Afterglow 2011 - Day 8 Saturday

When Ken and Mary finally made it back home we had a little time to catch up and grab a beer. Whenever I think of Ken I think of Old Milwaukee or Milwaukee's Best Light. Some kind of cheap beer that most people don't usually like. I have an appreciation for cheap beer so I was right there with him. While I was drinking with Ken, Jenny was drinking with Mary. We don't get to see them too much anymore so it was nice to be able to stop by.

Before heading home we had one last thing to do - bury some of Timmy's ashes at Ken + Mary's farm in Tripoli. They are the parents of his ex-girlfriend Sarah, and even though they had been broken up for several years they remained good friends and he also kept a great relationship with her parents. He spent a lot of time up at their farm and it was his escape from all of the noise and distractions of the city. We felt that it was only right that he was laid to rest at another place he loved so much. They have all sorts of animals roaming around, from domesticated ones like dogs and cats to ones like turkeys that would be used for dinner in a couple of months. It was like a circus up there, but I can see the appeal.

I've been here a couple of times before but never really got to hang out much. It's on my to-do list. When we got there Ken + Mary were out at the store or something so we had some time to poke around. We didn't want to stay too long, so we didn't explore too much.

But let's not act like these pitiful roman candles that I bought produced enough noise to alarm people back home in Milwaukee, nor is their farm 100 miles from civilization. But we still relished the opportunity to shoot them off unabated, and Kevin and I had a wild time. I offered some to the girls but they didn't accept. Apparently explosions and loud noises are a guy thing. I guess we're just wired differently. But I'm OK with it.

I wish I would have stopped by Harry's on the way out of Eagle River and purchased something with a little more punch, because these suckers weren't cutting it. Oh well. It was better than nothing.

I hope that we were scaring the young turkeys. Those little guys needed a little excitement in their life because I know for a fact their day-to-day routine has gotten a little stale. Just doing my part to help.

Animals of all shapes, size, age, color, gender, creed, sexual orientation and habitat are welcome here up on the farm. This is a safe place for every man and beast. But if one of those frogs even thinks about touching me they're gone. I don't need no warts.

It started to rain like the forecast said it would and the weathermen were right for a change. We wanted to get the burial done before the storms came in but it was delayed by Ken and Mary's absence. As the drops started to fall, we began the trek back into the woods.

I guess for me there's just something so simple and child-like about watching something burn or explode. It's so raw yet complex that it makes sense but at the same time you don't understand it. I could play with fire any day, every day and take every opportunity to do so when it comes along. Timmy understood it. I'm glad that Kevin does too. It's always good to have a buddy at your side to help you when you get burned.

I still had a bunch of fireworks leftover from Harry's Fireworks that I knew wouldn't do me any good back home where I wouldn't be able to discharge them. But up here in the middle of nowhere the neighbors don't really care what you do because you don't really have neighbors. Or at least the neighbors aren't within firework noise distance. That's one of the nice things about here that is also one of the worst things - you are totally and completely alone. That's great if that is what you want but would also hinder any human interaction unless you initiate it.

They have a couple of giant pigs and I don't know what they plan on doing with them. All I know is that they would look mighty good on a sandwich. That sounds terrible to say about a living animal, but I'm higher up on the food chain pal. Deal with it pal. Food, not friends.

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