Peggy Hayner and Dan Harris
On April 26, a lively posse of about 70 guests from PebbleCreek, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Arizona saddled up and rode out west to a classic outdoor cowboy bar tucked in the desert beside White Tank Mountain Regional Park. Their mission: throw Unit 44’s John Arpan one heck of an 80th birthday celebration—and indeed they did!
The party kicked off with a clever icebreaker perfectly suited to the 80th birthday celebration: each guest was secretly “branded” with the name of a famous living celebrity in their eighties. Partygoers had to roam the dusty corral like frontier detectives, asking questions to guess their assigned identity. The wanted list was impressive including such names as: Mick Jagger, Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton, Goldie Hawn, Warren Beatty, Cher, Rod Stewart, and Barry Manilow—quite the silver-haired outlaw lineup!
DJ Brian Starr kept the crowd on its feet for hours in defiance of the unusually chilly breezes, spinning a spirited mix of rock hits, country stompers, and heartfelt ballads. Dinner featured the bar’s signature Smokey Burger, washed down with John’s favorite dessert—a dangerously rich double-double chocolate cake. Optional but popular was the western attire: plenty of guests showed up in shiny cowboy hats and boots, looking equal parts stylish and slightly suspicious, like they’d just visited (or held up) a Western wear store.
But it was the live music that added the real heart to the night. Howard Brodbeck on guitar joined John and his granddaughter Selena for warm performances of City of New Orleans and Take Me Home, Country Roads. The emotional high point came when Selena strapped on her guitar and sang a lovely original song she wrote for her very special Papa—a touching tribute to the man who has been her guiding light through every dusty trail and sunlit meadow of life. There wasn’t a dry eye in the joint.
In a perfectly poetic touch no one planned, John and his wife Peggy opened the dancing with Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You and closed the night with Whitney Houston’s powerful version of the same song.
All told, it was a rootin’-tootin’, boot-scootin’, heart-warming hoedown to honor one fine gentleman who’s still ridin’ tall at 80.
Here’s to John Arpan—may your trail stay smooth, your drinks (if any—ha!) strong, your vegetables nonexistent, and your birthdays many more!