I think it started in high school, the pre-Thanksgiving party on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving Day. Back then, we would stay at one of my friend’s house, and “party”… we’d be up all night. I still remember taking the bus home early Thursday morning, heading to meet my family at church on Thanksgiving morning; I was in bad shape, but I made it. Then, after eating a big dinner early in the day, I would take that much needed nap, as most of my family did after eating. This is where the Wednesday before Thanksgiving started becoming a tradition.
It’s called the biggest party night of the year, and we certainly carried that flag for a number of years. Whether it was just hanging out, or having a big card night; whether it was going out to the club or playing our Madden Bowl, we let it all hang out that night before Turkey Day. I think most of the big card nights happened Easter weekend, the day when my 40 days of fasting ended; it didn’t have to be a holiday to have a big card night… those were very frequent. Going out to a club was as well; it was a weekly thing. Typically, we didn’t like partying on what we would call an amateur night, like New Year’s Eve for example; we rarely went out that night. This Wednesday night would be right up there too, but we couldn’t resist. Staying up all night was the norm that evening; ah, to be young, and be able to do that, and still be functional the next day. Of course, one of the biggest traditions that ended up happening that evening was the Madden Bowl! Yes, 12 of us gathered at one of our houses, partying and playing Madden all night long, until a champion was crowned. I would lose the tourney early at my apartment… a little too much pre-gaming led to me calling the same play over and over and over. I did end up winning one of the tourneys. The Eagles with Donovan McNabb were my squad; brought home the title at about 7 in the morning.
Things are different now. We actually went to a high school basketball game this year; I was talking to one of the other dads about this day. We were reminiscing about this biggest party night of the year; we joked that now, we can barely stay up past midnight… haha. After the game, we picked up a couple last minute items for Turkey Day, and headed home. We ended up ordering some pizza and staying up late, watching some College Basketball… our UCLA team vs Gonzaga down in Hawaii. Speaking of UCLA… did I talk about the Bulls game we went to on Monday night? Damn, forgot all about that… we’ll get there.
So yeah, times change, but it’s all good. There was a time and a place for everything. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I’ve been very blessed throughout my life, having many great memories over the years; I cherish all of them. The memories continue to this day. On this Thanksgiving Eve, I am grateful for many, many things, including making it through all those crazy years, especially on this biggest party night of the year. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
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