Afterglow 2011 - Day 4 Tuesday

Most nights we hang out at the fire pit and play music until Mom makes us quiet down. But at least once a year we hang out in the lodge and play cousin poker. Most everyone gets in but I decided not to play because I'd rather just hang out with my $5 and drink instead of losing it in the first 10 minutes. I don't really like to gamble much with my money because I gamble with my life every day. But everyone else didn't have a problem throwing down their hard earned Lincolns to go into battle against the people they've known since before they were born.

I wish I could be as cool as Curtis. I try every day to meet his standards. He would say that I don't only meet them but I also exceed them but that he's just being a perfect gentleman. I should take a page out of his book. Maybe then I'd be getting married too.

We rage it pretty hard at Afterglow and sometimes some people can't keep up. It's even hard for raging veterans like Melissa but eventually they fall by the wayside and get partied out. I don't blame them though because raging is a science and must be carefully studied in order to be applied to real world scenarios. The best part is that she fell asleep spooning her beer. Wait - you mean that it gets better? Her loving husband then crouched down to take a picture of her passed out. Nothing says "I love you" like posting embarrassing pictures of them on Facebook.

Curtis is the best. I'd maybe go so far to say that he is the best person in the universe. But that's because Jesus in the Heavens and cannot enter into any competition with us mere mortals. So Curtis is the best physical being in the universe. No one else can compare.

Mom and Aunt Sandy end up spending a lot of time together because they are good friends. It kind of helps that they are family too because Sandy is married to her brother Greg. They get to spend a good amount of time together and they really enjoy it.

The best part about cousin poker is that it is fun whether you are playing or watching. Everyone brings something unique to the table and some select few (like Uncle Greg and Curtis) tend to share what they are thinking about with the entire group. And that is when the real fun begins. Anything that makes me belly laugh or tweet to the entire internet connected world is a good thing. And I know that they all felt the same.

Cousin poker usually lasts a couple of hours and people get eliminated pretty fast because there are so many of us. And then you hit the middle of the game and the tides start to shift back and forth between a couple of the players. People try to stick around in the game but it gets pretty apparent who has a chance at winning. Sooner or later people start to leave the room and head elsewhere, which is why it is great that there is a raging fire happening just steps away. And that is exactly where Kelly, Jenny and Uncle Rick met up for some salatorious.

Melissa and BK cousin-in-law got along really well but their love for fire and playing with it really bonded them together in the night time. Don't let the staged fire grabber fight fool you - it was all in good fun. They never used them to grab each other's throats. They were only used to grab fiery hot logs and turn them to aerate the stack and allow for better oxygen flow. And everyone knows that oxygen allows fire to burn stronger and hotter. So they were really doing a great service to everyone by constantly turning.

Me and Cousin Kevin end up spending a lot of time together because we are good friends. It kind of helps that we are family too because Kevin and I are kissing cousins. That makes it ok to sit around making goofy faces instead of doing something else more productive.

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