Last Friday afternoon PR began playing in a Memorial Day baseball tournament. The way the tournaments work, the more games a team wins the longer they play. I'm writing this at 10 p.m. on Monday night. I just got home from the championship game. I feel like I've been at the baseball fields for ten days straight. In reality, I was only there since Friday and I did take a break to see Fleetwood Mac perform Saturday night.
Mooning the Train
A lot of people think California is "the land of fruits and nuts". Sure, we have our share of unique individuals just like any place else. Being a 5th generation native to California, I have noticed that the majority of "extreme" individuals here are not from California at all, but have moved here from ... I don't know, someplace nice and calm like Idaho or Wisconsin. They just go crazy once they get here. They're not used to all that sunshine or something.
That being said, we do know how to have our own brand of fun here. Recently one of my girlfriends decided to celebrate her birthday by joining in on the 29th annual "Amtrak Mooning" day. Eight thousand (yes, you read that right ... 8,000) people showed up to moon the passing Amtrak trains. Some of them might have been drinking?
This event started 29 years ago when a patron of the Mugs Away Saloon in Laguna Niguel challenged a few buddies to go moon a passing train. In exchange he promised to buy them a drink. It is an unsponsored event, no one is making money off Moon Day except perhaps local businesses from the thirsty/hungry crowds.
Forget trying to find parking anywhere within miles of this "event"! This year mooning began at 7:30 in the morning. Mooners came expecting to moon approximately 40 train passings by the end of that same evening. Unfortunately, this year the police made everyone disperse around 3:30 in the afternoon.
This is the first time in the history of the event that the police have had to break up the event early. It was a disappointment for those who planned to stay for "night mooning" which begins at dark. For night mooning, please bring your own flashlight or lantern to light up your ass.
The police broke the event up early because apparently some women started flashing their boobs to the train this year. Mooning is okay, but tit-flashing isn't. In addition, a couple guys decided they might as well go completely naked instead of just pulling their pants up and down over and over again everytime a train went by. Full nudity and tit exposure is not acceptable at a mooning event.
The police also said there were a lot of drunk people there. Really?
Mooning, in itself, is not enough for everyone. Some people decorate their butts. Oh yes they do! On the mooning website the question is asked, "I am overweight, in fact very obese, is it O.K. for me to moon?" The answer is, "Yes, yes, please 'moon' with us. We need people like you for the extra high intensity mooning you can provide." I'm going to repeat that for you, "extra high intensity mooning". Someone put a lot of thought into that sentence.
The event also carries a disclaimer which says, in part, "Attending this event may be hazardous due to the high concentration of silly people." It also states that if you fall and get hurt, "There is no one to sue," and that "the city and railroad would rather you did not bother to come to this event." The disclaimer also states that there is no insurance covering the event because who would insure an event called "Mooning Amtrak"?
Not only were there 8,000 folks mooning this year, the normally half-empty trains were packed full for this event. What's more fun, drinking nonstop on a train while watching people moon you? Or being a mooner?
The police said the very happy crowd dispersed peacefully when asked to this year. Next year Mooning Amtrak will be held on July 11th. Mark your calendars!
© Twenty Four At Heart
Congratulations to PR!
Don't worry about the repost - it's always been one of my favorites. (Besides, I can't say anything to you when I'm going to repost something tomorrow.)
Posted by: Jan | May 26, 2009 at 03:17 AM
Congrats PR! And this is a great post!
Posted by: Alan | May 26, 2009 at 03:52 AM
We have enough fruit and nuts over here to mean I've never considered California to be full of them. In fact, we have enough to supply the world!
Posted by: stoneskin | May 26, 2009 at 05:04 AM
I love the mooning post and I could read it every few months if you ever need to reprint it again. Sorry your whole weekend was at baseball fields, but at least PRs team won!
Posted by: Kelly | May 26, 2009 at 07:33 AM
I was at Fleetwood Mac also. Great show!
Posted by: Mr. B | May 26, 2009 at 08:16 AM
Wow...8,000 people? That's really grown over the years since I've been out of Cali. LOL! My Grandparents lived near there (actually, maybe there's multiple locations in South County? Not sure.) when I was a kiddo so I knew all about the Amtrak mooning. Probably more than I should have. Haha!
Congrats to your son on the winning the championship!
Posted by: Elaina | May 26, 2009 at 01:48 PM
This definitely tops my mooning I posted about over the weekend.
Paint stuff on their ass eh? got to check that our and then show Mr. K.
Posted by: BeautifulWreck | May 26, 2009 at 02:47 PM