J9 turns 30, Part II: The Pinata Incident
Having already mentioned the presence, and subsequent demise of one very large, very pink,
Hello Kitty Pinata with the initial set of birthday pictures, I'm sure some of you are anxious to get to the photos. However, the tale would not be complete without a bit of background explanation:
First, you must understand that I have really bad luck with pets. Always have. I won't go too far into the early grim details, but suffice it to say it was the rare animal, indeed, that passed peacefully in its sleep around my familial house of origin. Our family burial ground was a veritable Arlington of pet cemetaries. Of course, I thought this all very commonplace growing up. It was not until my late teen years when I found out, much like discovering at a slumber party you are the only one who puts peanut butter on her pancakes, that the vast majority of my peers had never known the family dog to hang himself.
This morbid historical precedence, coupled with the more recent kitten trauma of the last year, called for some drastic action. What better than beating the living **** out of a giant Hello Kitty as a means of exorcising some long-term bad pet juju? (BTW, a very heartfelt THANK YOU to Sondra for somehow psychically knowing that a giant Hello Kitty Pinata was exactly what I needed!)
Alright, now that you know at least a little of the story leading up to the night of my birthday party, here are the pictures of the actual Pinata melee, presented in chronological order. Enjoy!
First, here's a great photo of Cara with the infamous margarita machine!
Cara reassures Hello Kitty, "It'll be Ok, really! We just want you to hang out in the tree for a while...nothing bad will happen."
How many men does it take to put up a Pinata? Apparently, Four! One to climb the tree, and three to give helpful hints while drinking their beverages.
Doesn't look like Lane was too unhappy being designated tree-climber! Look - it's Lane, the incredible Monkey boy!
A final farewell hug for HK. "Now, if you see me back here in a few minutes in a blindfold with a big stick - it's nothing personal, OK?"
Kearson and Sondra see to it that there will be "No Peeking!!"
Took me a minute to get warmed up. "You dodged that first swing, HK, but it has only made things worse for you in the end!"
Finally, CONTACT!
Ok, now this is the point where some folks might say I "snapped." I prefer to call it the moment when I discovered my Inner Ninja. Who knew I'd be so adept with a quarter staff? (Note the pronounced deformity of HK's head.)
The Inner Ninja, I soon discovered, can be hard to rein in once unleashed. "Brains! I want to eat your brains!!!" (Hey - there was candy in there, after all!)
Some of the onlookers look a little anxious - look how far away everyone is! Must have been the brains thing...
Ah, the carnage!
Kearson gets a post-massacre hug.
So there you have it! Look at my face in this pic - do you think I'll get a pinata next year? Hmmm...all signs point to YES!
See more pictures from J9's 30th birthday.
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