I spent much of this past weekend with The Dulcinea down south in Forest Park, IL to attend the housewarming party of a couple friends. I made a couple tapes for the drive which included the Doctor Who audio drama, …ish with The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis as filler between the episodes. It was not too coincidental that, upon walking into Don & Jean's living room, we heard the strains of Genesis from that very same album. (You see, Don abetted my decent into progressive rock back in 1987 when he suggested that, if I liked old Genesis, then I should check out Marillion.) I made my way to the kitchen as I was burdened with lots of beer and cheese and coffee. Since there are some fine brews unavailable to FIBs in their native habitat, I thought I'd share the love. First let me explain the kinds of people who were at the party. These were friends whom I know via my brother or via someone I know via my brother. Most of these people, if not all, are gamers, sports fanatics, andinto sci-fi/fantasy while several of them enjoy progressive rock. So, in other words, it was a big geek fest. Thusly Lake Louie's Warped Speed Scotch Ale had the Star Trek thing going for it. I also brought a sixer of New Glarus' Barley Wine. (I also read recently that New Glarus now has a Smoked Rye Bock available.) Being from Wisconsin, I just had to bring cheese. In this case, it was a block of garlic white cheddar from Cedar Grove. The final treasure was a bag of coffee beans from local roaster Just Coffee. The blend was called The Reanimator with a label quite appropriate for Halloween. It was also fitting as many folks at the party are fans of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft who penned a story entitled "Herbert West: Reanimator". Indeed, our host Don is tight with the folks who publish the role-playing game (Call of Cthulhu) based on Lovecraft's work and has contributed to more than one published adventure.)
Anyway, the usual suspects were there watching the White Sox in the World Series and carousing while doing their darnedest to polish off a half barrel of Newcastle. The Dulcinea hit the barley wine early and got inebriated quickly. I wandered around mingling with everyone. On my way out for a choke, I ran into Paul, a friend of my brother's whom I hadn't seen in over a decade. I remember that, as a kid, he worked in a gaming store at the Brickyard Mall in Chicago. Looking at my goatee, he remarked that he hadn't seen me since before the time I was able to grow facial hair. I found out that he, like myself, is a computer tech. So we had much to chat about.
Shortly after Saturday had turned into Sunday, I was on the couch with my brother and Jean. Somehow the topic of Marillion came up and Jean started to give an encomium about their album Clutching at Straws. I can't recall every single bit – something about how it was best to block out the outside world and open yourself up on the inside when listening to it. I shall have to send her a Clutching-era show. The Dulcinea and I spent the night on the futon in the basement while Tim, Suzie, and their kids slept upstairs. In the morning, the Reanimator coffee was made and we all hung out and chatted. It was a good opportunity for The Dulcinea to chat with folks as she was sober and Don & Jean didn't have a bunch of guests to attend to so conversations were extended. As the start of the Packer game drew near, I threw on my Packer socks to complement my Packer sweatshirt. Then Don made Bloody Marys. And then Tim went out and bought Chicago dogs and fries for all. The first half of the game went well with the Pack taking a 17-0 lead. Tim called my brother who is a Vikings fan and gave him tons of crap.
And so a good time was had by all. Everyone liked The Dulcinea and I think she appreciated the rampant dorkiness. For my part, it's always fun to hang out with my friends down south. Everyone is a dork like me so we're never at a loss for conversation. Many of my brother's friends have known me since I was a kid and, looking back, it's a bit odd to think that I used to pester them Nowadays I get invited to their parties.
No comments:
Post a Comment