Afterglow 2011 - Day 7 Friday

It must have been both because I only make this face when I'm a couple of drinks to the moon Alice. But that is to be expected on our last night at Afterglow. We had to rage it all out or else wait a year.

I don't remember how the rest of the night went but at Afterglow you can pretty much reconstruct the night like a paint-by-numbers portrait. I'm sure that when the fire burned out we went back to the cabin to grab a refill on our drinks. While we stumbled around the cabin playing a little game called "Don't Wake Mommy" we probably lost some soldiers in the battle. Whomever was able to survive this ordeal made the long and treacherous trek up to KK to spend the remainder of our night. We spent an unspecified amount of time up there but the time always comes when we have to come back home to Cabin #2. And pass out and end our week of fun at Afterglow. Like I said, it ends with a careless whisper.

Everyone was all raged out and this time it was for real. This ain't no nap and rally folks. This was our last night at Afterglow and we made to make it count. To this day I have no idea how we did that because the memory is a little bit foggy. But after seeing pictures of the cousins passed out, I'm going to assume that we rag3d like no other. It was a very fitting end to our week but it is too bad that only Kevin and I were around to witness it. But it's true what they say - those who rag3 the hardest end up rag3ing alone. And so Afterglow 2011 came to and end just like that.

It was a pretty light crowd at the campfire tonight but all of the important people were there. Well, at least most of them. We were missing all of the parents and of course some of our family members had already gone home. But Stacy and Kelly were in good spirits despite the wide open benches. After all, it was our last night at Afterglow. No sense to spend it in the cabin or somewhere down in the dumps. That's no fun.

Kevin was all partied out on the bear couch. I remember my first beer. I guess I could understand as it has been a pretty tough week doubly raging - one for ourselves and the other for Timmy. But I know Kevin, and this wasn't the end of the night, just a little nap before the rally.

It was our last night at Afterglow, so you would think that we would living it up like Mayans celebrating the end of the World. Wait... did they want it to happen or did they just predict it? I don't know, I'm just a born-again Mexican. That's knowledge only real Mexicans have.

Everyone loves fire. Cavemen loved it because it allowed them to have warmth and light at night. Campers love it because they can cook smores. The city of Milwaukee loved it in 1871 when it consumed the city of Chicago. And to this day we continue to love it nightly at Afterglow Lake Resort because it gives us a common place to gather and waste away the final hours of the day. Fire is the greatest thing in the world. I love it.

Jenny and Kevin were across the fire pit putting their hands together for one giant rock symbol. I couldn't really see it clearly because the air was hazy from the fire or I was from the booze. Can it be both?

Around these parts 11:30pm is the last time that we can put logs on the fire, which is kind of the turning point of the night. Up until then it is building towards something. After that it is all downhill because we have to quiet down and eventually retreat to KK. But the final stack of the logs on the last day of the week is a very symbolic time because it acts like a closing ceremonies of sorts. And as you can see by the amount of people in attendance, we kind of go out with a whimper rather than a bang. But so it goes. We'll be back up here again before we know it.

Life must be tough when you're young. I've come so far since then that I have forgotten what it is like to have age on my side. The youngest members of our gang were the first ones to be filled with slumber. I thought they were supposed to be full of vitality and boundless energy. That's why I'm never going to have children because I just don't understand them. But just when I thought that they let me down, Stacy awoke to once again braid Brian's hair and Kevin awoke to cause mischief. And both of those damn kids wouldn't get off of my lawn. You whippersnappers!

As various stages in our lives all of the cousins have had some interesting hairstyles. We've had Timmy with his long stringy hair and then a buzz cut, Curtis and Brian with their majestic hair and now Brian in braids, Kevin's scumbag greasy mop, my normal buzzed hair, then wavy locks and now I've got some Wolverine do. And who could ever forget Blonde Susie? As for Stacy, Stefani and Jenny? They've pretty much always had the same hair, right?

Brian Kurutz is truly a spectacle to behold. These pictures really don't do him justice but at least you get a pretty good idea. With the tie-dye shirt, braided hair and sport jacket you won't find another uniquely accessorized person in the Northwoods. And then on top of that you add the rants, rage and rambunctious behavior and you have one hell of an individual. And that's only the beginning. BK3 is AG's rag3 mast3r.

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