Afterglow 2011 - Day 6 Thursday

All roads lead back to KK. Or at least that is what it seems like after a long and fun-filled day at Afterglow. It is the perfect winding down joint where we can still drink and talk while closing out the day. That and the fact that it's named after us is why we love it so much.

I had just come in from the water and left Brian out there all alone beyond the shallow end. Normally we employ the "body system" and look out for each other when Lars is too busy flirting with Nurse Julie. But even though I wasn't there in the water, I was still Brian's "body."

There is no greater place on Earth. I've said it a million times before and I'll keep on saying it until I reach the greatest place above the Earth. I'm not talking about Mars or Uranus. I'm talking about Heaven. And should I end up there I hope it looks exactly like this.

If I recall this was when we were all pretty drunk and Brian did his "I Want it All - Splash the Water...OK!!" bit in the hot tub. (Check it out right here.) It was the first time we got yelled at for being too loud when the sun was still up. It was somewhere around 6pm and Pete was standing in the room behind Brian when he shouted and splashed water all over the place. It was on that day that the Revolution began. It was a good day. We sat here a little longer while Pete vacuumed up the water but then things got weird so we moved on. We decided to take the party elsewhere.

The party always naturally moves back to Cabin #2 which means that nature is free of us for a little bit while we are indoors. That's when nature is allowed to go nuts and put on a wild display of colors and serenity. Afterglow is so amazing. Even when you don't ask her to do something so incredible she just goes ahead and does it anyway. She makes every day memorable and beautiful in its' own way. And when you least expect it the smallest of moments become the ones that you remember the most. It is then that all is right in the world and nothing else really matters.

Thursday night used to mean a lot to us because it is Video/Awards night. Back in the day when we used to participate in all of the events we would be featured in the video and win some awards. Then along the way we stopped participating and Thursday night was just another night. Now that we once again participate we love showing up for this.

Home

Let's not kid ourselves here. Booze makes just about everything fun. Even though we were excited to be here to collect our awards for the Obstacle Course, Blind Canoe Race and Horseshoe Tournament we stilled got all hopped up on the Devil's piss water. That's the only thing that I can use to explain Brian + Kevin's overt enthusiasm.

Like every awards show, the biggest awards are always saved for the end of the night. That's because everything beforehand is building up to this and adds to all of the drama of the final reveal. Everyone knew that Tommy and Stacy were the Horseshoe Champions for the 2nd year in a row but it became real when they accepted the blue ribbon. Then the real surprise came when my Mom was given the Spirit of the Week award and there wasn't a dry eye in sight. Of all the people here she deserved this award the most.

Team Revolution not only won the Slobstacle Course but we dominated the shit out of the little kids and smoked their little behinds. Just look at this gnarly gang assembled at the front of the lodge. Who could take on these people and come out victorious? Don't scratch your head and sit around thinking about the answer. I'm going to give it to you pretty straight right now - the answer is nobody. Team Revolution is #1. All other teams are #2 or lower. You might as well just crawl into your cocoon and sleep there for a little while until you emerge as a beautiful butterfly.

Behind Monday night (which follows the Pot Luck dinner) Thursday night is the next best campfire night because it follows the Awards / Video night. We can never plan on who will show up but we can prepare for anything that this resort is man enough to throw at us.

It was so nice to have Curtis up here for the first time. You would think that his fiancée would be the most excited but the truth is that the cousins were loving every second of bonus Curtis time. We couldn't ask for any more. This was like paradise in paradise.

The campfire is a very good teaching moment because none of us are accomplished musicians. Mom might be the closest one to the show because she's been doing it the longest, but aside from performing in front of 4 year olds she hasn't really had the chance to qualm a raging audience that is ready to rock. That is a daunting task for one person and the only one that I knew who could handle that was Timmy. There will never be another one like him but the 4 of us will damn sure try to make up for the loss and Rage for Timmy until we can rage no more.

The cousins are pretty forgiving. They know that we aren't Timmy nor will we ever be. They are willing to deal with our flaws and just sit back and enjoy the music. In fact some of them even get involved and try to make the music that much more memorable and life changing. On Sunday night Brian and I created "Fingalightas in the Sky" (click to hear it) and tonight Kevin and I took turns playing the Timmy songs that we knew. It was a difficult night but every night has been difficult in L.A.T. (Life After Timmy). That's the way it is man.

Uncle Greg and Uncle Rick started everything. The Revolution. The Mugs. Raging on KK. The random talking and made up words. And if you believe Uncle Greg he might have even started Afterglow. After all, he has been coming up here since before you were born.