Intoxication and Other Near-Death Experiences by Dave Barry Like you, I am frequently haunted by profound questions related to man's place in the Scheme of Things. Here are just a few: Q -- Is there life after death? A -- Definitely. I speak from personal experience here. On New Year's Eve, 1970, I drank a full pitcher of a drink called "Black Russian", then crawled out on the lawn and died within a matter of minutes, which was fine with me because I had come to realize that if I had lived I would have spent the rest of my life in the grip of the most excruciatingly painful headache. Thanks to the miracle of modern orange juice, I was brought back to life several days later, but in the interim I was definitely dead. I guess my main impression of the afterlife is that it isn't so bad as long as you keep the television turned down and don't try to eat any solid foods. Q -- Why were we put here on Earth? A -- I would say, just from going through the mail, that we were put here on Earth to enter the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. Q -- Is there life elsewhere in the universe? A -- Unquestionably. It is a known scientific fact that life gets steadily more intelligent the farther you go in any direction from Waco, Texas. This is why the Orient, which is on the opposite side of the Earth from Waco, has historically been the source of philosophy and reliable electronic products. It is only logical to conclude that beings in other galaxies, some of which are millions of light-years from Waco, would be *very* bright. Q -- What is the gender gap? A -- Let me first give some background for the benefit of you less-sensitive males who have been unable to concern yourselves with women's issues because you have been too busy standing on the street corner and making little kissing noises. A while back, President Reagan and his aides were flying out to the Western White House to chop wood when they looked out the window and noticed this enormous gender gap covering most of Ohio. They realized immediately that this gap could prevent the President from being re-elected and implementing his policies, assuming he develops some policies. So they appointed Sandra Day O'Connor, an admitted woman, to the Supreme Court. Then, to improve his image with women even further, he enlisted the help of a woman whose objectivity cannot be questioned: his daughter, Maureen. Here is what Larry Speakes said in announcing Maureen's new role: "As the President's daughter, she has strong credibility". I am not making this up. Q -- What do you do if you're talking with somebody at a party for a half hour, and he remembers your name but you can't remember his name, and another person walks up, and you have to introduce them? A -- First of all, remember that these are the 1980's. People understand that this kind of thing happens all the time, and it's no big deal. The key is to be as open and low-key as possible. Simply turn to the person whose name you don't remember and in a natural way fall on the floor and feign a seizure, contriving somehow to hurl your drink into the person's face on your way down. While the other guests are trying to stick things down your throat to prevent you from swallowing your tongue, somebody will see the person wiping your drink from his eyes, and say, "Are you okay, John?" and you'll know the person's name is John something. Q -- What lies ahead for mankind? A -- Despite all the prophecies of gloom and doom, I'm optimistic. I am particularly heartened by the willingness of a growing number of everyday people on both sides of the Iron Curtain to question the conventional "wisdom" of their military and political leaders and demand an end to the insane policies that for 30 years have kept both sides on the brink of an unthinkable nuclear confrontation. I believe that within our lifetimes, this popular groundswell will bring us -- slowly but inevitably -- towards the first meaningful reduction in nuclear arms. Then the Earth will be struck by an enormous comet.