I threw a surprise birthday party...

...for my wife last night at the Deer Path Inn in Lake Forest. It was a big success; she was genuinely surprised.

The night didn't go off without a hitch, however.

I'll admit I was a little taken back by a phone call I received on Friday afternoon from the woman who was coordinating our party.

"Hello, Mr. Tracy? Can you talk?"

"Sure, Mary Ellen. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you. I just wanted you to know that we're all set for tomorrow night. There's only one little thing I need to tell you."

That's never a good sign.

"There's going to be a Tracy Memorial at the Inn tomorrow night."

"Huh?"

"A Tracy Memorial, given by a Richard and Estelle Tracy. Do you know them?"

"Uh, no. Wait a minute. That's Dick Tracy!"

"It says here Richard and Estelle Tracy."

"Yeah, but that's Dick -- never mind."

"I just didn't want you to be surprised when you saw the sign. Otherwise we're all set for your party."

Well that's a little odd, I thought. So I went home and e-mailed all the guests to make sure they went to our party and not the Tracy memorial. Ours would be a lot more lively, I assured them.

And, sure enough, when my wife and I arrived at the Deer Path Inn we were met by a large sign, TRACY MEMORIAL WINDSOR HALL.

"What the -- ," my wife said.

"I don't think that's us."

Just then, a guy who looked exactly like Borat showed us to a table in the English Room.

As we made our way, there was no sign anywhere of Pruneface, Mumbles or Flattop. There was one guy, however, who looked suspiciously like the Brow.

"Surprise! Happy Birthday! Surprise!"

And as I said, my wife was truly surprised.

The food at the Deer Path was excellent. The cake, from nearby Gerhard's, was outstanding, and the staff let us linger until 10:30 or so, long after everyone else had cleared out. It was a great evening; my wife really enjoyed seeing all of her old friends and her brother.

And as for me, well, let's just say it was worth putting on long pants for the first time in months.