Time for some old school
So, back in the day, Mom and Dad used to host outdoor and indoor parties. At least 4 Saturday nights in July and August, it would be time to have a picnic. Then they had a regular crowd for Thanksgiving weekend, and various other times during the winter. Summer time meant kegs in the garage, a semi-permanent grill set up, and a box of paper goods in the porch. The winter parties will have to wait for another post.
Dad had a friend who worked at Schaefer in NYC so a delivery of a few kegs would occur regularly. A great tap (the one with the cooler so all you had to do was ice the line) was a fixture in the garage. One of those grills made out of the old thinner hot water heaters was set up on v-shaped posts, with a piece of specially cut fencing placed on top. Every year a new piece of fencing was put on, the grill fired up big time, and the fence "cured". People would bring paper goods every time there was a party, and Mom stashed them in the big UPS box on the porch.
I don't remember having "beer pong" cups, but do remember opaque cups with Schaefer emblazoned on them. Those would be stashed with the keg in the garage. Dad felt it was safe to leave the keg in the garage throughout the week because the door didn't open quietly or quickly. It squeaked very loudly the first 2 feet off the ground, then groaned the rest of the way up. If someone in our house didn't hear that, the neighbors certainly would have. No one in my neighborhood had air conditioning in those days.
We never put a car in that garage. It was for "storage". That meant bikes, the lawn mower, the many ladders my Dad never wanted to get up on, all the equipment to cut those damn hedges that lined one whole long side of the yard, and most of the other side. And of course, the beer.
People would start showing up around 7 or so. You know the drill - the women would push their salads into the fridge, then stroll out through the sun porch. Gradually they'd make their way to the garage for a beer. The men wouldn't even come in the house. They'd go straight to the garage.
Us kids would sit in the living room and watch TV, sneaking peeks and beer while in our PJ's. Occasionally folks would come in to use our only bathroom (yup - we too grew up with just 1). The rule was 2 pees to a pull - septic tanks in our neighborhood. As the night went on, the salads would go outside, the torches would get lit and the crowd would get louder. Steaks were the primary food, with corn following up. Of course, we usually had to shuck it all before the party, wrap it in foil so it could be roasted.
Mom would come in around 9 or so and tell us it was almost time for bed. She'd be carrying her beer with her, and leave it on a living room table. She knew it wouldn't be there when she got out of the bathroom. Dad would then come in a few minutes later and tell us it was almost time for bed...same deal with his beer! This would be repeated a few more times, till it was around 11. By then, we were a bit bored by the action, and would gladly go to bed. We would also have had the equivalent of 2 or 3 good size beers.
The parties would end around 1 or so. Inviting all the neighbors made the ending time a moot point. No one ever called the police because all the folks were there! Including, usually, an officer or two.
It was so bloody hot this weekend that I was remembering those parties - with sweaty folks, sitting outside, no one had air conditioning, we all were used to hot. Mom and Dad were good hosts - they never ran out of beer or food, or anything that I remember. No one was ever told to leave, and someone was always asleep on the couch or the floor the next morning.
Those were the days...
Dad had a friend who worked at Schaefer in NYC so a delivery of a few kegs would occur regularly. A great tap (the one with the cooler so all you had to do was ice the line) was a fixture in the garage. One of those grills made out of the old thinner hot water heaters was set up on v-shaped posts, with a piece of specially cut fencing placed on top. Every year a new piece of fencing was put on, the grill fired up big time, and the fence "cured". People would bring paper goods every time there was a party, and Mom stashed them in the big UPS box on the porch.
I don't remember having "beer pong" cups, but do remember opaque cups with Schaefer emblazoned on them. Those would be stashed with the keg in the garage. Dad felt it was safe to leave the keg in the garage throughout the week because the door didn't open quietly or quickly. It squeaked very loudly the first 2 feet off the ground, then groaned the rest of the way up. If someone in our house didn't hear that, the neighbors certainly would have. No one in my neighborhood had air conditioning in those days.
We never put a car in that garage. It was for "storage". That meant bikes, the lawn mower, the many ladders my Dad never wanted to get up on, all the equipment to cut those damn hedges that lined one whole long side of the yard, and most of the other side. And of course, the beer.
People would start showing up around 7 or so. You know the drill - the women would push their salads into the fridge, then stroll out through the sun porch. Gradually they'd make their way to the garage for a beer. The men wouldn't even come in the house. They'd go straight to the garage.
Us kids would sit in the living room and watch TV, sneaking peeks and beer while in our PJ's. Occasionally folks would come in to use our only bathroom (yup - we too grew up with just 1). The rule was 2 pees to a pull - septic tanks in our neighborhood. As the night went on, the salads would go outside, the torches would get lit and the crowd would get louder. Steaks were the primary food, with corn following up. Of course, we usually had to shuck it all before the party, wrap it in foil so it could be roasted.
Mom would come in around 9 or so and tell us it was almost time for bed. She'd be carrying her beer with her, and leave it on a living room table. She knew it wouldn't be there when she got out of the bathroom. Dad would then come in a few minutes later and tell us it was almost time for bed...same deal with his beer! This would be repeated a few more times, till it was around 11. By then, we were a bit bored by the action, and would gladly go to bed. We would also have had the equivalent of 2 or 3 good size beers.
The parties would end around 1 or so. Inviting all the neighbors made the ending time a moot point. No one ever called the police because all the folks were there! Including, usually, an officer or two.
It was so bloody hot this weekend that I was remembering those parties - with sweaty folks, sitting outside, no one had air conditioning, we all were used to hot. Mom and Dad were good hosts - they never ran out of beer or food, or anything that I remember. No one was ever told to leave, and someone was always asleep on the couch or the floor the next morning.
Those were the days...
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