So you're scared and maybe you're thinkin' we ain't that young anymore...

Danny Glover's acting career hit relevance again...which Hollywood execs may suggest that Lethal Weapon 5 might be on the horizon. The plot of this week's How I Met Your Mother (aka: the "Friends" of our generation...but based in Brooklyn...because, I mean if The Real World went there 5 years later, it must be cool) As Sgt. Murtaugh in the 80's police comedy series without "The Gute" or Judge Reinhold, the good officer was known for saying on many occasion as Mel Gibson would pull of stunts that proved Mad Max was no fluke: "I'm too old for this shit". Ted uses the guise of the "Murtaugh List" to then write down all the things he thinks he's too old to do. When I sat & applied the "Murtaugh List" concept to my own life, one glaring example came to mind.

How do people STILL start their nights at 10 pm or 11 pm....meaning hit their first bar or place of entertainment for the night. I mean, most of the people who do this probably prepare all day for this 3 hour installment of their social lives, which in my humble opinion doesn't make them THAT cool considering there are 21 hours left in the day. During the good ole' days of 66 College Avenue, our parties used to start at 11. And it was fine. Most of us anyway would "pre-game" in our respective code-violation bastions anyway. It was college.

Like a good Kenyan distance runner, you give me a happy hour it'll turn into quite a few "happy hours". Down the shore everything's alright because it's a marathon. Go to the beach, have a few on the back porch of the Parker House, change & shower, relax, go back downstairs to continue the fun by changing from grog-shop Clark Kent into Sea Girt Superman with salmon shorts.

Our Giants tailgates start 4 hours before kick-off, and most days we tailgate after the game as well, watching the cars stalled on the access roads surrounding that concrete masterpiece I have so many memories from. While those cars are listening to the Bob Papa post-game wrap-up and flipping off the car with Connecticut license plates in front of them, there's no sweeter feeling than chowing down on a nice crispy Thumann's hot dog on a Martin's potato roll, doused with sauce from the Hot Grill on Lexington Avenue in Clifton. As per the picture on the left, concert tailgating takes on a whole different animal. One must start at least 5 hours before the show and in the case of a Jimmy Buffett concert, one must take a half-day from work. The Far Hills Hunt? I can't even recall what time I started at...

Though I will say, when delving into a night of the Hoboken nightlife, we've started having a dinner at about 8 pm...then going out. That's honestly my cut-off. Which I think proves my point. "We're too old for this shit".

So, my friends, show a little faith, there's magic in the night....even if it starts before the sun goes down.

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On another related, yet unrelated note, the one thing that you can never be too old for is visiting your favorite bars in which you spent your formative years. We had a fraternity reunion Saturday afternoon and we all wound up on Easton Ave...and it never gets old. Going to Shortway's Barn or Bender's on Thanksgiving Eve never gets old, just like Stuff Yer Face or the Golden Rail never get old when visiting New Brunswick. The 'Backer will never tire, especially because its scheduled to become part of the ND campus. And anytime a bunch of people get together and head on down to McSorley's, no matter how many meat-heads may be there chugging mugs of dark or light ale, you're never too old for it. So go on, relive the days before cirrosis and relish in the memories that go with it.