An invitation arrived!

My aunt Minnie (true name) was celebrating her 80th birthday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

After a quick conference with my wife Lorraine and my sister Sandy, it was decided. The three of us were going!

Unfortunately, it was being held on Super Bowl weekend. Airline flights and hotel reservations were almost impossible to attain. With much wheedling , wheeling and dealing, and calling of 1-800 telephone numbers all over the South Florida peninsula, we achieved our goal.

Aunt Minnie, here we come!

Denver Broncos? No!

Atlanta Falcons? No!

Aunt Minnie? Yessssss!

Our departing flight, due to scarcity of available flights, left at 6:35 in the morning. Our over-efficient taxi driver picked us up at 4:45 a.m. It took us two days to recover our normal sleep patterns.

Miami Airport was crowded and jumping with eager Super Bowl XXXIII fans. It was a pleasure to stroll around in a short-sleeve shirt, and enjoy the balminess.

Miami offered two exciting sites.

One: the holocaust memorial, a 30-foot green-patina hand extending into the sky. On the forearm were life-sized mothers, fathers and children being persecuted by the Nazis. The terror on the faces of the hundred victims leaves the viewer with a desperate and helpless feeling.

Two: South Beach, Ocean Avenue. We left "The Hand Memorial" and proceeded northward on highway A1A.

Finding a rare parking spot in South Beach allowed us to enjoy an al fresco lunch on Main Street at Ocean Avenue. After lunch, we passed the Versace Villa, and viewed the steps on which the famous fashion designer was slain.

The Budweiser trucks couldn't deliver enough beer into South Beach for the revelers. Minute bikinis were handing out pamphlets and ads for the fans drinking at open-air tables. The Oscar Meyer Weiner truck was also a great favorite.

Up Collins Avenue we drove, hitting every opened bridge, then past Lincoln Road and newly refurbished hotels that were being rescued from seediness by the rebirth of South Beach.

Next week: Aunt Minnie's 80th, and an East Bronx reunion.