Birthday

Suzanne gave me pill boxes full of different kinds of chocolates, each label bearing funny comments…such as pills to make Nicole Kidman fall in love with me. (Little does Suzanne know that such pills are unnecessary!) Wow, what a lot of work she did! I guess she must like me.
A lovely family. R said Erika was the belle of the ball.
Marilyn was vivacious and fun; her husband, Jerry, was clever and funny.
Steve and Susan – such healthy, warm people! Susan is still a knockout, despite having been married to Steve all these years. (I know he’s reading this.)
Charlie: as decent and open-hearted a person as you can imagine. With a wicked sense of humor.
Lew telephoned – my best (male) friend. Said I hadn’t aged a bit. Because I always looked old.
Joansie: Such a practical, helpful friend! Driving me to the airport on Thursday. She took a high school photo of me, using it as part of a funny present. Resourceful.
Miriam: She should give lessons on befriending people. And so smart and cultured! Always love her company.
R managed everything superbly. No glitches. Except Mary L. came a day early! I checked and couldn’t find out whose fault it was. If it had been Mary’s error, I wouldn’t have told her. And if she had found that it was my error, I’m sure she wouldn’t have told ME. I sometimes tell people that I’m the 7th nicest person I ever met. Mary is among the top 6.
My kids phoned later on, to sing a raucous, hideous version of Happy Birthday. I told them that I hadn’t heard anything like it since the orphan asylum burned down. (Cf. Mark Twain, after hearing a Wagner concert.)
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What a wonderful birthday! I am almost glad that I have reached the advanced age of [illegible].