I initially wasnt planning on going. I had no money being between paydays and it was one of the few evenings that both my wife and I were off at the same time. I enjoyed the thought of a quiet evening at home together with her since we dont have many of them anymore. However, she convinced me to go and gave me what she hoped would be enough to cover any expenses that night. I got to the location we were all going to meet before boarding our chariot for the evening. The best man did have a good idea for transportation. For much less then the cost of what it would be to rent any type of chauffered transportaion such as a limo or vehicle like that, he managed to rent a full sized air conditioned school bus for us complete with driver. Not bad coinsidering there were only 7 of us that were going and out of those 7, 4 of them were myself and my 3 brothers.
The time came for us to get on board. The a/c felt great inside the bus and I remember wishing we had a/c in the buses when I was growing up. We had pizza on board and a case of bear as well to be shared. I had one can of beer with a few pieces of pizza as we pulled out and headed to our first stop. While we were driving I was fairly quiet. I was more intent on watching the interaction between everyone else on board.
Time was again marching on for all of us. I could remember my mother bringing my brother home from the hospital after he was born. He was such a large baby that his collarbone was broken during delivery. It was odd seeing a baby with one arm pinned down and there are a few photos showing that which I will have to find over my mom's place. I recalled my mom bringing him to my 2nd grade classroom when he was only a few months old and the way my teacher cooed over him. I thought back to when he was growing up and I was trying to be 'cool' in front of my 'friends' by making fun of him at times and I felt a pang of regret at it now. I remembered the night that the old dog we had went at him when he inadvertently went near some food the dog had hidden and his cheeks were badly bitten, but thankfully didnt require any stitches. My mind fast forwarded through watching him grow up. I was silently proud that he took after me in playing the barritone saxophone in the band. Because of the path my life took, I wasnt there when he was in high school himself to watch him really grow into his own person. As he got more and more into writing and I read his stuff I was both very proud of him and just slightly envious at his talent. He began winning some awards for his writing which I couldlnt have been prouder of. He finally got a job as the editor of a weekly newspaper around here and continues to do well with it.
My mind just about was back to the present when we pulled into our first stop. We all got off the bus and went into the gentlemen's club. Immediately, the loud music assaulted my ears and the smell of stale cigarette smoke wafted through the air. The first thought that entered my mind was that I couldnt believe that people regularly paid to come to someplace like this. It was crowded. My brother and a few of his friends sat down close to the stage while my brother closest to me in age and myself stood back a bit and just watched. All of my life, well all my life after I realized that girls were different and I liked them, I had wondered what it would be like to be in one of these places. I quickly realized that this was one of those instances where a person's fantasies are much better then reality is. I found very few of the ladies there to be attractive and even if they were since I was already married I had no desire to really see anything at all. After an hour or so of watching various bits of bump and grind going on before us it was time to move on to the second stop.
We got back on the bus and I could tell that most of the guys had a bit to drink while inside. About the only think that I took away from that place is that some of those girls should be in the olympics as limber as they are. Then we drove on to the second and last stop of the night. A supposedly more 'upscale' club this time. When we pulled up and got off of the bus, I saw a very similar looking building to the one that we had just left. This time however there was security that we had to go through to make sure there were no weapons or cameras that anyone was trying to sneak in. After we all got the interior was very much like the previous place. Loud, pulsing music and stale cigarette smoke hanging in the dark interior. Again, I stood back against the wall and just watched for the most part. Most of the others were enjoying themselves pretty much. After a short while two of my brothers joined me at the wall, leaving the groom to be and his friends to have their fun. Then, abruptly, my youngest brother bolted for the door. Seems that he had a bit too much to drink and the restroom in the rear of the club would have been impossible to get to in time. I followed him and my other brother outside, thankfully to be out in the fresh air again. After he was out of the atmosphere inside, he seemed a bit better. The three of us basically stood outside with the valets for roughly an hour or so until the guys inside were done and it was time to leave. They all finally came out and our bus arrived to drive us all back home.
The trip back was loud to say the least from the others. I wondered if it was the drinks they had, or if they were simply trying to act as they thought they were supposed to. We finally got back home and the guys went into the firehall club to spend the rest of the night. At least they werent going to try driving home in that condition. I drove home, thankful for the quiet. Was I getting too old to enjoy that kind of night out? I dont think I would have ever really enjoyed a night out like that. For my brother though, I'm glad I was there. Even if it was only as a quiet show of support. I'm really looking forward as he takes this next major step in life by marrying his longtime girlfriend. I only wish them the best in life and hopefully they avoid any of the rough spots that I had in the past. If I served as a role model in why you should take your time, then it was all worth it to me. After all of this am I sorry I never had a bachelor party? Hell No!!