Him ... And Hymn

Jeff left out one little detail about our Memorial Day celebration:

Furious D.

I mean ... of course Memorial Day is all about  remembrance of the people who died while serving in our country's armed forces. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little musical accompaniment to go along with that remembrance, right?

And don't you think The Unbelievables' own Furious D has at least a few patriotic tunes to go along with the grilled burgers and dogs? You betcha!

Back In The Fold

"You want I should knock some sense into this Michael guy ... ???"

Those guys ... !!!

First? They tried to reason with me, doing their best to circumvent my departure from The Unbelievables. 

Then? they considered strong arm tactics, playing around with bringing in Guido The Knuckleballer (above) to "convince" me not to leave. (They realized there was no point in doing that. Each of us knows Unbelieva-Fu - Guido wouldn't stand a chance against me.)
 
I told them my mind was made up, that it was a done deal. I had to go. But I could tell my story about a journey of self-discovery wasn't flying with them. That's why they insisted on throwing a farewell party.

But ... it wasn't a party the guys threw ...

... it was an intervention.

Well ... the guys had a little help from some of The Unbelieva-Babes ...

They confessed they'd exhausted all other means of reason, that - in the guise of a party - was simply a matter keeping  my best interests in mind. Departure from The Unbelievables was tantamount to throwing a well-built career down the drain. They gave examples of all the good we'd done as a team, all the benefits we'd provided to the public, all the evil we'd thwarted over the years. It was hard to argue their points.

But the real clincher?

"The word is out among the bad guys, too. Some of them have sent us letters asking we consider their humble requests for inclusion as replacements in your absence. Of course that's not going to happen ... but the fact they even have the gall to ask ... that's reason enough you should stay, don't you think?"

And they were right, of course. I mean ... who could fill the shoes of Amigo Tóxico? Who could possibly NOT wear pants better than me? And, honestly, stopping Nick O'Teen dead in his second hand tracks by partnering with Death and, in return, dropping teen smoking to an all-time low ... what other job held such satisfaction as that? Such do-goodery right there elicited a certain sort of attraction found nowhere else. And so much more.

That clinched it. I decided to do the right thing. I was back in the fold.

And right then ... the intervention? It became a party. Complete with Furious D ...

Because, really, we don't do interventions all that well ...

A pretty good example of how on of our "interventions" turn out ...

Parties, on the other hand ...

P.S. Marissa and Laura were thrilled I was back, too.

St. Patrick's Day? Accomplished.

Ah, yes ... the Irish St. Patrick's party. 

But of course the party boasted plenty of food. (You stick with the basics first and foremost at an Irish shindig hosted in Ireland lest the locals become restless.) 
 

... and drink ...

... and the usual party games to go along with (or promote) a festive social atmosphere ...

And, of course, there has to be a DJ.

Now ... you might think it wise to have one of the locals stand behind the turntables when in Ireland. But The Unbelievables know an opportunity when it presents itself. So ...

Yep. Furious D. Because nothing will start-startle a party than a DJ who comes directly out of left field. And Furious D was nothing less than that.

Dressed accordingly in blue (above, as is his signature) "D" had everyone scratching their heads right from the get-go. You start off with a little Lawrence Welk tune and play it out for 30 seconds - just enough for everyone "not in the know" to begin to get a little heated beneath the kilt, so to speak - and then put the kabosh on that nonsense by bringing it to a screeching halt with the likes of Tag Team's Whoomp! (There It Is) and House Of Pain's Jump Around. Then? The party was just this side of out of control.

Naturally, Laura and Marissa were the hit of the party in their get-ups. Especially on the dance floor. (Jeff sat out his dance moves - his bruised ankles were giving him problems ...) Clark was in his glory discussing the finer points of professional hockey to anyone who was willing to allow a bending of his/her ear (surprisingly, that was quite a few). Me? Well ... I introduced the throng to the first "No Trousers St. Patrick's Day" which, I am assured, is now an annual mid-March tradition. Enough said.

Amazingly, we were able to recreate this party photo during a break in the music:

See if you can see any differences in the following shot from the one above:

Pretty uncanny, isn't it? It's just what we do.

At the party's end, everyone got a green-tinged Krispy Kreme to munch. As the brood made its way out the door, we heard various choruses of Danny Boy wafting from up and down the lanes as everyone stumbled (and otherwise) home. (We're pretty certain most of them made it to their intended destinations, some with a little help from their friends.)

Was a good time had by all? Per the ladies who originally asked us, absolutely.

Thank you, Ladies!

Let's just say we convinced quite a few new friends to join us at our digs in Stiletto Flats for Cinco de Mayo this year. 

They're getting their passports in order right this very minute ...