Bombshell Lands

The Empty Plate and Crumby Corner Buddy Left as Evidence of his Predation

My wife has tried since we were married over three decades ago to throw me a surprise birthday party. Yesterday she finally succeeded, against all odds. I was wondering why she was putting so much time and effort into the cake she claimed she was preparing for our son during his weekend visit. I’ve never even tried to explore the inner workings of her mind, not being possessed of excessive courage, I just put it down to her well known motherly dedication.

Buddy entered the scenario in a very decisive manner first thing in the morning. I always start the day with a stationary bike session in the basement. Buddy is invariable rooted at the base of the bike waiting for something more interesting to take place. I thought he was doing the same thing yesterday. When I mounted the stairs to the kitchen I found that he’d taken some time away from his post since I left the basement door open. I found one corner of the kitchen coated with chocolate cake crumbs and one of the two plates that heretofore bore one of the cake layers empty.  My wife had left the cake on the counter overnight and well within Buddy’s renowned counter climbing capabilities. I turned around to vent on Buddy but he was already scurrying downstairs realizing his crime had been discovered.

Chasing Down Buddy With Sister, Brother in Law, Son and Keene Friend

Best Birthday Present Possible

My wife took it well (much better than I expected – yet another missed clue) and sent my son and I out to the movies without complaint. It was upon returning from the movie that I saw a strange car parked out front of the house with New Hampshire license plates. I should have noted that it looked remarkably like the Keene Friend’s car. The suspense was shattered when Buddy came charging from behind the house, completely free of his leash followed in close order by Keene Friend, my sister, and brother in law. My wife emerged to announce “surprise!” and explained she planned the party now since she was going to be in California when my actual birthday takes place. The first event of the party was chasing down Buddy who was busily trying to water the next door neighbor’s flower beds.

The Party Crowd

In short order we were joined by the next door mafiosos, Keene Friend 2 with girlfriend, the ABFA’s parents and finally the ABFA herself. A beautiful autumn day delivered a perfect backdrop to the best birthday present I could have hoped for – the company of these people. My wife was concerned about the small size of the new house to accommodate the crowd but it was more than up to the task. The rest of the day was a bit of a blur as these great people swirled around me. We video chatted with the Cali-Daughter and Wingman since we wanted to share the experience with them. The Cantankerous Friend texted in from down South where the Good Lord is trying to drown him.

Video Conference with California

My wife prepared a fantastic dinner that was topped off by the aforementioned Buddy-shortened cake. Bonecrusher was deployed and performed his assigned task with aplomb. Due to the heartfelt assault I’d been making on the Keene Friend’s beer cooler since the surprise was sprung the ceiling was in definite peril. However, like everything else yesterday (except for the whole cake and dog thing), the cake cutting went off without a hitch and only minor flesh wounds.

Bonecrusher Deployed!!!!!

Wife and Son Monitoring my Actions

Contact

I never thought my wife could pull off the surprise party but she did and I could not have been happier. I was also humbled that all these great people took time out of their weekends to spend the day with us. My actual birthday is still more than a month away but this marks the second birthday party to celebrate it. I’m getting to like this whole 60 experience.