Birthday Party

All the birthday party guests wore black. But the Saturday night affair turned even stranger when shooting broke out, leaving one person dead and four wounded. Police said today they had made no arrests. Gau Nguyen said she and about 60 friends were celebrating her 17th birthday party at a friend's house on 6th Street near Tasker in South Philadelphia when gunfire erupted about 11:35 p.m. "Everybody dancing, then they start firing," she said. "I can't see because all the lights out. " According to police, two boys began fighting over a girl.

The invitation was to a birthday party, but the 35 guests were surprised by a different gala - the wedding of Charlotte Ford, daughter of automaker Henry Ford 2d, and financier Edward Reynolds Downe Jr. Sunday's ceremony was held at her home in Southampton, N.Y. Ford, 45, had been married twice previously, to shipping tycoon Stavros Niarchos and to J. Anthony Forstmann. A fashion designer, she has written books on etiquette and shopping. Her father is the retired chairman of Ford Motor Co., which was founded by her great- grandfather.

Making Time DJ/host Dave Pianka celebrates his 26th birthday tonight and he's such a nice guy, no one would ever think of making fun of him for creating the phrase "cocainesexjam" or inviting people to get rad or awesome with multiple exclamation points. In typical Making Time style, there are three floors of rock and electro DJs, including the birthday boy, Mike Z., the Rock Tits gang, Adam Sparkles, JDH, and a performance by Giant Drag, an L.A. duo that recalls The Breeders and My Bloody Valentine (10 tonight at Transit, 6th and Spring Garden streets, 215-925-8878, $10, www.igetrvng.

Authorities have arrested two men in the Sept. 3 killing of a 15-year-old youth at a birthday party in Florence, the Burlington County prosecutor announced yesterday. Eddie Eugene Rolle, 18, of the 300 block of Union Street in Trenton, was charged with murder and possession of a weapon, Prosecutor Stephen G. Raymond said. Rolle is accused of fatally shooting Shawn Lockley, a Burlington Township youth who was attending the birthday party at a home on Railroad Avenue. The other suspect, Keith Bing, 21, of Colonial Avenue in Trenton, was charged with aggravated assault and two weapons charges.

Procrastinate no longer. Next weekend the museum will celebrate the first anniversary of the opening of the 90,000 square-foot addition with a variety of special activities. The highlight of the two-day celebration is a show by Richard Faverty, soap bubble-blower extraordinaire. Faverty, a.k.a. "Professor Bubbles," will perform at noon, 2 and 4 p.m. daily. Other entertainment will include a concert by more than 150 young Suzuki- method violinists. There will be free Tastykakes and the opportunity to visit the institute's many other attractions.

In his will, Charles Dickens asked that no statues of himself ever be erected in his honor. Instead, the famed English author wanted the recognition to go to the characters in his books. Of course, Philadelphians being Philadelphians, they ignored him. In 1905, the world's first Charles Dickens statue was erected in West Philadelphia's Clark Park. Though statues have since been erected in Australia and England - with the blessing of Dickens' descendants - the renegade Philadelphia version, in which Dickens is seated beside one of his characters, Little Nell, has always held a special place in neighbors' hearts.

Forget booking an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese's or hiring a magician for your child's birthday party. It's been done. For $150, Colette and Ken Bogie of Atco will bring Stoney the Party Llama, dressed in a blue top hat and tux bib, to your home, where he will take children on cart rides. "I thought it would be cool," said Kelly Swierczynski, of Atco, who hired Stoney for her son Eric's fifth birthday last Sunday. "I've never been to a party with a llama. " The animal is a relative of the camel, originally found in the high Andean region of South America.

The alums of the Delco League read like a Who's Who in area baseball. Phillies lefthander Jamie Moyer pitched in the Delco League. So did Geoff Petrie, the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 1970-71. Hall of Famer Frank "Home Run" Baker, of the old Philadelphia A's, played in the league in 1915. The list is 100 years long. Those players and the teams they played for will be honored tonight at the Drexelbrook, in Drexel Hill, in celebration of the 100th year of the league.

As if budget woes and bad-check scandals weren't enough to fight about, congressional Republicans and Democrats now are arguing over - of all things - a birthday party. On May 13, the Democratic Party will be 200 years old, and Democrats in Congress are in the mood for a celebration. The much-younger Republicans - their party is only 138 - don't think the milestone is worth a party. "Why not have one for the Communists or the Nazis?" said Tony Blankley, press secretary for House Republican Whip Rep. Newt Gingrich (R., Ga.)

The Virginia Beach police say they are done with Michael Vick, and, maybe, done with the case that might have cost Vick his second chance in the NFL. Police said reluctant witnesses and an uncooperative shooting victim have convinced the prosecutor's office not to press charges against the shooter - even though they know who the shooter is. It wasn't Vick, according to a police statement. It happened about 2 a.m. on June 25 near a club in Vick's old stomping grounds, where Vick was attending a 30th birthday party thrown in his honor.

William Lawlis Pace, 103, who held the Guinness World Record for living the longest with a bullet in his head, died in his sleep Monday at a Turlock, Calif., nursing home. His death came 94 years and six months after his older brother accidentally shot him with their father's .22-caliber rifle in 1917. Mr. Pace learned in 2006 that he had been crowned the world record-holder in the category of unwanted cranial ammunition. His son told a newspaper during a birthday party for his father last year that doctors in Mr. Pace's native Texas left the bullet in place because they worried that surgery might cause brain damage.

Willie Smallwood grew up working on a tenant farm in rural North Carolina, toiling in the fields picking cotton and curing tobacco. When she was born on Sept. 30, 1900, William McKinley was president and the Wright brothers were fooling around with what would turn out to be an airplane. The South was rigorously segregated, with all the horrors and humiliations inherent in that condition. And after she grew up, she fell for a man her family did not approve of. The Lassiters beat their women, her family said.

WILLIE SMALLWOOD grew up working on a tenant farm in rural North Carolina, toiling in the fields picking cotton and curing tobacco. When she was born on Sept. 30, 1900, William McKinley was president and the Wright brothers were fooling around with what would turn out to be an airplane. The South was rigorously segregated with all the horrors and humiliations inherent in that condition. And after Willie grew up, she fell for a man her family did not approve of. The Lassiters beat their women, her family said.

DEAR ABBY: I am 19 and having an affair with a married man twice my age, but I am an unwilling participant. You see, I grew up with "Jasmine," and over the years her family has become mine. I was going through a rough time, and when her family offered me a place to stay, I accepted. They treat me like one of their own, buy me presents - even introduce me as a daughter. However, after my birthday party, Jasmine's father came into my bedroom and took advantage of me. I was scared and didn't say anything.

A second New Hope-area art dealer has had stolen pieces returned in gift wrapping years after they were taken, and he said police suspect a "kleptomaniac" who hit several galleries. The owner of American Antiques & Designs in Lambertville, N.J., said Monday that he found three stolen pieces worth $1,200 on his doorstep Feb. 23, the same day a co-owner of Sidetracks Art Gallery in New Hope found three pieces worth $4,800. Lambertville police would not comment Monday. David Teague, owner of American Antiques, said police told him they suspected a Flemington, N.J.-area man, "a kleptomaniac who was depressed and would drive around and steal things from art galleries.

A second New Hope-area art dealer has had stolen pieces returned in gift wrapping years after they were taken, and he said police suspect a "kleptomaniac" who hit several galleries. The owner of American Antiques & Designs in Lambertville, said Monday he found three stolen pieces worth $1,200 on his doorstep on Feb. 23, just as the co-owner of Sidetracks Art Gallery in New Hope found three pieces worth $4,800 the same day. Lambertville police declined to comment Monday, saying it would jeopardize the investigation.

In his will, Charles Dickens asked that no statues of himself ever be erected in his honor. Instead, the famed English author wanted the recognition to go to the characters in his books. Of course, Philadelphians being Philadelphians, they ignored him. In 1905, the world's first Charles Dickens statue was erected in West Philadelphia's Clark Park. Though statues have since been erected in Australia and England - with the blessing of Dickens' descendants - the renegade Philadelphia version, in which Dickens is seated beside one of his characters, Little Nell, has always held a special place in neighbors' hearts.

YESTERDAY was Iriana DeJesus' 17th birthday, and her mother couldn't help but wonder: Would her youngest child have been thin or chubby? Would she have had long hair or short? Would she have been a girly-girl or more of a tomboy? "I try not to cry. I try to be strong," said Lizasuain "Mota" DeJesus, "but it's her birthday and I wish, I really wish, I could see her again. " Iriana was 5 years old in July 2000, when she was abducted from her Hunting Park neighborhood.

DEAR ABBY: My 12-year-old daughter, "Mandy," was invited to a friend's birthday party along with 12 other girls. They were told to meet at the mall where they'd "go shopping" together, then go for a sleepover afterward. The birthday girl told her friends to bring money as gifts. Well, she raked in more than $300 then proceeded to spend it all on herself while her friends stood and watched. Mandy returned home the next day and told me that although the girl spent the money on herself, her mom did buy them each a beverage.

Imagine if Independence Day were canceled - the day off from work, the fireworks displays, the picnics - and we just went about our business on July 4 as we would on any other day. Sounds un-American, doesn't it? And yet we will do the same thing today even though it's the birthday of the Bill of Rights, a document that guarantees our core personal liberties - including freedom of expression and faith, a fair judicial process, the right to bear arms, and protection against unreasonable government searches.