Kickin’ your can all over the place

Cause We Will, We Will, Rock You!!!

We Are The Champions My Friend......

For the 5th straight year in a row, Vic's Cafe took the win for Bar Wars. The tri-county softball tournament of rival bars. Was it as exciting as the World Series? No. But around here it's kind of a big deal, at least for our tiny little community it is. It is held every year in the itty bitty town of St. Marie, population 300 (Salute! ok few people will get that, but if you did...I know you are laughing your ass of! LOL), where a couple hundred people converge with coolers full of beer, on 4 wheelers, in their muddy trucks and their 'grown up cars' like my mini-van, to watch the annual game. Of course, being the kick ass team that we are, we take our softball seriously, at least for one day a year. In fact we probably take it about as seriously as we take our beer drinking...and that's pretty damn serious! LOL However, my beer drinking days are over...more about that later. Vic's occupies the same (only) shady spot at the ball diamond every year, where we grill out all day, drink beer, stomp ass on the field and talk smack all day.....it's like the redneck Super Bowl. Our trophy is always proudly displayed on our ratty old picnic table that announces us as Bar Wars Champion's for 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and now you can add 2008 to that tally!! It was and exciting day, at one point we scored 12 runs in one inning...we were some proud rednecks!! Yay!!

There is a long standing 'label' on our community, intended as a horrible insult, tossed our direction from young people in other rival communities (yes I know...childish...complicated...it's a whole other post). That label is "Inbreeders".....anytime there has been a fight at a party or someone gets mad at the bar or some other conflict with and 'out of towner' the term "F'n Inbreeders!!!" gets shouted as a departing sentiment. But it's days like yesterday when I want to yell at those assholes...."Hey all that inbreedin' got us some damn fine ball players, don't ya think?!" but I guess that would be tacky! Ha!

Why are we called inbreeders you might ask? Well...in sense because it's true, but on a very broad scale. I've talked before about our community being very closed off and self sufficient at one time, due to religious persecution. Of course this was 100-200 years ago....but all of these families still live here....nobody ever leaves here...it's like the Bermuda Triangle...anyhoo, distantly everyone here is related. In fact my own children are related to every single one of my daycare kids somehow. It may be a 3rd or 4th cousin, but every child in my care comes from the same bloodline if you go back about 5 generations.....and to some, I am sure that is a bit creepy...around here we don't think anything about it. People try not to fall in love with someone who is a 2nd cousin or closer, but there have been 2nd cousins get married around here. Not that big of a deal. My own in-laws are 3rd cousins, they didn't know it until after they were married....it just happens. But anyhoo...of course we hear the occasional slur yesterday as we were kicking every team's butt on the ball diamond...we just laughed and gave 'em all the California Howdy!

P.S. I tried to drink a few beers yesterday, along with a ton of bottled water...the beer does not mix with my new meds. It made me grouchy and feel icky. It looks like I might be the Designated Driver for life...which isn't always a bad thing I guess...