The deaths, illnesses and financial disasters caused by the Coronavirus pandemic are beyond explanation. Who ever thought something so awful would hit our planet? So as a pre-cursor to this blog, I want to acknowledge the tragedy that has plagued the human race. God bless all who’ve been affected in such profound ways. Stay safe and keep looking out for each other!
Now on to today’s blog-
There are hundreds of changes in our lives that either have been made or are coming due to what I call this “Bastard virus.” Masks, rubber gloves, hand sanitizers, temperature checks, social distancing, oh hell, you know the drill.
For some unknown reason I recently focused on a game that has probably ended forever, or at least until a surefire virus vaccine is produced and properly distributed. No, it’s not baseball, football, basketball, soccer, hockey or even Twister. I’m talking about the drinking game Quarters. In this age of germ and virus worry and warfare, Quarters now is a no go.
For those uneducated or uncultured, “Quarters” was a fun social drinking game played mostly by college aged kids and some irresponsible post college aged adults. Wikipedia incorrectly reports this skill and slurp game was invented in 1987. Sorry, Quarters started WAY before then because I began competing in 1979 and drinkers much older than I were doing it for years before then. And for the record, I haven’t played Quarters in at least twenty years.
Different regions and players have variances on the way to play Quarters but here’s how I knew the game to be played. A group of five or six (didn’t really matter) people sit around a hard flat table, no obstructions, with a load of cold beer at the ready. A glass (usually highball style) was filled halfway up with brew. Then each contestant took turns bouncing a quarter on its flat end on the table in an effort to sink it in the glass of brew. If he or she made the shot, they got to designate who in the group had to drink the beer. One small rule we had on this ‘designation’ was when pointing at the person who had to drink, you had to do it with your elbow. If you forgot to do that then YOU had to drink that beer.
The drinker was expected to quickly suck down the beer and as the last drops slid in their mouth they were to catch that sunken quarter in their teeth. Some folks played where if you messed up on the quarter in the teeth catch, they had to half fill up the glass and drink again. We normally did not play by this rule. For us, trapping the quarter in our teeth was just a cute way of saying, “Ta Da”!
After each attempt at bounce, drop and drink, it was then the next person’s turn at the table to take their try at launching the quarter into a beer and getting someone else to drink it down. This was a game that could go on for hours, depending on the amount of malt pops on hand, the ability to hold one’s alcohol and of course, bladder capacity. Most players required at least a couple of trips to the bathroom to empty out the consumed beer but taking a pee did not get you kicked out of the game. It was a necessary time-out.
Besides the guzzling of beer from the quarter contained beer glass, most players also had their own bottle, can or cup of drink to enjoy during the friendly competition. Some would smoke cigarettes during Quarters, others would smoke something stronger but that never made sense to me; seemed like overkill on a nice buzz. The bottom line it was a fun social game full of laughs, jokes and yeah, getting a bit loaded.
In modern days, the big college age drinking game is Beer Pong. Meh. Beep Pong is played in teams of at least two players per side if not more. That’s for wimps, who need to lean on others to win. With Quarters, everyone is reliant on their own skills and that’s the way to go. Put it this way, Jewel and 7-11 sell Beer Pong kits with cups and ping pong balls. Kits! That seems too contrived for a drinking game.
So why is Quarters now a game of the past? Think of our now socially distanced lives: Several folks during a crowded party are huddled close together at a table. They’re bouncing the same quarter in a glass that they all drink beer from and trapping that twenty five cent piece in their mouth. Oh, and they’re not wearing protective masks!
Quarters, you were fun while you lasted.
NEXT BLOG- Fond memories of my father.