And, well, even though none of you really care anymore, here they are in rediculously large resolution: "Greatest Summer Kickoff Party: Boston Weekend:" Highlights:
- One of the first great things that we did was head to Boston Bowl for some Candlepin Bowling. Joel and Andrew managed to get action shots for each of us: Me, Andrew, Joel. For those of you not from Boston, note the size of those pins.
- The size of the balls was also unusual.
- Our celebration of life and freedom continued that night, as the three of us put on our most dapper attire and headed for a fancy dinner and a few Girly Drinks.
- The Girly Drink night continued with a few minor interruptions, as we met up with Mark and Jeff, grabbed a Scorpion Bowl, and eventually made our way to J.J. Foley's in Southie where we capped the night with a pint of the dark brew.
- Other Highlights that night included the Prairie Fire Round, and the Squealing Pig.
- The next night entailed our visit with The Green Monster. After a couple of brews and a Peanut Butter Burger at Bukowski's, we headed out to the game. Joel managed to grab an action shot of the monster's back before we bought some official memerobilia and headed in. It was an incredible game, Pedro beat out Toronto, 5 - 2, while the crowd chanted "Yankees Suck!" Does baseball get any better?
- The next day saw Mark off, sadly, but not before the Great Pankake Cook-Off. Andrew thought he could meddle with greatness, but (according to Joel) his pankakes just plain fell short. Though, it was later determined that whenever there is a Pankake Cook-Off, we all in fact win.
- Later, in our lament, we headed out to Cambridge, where we checked out Harvard, MIT, and the Cambridge Brew Company for some good micro brew.
- The next day was our last full one in town, and as such, we decided to celebrate it in style: with a Duck Tour. With that, and some wandering on our own, we managed to see most of the highlights: the Fens, the Charles, the Commons, and even checked in with the Original G.W.
- With that, our weekend came to a close, and sadly, Joel and I boarded our plane for home.
Recently, my own brother enlightened me to the true spirit of 'The Greatest Summer Ever.'
Jack and I, while going through our latest plunder from the comic shop, were conversing with Alec on the technicalities of GTA Vice City. At this point in the game, Alec was piloting a police helicopter through the city, and bumping into various skyscrapers and power lines along the way.
As I questioned him, he became quite aggrivated. See, I was wondering about the durability of the helicopter, and how it could continuously bump into buildings without crashing or exploding. Alec, on the other hand, knew almost instinctually from experience that the helicopters have a certain durability much in the same way that the cars in the game do.
It was at the climax of the discussion, then, that Alec was finally able to explain the reasoning behind this. As he so aptly put it, "God, Andy, there are rules. This isn't 'Walker, Texas Ranger' here!"
Suddenly, my eyes were opened. I saw that the world is as subjective as it's supposed programer. Whether that be a wrathful deity with the kickboxing fury of Chuck Norris, or a more forgiving hand with the voice of Ray Liotta, we create our own structure of the way things are.
And who's to say one is better than another? When we voice notions of what makes our own Greatest Summer so great, are we each not equally desrving of praise?
That, my friends, is the true spirit of The Greatest Summer Ever. That each and every one of us will experience this summer in a very unique Greatest Ever sort of way.
So, I invite you all to sit back. To think about the way you'll be spending The Greatest Summer Ever. To reflect on whether you are instantaneously combustible, or whether you take a good beating before you crash and burn.