A tremendous family and tremendous friends combined for a tremendous surprise on March 13th! (See previous gallery for what I thought was my big 70th birthday party.) Was March 13th a surprise? Well a few weeks earlier, I was invited to a surprise party on Sat., March 13, for a good friend. I fell for that until the phone rang on Thursday. I picked it up and heard my wife say "I think Jerry's on the line." The person paused and said "Then I'll just say that I can't attend the meeting." Sounded suspicious...so I started wondering about Saturday -- was it a surprise party for both Gary and me? Then Friday I got a nurse's call that my white count was low because of medicine I was on and I should avoid crowds. I asked about the party on Saturday and she advised me not to go. My "regular" party seemed "real" that evening with my sister visiting from Indiana and my area kids eating birthday cake (destroying my '37 Studebaker in the process -- See Party 1 Gallery): https://pbase.com/redtop/party_1 Nothing was suspicious during the day on Saturday, and I was convinced if a party would be held it would not be that day and most of my family would not be there. I debated not going to the surprise Party Saturday, but finally decided to go a little late, pop in for greetings, not even take my coat off, and then leave following the doctor's orders. So, I was speechless when I walked in to hear 99 people shout "Surprise". Unbelievable! Besides many area friends, there were my daughter and husband from California, nephew from Boston, family from Indiana and Central Wisconsin and even a car buff from clear across the state. Was I surprised? You bet! It was great! The photos are in 3 groups: 1) Family. 2) Friends. 3) Post-party. [Many photos are by Bryan, Jeff H., Steve, Patricia & others.] Additional photos of the gala event are at: https://pbase.com/stretchclan/parties&page=all =====================================================================