2002 Party Recap

 
The 2002 Extended Mullen Christmas party was held at Paul & Marilynn's house in Cranbury at the usual date and time:  the Saturday after New Year's starting at 2:00pm.  Unfortunately, Marilynn was unable to attend this year as she was in New Hampshire taking care of her Mom (who was recovering from surgery).  As a result, I was pushed into double-duty, trying to act as both host and hostess.  What suffered (as you will see) were the photos.  Most were taken on Friday night, when the “New York Mullens” (as we are still called) had our Christmas get-together.  By the time Saturday arrived, I was running around so much that I only managed to take a few photos.  Sorry about that!!  I promise to do better next year.  To see the photos that I did manage to take, click here. 

As usual, a few people were unable to attend because of sickness or other commitments.  We ended up with a grand total of 54 attendees -- a pretty good turnout!  It's always good to see everyone, but it was especially nice to see the Murphy's after a couple years' absence.  The food was great, basically because everyone brought something.  My personal favorites were the cream puffs that Aunt Pat brought.  If you didn't know about the cream puffs it's probably because Andy and I ate half of them! 

Once again, Aunt Pat and Uncle Harry – mostly Uncle Harry – contributed the bizarre event of the evening.  At around 8pm I was informed that Harry was out in the foyer having difficulty finding his jacket.  Since I hung up his jacket (and even commented on how it looked similar to my own brown leather jacket) I went out to help.  After painstakingly searching through the front closet and coming up empty, I determined that I must have hung it in the back closet or the closet in the garage.  When searches of both these locations proved negative, I went back to find Harry at the foyer closet:

Me:      “Harry, I know I hung your jacket in there.” 
Harry:  “Oh, I have my jacket -– it's over there on the chair.  I’m looking for Pat’s jacket.”
Me:      “@!#!*~!!  I just spent the last 10 minutes looking for your jacket!"

So then I began looking for Aunt Pat’s jacket.  After another fruitless search of all three closets, I went out to the foyer to tell Harry the bad news:

Me:      “Harry, I have no idea where Pat’s jacket is.  I’ve checked everywhere.”
Harry:  “Oh, you know what?  I think she left it in Shawn and Doug’s car.  Yes, I’m sure of it.”  
Me:      “@#$%@~!!”   I just spent the last 10 minutes looking for that jacket!!"
Harry:  "No, it’s definitely in Shawn and Doug’s car, and they're gone.  We'll get it tomorrow."

A frustrating end to the coat saga, or so I thought.  A few minutes later, I walked into the kitchen and noticed Aunt Pat sitting behind the counter:

Me:   “Aunt Pat, too bad about your jacket.  I hear that you left it in Sean and Doug’s car."
Pat:   "What are you talking about??  I have my jacket right here on my lap!”
Me:   “@#$%#$@~!!”  Where the hell is Harry?????"
Pat:   “I think he’s out in the foyer looking for his hat.”

I couldn't make this up if I tried.  See you all at the next gathering!

 

     Paul

 

[Footnote:  Harry didn’t come to the party with a hat…]