Remembering Libby Dean's 85th Birthday Party in 2002

The birthday of my beloved, much missed Grandmother, Libby Dean, is 4^th November, and to mark it, I have added another videotape to YouTube, which I will try to include  below.

For her 85^th birthday in 2002, we celebrated by giving her a surprise party, which was particularly surprising for her because it was held two weeks before her birthday on 24^th October.  I was over from England for a visit, so my mother (and dog Party), brother, and his then girlfriend (now wife) Terry came up to Delaware from North Carolina; my Australian cousin Kath came over from California; my pregnant cousin Paige came from Arizona; and a few friends (who were available at short notice) flocked to celebrate with my grandmother.  Sadly, there are only quick glimpses of my cousin Rand, his wife Jen and their baby Lain because they had to leave as soon as I arrived (I won’t take it personally), but happily his mother Lisa features throughout the video. 

If you worry about people hiding behind the furniture and leaping out of the dark shouting ‘surprise!’ at an 85-year-old, even a sturdy youthful one like Libby, we gave her a bit of notice, primarily because it was thought that she would like to be dressed appropriately for her own party, and I think that’s fair and would want the same done for me.  She knew that all the visitors were there; Kath and I were staying in a guest flat in her retirement village, where, as I explained in a clip of the tape that I edited out, we got no sleep because the plumbing sounded like an old man moaning loudly throughout the night.  My mother stayed in the spare room with her Italian Spinone Party, who unlike most animals hated me (and wasn't allowed on the bed) joined by my grandmother’s adored companion Zack, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel, as you will hear.  My aunt’s dog was not invited in despite giving my grandmother a watch that she was thrilled to receive, as you will see.

You will hear several mentions of chilli because Grandmommy spent much of the day cooking chilli to feed the masses who had descended upon her, but of course, it was in vain given that my mother and aunt were secretly preparing a buffet for many more guests later.  But we couldn’t let on, and we wanted to keep her occupied in any case.

I had the unenviable task of keeping her out of the house while they put out the food and gave the house a rapid clean.  I initially thought I had the an easier job, but my Grandmother’s patience on our outing waned quickly, particularly as I spent so long wandering ‘round and ‘round the Winterthur gift shop, which bafflingly didn’t have a single chair to offer its surely principally elderly clientele, that we were kicked out when it closed.  I then made her stop the car so I could (very slowly) take pictures of Canada Geese that we passed, and tried to get her to go past her old house in Chadds Ford for the sake of nostalgia and stop at Happy Harry’s so I could get a few things, but she was by then secretly fuming at my unusual thoughtlessness and insisted that we get home to have her chilli.  I thought my mother and aunt would be disappointed that I had failed my mission, but they say on the video (in a part I edited out) that they were quite impressed that I managed to keep her away for so long given her apparent reluctance to do so.  When she arrived to a spotless house with some things rearranged, food out, and her daughters a bit more dressed up than before, they told her that guests would be arriving soon for a party.

Grandmommy & Aunt Ruthie

I pretty much filmed her opening all of her presents, and there are some long somewhat tedious parts (with awful background music—hers, not mine), most of which I cut out, unhappily along with a few bits that I had intended to keep in the final version.  You will see that I also left in some slow points, but principally because I wanted to retain some elements that showed Libby in familiar voice, attitude or quirky behaviour, as I thought you all would enjoy it.

I also left in a segment that does not feature Grandmommy at all but involves my lovely ‘Aunt’ Ruthie, her dear friend who I also miss, as it always makes me smile.  It also makes me hungry for Chile con queso.

Remember that technology was quite different back then, and I was filming with a clunky video camera that didn’t always focus (and is even blurrier owing to the quality loss in uploading to YouTube & as the battery was running low) and which was tougher to monitor, as this was long before one could whip out a smartphone for such now simple tasks.  Despite its faults, I hope you enjoy it.

(For the less computer-savvy of you, you should be able to click on the arrow that appears on the picture below to start the 10-minute video.  Click on the square in the lower right hand corner of the video to stretch it out to fill your screen.  If no picture/video appears below, click on the link at the end of this post, and that should take you there.)

Happy Birthday, Grandmommy.  I hope you and Zach and others are enjoying it in Heaven, perhaps with a toast of vodka (but not for Zack. It was bad enough giving him a pecan!).

Libby Dean's 85th Birthday Party - October 2002