokyo, I was also fascinated with technology.

There I was, 40,000 feet above the Bering Sea between North America and Asia, and I was watching to see who was at my door on my phone. As I was looking at my doorbell Ring message on my cell, I had to pause, and truly think about it. I was looking at my mail delivery person on the front stoop…dropping some junk mail into my mailbox…from my phone…40,000 feet in the air…somewhere just south of Alaska…heading towards Japan.

That’s crazy. 

The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if I had inadvertently joined my fellow companions at the Lounge bar in Minneapolis at 7 a.m.