Houston
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DW got the shopping done with Debbie’s help
for the first party. They had lots of wine & beer, and plenty
of hors’dourves. Our friends Dave and Bob, from South Bend, IN
and Kate Simon from Hudson, OH were also friendly faces to
have with us. Daniel (Debbie’s husband) made the Friday night
trip to get John
Woggon at the airport during the party hours.
I had made the trip the day before to get Roger, Cindy and
Jessica Rolewicz. Houston’s roads are not well marked for
strangers to guess where the next turn off will be. Then add
some road construction and you can imagine what my trip had
been like.
About 30 people attended the first event of Debbie’s (and Dianne’s – I was routinely forgotten) BIG Birthday weekend. Fortunately no one had very far to go to get to their beds after an evening of good conversation, food and drinks. The kids were supposed to be sequestered in the upstairs family room, but as the night wore on we saw more and more of them. I remember parties my parents used to give where my sister and I would hang on the upstairs hall railing hoping to get a glimpse of the party goers. I knew it was time at 11 to take “my little one” back to the hotel room. It was late when DW got back after cleaning up with friends (and celebrating at the hotel with champagne thanks to Dave and Bob).
Saturday’s Reception was terrific! This was the big event of the weekend -- a formal reception Debbie planned at Shirley Acres. There is a grouping of buildings in the woods where different sized groups could rent the facility for a party. The rear deck overlooks a wooded flood plain, which sang of frogs as the night went on.
Debbie
had selected an array of different food for us to munch on and
a nicely stocked bar. A neighbor friend, Deb Lapar, baked 2
delicious cheese cakes, a chocolate cake and a
German chocolate cake (DW’s favorite) for the dessert table. The disc jockey
played a variety of oldies and country music, which brought
the crowds to the floor through the night.
One highlight was seeing DW doing the
Cotton-eyed Joe and falling to the floor with her dress nearly
over her head. Another was watching Aunt Helen dance disco to
Saturday Night Fever. We’ve been constantly amazed by her
stamina during a very tiring week. John Woggon brought along
copies of a gag newspaper article announcing the 50th Birthday
of the twin sisters. (Above link is to an Adobe PDF file (180
K) -- you need
Acrobat Reader to see it.
A memorabilia table was filled with photos
from an active life. We all noted how bad fashion was when we
were 20 and that maybe the dress of today wasn’t all that bad!
Sunday ended the festivities with a day at
the Sam Houston Raceway Park. Deb had a box reserved and
dinner for at least 30 of us. Daniel’s parents and sisters
were along with us. The food buffet was overflowing with fresh
shrimp, prime rib, salads and delicious desserts. Everyone
overate AGAIN and followed the races. Young and old enjoyed
picking the winners, and many losers. Andrew actually did
pretty well until the last bets. He has found another Woggon
trait, the love of the ponies. We tried to teach him that from
the winnings you need to subtract betting money but he
couldn’t see it that way.
Out of towners flew off on Labor Day and we
moved back for one last night at the Jackson’s house. Everyone
is exhausted from the hubbub of party life. Deb and her
friend’s are planning the 75th birthday party as we speak. I’m
frightened Auntie Em!!! We got some last games of cards in and
caught up with our travel works. A repack will be necessary
before we head off for the first week on our RTW adventure in
Quito, Ecuador with Judie and Jim Briscoe, two very generous
strangers (but friends of Debbie’s) who have invited us to
stay in their home as we get used to traveling. It now
begins.....
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