Special Occasion

Lobster salad is a specialty at the Koi Palace.

We haven’t seen H. since last year, and this week was her birthday, so we threw her a surprise luncheon at the Koi Palace in Daly City. We invited twenty-four friends and family members and twenty accepted--a high hit rate given the haste with which the event was put together. It was one of those parties where it all came together: former strangers find they have a lot in common and every dish turned out well, even the cake which I forgot to order till that morning.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a social event without a couple of gaffes on my part—I messed up the place cards and the appetizer order—but that simply means I will be assigned less responsibility at the next event (the economists call that a perverse incentive).

The food was put away, we sang a robust Happy Birthday, and the guest of honor smiled. The more birthdays you’ve had, the more special the next one seems. I wonder if the economists have a term for that. © 2007 Stephen Yuen

The Birthday girl with her two flower girls, 59 years after the wedding.