Here’s the speech he’s holding in his hand

 

I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for being here today to celebrate Barbara’s birthday. I also want to congratulate all of you for keeping the party a surprise. I know it wasn’t easy.

You know, through the years we meet many kinds of people. Some we consider acquaintances, some are casual friends, some are just friends and then there are the people in our lives we are fortunate enough to call our very good friends. Without exception everyone n the room falls into the latter category. You have all filled Barbara and my life with warmth, caring, kindness and love that only comes from close friends. We consider ourselves very lucky and you have become a wonderful part of our lives.

I would like to thank two people who, without them I could never have pulled this party off. They did everything from making up and mailing out the list of invitations, getting Willie and Don to play for us. Selecting the menu, ordering the balloons and many other things. They are, of course, Rose Liotta and Karen Spollen with a great assist from Liane and Chris Liotta.

(At this point the ever gracious Skee introduced Barbara’s family, - all of them- some long time off-island friends, the Vermont ski crowd, even his dentist and then thanked his Kismet electrician, contractor, plumber, etc etc etc  )

 25 years ago, while at a piano bar in Ocean Beach, the famous Sea Turtle, I saw a dark haired beauty having a drink at the bar, she had a figure that could have stopped a freight train. We checked each other out and four years later we met again in Kismet and I never let go. If you can believe it, on our first date we had a lobster dinner. That same month Babs read an article about how Jewish youth were breaking away from their religion and vowed that would never happen o her. That was the beginning of her keeping a kosher home and Shabot dinners. The rest is history ad I am happy to say most of you have experienced, shared and enjoyed those dinners at our house.

Now that I have bored you all to death I would like you to stretch your legs, stand and toast my beautiful wife. Barbara from all of us we wish you a very happy birthday. Barbara do you have anything to say?

 

LETS PARTY!!!

 

 

The friends and family: