Thursday night at Sears, I called and checked my messages at home. It was fortunate that I did, because Kristen had called to let me know that everyone had arrived and was ready to hang out. I had been house-sitting for my grandparents all week, so I went there to make sure everything was in proper condition as well as to change out of my work clothes. What follows are just some of the many highlights from a very entertaining and fun weekend.
When I got to Kristen's house and hugged Kristen, John, Steve, Christine, and Bruce - and also met up with Clayt for the first time in about six years - we made our plans for an abbreviated Second Street Shuffle. The Triple S involves hitting every tavern, bar, and pub on Second Street from Falconer to Jamestown and having a beer, shot, or mixed drink. I'm not sure it's actually possible, but if anyone could do it, I think we had some promising candidates with us. We were also joined by John's sister Laura, Randy Binko and his girlfriend, as well as Debbie Yahn and Mrs. Bisignano.
Our first stop was Bonesy's (or Bonsey's, depending on what sign over the bar you'd like to believe). There was confusion among the regulars as to what our true purpose was, but we quickly confirmed that it was to drink. Licenses were tossed on the bar from California, Colorado, and New York. Clayt was wearing a curly black wig. Biz spotted his drink of choice in the cooler behind the bar, and seven bottles of Pabst Blue Ribbon (what? It comes in bottles? Apparently....) were ordered. We made another positive impression on the crowd when we played the same Stones song twice to kick off our jukebox selections - I believe it was Gimme Shelter, but I could be wrong. Steve's hat was tossed out the door on three occasions. Eventually, we determined that it was time to leave and we simply couldn't grace Bonesy's with our collective presence any longer. Kristen enlisted my help to finish her beer - a trend that would continue during the evening.
We left Bonesy's with Mel's Place as our next destination - yet another fine establishment that I had never visited. John and Laura took off at an astonishing pace, and we could barely keep up. In apparent frustration, Clayt kicked a composite stone garbage can at a high rate of speed. He did not fall, but he would later accuse Steve of giving him a stress fracture due to the fact that he had no memory of the garbage can kick. After a brief sprint, we strolled up to Mel's Place, a bar that boasted numerous NASCAR signs and a POW/MIA flag. Upon entering, we were treated to Shania Twain's Come On Over. We were able to play some 'ski-bowling', a game which I do not have any talent for playing. Kristen and Steve encountered a former neighbor, and Mrs. Yahn was hit on, and then it was time to leave.
From Mel's, we headed over to the glorious Bullfrog Hotel. Surprise and dismay was expressed at the fate of the Long Branch, which had burned down. Upon entering the lobby of the deluxe Bullfrog, we discovered that a shitty band was playing very loudly, and also that it was approximately 819 degrees Fahrenheit inside. We decided to skip the Bullfrog and head directly to Miley's, where Zach and others - including Tony, John's brother - were waiting for us. The moms took John, Laura, and I in one car. No sooner had we pulled out of the parking lot and passed our comrades in front of the hotel that John stuck his upper torso out the back window and yelled "WOOOOOOO!" just in time for a passing patrol car to see him and pull a U-turn, lights flashing. The officer was very understanding once he saw that our party had the benefit of maternal guidance and left us with a few words of wisdom - "try to stay in the car while it's moving..."
Stuck in Draft form for about 7.5 years, I think I'll publish this now without attempting to remember anything else from that weekend... 2013.02.08
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