Corn Capital Days, the minutes.

I have only missed one Corn Capital Days that I can remember, in 1999. The others were largely spent drinking, playing drinking games, eating, and being dramatic. There are many, many memories:

--My friend Jen and I were both without ID in 1998, and this was a serious problem. She dropped hers into a Vosika toliet; I left mine in the cities. Charlie saved the day by hurling me over the beer garden fence.

--2000 was probably the first year of what we liked to call "the stupes," (someone bringing someone to Lois's who is unknown, annoying, and thus unwelcome)---and the kid was definitely that. There was a volleyball net, HUGE relationship drama out on the driveway, a mass-commando endeavor to the street dance, Demon tournaments, and a fight over a beta cleaning tape and Halloween 4 between Leah and Charlie. Minimal vomit, but pretty successful, nonetheless.

--2001 was the last year at Fairview, and everyone was balls-to-the-wall. Leah got a minor at the street dance at Max's (which was my fault since I lifted her over the fence); that same evening I was coined "idiot of the night." I can't remember why, only that I was super drunk, super annoying (!) and insisted on wearing a ridiculous ski hat with ties for most of the night. We had a video camera but I can't watch the footage, even to this day because we are all so incredibly stupid and Hildahl got hold of the camera and played "airplane" all through the house, swinging and spinning it everywhere. I think this may have been the year we had to yank Erica's head out of the hot tub, and there was a lot of gaming: more Demon, President/Asshole marathon (my contribution as President was to force everyone to raise the roof to the music, probably En-tranz, until I said stop) and trivial pursuit, which Erica no doubt won even in her sloppy condition.

--2002 was at Haliday's house with the green shag carpet. Not much happened this year, Charlie's girlfriend Heather and I were the only two people not smoking among a group of about 20, some of them stupes. And I puked four times and had horrible bed spins.

--2003 was drama. I won't go into specifics, since most of the drama was me being a moody bitch about a lot of ridiculous crap, but to be fair, I was also in the process of conceiving Bubby at the time, maybe my hormones were just out of whack. Stupes were heavy this year, we were not nice to them. When my friend Jen and I were cataloging the goings-on, year by year much later, she coined this the year of Anna vs. Charlie. Accurate. "Do you guys want to go to brunch out at The Sheep Shedde?" "No, I think I'd rather light eight dollars on fire and throw it out the window. . . "

There wasn't much drama or vomiting after the kids came along, although there was a brief bit of business over an armband in 06, and a high school nemesis almost getting my beer in her face in 09, but things are pretty tame now. I mean, we still snap pictures of Danny Clouse when we see him, someone almost always has to walk home or pee in someone's yard, and there's always pressure to secure our annual parade-watching spot in front of Stahl's where we've parked for 25 years . . . it's fun. Despite me being old.