Monday Morning Stories With Mookie - Episode 23

The Time Mookie and Rick Had "The Greatest Night Ever"

Today is my friend "Rick's"* birthday.  In honor of such, I am going to share a story with you that - to my knowledge -  has RARELY been shared with anyone.  It was a night that Rick officially dubbed to be "The Greatest Night Ever."  It was a CLASSIC night in our friendship, and one I was proud to be a part of. Obviously, the names of those involved have been changed to protect the guilty/innocent.

The fall semester had just ended and everyone was going out for an "end of the semester" drunk-fest.  I always looked forward to these nights, as they provided an outlet to blow off some much needed steam after a week of final exams.  Odds were usually good that someone we knew would do something extraordinarily stupid.  This night proved to be extraordinary, but certainly not stupid.

As every party night started, a group of us started out "pre-gaming" in the dorms.  As we were poor college students, it was always sound thinking to have a good buzz before going out for the evening, and not have to buy a large amount of over-priced drinks at the bar.  After achieving a respectable buzz, our group set out for a night of on-the-town debauchery.  For some reason, our group had someone ("Albino"*) willing to drive our sorry asses to our unknown destinations.  This was awesome because our destinations were normally limited to those we could drunkenly get to and from by foot.  Our first stop was "The Hill," and the bar Sharky's.  (I will always have a life-long fondness for Sharky's due to the many MANY drunken nights I spent there during my four years of college.  Man I got drunk there a lot.)  We entered, drank our share, declared the bar "dead," and moved on.  The next stop was another bar on The Hill - The OP.  This bar was a typical frat hangout, and I am SO not a fan of the typical frat-boy.  The beer specials were respectable, but the guys that usually hung out there were assbags.  Seriously.  Even today when someone mentions the name "The OP," I think "assbags."  Our stay there was short-lived as well.  When discussing our next stop, someone came up with the idea of going to "Brooster's."  This was a bar that was hell-and-gone from campus, and what you could call a borderline college-to grown up people who think they are cool kind of bar.  I had only been there one other time and had an awful experience.  However the reason was because I was stuck there while one of my friends tried for HOURS to score with some broad, and of course it never happened.  So I decided that awful experience was hopefully a "one-time" thing, and got talked into going by the car-load of people I was with.

After a short drive to the edge of town, we finally got to Brooster's, and to the site of  where the "Greatest Night Ever" took place.

We entered the bar, and the first thing going for us is that it is "two-for-one drinks" on EVERYTHING.  For some reason, my friend "Rick" was on a recent "kick" of drinking Black Russians.  So we each order up a pair of these fine beverages, and started two-fisting these things.  Life was good.  For some odd reason, I ended up knowing a lot of the patrons in the bar that night.  A lot of the people I knew were "associates" of mine from Walmart.  However, there were several people there that I knew through other friends, etc.  The dance floor was jumping and Rick finds himself at home - two fisting drinks and dancing with anyone that will join him.  All of a sudden, two mutual friends appear to Rick and I out of the crowd - "Shelly"* and "Loni."* 

We had known Shelly and Loni forever, so it was good to see them.  While I say it was good for me, it was GREAT for Rick.  It was no secret to me that Rick has had a thing for Shelly for like...EVER.  It was like the stars had aligned because Shelly and Loni are out on the dance floor getting down with everyone, and they exclusively pull Rick right there into their mix.  After several Black Russians, and then changing to Jack and Coke, Rick coerces me out onto the dance floor to join him in a "wing-man" sort of way.  When I am under the influence, it does not take a lot to get me on a dance floor.  We danced.  And we danced. And we danced some more.  Rick, Shelly, Loni, and I finally moved from the dance floor to a little step thing in front of the DJ booth that had opened up.  It had a bar you could hang on to so you didn't fall off, so we hung on and danced for hours there.  All the while, we continued drinking and shouting requests at the DJ.  While the four of us were generally dancing as a group, Rick was dancing really close with Shelly most of the night, and having the time of his life.  It was truly an epic night for him, and I couldn't have been happier watching him.  I continued my dancing on the floor at times with co-workers and whoever else was around that wanted to be an idiot like myself.  Rick continued his action with Shelly, and...well...it was awesome.

We ended up shutting down the bar, and gave Shelly and Loni a ride home afterwards.  After they got out of the car, Rick looked at me, and said "Mookie, this has been the greatest night ever."

* - Names changed to protect the guilty/innocent.