Helping the Neighbors...

It was the first day of school. A few of my friends were leaving for college soon. The last thing I wanted to do was helping my neighbors set up for their party. I went over to their house right after school to get started. I unpacked some new chairs. It's surprising how difficult it is to remove bubble wrap that's tied around the leg and arm of a chair. I proceeded to wash some tables and chairs and then set them in their places. My neighbor Betty was organizing the party for her husband Bill. She is generally very organized and plans out how everything is going to go months in advance. Since it was the 60th reunion of the 1953 graduating class of the California Maritime Academy, which is a huge event for her and her husband, I would have guessed she would be even more worried about particulars than usual. I was fully prepared for the disappointing "No, I'm sorry honey," that I expected when I asked her if I could go say goodbye to my friends before they left for college. Thankfully, she said I could go as long as I was back in time to help with the party itself.  I breathed a sigh of relief and left .

As soon as I got home I rushed over. Now that everything was set up, it was time to begin preparing food and drink. Thankfully, my mother and a caterer were also there to help. We set up snacks for when the guests arrived fairly quickly. Then -lucky me- I had the privilege of moving about twenty bottles of alcohol to their makeshift bar outside. Unfortunately (for many reasons), my mom got to be the bartender. After we were all set up we had a few minutes of down time before the guests arrive. We sat down and made small talk, but my mind was focused on the soon to arrive guests. Were they going to be bitter and cranky? Would the be fully mobile? Would they be like my neighbors? I didn't know. All I knew about them was that they were going to be old.

When they arrived Betty asked me to take some pictures of them at the event. I awkwardly wandered around, snapping photos of these people  I had never met. I got some action shots of them laughing and talking, and of them passing around a phone talking to a former classmate who couldn't make it. I even got a few pictures of my mom mixing drinks (with at least some success). I talked for a little while with some of the attendees as I passed around appetizers, and they were very pleasant people. I told them about my visit to their former school with my math class in eighth grade (which was very enjoyable). They were excited to hear that I had been there, and wondered if I were planning to apply there this fall. After a while, it was time to start dinner.

Laura, the caterer, began to prepare the  bourbon burgers and hot dogs. Their grill was in quite an unfortunate position. The smoke was blown right into the center of the party, and right into my nostrils and mouth. After a bit of coughing, I placed the condiments, sides, and buns outside. After the food was cooked, the guests accepted plates and food gratefully as my mom and I served them. Once they were all seated, the three helpers finally had time to sit down and eat. I don't know if it was just because I had been working and I was hungry, but the food was amazing. The burger was the most perfectly cooked food I have ever tasted. It was so soft that I could barely tell when I had bitten into it. The whole day would have been worth it just to eat that. When we finished eating, we got back to work serving desserts to the guests, which most of them accepted. That was a good day to indulge in some sugary desserts. As the party began to wind down, we mingled for a little while with the guests. All of them graciously expressed their gratitude, and said that we had done a great job. They all seemed so pleased to be there, and I realized how much this event meant to them. I was happy to have helped put it together for them, and I ended up enjoying it a lot myself.