In May 2004, my friend cartoonist Tim Kreider celebrated the release of his first book, The Pain: When Will It End?. Drunken festivities ensued at Cox's, a friendly South Baltimore bar.

Later that weekend, Tim hosted a party to celebrate the passing of Ronald Reagan. I think Tim had some sort of intention to collect money for the John Kerry campaign and talk politics or somesuch. But by the time I got to Tim's place--well past midnight--everyone was in the advanced stages of merriment, and partaking in a big hootenany by the water. My offering of Jack Daniels was the final bomb that blew this increasingly incoherent gathering apart, as the photos at the bottom document. The smoke present in the final few pictures came from the bonfire that was stacked with way too much wood in some collective drunken attempt to fend off the cold. I myself fell asleep on Tim's living room floor later that night.