Barry Spector

This was taken by our waiter this afternoon while celebrating the pre-holiday with, from right, Elliott, Nina and Shelley (I'm at far left) at Lafayette restaurant. We are looking back at year of hard work and well-earned time to unwind, while looking forward to Shelley's birthday which falls between Christmas and New Years. The day frequently flies by unnoticed, Shelley says, except this year, thanks to Facebook, the firestorm of birthday well-wishers spread as fast as a fire in July. She went from explaining it wasn't her birthday to "liking" all the happy birthday posts. The photo of us sitting cheek-to-cheek at this extended-play lunch freezes in time the high spirits of the moment, of which there were many more just before and after. And curiously, we all look like the younger versions of ourselves.