Ten minutes to write. Less time to read.

The party Earl’s friends, Don and Sue, throw each year is a study in logistics, space, and attendees. Even though I gave it ten minutes yesterday, I didn’t even scratch the surface. So all you party planners out there, listen up!

When we arrive at the house, either Don or Sue is there at the front door to greet us. We shed our coats and our gift to the host and hostess and are ushered into the living room, which spreads into the family room behind it. The bar is located there, and Don offers us our favorite alcoholic beverage. He makes a mean drink, and we chat a few moments; but then he needs to resume door duty again, so we are on our own.

We move about the room, nodding to familiar faces, smiling this way and that, never really engaging in serious conversation. Every end table and side table has a strategically placed appetizer, which we sample as we go. Finally, we spot Don’s brother and his wife, so we make a beeline for them in the hope of engaging in conversation of the cocktail circuit variety.

I notice that there are more guests, approximately sixty people, than there are places to sit. This means we need to keep moving. And we do. I also notice that the ages of those on the guest list range from infants in arms to grandparents. It’s a wide-open family affair, regardless of actual affiliation.

Then there is the buffet supper that Sue creates and serves from her galley kitchen. The attached garage was long ago converted to a formal dining room; and this is where the buffet is served. On actual plates with actual silverware, mind you. How Sue manages to have a plate for that many people is beyond the comprehension of this only child. Yet, now that I think of it, Sue is an only child too.

We eat, we go back for seconds, which are always available. And, then there are the desserts. Which, if we were smarter, should take the place of the second helpings since we can’t manage any more food. But coffee still goes down.

The noise, the children, the adults, the food, the house – it is indeed the Grand Finale of All Parties, made so mostly because Don and Sue appear to enjoy doing it and making everyone else feel special along the way.