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Welcome to 21 years of stories, pictures, videos, and memories.

What is the May Birthday Bash Bonanza?

The May Birthday Bash Bonanza (MBBB) was created in 1997 by David Struck, with input from Matt Berger, Russell Lark, Marc Struck, and Adam Greenspan. The purpose of the MBBB was to serve as a reunion for our group of friends, who left Merrick for various colleges in 1996. Back then, we six friends from Sanford H. Calhoun High School came together to celebrate after completing our freshmen years by spending the whole day talking about memories both old and new. However, as we were not content just to talk the day away, we decided to also include a diverse selection of events. There would be events with heated competition and events just for fun. There would be events with running, jumping, and sweating and other events where everyone just sat in a comfy chair.

Organizationally, MBBB1 was full of uncertainty. We didn't know if we'd be able to get two cars that would allow us to comfortably transport the six participants around for the whole day. We also had no idea how long each event would take, so planning a reliable schedule was difficult. No one had any clue what to expect-- the whole concept was totally fresh, totally cool, and completely unprecedented. Traditions needed to be formed naturally...and they quickly were.

After such a successful day (the specific date was May 19, 1997), we all agreed that an annual gathering would be a no-brainer. And so, for another 25 years, we've watched movies (did you know that there's a MBBB movie curse?), thrown around frisbees (Ultimate, Frolf, and Kan Jam), and, of course, played high stakes games of nickel-ante poker.

Why isn't the MBBB held in May anymore?

The original concept for the MBBB revolved around getting together soon after each college's spring semester finished. As this occurs in May, that's where that part comes from. However, by sheer and wonderful coincidence, many of the original members have birthdays in or very nearly in May. David Struck (and Marc Struck of course, as they're twins), Matt Berger, Adam Greenspan, and Russell Lark all have birthdays in May and Rolly Marmol's is in early June. However, after our college lives ended and our work lives began, it became more difficult to schedule the MBBB in May. Therefore, we agreed that a summer window would be the best way to keep the annual tradition intact as each of our lives became busier and busier with work, wives, and even children. So why not the Summer Birthday Bash Bonanza? Well, as George Costanza might tell you, it's all about the cachet of the name and MBBB just feels oh so right.

Want to know more? Great! Feel free to browse the site and read about all of the members of the MBBB, the recaps listed below, and each event that we've either done and proposed since 1997.