We recently had a scout meeting rescheduled to a Friday and we missed it due to a complete brain fart. And did we ever pick the one to miss. We went last night and found out that it was all drama all the time.

It seems that one of the moms (we’ll call her Kathy) brought her son (and daughter came along too) and she appeared to be drunk. She was slurring and acting all friendly in that drunk BFF kind of way. And understandably, the others were concerned about her driving in that condition.

Anyone who knows me knows that I hateHateHATE druk drivers, so I agree with their concern. What I don’t agree with, however, is the way they dealt with it. Now, by “they”, I feel I should tell you that I am referring to one woman in particular (we’ll call her Jane). She’s the epitome of (to me, anyway) the evil PTA mom. She’s mean and judgmental (and not in the normal way people judge other people – in that evil, I am better than you way) and she take pleasure from other people’s misfortune. And while we all love a little gossip now and then, she is one of those gossip-mongers that devour rumors the way I devour chocolate.

Anyway, back to the meeting. If I had been there, as uncomfortable as it would have been, I would have approached her and told her I thought she had been drinking and asked to drive her home. She may have refused or gotten upset, but it would have been (to me) the right thing to do. Maybe then, I’d try to reach her husband or something. And if that didn’t work, then stronger action may have been required. But I wasn’t there. Instead, Jane decided that the prudent thing to do would be to call the police. I am not sure exactly what happened when the police arrived (I didn’t get the whole ending of the story), but apparently, she took a breathalyzer and failed miserably (and also had a mixed drink in a container in her bag). Being a big fish in an asshole-infested small town, the cop shard this information with Jane, which appalls me. He also shared that Kathy told him that she was having marital problems and that was why she was turning to alcohol. Again – appalling that this information would be shared.

So now – after the fact, Jane is congratulating herself on caring so much for the kids that she saved their lives. And I agree – some of it was concern for the kids, but I guarantee that she enjoyed calling the cops more than anything else. You see, Kathy is a bit “different”. She dresses a little outrageously – biker-ish, short skirts, lots of kooky hats, wild boots, etc. I guess certain people would call it a little bit trashy. And I’m sure that Jane felt superior to her because of this. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve sometimes looked at her outfits and thought, WTF? But it was never – to me – a statement to her character. I have always liked her. And I just don’t know that Jane would have been so quick to call the cops if it had been anyone else. And as for the kids, I imagine that (at least making an attempt at) handling it quietly would show more concern for the kids than having the police come for their mother right in front of them.

And I know that I am making a judgment by saying that, but the entire time that Jane was talking about the incident, 10% of what she had to say was about drinking and driving. The other 90% was about everything else – her personality, the way she raises her children, what she wears. She said more than once, “she was wearing that cowboy hat – taking it on and off” and that when the cop asked if he would recognize Kathy, Jane’s response was “Recognize her? Of course you’ll recognize her. She’s the only one wearing a cowboy hat!, as if “cowboy hat” is synonymous with “bloody chainsaw”.

I’m not condoning Kathy’s behavior – far from it. But it seems pretty clear to me that this is a woman who needs some help and support. And since this happened in a group of people that have been together in scouts for quite a few years, I think it’s a shame that she got none.