Bachelor Party Brothers-in-Arms

There was an unexpected brush with celebrity, an all-night house party and a first glass of beer. All a part of two-day trip through Philadelphia in a bachelor party send-off that lives on in the memory of the men who traveled and lived that experience.

Despite being a born and bred citizen of New York, I had visited and enjoyed greatly Philadelphia several times by the summer of 2004. Hey, I may not like the sports teams, but I have a dear appreciation for the city itself. This trip would be a different and unique experience. It was a "men only" bonding experience and my first bachelor party of any kind.

I accompanied my friend Joe and his brother-in-law to be Scott as we road tripped down to Philly. It was Scott's bachelor party weekend and it was just us three guys doing just guy things in the city of Brotherly Love. Scott had spent an extended amount of time there for college He played the tour guide, knowing the ins and outs of the streets. We were pumped to be there. We were ready to make the most of our time.

One of the first major events of that weekend was a moment of pure happenstance, but would become a perfect snapshot of the unpredictability of that weekend. Joe, Scott and I were gob smacked almost as soon as we entered Centre City by the sight of two huge tour buses. They were parked one block away from our hotel at another, glitzier and pricier hotel. On the side of the tour buses were huge murals of 50 Cent, Eminem and the rest of G-Unit.

Amazingly, it seemed we had run right into the middle of that year's "Anger Management Tour". They were scheduled to play a show in nearby Camden, New Jersey, but were using Philadelphia as a rest-stop. We decided their presence in this town and ours was a synchronicity that couldn't be denied. Investigating further, we joined in with the fifty or so Philadelphia locals, teenagers and adults who had also spotted the bus outside the hotel and were hoping against hope that it was 50 Cent in there. It may have been the most awkward fitting collection of people, but we were united by one common goal-to spot Fitty.

It didn't take longer than another thirty minutes for 50 Cent to leave the hotel, take pictures and sign autographs. It wasn't much longer than about a minute or so, but it definitely was exciting. He and his crew hopped onto vans and left the buses behind. Seeing an opportunity in front of us, we took our best "Gangasta" poses in front of the giant murals. It was ridiculous but hell, we were living in the moment.

The trip would continue onwards that day, filled with cheese steaks and shopping. Later that evening I downed my first ever glass of beer-a large flute filled with golden Yeungling. It was a bit sharp, but overall not that bad at all.

A glass of beer might not mean much, but it was a momentous and significant occasion in my life. I was twenty four, but had never had a beer before. This was a combination of personal choice and belief that until that point it just wasn't the right time for me to drink. It was only a few months removed from my first real glass of wine, so altogether it was a year of an alcohol awakening. It was a good call to drink with my friends there by my side and besides, it was for a cause worth celebrating. We lifted our glasses in a toast to the weekend.

If you asked the other two, they might not remember much afterwards.

I won't go into too many details about the house party we attended in honor of the soon-to-be hitched for the sake of protecting the guilty. However, between the crush of people in attendance, the huge beer keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon, the beer pong, the loud music and the staying up at all hours-I think you'd get the picture. I can't say that I was really comfortable considering I didn't know anyone there-I was never known for being a social butterfly. However, I sucked it up for my friends, my brothers-in-arms and went onwards into the early morning night.

The next day was spent in sweet recovery. Rightfully so.