Our first annual cousins party was held on Saturday, June 17, 2000. The fact that it was only held annually for two years doesn’t detract from the excitement generated by our first soiree. My oldest Murphy cousin Cathy had recently held a generic party at her house in Dayton, one she had recently acquired and was anxious to show off. If memory serves me correct, it was during this party, which featured an ample number of cousins already, where the idea was generated to have a get-together exclusive to the Murphy cousins and their spouses and/or better-halves. So that was the genesis of the short-lived series. Thanks to Susan, here are some photos from the spectacle.
First of all, I should explain that this party was not for all of the fifteen Murphy cousins, just the ones that were old enough to drink – or at least approaching the age. This cut our attendance by one-third. Lori lived in Virginia so she was also unable to attend. But Cathy, as host, had two of her siblings present: Debby and Danny – all flying solo. Denise, having just returned from a week of counseling camp (and incidentally renewing an acquaintence with a former camp sweetheart who would later be the father of my nephew), and I attended stag as well. All three of the Tangemans made it, Chris by himself and the gals Susan and Karen with boyfriends Charles and Joe, repectively.
Cathy, host and eldest cousin, and her youngest sister Debby, about to get into trouble
And then there was Ben. Ben didn’t show up until later. And he didn’t show up without the mercenary prodding and phone calls from Debby, who somehow got a bee named Ben in her bonnet and wouldn’t let it go until she got him to get his butt over there. Getting his phone number was the first hurdle, but she accomplished that by calling Bev and talking to her for about a half-hour, convincing her that she was a raging alcoholic. It was all in good fun though. In fact, I myself was on a similar pointless quest to have Karen call Bev to verify the fact that she and Ed used to work in a cafe called the Indian Deli. In fact, that night we were all raging alcoholics. Except for Karen, who had just turned 21, and Joe, who took more delight in preparing our mixed drinks and Jello shots than imbibing themselves.
Teetotalers for the evening, Joe and Karen
Me, Debby, and Danny
Denise and Chris sip away
And speaking of Jello shots…and we all knew I would be…one of the strangest incidents of the evening occurred late in the proceedings. Denise, Debby, and I were congregated on the outdoor patio (where we had been for the bulk of the evening, enjoying the warm Summer air) just chatting away when suddenly, and without warning, Debby attempted to down a Jello shot. This in itself was nothing spectacular of course. But seconds later she lowered her head, cheeks in the palms of her hands, and began to literally drool out the entire Jello shot over the span of about five minutes. That was the crux of it. We’re still talking about it to this day. The phenomenon has never been explained.
Debby throws caution to the wind and makes a phone call
And then accidentally sits in the wrong chair
Nice Chris and out-of-control Chris, the next Jekyll and Hyde
Denise and a Zima. Life couldn’t be better.
Ben shows up. Denise collapses on Dan.
It was a great night, one that I’m sure has stuck within skulls of those Murphy cousins who were present for the past seven years. Incidentally, the next (and to date, only subsequent) cousins party was both rather tame and rather lame. I’ll get to that more as we move into past-web-postings future, but my point in bringing that up now is just this…
Couch pile up
Even more: Ben, Chris, Denise, Dan, Cathy, and Susan
Hey cousins, let’s not end our legacy of cousins parties on that note. There are more of us now at or near the legal age to party hearty. Let’s do it again. If you are interested, check this box…
Check.
Chris Tangeman
August 27th, 2007
Check.
Zac
September 1st, 2007
Meow…I mean CHECK!
"The Baby"
September 2nd, 2007
I prefer to ‘X’ such boxes.
As for the second, tamer, lamer party… I’d like it to be known that I was, in fact, pregnant and was unable to imbibe. That is my excuse for tameness – the rest of you were just plain lame.
Susan
September 2nd, 2007
Check mate! I’m in 🙂
Cathy
September 4th, 2007
If possible! I’m always up for a night out!!!
Lori
September 4th, 2007
check 🙂
nikki
September 6th, 2007