On Friday, September 11, I turned 75 yers old. That same day, Linda's sons Jeff and Justin flew in from their homes in Raleigh, NC. They were in town to attend a family wedding for a cousin of theirs the following day and were staying with us. The next day, Saturday, Linda left the house to help set up for a retirement party for a client of hers at Rico's Restaurant. I was to come by later to attend the retirement party and allow Jeff and Justin to say hello to the retiree before they took off for the wedding.
Then, I walked into Rico's private dining room.....
...only to find out this was a surprise birthday party for me!
How surprised was I? Maybe this picture below will give you a hint.
I consulted a thesaurus and came up with thirteen different synonyms for "Surprised" (flabbergasted, thunderstruck, dumbfounded, and gobsmacked to name a few), and they don't even begin to describe what came over me when I walked into the room and saw over seventy people from all walks of my life in there waving customized Terrible Towels while "Renegade" played over the speakers. Sproule, Madden, Mulzet, Dinnin, and Moellenbrock family members, co-workers from my Highmark BCBS days, guys from my North Side Brunch Gang and their wives, SABR friends, Church friends, and even folks from my grade school at St. Philomena's.
But the biggest and best Star of the Day was Linda.
It turns out that Linda had been planning this party for the last fourteen months. Yes, you read that correctly. FOURTEEN MONTHS!!! That she was able to plan and pull this off without me ever getting even a hint this was going to happen, and, yes, I was totally clueless, and that all of those invited guests were able to keep such a secret from me was a feat of planning, logistics, and secrecy that had not been seen since Eisenhower headed up the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Throughout the afternoon, people kept asking "Did you not have ANY idea this was happening?" (I did not), and "Linda is amazing that she pulled this off." (yes, she is). In the days following the party, she has been telling me stories of how she did this, and who helped, and what she had to do and how hard she had to work to keep the wool pulled over my eyes. Did I mention that I was totally clueless?
Those "behind the scenes" folks who deserve special recognition? Sarah and Nick, Sue and Nick, Kelly and Andy, Jeffrey, Justin, Kurt, Jacquie, Haley, Cindy and Tom. Plus all the folks who arrived at Rico's early and helped with the set up.
Did I mention the Entertainment? Linda arranged to have a local magician, Eric Meredith of Pittsburgh, there to perform some slight hand tricks, and he was amazing.
Linda also made a wonderful speech welcoming and thanking everyone, and saying some very special things about me. Those words will remain with the people who were there and they will also be forever in my heart. Did I say that I was "speechless"? Well, not so much that I didn't get a chance to express my gratitude and appreciation for all that was done for me that day and to all that were there.
It was an amazing and unforgettable day for me. I could go on and on, but will instead just close this out with one more shout out to my REMARKABLE wife, Linda, and some of the many photos from the day.
The Rooms Where It Happened
Do you sense a theme with the table assignments?
Custom made.
Would Myron Cope have approved?
The "wedding" that Jeff and Justin were attending was
to be a hippy-ish outdoor wedding in a field.
Hence, the informal dress. Did I mention that I was clueless?
With Jeff, Sarah, and Justin
Me and brother Jim
A couple of badasses!
My Dinnin Family
Maureen, John, Jim, Jack and Lisa
With Jim and Nancy and our
niece and nephew Karen and Bill
My Mulzet Family
Kurt, Sue, and Nick
With Linda's lifelong best friend Cindy and her hubby, Tom
My Moellenbrock Family
Jim, Judy, Ann, George
With Kelly and Andy
Key Players in "The Secret"
My Madden Cousins, Casey and Cheryl
Holding a pic of my mother, Ruth Madden.
We share the same Great-Grandparents
My cuz, Casey, with my pal, David, who
travelled from Tennessee to be there.
After keeping this a secret for fourteen months,
Linda decided to cut loose!
Normally, she would not like a pic like this posted,
but she said it was okay this time.
A splendid time was had by all. I was honored to assist Linda and her team with party planning advice during Operation Grandstander Surprise Party. Enjoyed myself and the after party! Happy birthday!
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