Saturday night was the reunion itself. There was some question as to how people should be dressing for this event. Now, it should be known that, being a fairly blue-collar area, there aren’t very many places in my hometown that you would consider “upscale.” Or “trendy.” Or “suitable for public inhabitation.”
The place where the reunion was going to be held was considered somewhere in between dressy and casual - so I opted to play it safe by going right down the middle with a suit and no tie. (And, dare I say, I looked good). However, I was still somewhat concerned I would be overdressed.
My fears became more pronounced when we arrived at the establishment to see a group of people dressed in Ohio State jerseys and shorts playing cornhole out in the parking lot. My fears were then subsequently confirmed when we walked inside and were greeted by about 10 people from my class – the most dressed-up of which was wearing a golf shirt and jeans. This naturally made me feel like the douchy boss from a telemarketing office, who was out for a night with his co-workers.
The one thing I immediately noticed upon arriving upstairs to the room they had reserved for us was how small it was. Even with the 10 or so people that were there, you could tell it could get crowded quickly. And, it did.
The room quickly filled up after my arrival (and, let’s be honest – if I’m there already, what are you waiting for… aside for me to leave?) Within about a half-hour the room was pretty much full of people – and that’s not taking into account seating for about half the people that were up there – or the three big tables that were holding our food.
[And, thankfully - several of the people who showed up later were dressed up a bit, so I didn't completely look like a fish out of water. Well, at least not for the reason I was worried about looking like I fish out of water...]
Unfortunately, there was a surge of people who decided to come last minute, so our organizers (who really did do a great job getting things set up) were left with a tricky situation. Thankfully, it worked itself out to a degree. The Ohio State –USC game was on the big screen downstairs, so after a bit, the majority of people there went down to watch the game, which opened things up nicely.
The downside about the big turnout was that, I didn't get to enjoy dinner. Thanks to the crowds, the open tables filled up quickly – so there was no place to sit. By the time that some room started to open up – I was so wrapped up with moving out of everyone’s way; and trying to make sure my wife wasn’t bored out of her mind – that I forgot about trying to eat dinner.
I did not – however – forget to keep drinking. After all, we must keep our priorities straight.
In any event – the night progressed nicely. My wife found a kindred spirit in my friend Dave’s wife, so the two of them spend the evening chatting, drinking and I think at one point – planning some sort of Thelma & Louise-esque escapade that may or may not have involved killing us both and fleeing in a stolen convertible.
The highlight of the event was when some random guy who was not part of the reunion came up and asked if he could take my picture, because – as he explained it – I looked exactly like a friend of his and he had to take my picture and send it to him because he (the friend) would get a kick out of it.
This then led to a discussion between my wife and her new partner in crime about how hideous this supposed friend must have really been. I assume it was not because they felt I was equally as hideous (though neither one of them ever said as much), but more because – they said – whenever people say they have a fiend that looks like so-and-so; they in fact look nothing alike that the other person always looks like some combination of the creature from “Alien” and road kill.
After the reunion, a big group of us ended up back at the local bar where we finished up the previous evening’s activities. My wife had initially wanted to head home, but thanks to a little prodding from her new friend and I – we managed to get her out for a little more fun and some more drinks. I wanted her to be able to let loose a little bit, since she doesn’t often get the chance to do so. She would regret this the next morning.
Her Sunday started the same way as my Saturday – hung over; feeling like you’re going to vomit, with a small child bounding upon your sleeping carcass. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, she was looking at being trapped in a car for nine hours to boot – so if there was any hurling to be done, it would have to be done doing about 70 MPH.
Thankfully for the both of us – there was no puking. I was slightly hung-over, but nowhere near as bad as the day before, so I was good to go – although the fact that we were two hours behind getting on the road was a bit of a bummer.
She was touch and go for a while, but she eventually made it through the day unscathed. The mid-trip stop at the Taco Bell at the Ohio-West Virginia border (a traditional drive-back stop) seemed to cure what ailed her. As it did for me – at least until Monday morning when I had a case of the dumps like you wouldn’t believe.
But, at least it brought my trip full-circle.
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