There's always one

Everyone has that one friend or family member that is "the guy" that makes an arse of himself at every party. He starts out ok then after a few drinks, he loosens up a little and insists on being the life of the party. "Everyone look at me!" At that point he is still ok. He actually becomes the glue that holds the party together and he could also be considered the catalyst that takes the party to the next level. You know, the level that consists of playing games such as beer pong. The music gets turned up a little and laughter can be heard just over the sound of the thump on the stereo.

The laughter is occurring because the catalyst is the funny guy that everyone wants to be around. People on the fringe are just waiting to see what happens next. "Where is the catalyst going to take us next?" Then, with no warning the party reaches the next level. This would be the moment that signifies the beginning of the end of the party. The guy, the catalyst has taken everyone to a new place. He has had a few more drinks. Maybe he has played beer pong or flip cup one too many times. He had a few too many jello shots. He moves from his status of funny and entertaining to dreadful and foolish. He starts saying very un-PC things and he is just a little too vulgar. At the end, it is impossible to make any sense of anything the guy is saying. But that doesn't stop him from talking nonstop like he has an interested audience.

That's when it happens. The first person to be fed up with the guy comes up with a great excuse to leave and then says his or her goodbyes and leaves. That starts a chain reaction which depending on the size of the party takes anywhere from 20 to 50 minutes to complete. The goodbyes. The thank you for comings. The see you soons. The end of the party. Of course the guy, the catalyst is always the last to leave.

Don't misunderstand me. I like the catalyst. I think he (or she) is essential to The Party. Parties are not the same without a catalyst. They aren't memorable. They have no coherence. They also may seem to go on forever with no end in sight.