Posted on 04/28/2008 7:58:13 AM PDT by mombyprofession
If you watch much television, you've probably heard of a product called Mike's Hard Lemonade.
And if you ask Christopher Ratte and his wife how they lost custody of their 7-year-old son, the short version is that nobody in the Ratte family watches much television.
The way police and child protection workers figure it, Ratte should have known that what a Comerica Park vendor handed over when Ratte ordered a lemonade for his boy three Saturdays ago contained alcohol, and Ratte's ignorance justified placing young Leo in foster care until his dad got up to speed on the commercial beverage industry.
Even if, in hindsight, that decision seems a bit, um, idiotic.
Ratte is a tenured professor of classical archaeology at the University of Michigan, which means that, on a given day, he's more likely to be excavating ancient burial sites in Turkey than watching "Dancing with the Stars" - or even the History Channel, for that matter.
(Excerpt) Read more at wzzm13.com ...
This guy has a Phd and he has never heard of hard lemonade?
I’d never heard of hard lemonade, until I saw this article.
______
In all fairness, you’re not a phd. We don’t expect that kind of smarts from the rank and file. (please tell me you know I’m kidding)
I’ve got a J.D. and two Masters and I only learned about Hard Lemonade a few years ago (that was a good day - yes I do like those girly drinks).
I can easily see the Prof not watching enough TV or pop literature (tabloid magazines) to know about this. Back when I was dept. chair at a University, I did know. Luckily my wife (freeper Tanusha) knows these things and recommended I pick them up for a BBQ we were throwing (charred animal carcases, the food of conservatives).
BTW, I miss Skyy Blue, it tasted like a grapefuit soda, much better than anything produced by Mike’s or Smirnoff.
I’m guessing, though, that had you seen a bottle of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, once you read the name, you would have surmised it had alcoholic content. If you only had one masters instead of 2, maybe not.
Removal powers of CPS are “out-of-control” but “well-intentioned,” according to the article.
I would say it’s the authorities who are out-of-control, and not well-intentioned either.
I just finished some juice drinks I bought at Trader Joes, The bottle is not all that different. I also used to drink RC’s premium cola (Royal Crown Draft Cola) in what looked identical to a beer bottle, but it had no alcohol.
I would of course realize to at least look at a bottle to see if it contained alcohol. I just assume that Jack Daniel’s Cola (not sure if hard is in the name) is alcoholic (going to have to try one).
Yes I know that hard generally mean alcoholic, but in todays marketing for ‘extreme’ foods, it is hardly conclusive and I feel sorry for the poor sot that didn’t read the label. I truly believe he asked for a lemonade and assumed that would be ok for his kid.
I wouldn’t have had a hissy fit. I was allowed a sip or two of wine on holidays and a bit of margaritas at family cookouts. Do Europeans buy their kids bottles of alcohol at sporting events? I’m not being facetious, I’m curious. There’s a difference in my mind between allowing a child small amounts and buying them their own bottle.
As far as the other posts, again, I’m not talking about packaging, I’m just talking about knowing that Mike’s (and hard lemonade) is alcohol. I knew that ‘hard’ anything had alcohol in it when I was 12, simply by reading.
I’ve been around alcohol my entire life and didn’t know what Mike’s lemonade was until 3 years ago, and had to be told it was an alcholic beverage.
I thought it was a specialty or brand of lemonade and searched the aisles of a grocery store trying to locate it for a friend.
LOL! I’m laughing because my husband was appalled when one of my aunts suggested putting a little whiskey on my 1st child’s gums because she was teething (and screaming). It worked well for my family when I was a kid but my husband was shocked. After trying a frozen bagel (suggested) and orajel (sp), with nothing working, I put some brandy on my finger and rubbed it on my baby’s gums. It seemed to work.
As for wine, my mom’s side made dago red (homemade Italian wine) and we had it every night at the dinner table. I didn’t drink it because it tasted awful imo, but when I was 13 or 14, a few of my cousins and I decided to have some and continued to do so until we were a bit tipsy.
As for this Dad and the story, just seems like the guy ordered a lemonade for his kid and thought he got regular lemonade. Up until 3 years ago, I had no idea Mike’s lemonade was alcohol. That’s a funny story but too long to type, lol.
I hate typing. Note to self, proof read before posting. ALCOHOLIC beverage.
Because the employee in question is a recovering alcoholic, and part of her employment agreement was to refrain from drinking alcohol, or face dismissal. Alcoholics are pretty good at figuring out what has alcohol in it and what doesn't.
sitetest
>> Do Europeans buy their kids bottles of alcohol at sporting events? <<
Yes! It’s a product called “Baby Cham” It was marketed to adults here in the states.
Beer and a lemom/lime soda mix.
And here is something else. When I was in my teens, my parents could order a drink for me at a restaurant. I was drinking rum and coke when I was 12 with the rest of the adults.
Now I don’t even drink, it was never forbidden fruit. People are weirding out nowadays.
I wouldn't know.
Not being the manager of the concessions or a vendor at Comerica Park, I have not memorized the appearance of the containers of Comerica Park's drink inventory and I can guarantee you that the father in this case had not memorized the appearance of the containers of Comerica Park's drink inventory either.
Have you memorized the appearance of the containers of Safeco Field's drink inventory?
If you ask for a "lemonade" for your 7 year old kid at Safeco Field, would you know whether, say, a plastic cup that says "Rainier" on it contains a local brand of fruit juice or a local brand of beer?
Without looking at the fine print, which logo is the logo for Rainier Beer and which logo is the logo for Rainier Fruit Company?
It's quite obvious to everybody that drinks beer around here. Why is it not obvious to most FReepers that have never visited Washington State?
Exactly!
I was drinking Jack and Coke when I was 14. Not with the adults though ;)
My mom used to make “balloon” wine. You get one of those really huge balloons and a big glass jug. Dump in fruit juice, sugar, yeast and secure the balloon on the top. It inflates and when it deflates the wine is done.
However, she didn't like dry wine so she would add a ton more sugar and put the balloon on again. In the end, it was some POTENT stuff.
I was always the one who got to start the siphon tube. Yum!
"Tard" refers to the ping list members and not to the subject of the thread!
List of Ping Lists
When I graduated from 8th grade Catholic school I got blasted on Manhattans.
With the adults.
I don’t drink now. Just don’t care to. Too many calories
Yup. Well trained little nazis
I looked up Baby Cham, just out of curiosity since I never heard of it (although it was apparently marketed to women). It’s a pear cider! I probably would like that since I love pears and pear jam. Although the European way might not be better, as studies have shown that there are higher rates of problems with binge drinking among Europeans youths as compared to American.
Manhattans. Geez, sophisticated bunch, weren’t you? All we got was fruit punch :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.