June 21, 2010
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Our Traditions
I’m sure you have read stuff I’ve posted……………..wait, let me correct that. I HOPE you’ve read, I can’t take anything for granted, about various things or activities that I do with my large group of friends. No, I don’t mean sex, although maybe I should find a way to add that to the list. But, I sexgress (its kinda like digress, except digressing about sex), allow me to continue, not that you stopped me.
First off, I should explain that I’ve got a group of about 20 or so people, give or take, who hang out together on a semi-regular basis. I should mention that while I’m gay, nobody else in the group is gay, or if they are I just don’t know about it. I’d like to say that we are a normal bunch, but that is probably only half true. Collectively we have a decent amount of issues and problems. Oh heck, who am I kidding, we have more issues than T.V. Guide. But, we are above all a fun bunch who for better or worse, accept each other for our own fucked up flaws and issues. And after all, isn’t that what being friends is all about.
Let me give you a little bit more of a background as to how this group came together, I will try not to be confusing but still keep it brief. There is my older brother who is six years older than my twin Mark and I. He has a group of 8 friends or so that he has been hanging out with since high school. I’ve got a few friends who I met at my first job, which ironically is where some of my brother’s friends met but who did not work there when I worked there. My brother and his friends used to go camping and white water rafting together in Wisconsin. One year Mark and I went with. The next year, we went again and each brought a friend. And 15 years later, here we are. Each year though, we have a bunch of traditions and things we do together of which I will discuss here chronologically from January to December. Its important to note that not everybody takes part in every event and also there are some events that some extended friends who are not among the 20 I mentioned who take part as well.
- Gamblefest- Each year in honor of the birth of the biggest gambler I’ve ever known, my mother I host a poker game. Its usually the last Friday before or on her birthday, February 1. I host it at my house, but the money I lose goes home with them.
- The Super Bowl- Okay, so many people have Super Bowl parties. So do we.
- Scootyfest- One of our friends, who goes by the name of Scooty, used to live in Springfield. Each year we would make a pilgrimage to his tiny two bedroom apartment in Springfield on Valentine’s Day weekend. He since has moved back into the area, but that doesn’t mean that we stopped having Scootyfest, we still do it but in a much bigger house.
- St Patrick’s Day party- One of our friends is Irish and has been having a St. Patty’s Day party for years, in which she makes a full Irish dinner and we have all the other Irish things that people do, like fight and fuck. Except we don’t fight and we don’t fuck. But sometimes, there is a dude playing bagpipes.
- Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day baseball and bbq- Many of us like sports and baseball is among our favorites. So we play baseball, rain or shine every summer holiday and usually spend the rest of the week recovering. Getting old and out of shape sucks. After the games we usually go back to my place to grill. This one time, I hit the ball SOOOOOO far that it only went three feet! True story.
- Cubs-White Sox games- Being in Chicago, we are split with our allegiances to our baseball teams. Every year the Cubs and Sox play each other. No, we don’t actually go to the games, but we just get together and watch usually the Saturday games at somebody’s house, when they play in Wrigley the Cub fans host, when they play in……………..ahhhh, who gives a shit about the Sox?
- The Taste of Chicago- This is my friend Dave’s absolute favorite day of the year and among my favorite days of the year. Every year Chicago has a massive food festival and well, we eat our motherfuckin asses off!
- Beanbag Tournament- Mark’s in laws host this every summer, usually in July or August. What frustrates the hell out of me is that I will play great the rest of the year, but when it comes to that one day, I suck.
- Birthdays in July party- About three or four in the group have a July birthday, so its the perfect excuse to get together.
- Halloween party- Gee, can you take a guess about this one?
- Friend’s Thanksgiving- This one is held every year the Saturday before the actual Thanksgiving. Its exactly what it sounds like, a bunch of friends getting together for Thanksgiving dinner. I’m still full from last year’s feast.
- Not one, but two different Christmas parties- One is at my brother’s house, one is at another person’s house. Its probably a bit much, but hey, why the fuck not?
- Christmas Eve breakfast- Before everybody rushes off to waste the day away with their families, we have breakfast at a local place and usually leave with out paying! How’s that for Christmas spirit!
- Clem’s- We hang out at a local, dive bar usually every Thursday. They keep the lights dim because of all the ugly people.
- Pizza Club- We all love pizza so I started a monthly pizza club and declared myself president in a bloodless coup.
- Shotgun Eddy (R.I.P.)- This is kinda where it all got started. As I mentioned before, every summer up until about 2003, we used to go camping and whitewater rafting in Wisconsin at a place called Shotgun Eddy. We don’t go anymore because most people have kids and its tough to get a sitter for the whole weekend. This place is hallowed grounds for us, what with the river, our man forced horseshoe pits and the over powering stench of the outhouse.
Its not to say that these are the only things we do throughout a year. I may have forgotten about a few things. There are always poker games here and there and guy’s nights and chick’s nights and birthday parties and just random shit. But these are the core events that make up our year.
