Rain rain go away

Right about when the parade was supposed to start, it started pouring here in Creston, Iowa. It takes me back to the year in Ridgeland when we were stuck in the house in that little town, with no running water all Fourth of July weekend.

Of course that was after a few years of good times with our college buddies - camping at the Huston home place in Ridgeland. We'd head, en masse there, stay in a giant f'in tent, drink beer and tube the Apple River some half hour or so away. (There was a cute little bar on the way called Teresa's - a whole 'nother story).

We had a grand time - that first year Mike Huston - the best man at our wedding (we weren't married yet - it was 1980) invited a shitload of folks. I drove from my first job home in Sioux Falls, SD to Albert Lea, MN to meet my friends. Off we went from there, arriving in Ridgeland in the dark.

The next day we became familiar with our surroundings - a rickety old farmhouse with a kitchen and living room and fireplace plus stairs to a second level with a couple bedrooms. Electricity but no running water and no bathrooms. Two seater outhouse and big old barn.

Then there was the huge blue canvas tent set up that held like 15 people. That weekend it was 15 snoring, beer farting people. We sat around the campfire, melting our sneakers getting to know some vet school friends Mike Huston had invited plus the whole Huston clan including Grandpa Russell who lived in town at a rooming house.

Mom and Dad, Clark and Joyce Huston lived in Madison and both worked at Oscar Mayer while raising five nice kids, Mike the eldest, Jeff a year younger, Lori a couple years younger than we are, Kristie was 14 then and Carla 11.

Our group consisted of the usual suspects Vic, Fred, Paul, Moose (it was before the Kay years), Hauser, Catfish (a college friend from the Towers where Paul met Mike, on Baker House) and his lady friend Hotsy Totsy - who proceeded to share too much information about how sex in the weeds was icky...ICK. Jane Ertl and Bob Fitzpatrick, Tom Sullivan - another groomsman of ours and his future wife Allison. Jane Flack was the life of the party one of those first years.

Clark and Joyce brought all the food - lots of good OM meats. We'd have a huge breakfast - eggs, pancakes, bacon etc. They made coffee in an old aluminum coffeepot. Once breakfast was done we'd do the dishes right away - using water boiled on the fire.

Drinking all that beer necessitated using the dreaded outhouse. It was a two seater and had real toilet seats. But it didn't flush, and there was no sink to wash hands. After a day one would really be desiring a shower! Again we'd use the heated water - play beauty parlor and help with each other's hair.

The first year tubing was the finest! I didn't know what to expect. By the time we got there we were already on our way to being toasted. Our cooler was lashed to the tubes. Jane had a bottomless beer - cuz she kept putting it under water and then drinking the pissy river water. Ug. Good fun.

Moose and Steve shot off fireworks my Dad bought for us on Mom and Dad's trek back from Florida. Plus Moose had bought some. The boys wore hard hats. Roman candle fights. Battle ship in the horse tank. We were never quite sure what each "work" would do!

Then came rainy year. No tubing, no golf, no fireworks. We had boardgames and reading in the cabin. And drinking. We'd head outside whenever there was a break of course. And we spent some time in bars. When I got home everything I owned was wet or damp. It was still fun though - cuz I was with my buddies.

The Hustons are great people - I aspire to be like them when I grow up.