Aaaargh. I Forgot About Sunday Night!

Last night we were invited to a theme party. We felt like we had arrived by being invited to this party - we had heard about previous parties but had never been invited. We would've easily had something to wear to the white trash party or the Caddyshack party in the previous years. But this year the theme was Pirates. Pirates? I know, the Pirates of the Caribbean is popular and everything, but dress up like one?

Originally, Stein had agreed to wear a Captain Hook costume complete with a long red coat, black wig and moustache, boots, etc. And I was going to be Peter Pan. But when I envisioned myself in green tights, I didn't have cute Kathy Rigby-like visions in my head. I couldn't get past the tights. We needed another plan. It's a good thing that ESPN is on in our house a lot. We like sports. And with baseball on our minds, I suddenly had an idea. We could dress up like Pittsburgh Pirates. Ah, yes, no tight wearing for me. And no searching the resale shops for long red coats and hooks.

A call on Monday to my friend Eric in Pittsburgh set the plan in motion. He kindly agreed to go to Target or Kohl's to pick up t-shirts and hats for Stein and me. His wife Nancy was actually the one who did the shopping, and she did well. On Friday we received the package with our goods. A black Pirates t-shirt for both of us, and hats. She was smart in that she didn't get the same t-shirts and hats for us, so we didn't look like twins.

When we arrived at the party, we started laughing. Stein said, "If you didn't know what was going on here, this would look really weird." Immediately, all we heard from people was "Aaaargh." People were dressed as all different kinds of pirates, but most were in the Pirates of the Caribbean vein. Babies had bandannas on, and almost everyone wore an eye patch. Tales of trips to Value World and the like were told. People seemed to like our idea for our "costumes". Some people said that we had the concept wrong. I would remind them, "The invitation didn't say what kind of pirates, did it?" Regardless, I think we were a lot more comfortable.

At one point toward the beginning of the party, everyone started walking toward the lake. "Where is everyone going?" I asked. "To see the pirate ship come in." Ah, of course. And there, on the lake, was a pontoon boat decked out to look like a pirate ship. Our friends parents did the decorating. It really looked like one! Off the boat came more pirates, and Peter Pan. Our friend's father dressed up in green pants (pants - hmmm, could've thought of that), shirt and green hat. It was great.

Everyone brought some food to share, so there was plenty to go around. There was a bouncy house for the kids (Stein and I estimated 40-50 kids were there) and also a dunk tank. We were there until about 11:00, talking and laughing with friends around a chiminea fire. It was a gorgeous day that turned into a gorgeous night. A fun, piratey time. Aaargh.