During the fall 95 I had unexpectedly received one week leave. The childhood friends, with whom I climbed all surrounding mountains over, by that time had their own touring companies, managing to combine the business and the passion.
So they proposed to spend the vacation in mountains as well as to help to meet the unusual touring group - at that time the first of such kind along the Silk Road. Why unusual? Well, this was the group of aged but still cheerful Americans, who obviously were fed up with comforts of Hawaii and Jamaica, and had better preferred the extremes of the highlands. The oldest one was 82 and the youngest one the lady lawyer from California was born in 1921. Altogether eleven such tourists.
Preparations for expedition were quite scrupulous. Everything of the best quality was bought, including mineral water in plastic bottles - before it was sold only in glass bottles. A few plastic bottles had been filled up with pure alcohol - just for a case, anything could happen in mountains. Then all staple were stuffed into the trunk of our cross-country minivan.
We met them at Chinese border, by evening arrived to Naryn and were accommodated in yurtas . The hosting party demonstratively slaughtered the sheep - Americans joyfully run around with cameras but refused to eat the meat when it was ready by midnight and preferred dried fruits instead.
I was awoken at night by the loud cough. Actually not even the cough but rather sounds of man buried under debris - wheezing and hoarsening. As I was the one in charge of the safety I just jumped out right in my pants. What I saw was that Californian lady lying on the ground, the very she, the "youngest one", with soaping mouth, eyes rolled up and nearly no breath.... Next to her leaned down the nurse accompanying our group by contract. The nurse even did not have the time to put on the gown and was in her night dress. One injection, after one minute the second one - looked like the American lady started to revive.
"I was sleeping in the minivan," told us the driver. "And then someone knocked the window. I popped out - it was the lady from our group. She mumbled something but my English is next to zero. Then she produced the pills and gestured that she needs something to wash it down. OK, I see now! Took the bottle from the back of the car and gave her. Who could think it was right the one with spirit!?"
"She had the asthma," - it was nurse"s turn. "She needed to have pills every three hours. Obviously she didn"t want to disturb anyone and went to car by herself. Then she just had a gulp!"
"That is it!" was my first thought. "It got too far, now Yankees will just turn around and go home."
At that point the lady rose on her elbow - "What was that? Vodka?"
"Yeah Ma"am, I am really sorry..."
"Wait a minute. Look, I flew Douglas during the war and this damn asthma stuck to me since that time. They tried write me off so many times because of that and only one thing saved me - my curvy body. I don"t remember how many generals I slept with just to stay flying. And last time I drunk whiskey was with the gunner boy right on the plane"s wing. That was the Victory Day. For fifty years since I haven"t drunk even a drop - doctors said no. I feel myself now just like flying again. Why had I given up drinking...? Life just passed by!"
Only now I have realised that she was drunk. One good gulp was quite enough for her...