It was one for the ages - dumped by my fiancé on Christmas Eve.
After several days of Johnnie Walker Black and Tums, I headed up to the Catskill Mountains with my friend Dave to meet up with some friends and friends of friends. Gil's parents had a house in Tannersville, New York, a few miles from the base of Hunter Mountain Ski resort. I dropped Dave at the house, went to the liquor store for supplies, and was back within 15 minutes. When I walked into the house, I saw ten or twelve guys sitting around the living room in silence.
The Revolutionaries
Gil was a member of a Latvian brotherhood that believed they could overthrow the Soviet Union and liberate their ancestral home by dressing up in native costumes and drinking massive quantities of alcohol. The revolutionaries, sans Gil, were just sitting there motionless. I remember thinking how odd the scene was as I looked around the room. I spotted Dave sitting on the couch leering at some of the other guys. Nobody said anything for about five minutes.
Conflict
Andy, Gil's friend and fellow conspirator, was front and center carelessly waving around a wrought-iron fireplace poker. I told him that if he didn't put it down I was going to knock him out and he would require the assistance of a proctologist to get the poker back. Somehow he took this as a threat.
Andy rose up, poker in hand, and summoned all of his powers as a drunken moron. He was unable to wave the poker and stand up at the same time. I decided to let it go and just shoved him down. A few minutes later he challenged someone else to a fight. As these two Nimrods wrestled around the room, Dave told me that Andy and a couple of the other guys tried to break into the bathroom when Gil's girlfriend was taking a shower. Dave and Teddy were able to stop them.
I heard a loud noise and looked up to see Andy flying through the air headfirst into a wall, his head penetrating the drywall. Someone shouted that Gil was coming up the driveway, so Andy pulled his head out of the wall, brushed the gypsum dust from his head, and covered up the gaping hole with a painting that had been hanging a couple of feet above it. The painting, which was formerly at eye level, was now about three feet above the floor. Gil entered the room and sensed that something wasn't right, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
"If I find out that anybody broke anything while I was gone, I'll put your head through a wall!" he proclaimed. The group exploded with uncontrollable laughter. Gil started laughing too, though not quite sure what he said that was so funny. The tense atmosphere was diffused and we all went our separate ways to party.
Andy rose up, poker in hand, and summoned all of his powers as a drunken moron. He was unable to wave the poker and stand up at the same time. I decided to let it go and just shoved him down. A few minutes later he challenged someone else to a fight. As these two Nimrods wrestled around the room, Dave told me that Andy and a couple of the other guys tried to break into the bathroom when Gil's girlfriend was taking a shower. Dave and Teddy were able to stop them.
I heard a loud noise and looked up to see Andy flying through the air headfirst into a wall, his head penetrating the drywall. Someone shouted that Gil was coming up the driveway, so Andy pulled his head out of the wall, brushed the gypsum dust from his head, and covered up the gaping hole with a painting that had been hanging a couple of feet above it. The painting, which was formerly at eye level, was now about three feet above the floor. Gil entered the room and sensed that something wasn't right, though he couldn't put his finger on it.
"If I find out that anybody broke anything while I was gone, I'll put your head through a wall!" he proclaimed. The group exploded with uncontrollable laughter. Gil started laughing too, though not quite sure what he said that was so funny. The tense atmosphere was diffused and we all went our separate ways to party.
On With The Mission
It was New Years Eve. Dave and I both liked a drink called a "Rusty Nail" so we thought it would be a good idea to mix one quart of scotch with one quart of Drambuie in a large plastic jug. (This was before liquor became contaminated by liters and milliliters). We threw in some ice and went on our merry way. There was a party at an old inn down the road called The Eggery. Built in the late 1800's, it was quaint and dated but was popular with twenty-something skiers. Off we went into the bitter night with our half-gallon container of 86-proof refreshment.
There was much merriment in the old place and the liquor did its job quite well. Just before midnight, someone turned on the television that was hanging above the bar. We all cheered and counted down loudly as the ball descended in Times Square. When the array of lights announced the birth of 1977, I fell back into my chair and was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome by a feeling of emptiness. It was the realization that my life would be taking a very different path from this point forward. The falling ball of light had cut my story line in two and I was starting anew with a blank page. The people around me noticed and were puzzled by the instant change in my demeanor. Until that point I had successfully kept up a light-hearted facade.
The rest of that night and weekend are a bit fuzzy. We may have gone skiing at some point. When I returned to work on Monday, I was a different person.
There was much merriment in the old place and the liquor did its job quite well. Just before midnight, someone turned on the television that was hanging above the bar. We all cheered and counted down loudly as the ball descended in Times Square. When the array of lights announced the birth of 1977, I fell back into my chair and was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome by a feeling of emptiness. It was the realization that my life would be taking a very different path from this point forward. The falling ball of light had cut my story line in two and I was starting anew with a blank page. The people around me noticed and were puzzled by the instant change in my demeanor. Until that point I had successfully kept up a light-hearted facade.
The rest of that night and weekend are a bit fuzzy. We may have gone skiing at some point. When I returned to work on Monday, I was a different person.