Flashback:

Grandmom Willits house !

Birthday's were special as kids because that always meant a trip to Grandmom Willits and Breyers ice cream. I always thought Grandmomm Willits had the coolest refrifg in the world because the freezer was at the bottom and there was a little foot pedal that you stepped on to open the freezer door -  an insurmountable temptation for a 10 year old boy. 

There was also a 10lb box of chocolate stars that always showed up at these events. The Breyers ice cream and Chocolate Stars were a real treat when you are used to ice cream that can sit out all night and not be melted the next morning. What was in that stuff?

Once the party started to wind down, we could get a quarter or two for scratching Grandpop Willits back. In addition, for the truly daring kids, there were (2) larger than life challenges that awaited. You could attempt to pet Fluffy (the evil cat) without losing an eye, or if you really wanted to throw caution to the wind you could go upstairs to the dark, spooky rooms on the abandoned third floor.