Afterglow 2007 - Day 2 Sunday

Timmy and Jenny had just arrived at the cabin from their multi-hour drive from Northern Minnesota. Tim was recked from 4 days of partying and early morning driving, but I thrust a beer in his hand and told him to shotgun it. Although he was a little tired, he was taught to never refuse a free drink (I take pride in teaching him that) and he took it like a champ. I actually have a video of us shotgunning them beers on the next page, but don't click next until you hear the sound of the chimes.

We are a very indecisive bunch, and I blame MTV, video games, digital cable and the USA for giving us too many options and a short attention span. Thankfully, we have the options of going in the hot or cold pool, and to even go in halfway in the hot pool so as not to be totally hot from head to foot. We change our minds so frequently that we track so much water through the Rec Room that we could open up a slip n slide there if we wanted to. Who's ready for Godsplash Afterglow?

The kids were just sitting in the hot tub when Faith went off like an Arnold Schwarzenegger Tourette's patient and started garbling one-liners and incomprehensible Austrian vocal sounds. I'm glad that no one passed out face-down in the hot tub from extreme laughter, because we didn't have a certified life guard on hand to resuscitate the near dead. Brian once claimed to be a life guard, but once again his filter from his brain to his mouth was deactivated and he quickly spoke without thinking. Since that was the closest we had to a lifeguard, I'm overjoyed that no one was in danger.

We have a couple of traditions here at Afterglow, and we always do 2 of them upon our immediate entry into the cabin - rearrange the furniture and turn the geese upside down. The furniture rearrangement makes sense because it gives us the optimal amount of space for the 7 people who have to live in this small cabin for a week, but the geese? I have no idea why we do that. In fact, it makes about as much sense as Jenny's hat does. I'm sorry, I make fun of her hat waaaay too much, and I need to stop because it looks good on her and she really likes it.

Home

Every year, we either bring up a ton of liquor or purchase multiple bottles of some of the finest spirits in town prior to our arrival. On Sunday the shelf is at its finest, and the bottles take up every available mantle space above the fireplace. I'm usually responsible for two of the bottles - Sailor Jerry and my secondary liquor choice for the week (be it Vodka, Brandy, Seagram's 7) and any miscellaneous bottles of juice and energy drinks. James always keeps the Captain Morgan stocked, and Mom keeps her bottle of Tanqueray Gin in close reach. Tim just turned 21, and is new to this liquor shelf idea, but he still chipped in with his addition of Jagermeister and Wild Turkey. Janelle added the bottle of Malibu for color and the bottle of Grey Goose for fantastic Bloody Marys for breakfast. With the cheap beer I provided in the fridge and the fancy pants beer Jenny brought, we could open up a pretty sweet Speakeasy in Cabin #2. If we started charging for admission into our cabin, drinks, food and entertainment, we'd be millionaires in no time. We'd pay for our whole week of vacation in 2 days time easy.

Faith really got me going when she did her Kindergarten Cop Arnold Schwarzenegger impression. Faith is no stranger to doing impressions; last year she recited the Red Stripe "Hooray Beer!" commercial in a flawless Jamaican accent. I know that Kindergarten Cop is a timeless classic, and that any time that someone has a headache I suggest that maybe it's a tumor, but it still surprises me that today's youth know of Arnold's pre-gubernatorial days. That in itself is a testament to the lasting impression that he had made on the world of cinema.