Long-time and now retired truckie Don Holliday never got to have a 21st birthday party because he was too busy driving trucks.
Imagine the surprise Don had when he walked into the Renmark Club at his home town in South Australia for his 87th birthday on December 28.
Some joked that Don had found the fabled fountain of youth.
“There was about 30 people there and they had a sign up wishing me a happy 21st,” he said.
Don felt he had the key to the door and saw well-wishers around him including his wife Marlene and daughter Erica along with grandchildren and other relatives and friends.
“When Erica was aged just three and four she used to travel with me around the Northern Territory in the sleeper box of my truck. I started driving at age 19 and retired some years ago. But I also then drove coaches and still have a job on a bus,” he said.
I asked Don what he ate during his party and he said that he enjoyed a feed of fish after an entrée of oysters Kilpatrick which is his favourite.
He even tucked into a few servings of a delicious birthday cake.
Don will soon be heading off to Humpy Doo in the NT for the 80th birthday of a former colleague.