Kapurkova or On Leaving

A kapurkova is something that we must bring to the United States from Slovakia--it's a leaving drink, roughly translated. There are tall, thin glasses that bulge at the bottom, from which the kapurkova is shot. One time, at a traditional Slovak restaurant (of course I'd had halushky!), they brought Elizabeth, her aunt and I each a kapurkova. Because the aunt was driving and Elizabeth had had enough alcohol before that, it was incumbent on me to drink all of them!

The fact is, leaving is very painful if one has proper conservative sensibilities. A kapurkova is an acknowledgement of this fact, and an attempt to alleviate some of the pain of departing. Kapurkova, then, is a truly conservative thing (and being conservative is, of course, the best argument that one can make for anything).