T-Minus One Week for Bachelorhood

Yesterday was my bachelor party. And, now, anyone that knows me knows that my party was not going to be a traditional bachelor party. Despite that for some, but probably because of that for me, I had a great time yesterday and am thankful for everyone who spent the day with me.

First of all, I want to thank Eric, my best man, for planning the day and his father for driving everyone down to Milwaukee. I also want everyone who I had not seen in a long time and those who came down in spite of having a lot going on during the holiday weekend. I had a great time and it was nice to be able to talk with everyone and relax.

The day really began after we all got to Milwaukee and parked at Miller Park. Eric set up two grills, fired them up, and we officially began tailgating. We had snacks, including my favorite ham wraps and Doritos, brats, chicken-asiago brats, cheddarwursts, and hamburgers. All of the food was good and filling.

Before, during, and after eating, we all talked about the future and a lot of past memories. It is amazing how everyone has changed, but still has so much in common. I am really blessed to have the longtime friends that I have, who I know will be lifelong friends no matter where we all end up.

We packed up the cooking stuff and headed in for the game. We had incredible seats on the third base side with a great view of everything. The game was a pitching duel with the Brewers taking an early lead with a solo-homerun. The Pirates scored one run on an error and tied the game. My prediction of a Jason Bay home run in the top of the ninth was vanquished. It remained tied going into the bottom of the ninth, when the Brewers scored on a Fielder (Kristy's Dad's favorite player) blooper to center, scoring the man on second and won the game.

As some of you know, I have been a Pirates, and Pittsburgh, fan for a long time. Just look at the city (just beautiful):

I can trace it back to a lingering memory of mine watching Game 7 of the Braves/Pirates NLCS series in ’92, when the Pirates lost in the bottom of the ninth in a play at home:
After that, my fandom spread to the Steelers and Penguins. I was pretty serious about these teams for a while, but lately, probably after working for the Packers for seven years, I have mellowed and learned to appreciate a hometown team more. Despite this, it was nice to rekindle my fandom during this game by wearing one of my Pirates hats.

The game was incredibly exciting, which was increased by the throw-back Negro League honoring jerseys both teams wore. Although Pittsburgh’s uniforms said something that began with a C and ended in a hard to read script, Milwaukee’s said “Milwaukee” in block letters. I later learned that the Pirates jerseys had said “Crawfords,” in honor of the Pittsburgh Crawfords.

After the game, everyone stood around and continued earlier conversations and memories. Wedding talk permeated most conversations, and expressed thoughts of “in one week, at this time, I will be…” were common.

My bachelor party was a success. It was a lots of fun and exactly what I needed. I had a great time will cherish my memories.