I Had A GREAT Birthday - Thanks To All!

MIGHT AS WELL BE MEMORABLE!
Well, if one lasts long enough to celebrate 75 years, it darn well better be a good celebration, right?  Mine was terrific!  Thanks to all who had a hand in making it such a wonderful, memorable day.

STRETCHED IT OUT
We cheated a little by having my birthday dinner the night before.  Of course, that put the onus on me to actually survive until Sunday.  The dinner was just dandy!  I wrote about that earlier.

FACETIME WITH MISS HARPER
Then, on my REAL birthday, I slept in - my prerogative - and the day was launched when we received a FaceTime call from our nephew and his little family in Omaha wishing me a Happy Birthday.  Nothing quite like having an 18-month-old wish you Happy Birthday!  A perfect way to begin the day!

 BREAKFAST, THEN THE PICNIC
My Sweet Sue and I had breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants, then dropped in for a visit at the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbor's Group annual picnic at Harper Park.  The weather was perfect and the Eastsiders know how to throw a shindig. 

CHIEF SHARPNACK
We saw lots of old friends and met some new ones.  Chief Rob Sharpnack and his soon-to-be-SWAT-member son, Colin, were in attendance, along with a couple of his finest.  I'm not sure, but the Chief may have been playing PokemonGo!

FIRE/RESCUE REPRESENTED
Fire Division Chief Jason Pyle and Battalion Chief Tim Vasin were at the park, answering questions posed by residents - in this case, councilwoman Katrina Foley and my sweet wife.  Have you ever noticed that the ladies just love Firemen?

PROBLEM-SOLVERS, TOO
Council candidates Sandy Genis, Jay Humphrey and John Stephens showed up and were busily answering questions and chatting with residents.

FAMILY FUN TIME
 Lots of families found space in the shade to enjoy a day of fun and fellowship.

 AND GAMES FOR THE KIDS
There were some fun games for the kids, including the ever-popular water balloon toss.  And, once again, someone got soaked.

THE BIRTHDAY CARD!  I BLUSH...
A high point for me was the surprise birthday card created for me by many of my friends.  It had some nifty artwork on the front and dozens of signatures from well-wishers inside.  I'm overwhelmed by that outpouring of kindness, particularly when the assembled masses sang Happy Birthday to me!  I was choked-up... and very, very grateful.  We left shortly thereafter - and before a lovely birthday gift basket was presented to us.  We found it on our porch, awaiting our return home, a few hours later.  Once again, we are very grateful.

THE END TO A PERFECT DAY
We took in a movie, then had dinner at another of our favorite restaurants before returning home and hunkering down to watch Olympics coverage and read the growing number of great birthday wishes all over social media.

YEP... A PERFECT DAY.. THANKS TO ALL
As I said, it was a GREAT day and, again, I want to thank all of you who participated in making it so memorable.  I'm feelin' the love!  It was, indeed, a Happy Birthday To Me.  And, to those many of you who asked about my health, and when I'm going to be back in the saddle again... soon, very soon.  The City seems to have taken August off, so we'll be ready to go when they are - right after Labor Day.  In the meantime, there are candidate forums awaiting all of us... see you there.