Friday: More Turkey and More Beer

Aside from the constant nagging, one of the many perks of being married is having two Thanksgiving feasts. After a solid 10 hours of sleep Thursday night, I was rested and energized for Round 2. Jester, Harley, and I packed up Rhonda (my total g-ride '91 Accord) and headed to the southwest suburbs of Chicago. The best part about having two Thanksgivings in one year is that I got to double my Thanksgiving-turkey-shirt-wearing time.

We had Thanksgiving Dinner #2 at my dad's house. He has two cats that are allegedly one of the breeds that is non-allergenic. In this case, however, "non-allergenic" means "causes Jessie to cough and Andrew to sneeze." Aside from the constant misery from those piles of dander walking around the house, dinner was good.

After dinner, Jester and I went to Palmer Place, a bar in LaGrange with the largest beer selection in the Chicagoland area, to enjoy a few ales with some compatriots. The list of fellow attendees read like a who's who of people I know extremely well from growing up in LaGrange: Adam "Troy" McClure, his fiance Katie "The Tooth Murderer" Wegner, Tony "T Dawg" Zumpano, Sean "Hurricane" Riesenbeck, his girlfriend Bridget "Tropical Storm" Spanbauer, Ryan "King Canute" Knudsen, his fiance Carrie "Soon To Be Married to a Fucking Dane" Bunting, Ryan "Pissed Off" Christoff, Kurt "I Once Was Molested by a Wire-Haired Man-Goblin" Johns, the Brothers "Weeser" Veeser, Reed "Peed" LeMar, his girlfriend Sara or Sarah or Serah or Sera, David "House of" Payne, and his girlfriend Lisa.

Overall, the night was just delightful. The topics of conversation were like something out of one of those fancy Hollywood moving picture shows. We talked about nearly everything: fantasy football; beer; the Bears; autoerotic asphyxiation; the White Sox; how we were sure one of our junior high health teachers probably touched little boys and girls (and interestingly, how it wasn't the one who was accused of doing so); the time Kurt visited IU and was knowingly molested by a wired-haired man-goblin; the types of establishments we wouldn't be patronizing for Knudsen's bachelor party; and of course, dancing.

I met my brother's new girlfriend, Sara or Sarah or Serah or Sera. I think I freaked her out, but that will happen when your introduction to your boyfriend's brother is during an all-too-frank discussion about masturbation he is having with guys he's known for 15-20 years. I just have this feeling like she came out of it knowing a lot more about me than I did about her.

The night ended just as I would have expected, with me doing the in-and-out-of-sleep head bob with a half-full wine glass in my hand while watching Shaun of the Dead at the Veesers.