Our Story: Eric’s Party

This story is called Eric’s Party, and it’s about Eric, and the Party, but Eric’s Party is not the actual event being described—as it happened much later. That’s just the name of the story, and that’s why the story is called Eric’s Party.

Now it all started less than 8 birthday’s ago, that is, it was 30-something years ago on Eric’s birthday (seeing how Eric is a Leap Year baby), when Phyllis and her best friend, Shannon, went to visit Eric and his roommates on the way to a party. Of course, Eric was not on his way to a party and the Party was not at his house. He lived in the same town as the Party, in the House on 101 McNabb, with the Men of 101 McNabb and Bones, the vicious, man-eating, chick-magnet Pomeranian. And living in a house like that with four other guys and a chick-magnet Pomeranian, those Men of 101 McNabb got a lot of visits from girls and people wanting to shove the furniture in the bedrooms and dance in the living room, since the school they were attending strictly forbid dancing and the like. Having all that room, seein’ as how they took out all the furniture, borrowed a few hundred CD’s from the station where Eric was a DJ and set up a DJ booth in the hallway—complete with strobe lights, large speakers and slippery hardwood floors—they decided that they didn’t have to work too hard to meet girls.

Anyway, Phyllis and Shannon showed up at 101 McNabb, and low-and-behold, there were no girls there. All the furniture was stored neatly in it’s original spot on the dance floor and the Men of 101 McNabb were all out doing important things like playing basketball and performing TP Duties at various female-occupied domiciles, all that is, except for Eric, who had recently returned home from his manual-labor duties behind the mic at a local radio station. Phyllis and Shannon found all the furniture in the house, along with Eric and the vicious, man-eating, chick-magnet Pomeranian, and decided it’d be a friendly gesture for them to invite Eric (but not the dog) to the Party. So the three piled into the front of a red VW microbus, took shovels and rakes and implements of destruction and headed on toward the Party.

Upon arriving at the Party, Eric and Phyllis became aware that the Party was, in fact, being held at one of the Prof’s houses who happened to be, “Away for the weekend.” Though they had never before heard of a Prof opening his home to college students and then going away for the weekend, with joy and gratitude in their hearts, the three decided to join the frolicking children in a night of Christian fellowship.

Now friends, there was only one or two things that Eric and Phyllis could have done at the Party, and the first was they could have used the phone to call the police and claim that the home of the unnamed Prof was being burglarized by psychotic college students, and probably eventually receive a medal for being so brave and honest on the telephone, which wasn’t very likely, and they didn’t expect it, so you see this is merely hypothetical. The other option was to play a game of Rummy, a game which Phyllis, having been raised in a Pastor’s home had never even heard of, but which Eric, having been raised in the deep south and only having recently learned to speak proper English, knew very well. So, Eric agreed to teach Phyllis the subtle strategies of Rummy.

And so began the makings of a beautiful relationship.

Now, seven or so Leap Year birthday’s later, with the minor addition of 4 kids, a return to the Holy Land of CleVegas, TN, some unwanted pounds in various places unmentionable, and one fluffy little Cavapoo that seems irrationally enamored with socks and napkins (a.k.a., Lyra the Poo), Eric and Phyllis Wilbanks are living out their dreams of becoming the world’s first couple to be introduced over a game of Rummy and still be together after 18 months.

You can find any dream you want, at Eric’s Party
You can find any dream you want, at Eric’s Party
Walk right in…the Prof’s not home
And by the time he returns we’ll all be gone
You can live any dream you want, at Eric’s Party

Da da da da da da da dum
At Eric’s Party