Do you cry on your birthday? Not me.

Some of my friends tell me that on their birthday they feel older and depressed. I used to feel that way - not anymore. And why is that? Well, I think that as I grow older my time allocated on this planet is diminished and I realized that my mortality is closer that the year before. As someone said: You never know when the banana peel will find itself under your feet and there you go.

But there is another reason. I used to think that having one wonderful friend was enough. After all, you can count on him whenever there is a small crisis or simply having lunch every week and have a meaningful conversation trying to fix the world's problems. Believe me, I am grateful that I have this friend.

But this birthday has been different. I was happy and not depressed. And why is that? I think I have the answer. I have renewed friendships with people who care and appreciate my persona. New people have appeared wanting to be part of my circle of friends. I am fortunate that these folks have offered me their love and affection.

This week has been outstanding, on Wednesday my friend Hilton took me out for lunch, on Thursday my friend Adam took me out for lunch, on Friday my friend Wendy and I had lunch and talked about all and nothing. Sorry Karen, your day is coming.

But Saturday blew my away. Have you ever been surprised on your birthday? I don't recall that this ever happened to me. I had the opportunity to experience an explosion of great feelings when my wife and four wonderful friends decided to surprise me with the best memory for the future. Blondine, Patrick, Chris and Mirna were the ones assisting my wife on this deceptive undercover operation.

Blondine and Patrick invited us to have dinner at their house. This was supposed to take place on Saturday at six-thirty or so. When my wife and I were ready to leave the house, she said: I just remembered that we need vanilla ice cream, so go to the nearest store and get some. I couldn't understand why she waited until the last minute for that. So I got in my car and left for the store and as I got closer to the store it dawn on me that it was located in the same direction as our friends' house. This didn't make sense to me. Got the ice cream and headed back to my house.

As I approached the driveway I noticed a car parked next to my son's van. I figured that someone came to visit him. I opened the garage and there was another vehicle inside, this really confused me. I got in and all of sudden, camera flash and people laughing and screaming: Happy birthday. Well, this really was the surprise of my life, something that was embarrassing and wonderful at the same time.

During the dinner we laughed so hard that it hurt. As usual my friend Chris contributed some of the laughing material. I can say that this birthday was unique. But guess what, I have decided that I don't have to wait a year to have more pleasant surprises.

So here is my advice, round up a bunch of friends and surprise someone.