Yesterday a bunch of Sustacheks, Salituros, and Sorensens made the trek to Mad City to celebrate Jimmy’s 24th birthday. His is one of the few birthdays that I remember because he was born on six-seven-eight-nine. Now, if you’re wondering why a blog about Jimmy’s birthday is named “A day at the zoo,” it’s in part because we took an afternoon walk to the zoo, but mostly it’s because whenever a bunch of my family members get together, it’s kind of like being in a zoo.
Unlike our Memorial Day weekend at Three Lakes, which was planned well in advance, this party was the epitomy of winging it. I should note, however, that I did get a call at least 90 minutes before the party started informing me of when and where it would be. Of course, that changed at least three or four times in the form of text messages, some of them totally devoid of text. Birthday cake preparations began via cell phone discussions from a van on the freeway about what bakeries might be near Jimmy and Katie’s apartment. They ended with Kathy offering to bring a rhubarb cake that she had just baked that morning in case anyone happened to stop by our house. There were no roses or fancy birthday decorations on the cake, in fact there wasn’t even any frosting, but, hey, you stick a few candles on it and, voila!, you have a birthday cake.
We arrived a little late because my printer wasn’t cooperating and I was madly trying to finish a card for Jimmy. When we got there the door was locked and no one answered the door bell. So, I called my sister and when she didn’t answer, we walked around to the back of the house to find a bunch of people eating delicious ribs that they bought at Smoky Jon’s. It turns out that it’s kind of difficult to answer a cell phone when you’re up to your elbows in barbecue sauce. There were plenty of ribs left for us and I must admit, they were excellent — two sticky red thumbs up!
After the great rib meal we used up most of the soap in Jimmy and Katie’s apartment in an effort to wash our hands, faces and arms. Then we dug into the make-shift birthday cake. I did manage to take some pictures of the cake but none of the ribs because, as it turns out, it’s also kind of difficult to operate a camera when you’re up to your elbows in barbecue sauce. When you include a nice walk through the zoo and a few glasses of wine, this family gathering was really rather nice. Thanks for having a birthday, Jim!