To the Editor:
Marlene and I would like to thank all those who came to our 70th wedding anniversary party (arranged by our children) on Saturday, Dec. 4, at the fellowship hall of the Reformed Church in Altamont.

We were completely surprised, to the point of making our own dish to pass, bringing a hostess gift, and going to the wrong place. Still nothing sank in when we found no one was there. We are old, you know; that is why it is our 70th wedding anniversary.

The kids did such a wonderful job that, as their parents and in-laws, we have no idea how to thank them for all the planning and work they put in pulling this event off and keeping it from us.

Those who attended, and there were many, we thank for coming and sharing this with us. We also know now that they too can keep a secret.

We came home exhausted, and sad that we missed speaking to some; however, we were able to catch up with so many, and we still spoke the whole afternoon.

We also thank those who traveled quite some distance to be in attendance; as we are now old folks, to us, a 1,500 mile trip is a real undertaking.

Some of those who came, we had not seen in many years — 20-plus in some cases.

In our case, the old brain had to work like a slot machine to sort out who we were speaking to. Our eyes would roll until a couple of sevens took place and then, eureka, familiarity would click in.

The ones we were speaking to had the advantage. They knew why they were there.

In the beginning, Marlene and I were still a little stunned as to why we were where we were.

As stated in the beginning — how to thank everyone — we are at a loss, but we thank all from the bottom of our hearts.

Marlene and John Williams

Guilderland