October 2012. Jack Knudsen turned 90 this month. His five children decided to have a big birthday celebration in his honor. They invited all the relatives (both his side of the family and the family of Jack's wife) along with long-time neighbors and friends, including many friends from his naval days. Two events were planned, one on Friday and one on Saturday.
Because many of the relatives and friends had not previously known each other, and, many of the relatives (cousins) had not seen each other in decades, two events were planned. The Knudsen family has a long-standing tradition of Happy Hour every week day at 5:00 pm. Anyone was invited to drop in for a drink and a visit. A wonderful family event that gave them many opportunities to visit and keep up with each other. That was a special one on Friday as dozens of people attended then. A separate event was planned for Saturday.
Several out of towners chose not to come because of the threat of Hurricane Sandy which actually was not predicted to hit the D.C. area until Monday. Some left town on Sunday.