At Bluffton party, ‘Silly Billy’ gets his due

Eight decades sounds like an eternity doesn’t it?

Well, to look at Bill Roe you would think it was just yesterday. Last week “Silly Billy” was celebrated by lots of family and friends for having made a wonderful tour through the years. The scene was set at the Roe “river house” on the banks of the May River on Bridge Street in Old Town.

Billy’s daughters - Kristy, Kat and Kellie - planned the whole fun affair that included children - cousins, Kamryn, Trevor, Maeve, Owen, Kyle and Kiley. They booked the John O’Gorman Band that was in full swing as guests arrived. The birthday boy greeted everyone in his famous straw hat looking rather rakish in his blue Hawaiian shirt, perfect for the occasion.

Bluffton Barbeque catered the fun in their usual delicious fashion. Donna and Ted Huffman shuttered their Promenade emporium for the day to ready the feast for a delighted audience. As always the food was fabulous especially the pork offerings.

Later the birthday cakes were served up and they were amazing. They were made of cupcakes and each of them sported a photo image of different scenes in Billy’s life. There were two with Billy and his polo ponies and one of a scene of the view from river house and the May River. They were almost too pretty to eat. Well, not really. They were gobbled up very quickly.

It was a joyous party enjoyed by Loretta Wells with daughter Anna Sharp, Jessie Hancock, Kitty Cook, Dale and Sonny Thorpe, Roberts Vaux, Judy and Dan Bradley, Brenda and Mac Dunaway, Yvette and Lamar Acuff, Bertie Skinner, and Mary Pinckney, who along with at least 70 or so others, danced the night away. We are all looking forward to the next decade of fun and frolic with this fun bunch.

The next day, a group of revelers were spotted floating around the river. Patsy Hodge, daughter-in-law Janna with husband Perry (down from New York for a visit with children), Ryan,with her brother PJ, next door neighbors Wells and Taylor Sharp with mama Anna and Druella Schultz were having fun in the sun on a lovely afternoon

The children were trying their hand at catching a big fish for supper but unfortunately weren’t having much luck. Seeing that fish might not be on their menu Anna made a quick phone call to order pizza. The beautiful day ended with pizza on the sandbar and no one seemed to miss the catch that wasn’t.

The Saudis are calling

Saudi Arabia is looking for you.

The country is inviting people of all religions to visit the very secluded Gulf state. The most common visitors are the 18 million Muslims from around the world who travel there to visit the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The decline in oil prices has helped make this decision.

There are still severe restrictions on personal freedoms so I think there won’t be many hopping on the next plane. I think Anthony Bourdain should go and film the country for us. I love his programs on CNN and especially enjoyed the one of his visit to Beruit recently aired.

Fun for the family

Family Fun Day at the Coastal Discovery Museum looks like it will be wonderful fun for the entire family.

There will be all sorts of interesting events - museum exhibits, marsh tackies, butterflies, all will be waiting for your visit from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. August 11.

Learn how to go crabbing or grow indigo. Children can try on colonial clothing, play with colonial toys and tgo on a scavenger hunt. The fun day is free with food and beverages available for purchase.

I think that this would be such fun for the last weekend before the school bells ring for our area children.

Call 843-689-6767, ext.223.

This story was originally published July 27, 2016 at 12:51 PM with the headline "At Bluffton party, ‘Silly Billy’ gets his due."