Rick's Surprise 50th Birthday Party!

There was a frenzy of picture taking, that honestly, got a little out of control

I think that Karen is getting ready to reach for the bottle of 1800 in the middle of the table.

There was much royalty at my party. Here you see Princess Elizabeth enjoying a bottle of her favorite beverage.

Across the grand party table Princess Karen was demonstrating how one might, if one wished, dope slap someone---a commoner of course!

Here, my friend Jim is giving me his very best movie star smile. (Either that or he was getting ready to pass out!)

Here you see Michael demonstrating the way in which a very good patient will help to manually stabilize an injured radius bone while the attending EMT-B student gathers up the necessary (liquid!) medicines required to manage the intense pain..

OK, here's my best shot at imitating the mysterious pose from the Weston democrat ad. I don't have a clue what I was trying to do!

Thankfully, there were NOT really 50 candles on the cake. I surely would have passed out trying to blow them out and there is a good chance that Company 6 would have had to respond to extinguish the flames!

Here, my friend Mike, a.k.a. Bob The Builder, attempts to learn a local craft: Talking with a mouth full of tobackee. Amazing! And not one drop of drool.

There comes a point in every party where things can get well out of hand. Here, Princess Karen is admonishing all of us to Make Good Decisions.

At really good parties, it is often difficult to keep the pets from getting into the act. a surprise visit was much enjoyed when Princess Annie joined the fun.

At REALLY good parties, one must be very careful to not make statements like: "Hey. I wonder if we can get all the dogs into the crate at once?"

I included this picture of my friend Jim, in case he needed to get a new passport any time in the near future.

As my surprise party worked its way into the wee hours, Jim's vertical position, relative to the floor, became more and more challenged.

And finally, Jim has crumpled to the floor and the dogs are eating him! It was a mess, but we didn't have to feed the dogs for a week!

A special Thank You to all of my good friends who helped to make my birthday VERY special.

	It was around 2pm in and the dogs started barking. So, I went out into the front yard to see why. There was a car pulling into the drive. Fairly rare way out here so we were all, the dogs and I, interested in who was lost. Then, to my complete surprise, our friends Jim and Karen popped out of the car greeting me with calls of "Happy Birthday." You could have knocked me over with a feather! We emptied the car---food, liquor, gifts, and cold and flu supplies as Karen was fighting a cold! We carried the mobile party into the house and hugged and squeezed and kissed... I was pretty much a mess. Blubbering and smiling like a Cheshire cat. Then, looking out the kitchen window I see our friend Mike's car pulling into the drive too!!! I was NO GOOD at that point. Liz and my friends had worked this whole thing out without me picking up ANY clue. Seriously, I had no idea that something was going on. (In retrospect, I should have been suspicious when Liz cleaned the house!) But, I was hip-deep into my EMT-B class and unable to focus on much else. My friends had put together the best birthday present for which a person could wish. We ate and drank, and ate and drank, and then we had something to eat and drink. Along the way we managed to spray silly string and shoot confetti all over the dining room and kitchen. It was the best birthday party I ever had. Almost made being 50 years old worth it!!!!

	And, as if that wasn't enough, earlier in the week I walked into the Lewis County EMS headquarters building to be greeted with wails of laughter and cheers. "Hey Rick, your in the paper today, man!" What the devil were they talking about?! Had I been indicted or something? Secrets of my past finally discovered? Nope. Even better. My good friends, and family, Dianne and Bud over in Baltimore has conspired with unnamed coconspirators in Vadis to insert the ad displayed below. What great fun. Everyone loved it, as did I. And, is that a GREAT poem or what?!