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JC's Birthday

April 25th, 2002

Today is JC’s birthday.  So we drove back to Herrin to see my family and give JC a proper birthday celebration.  On the way up to Herrin it started to rain and we found that the wipers had deteriorated in the years that it sat unused.  So we stopped in at the Herrin Veach to have new blades put in. Then we went to Mom’s for a visit.

Getting Wipers for the Buick

Mom and Ken

Scott and Angel

We visited with Mom for awhile and everyone seemed to be in good health and happy. We were enjoying our visit when we noticed that the party time was fast approching and we hadn’t taken JC present shopping yet.  So we jumpped in the car and went in search of Rollarblades (which he had asked for). We went to Penny’s and several other stores but the blades were not in stock. I was worried that my son might not get what he wanted for his birthday... so I took a gamble to make him happy and offered him anything he might like (I had a $3000 limit on the credit card and I was hoping he wouldn’t exceed it). I hinted at a computer for his room or maybe bedroom furniture, but he wanted an Xbox.  ‘Cool’, I thought.  We got him an Xbox system and I threw in surround sound speakers to enhance the experience.  He picked out a game and he was set.  And we got it all for way less than a grand.

JC and Dusty

Mary and Anjel

JoAnn (Mom) and TJ

Janet and Mary

Jerry (Dad), Peggy and JC

After packing it all into our car (did I mention that it was raining) we headed to Mugsy’s for the family party that my brother Jeff had arrainged (at his own expense I might add).  There pool tables and games for all to play. It was our first chance to see my sister Janet’s family.  Mary, Dusty, Kyler and I made the most of the chance to mingle with our American family.  Dusty learned to play a little pool and I got to hang out with the brothers.

John

I didn’t have much of a chance to talk to Janet because the ladies were so busy comparing babies, feeding babies and playing with each other’s babies.  We ate and drank (Jeff took care of the pizzas and we bought our own drinks and tipped the waitress) and sang Happy Birthday.  It was one of the best 18th birthday parties I’ve ever been to.  My brother, Jeff, put together a party that had something for everyone.

My mother and my father came to the party (even though they devorced years ago) with their respective families and the past was put aside as we celebrated JC’s birthday.

Joe and Ken

JC did pretty well in the gift department. I got a photo of my dad slipping him $100 and who knows how much from all of the other guests... he should be sitting pretty for a couple of months. That’s assuming, of course, he doesn’t just go shopping and blow it all ;>

There was one down note to the party... My brother, Scott, thought we were going to give him our car. We had promised it to my brother Phillip over 3 years ago because he had come to Japan and helped us out, but it had just sat and sat in Marissa waiting for him to collect it. In that time it had rusted and been in my father’s way. So this trip, just to put an end to the headache, I sold it to Mary’s brother for cash and the loan of their minivan to drive to Branson.  Now you have to understand that Scott hadn’t written one letter, made one phone call or bothered to contact us in any way. Why he thought he deserved it is beyond me, but he was pissed and called Mary a ‘bitch’ on the way out the door.  Thankfully it was the end of the party so nothing was made of it and although Mary insisted that I kick his ass, I just chalked it up to him being a dumbshit.

The After Party!!

I don’t have any photos of the after party.... but I’ll tell the story anyway.

My brothers Jeff and Joe and I took JC to his first strip club.
I had talked about it with my brother, John, over a month before the party... in fact, it was his idea (joking or not, I don’t know) and I expected him to join us but at the last minute he got a bad case of Whipitititius (pronounced: whip-i-ti-tie-tus) when he thought his wife might frown upon it.  Mary had wanted to go but had to stay back and take care of our children. She tried to infect me with the same virus that crippled John, but I have become immune through frequent exposure over the years.
So it was Jeff, Joe, JC and I (oh yeh... and Ken) meeting at JB’s for soft drinks and the watching of dancing naked ladies.  While the Coulter boy watch the various dancers swing around poles, dance and even hang upside-down in a cage... Ken tried to drink himself into a vegetative state.  Fortunatly, he didn’t have enough money and just got irratatingly wasted.
After each set the dancers came down and walked among the audience members to solicite tips and get customers for the more expensive bonus entertainment of lap dances and showers.  At first the nakedness of the naked ladies seemed to be a bit much for JC, but as the night wore on he started to loosen up and enjoy the fun of it all. By the second hour he was putting $1 bills in their G-strings and by the third hour he was doing Titty Tips. (Titty-Tips are given by holding the money in your teeth and the busty lady presses her breasts on each side of your face, slides them back and keeps the money in her cleavage.)  It was a real hoot.

After awhile I ran out of money to give JC for tips and to buy drinks for me (because my mean wife only let me take $20) and we went home. It was a wonderful night and a good memory for my son and I to share in the years to come.