Skip to main content

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!


This past Saturday we threw my father a surprise 70th birthday party. Months of preparation, tiny white lies, and a lot of creative energy paid off in a big, big way.

Getting him there was a challenge since he wasn’t keen on the idea of dining out and definitely not at some restaurant that he couldn’t wear jeans and a tee shirt to. I was actually surprised that he didn’t get an inkling of it before hand but lo and behold the “secret” didn’t get exposed until mere seconds before he walked into the restaurant when he recognized an uncle’s car parked in the lot. He still wasn’t sure what was going on other than uncle had said he was going out of town and wasn’t supposed to have been there where he was.

Making his way into the Club Room at the Parizade Restaurant in Durham, he was wary, sensing that something was definitely up but still not quite sure what that something was. As he made his way through the door, we started singing Happy Birthday and the man came to a fast stop. His expression was absolutely priceless and then he welled up with tears, fighting not to cry.

The event was well attended, family and friends coming from near and far to celebrate. My favorite moment was when his best friend from grade school stepped up to shake his hand. Despite having kept contact via telephone and a holiday card here and there, the two men hadn’t actually seen each other for 57 years.

My second favorite moment was when a family friend stood up to say a few words, introducing himself as my father’s son from his first marriage. My 87-year-old grandmother damn near fell out of her seat! A son? What first wife? I laughed until my sides hurt.

The event was themed as we paid homage to the “superhero” we consider the man to be in our lives. Both my sister and my son gave these great video presentations about my father’s life and his successes and accomplishments. I was given the responsibility of sharing just what the man has meant to us and I nearly lost it when my daddy began to cry. Being able to honor my father and his love was truly an awesome experience.

The party lasted for two whole days moving from the restaurant to my parent’s home. Laughter flowed like water and thanks to some swift maneuvering, the next day we feasted on my mother’s homemade biscuits and jams for breakfast and my father’s infamous BBQ ribs.

So, for just one last time, Happy 70th Birthday, Walter L. Fletcher! We love you very much!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

DAMMIT, DO BETTER!

I love reading. I get excited when I discover a new author or find an outstanding story. I’m eager to leave reviews and share with others my new finds. When a book or story is lackluster, leaving me less than thrilled, I usually remain silent. I know the effort that an author has put into a story. I know how hurtful a bad review can be. It is not for me to dash anyone else’s dream because what I might not have liked, someone else may have loved. Recently I read books that left me disappointed, and angry. One was an award-winning title, the author gleefully claiming a coveted statue for her efforts. Clearly what I hated, others found award-worthy. And that actually scares me. The story was as well-written as any other in the genre. Its formulaic plot hit all the buttons that her publisher required. But as a woman of color, I found it as insulting and as distasteful as any story I have ever read. The story featured a Native American heroine. She had self-esteem issues, co

NAUGHTY OR NICE TOUR - DAY 6 - DEBORAH FLETCHER MELLO

I'm so excited to be a part of the NAUGHTY OR NICE BOOK BLOG TOUR. And it gives me great pleasure to give you the first peek at my next release, PLAYING WITH FIRE . Available from Dafina books on February 24, 2015, wherever books are sold, PLAYING WITH FIRE is the first in my two-book Sultry Southern Nights series. ENJOY this excerpt and please, PRE-ORDER your copy today! Romeo Marshall is over six feet of cool, smooth, hot, southern seductiveness--just like the music at his popular Raleigh club, The Playground Jazz and Blues Bar. With his beloved mother gone and no father he's ever known, the business is Romeo's everything. It's a place where anything can happen--and the evening one gorgeous young woman and one intriguing old musician walk into the bar--and into Romeo's life--it does. There's something about high-powered, down-to-the earth Taryn Williams that captures Romeo's attention like no other woman has. Yet unanswered questions from his past s

TREYVON MARTIN

Seventeen-year old Treyvon Martin was walking back from a convenience store to his father's home, when he was allegedly accosted and shot dead by a community watch captain.   Heading home put him in a “gated” community where he clearly wasn’t welcomed.   Treyvon was black and his presence in that “gated” community was a source of consternation for the man who shot him dead as evidenced by the 911 telephone call that was made just minutes prior to the deadly shooting. The media reports that George Zimmerman, a white man, called for police assistance, reporting that Treyvon was “a suspicious person".   Despite being advised by the 911 dispatcher to not follow the young man and to wait for police, Zimmerman felt that he had the authority to approach and confront Treyvon instead.   That confrontation has now left a family to bury a child who once had a bright and promising future. The central Florida police have yet to levy any charges against Zimmerman and it is unlike