Arthur is 90

Today we drove about two hours to an Elks Club in San Mateo to help our Lamplighter friend Arthur Sullivan celebrate his 90th birthday. Not only was it Arthur's 90th birthday but in a week it will also be the 90th birthday of another long-time Lamplighter, Ashton Bisbee.

I had never been to an Elks Club before and was impressed...

I'd never been in a parking lot that had space for an exalted ruler before!

The event itself was lovely and a great tribute to Arthur. Walt pointed out that most 90 year olds (my mother excluded) would only have a handful of friends, not a group that would fill a room like this.

We sat with the Lamplighters, of course, and it was so nice to see everyone who came to the party, which was hosted by Arthur's long-time partner, Jim (shown here with his niece)

Dinner was Italian (Jim is Italian) and it reminded me of my childhood, when we would go to the Italian restaurants of North Beach. The waiters were stereotypical North Beach Italians, the sourdough bread was really sour, the food was amazing. Usually I don't enjoy chicken at events like this, but the chicken breast was moist and succulent and full of flavor. And, with an open bar, everyone had all the wine they wanted (though I had water--but we had two pitchers at the table, so I never had to as for seconds).

Jim, Arthur and Lamplighter John Salerno

After Jim made some opening remarks, the Lamplighters did what they do best--they sang.

They did a few numbers from G&S shows and ended with a rousing version of "Happy Birthday." (You've never lived until you've had "Happy Birthday" sung to you by a chorus of Lamplighters!)

When people started to leave, a group found themselves in the bar, watching the end of the Giants game. (yay, Giants).

And with all of that we were still home in time for The Amazing Race.