Birthday Party Promises

So Scott's 40th birthday party has come and gone. The food has been packed away, the dogs have eaten the last remnants of stray chips and table scraps, the kegs float aimlessly in a bucket of cube-less water, and countless hangovers are being treated tenderly.

I had the pleasure of meeting a variety of Scott's closest friends, family, coworkers, and some others who I believe stumbled across a balloon strung to a mailbox and helped themselves to a party. Regardless of their affiliation with Scott, one thing was certainly clear - he is a very lucky
guy for being part of such a diverse and wonderful group of people.

One trait about Scott that I have always admired since the day I met him was his ability to travel between different groups of people. Regardless of their background, heritage, career, hobbies, strange fetishes, or desire to wear "tighty whities," he always treats everyone exactly the same way and brings them together into a larger homogeneous group. Heavy metal rockers bond with conservative soccer moms, hardcore union guys end end up bear hugging white collar desk jockeys with great affection, jocks are bouncing on the laps of bodacious big haired groupies... (you may or may not fit into any of these categories, but you get the drift...)

Scott's recipe for this eclectic group mixed into a sort of spicy gumbo is a genuine caring for other people, a sympathetic ear, a nonjudgmental view, and some off the wall humor. A meal we can feast on for a very long time.
To Scott on his 40th birthday, I wish him 40 more and would take this opportunity to thank everyone who made the party such a success. It was certainly a very special day for me meeting all of you. And a special thanks to Laura who made it all possible. It may not have been obvious how much work she put into this party, but that's because she made it look so easy. Without her headlong dedication into making this a perfect party, we would have been at PJ's Pub with a bowl of chips, flat beer and 6 people.

Thanks All for coming and Happy Birthday Scott.

And now for the birthday promises... Most of you told me that you would add your thoughts to this blog after the party. Please do it. It's another nice reminder about how much Scott's friends appreciate him.

~ John