I must confess that until Friday, December 14^th, 2007 I was not in the Christmas mood. So many things are going on that I just have not had the time to be festive until- I attended Thomas, Means, Gillis &Seay, P.C. and Medical Place Christmas Party. It was the social event of the year! 

It would be easier for me to tell you who did not attend the party. Everybody that even suspected that they were somebody was in attendance. You had a great cross section of people in attendance. One guest commented, “I have never seen this many white people at a Black sponsored social event.” Another guest told me that it was the most fun she had ever experienced in her entire life. I asked her if she wouldn’t mind telling me her age. She said, “I am 95 years old!”  She did not look a day over 94. 

When you entered the party the staff of the law firm and Medical Place greeted the guests. People were coming and going for hours. I estimate that twenty-five hundred people passed through the doors by the time the party ended. The food was wonderful. The drink was top shelf! It was the party of the year! 

Among the many influential guests I noticed: Dr. Robert Gaskin, Ms. Alma Johnson, Dr. and Mrs. Jefferson Underwood III, Dr. Perrin Underwood, Dr. Joe Reed, Rep. John Knight, Mayor and Mrs. Bobby Bright, Mrs. Cubie Rae Hayes, Rev. Al Dixon, Mr. and Mrs. Simuel Sippial, Mrs. Mildred Worthy, Mrs. Ann Sippial, Sammy Stevens, Rev. Terry McCreary, Dr. Katrice Thomas, Attys. J.R. and Monet Gaines, Dr. Roosevelt McCorvey, Dr. John Winston, Atty. Karen Mastin, Rev. and Mrs. Gary Crum, Drea Keeton, Judge Eugene Reese, Judge Truman Hobbs, Dr. Johnny Griffin, Councilman and Mrs. Cornelius Calhoun, Mayoral hopeful William F. Boyd, Dr. Melvin J. Griffin Sr., Deandra Watkins and her four sons and two daughter-in-laws, former Parole Board Chair, Mr. Sidney T. Williams, the Governor’s Legal Advisor, Ken Wallis and his wife, and Montgomery County Commission Chairman, Todd Strange and his wife. etc. etc. 

As always good things must end. My wife, Debra and I left the party and ran into my old boss Mr. Sidney T. Williams. He said that he enjoyed the party, but it was time for him to go home and get in the bed. We went home and did the same. God Bless Thomas, Means, Gillis & Seay, P.C. and Medical Place (Mr. Alfred Seawright) for their generosity! 

In the words of my dad: “Stay away from the pig ears and fried pork chops.  Eat more fruits and vegetables.”