Party!!

We were at a fraternity party. It was summer and the party was at the residence of a rich alumnus. We were in a private neighborhood in Ogden Beach, Indiana. The house opened right onto the shore of Lake Michigan. There was lots of beer, booze, cigars and food. The ribs were succulent, sticky and sweet. They were tender enough to fall off the bone. There were brats and burgers and hot dogs. Did I mention the beer?

Four of us rode together in an old VW, not the new slick looking ones. Dave, and Caroline, my girlfriend (now my wife)and me. This was the stone age, man, 1980 or '81. If memory serves, the day was beautiful, the water almost as cold as the kegs of beer.

We partied it up, had a great time. Soon it was time to leave. Caroline was your stereotypical blond, pretty and dumb. I am not just saying that, she was dumb. She was in several of my classes in high school. She got by through asking boys to "help" her with (aka do)her homework. She also got boys to help her cheat on tests. Perhaps she was not so dumb after all. I never liked her much, she did not waste time with me, I was too poor, too dorky, not popular enough, or likely, just not handsome enough.

By late afternoon it was time to head for home. We piled in the car; all of us more or less inebriated. Caroline was pretty far gone. Driving down the highway, windows down, she suddenly announced she was going to be sick. Caroline reached to the floor and had the foresight to empty her stomach into a towel. As Dave began to slow the car, she suddenly waved the puke filled towel out the window. Did I mention it was an old VW, the kind with no air conditioner? Did I mention the windows were all down? Perhaps I told you I was sitting in the back seat behind the ditzy blond? Those of you who know physics will know what happened next, the puke flew out of the towel, right back in through the back window and right into my face. Chunks of ribs, potato salad, beer and more chunks of ribs mixed with stomach acid right...in...the....face.

I immediately puked on the floor. My girlfriend immediately vomited on the floor on her side. Dave got the vehicle stopped. The smell of vomit engulfed the little car. Caroline puked again, all over herself, all over the passenger seat, all over the dash. My girlfriend managed to open her door before she puked again.

We used beach towels, blankets, pieces of sacking, and my T-shirt to clean up the mess, throwing it all in the ditch beside the road. Yes, I know, littering and all of that -- special reactions to special circumstances.

It took me more than a decade to eat barbecued anything after that day. It took probably 15 years before I could eat ribs. I have to admit I love ribs now. Funny, I do not like, even now, to drink beer when I eat barbecued foods.

Man, it WAS a great party!

To quote the kids of today..."that's how how we rolled in my day".