I'm 42 years old but I played volleyball, Wiffleball, Corn Hole and Spud for 7 hours yesterday. I will regret this.

The fun part of Pammy's 50th birthday is the sons, daughters, nieces, and nephews are all in their 20s and they come with truckloads of games, including Polish horse shoes - a game with a two tall poles, beer bottles, and a frisbee. The goal is to knock down the bottle with the frisbee, but for the defensive team to catch the flying bottle when it gets knocked down AND the frisbee. Dangerous, Polish. Dumb Fun. But Derrick and I were champions. No one could beat us - I guess I get that from my mother.

Then Marlee got the idea that we should play Spud with cutthroat rules and this became a dangerous ending to the evening.

And I never got around to eating. I made the famous birthday cake for Pam and Janine, but the guests devoured it.

The other highlight of yesterday was the New Haven Flea Market. It's a definite must see for anyone who visits me in Connecticut - sort of NYC's Chinatown, but much closer. Everything you could possibly want for dirt cheap was at the market: it was State Fair tacky and then some - a different experience for my Connecticut life of technology, writing, grading, books, and meetings.

Today is Memorial Day and nothing is on the agenda except to wake up and perhaps get shoes and maybe sport jackets for Thursday's event. It was a play day and I played hard. i will regret it all when I can't move tomorrow.