All the planning in the world still doesn’t mean you can control the world.

Something I know from experience, and I’m sure others have learned this lesson, too.

Last year I served on the steering committee for a celebration marking my sorority’s centennial at the University of Oklahoma (Boomer Sooner, of course). It was a big darn deal. Most of the women had worked on dozens of similar committees, so these volunteers were pros in the field of gala-throwing. Invitations, underwriting, bands, centerpieces, seating charts and ice sculptures were not foreign turf to this crew.

We met for months, going over every detail for this two-day event. Account balances in the black, RSVPs duly noted, speakers lined up. The highlight was to be a black-tie ball on a Saturday night with a fabulous dinner, fun band and even husbands.

So for a bunch of type-A women, we had it under control…or so we fooled ourselves into thinking.

The football gods aligned the planets so that our beloved Sooners played a big game on national TV.  Kick-off? Exactly the same as the time printed on our oh-so-lovely invitations.

So now as the Dallas Cowboys make a rare Saturday night appearance on national TV in a play-off game with that Philadelphia team, I’m not worried about Jerry’s boys. My concerns are for the Jewel Charity Ball in Fort Worth. That party, an annual event for Cook Children’s Medical Center, has been on the books longer than Tony Romo’s been wearing ball caps backwards.

Jeanie Luskey, president of this year’s ball, probably is wondering what the heck happened to Monday night football.

Scary, cute and festive, pumpkins painted to suit a variety of moods, tastes and whims–not to mention pocketbooks, will go on sale at Circle of Friends’ annual painted pumpkin sale, set this year for 9 a.m. Saturday at The Village of Colleyville.

Hand-decorated pumpkins will be sold at this charitable event at 16 Village Lane, suite 120. The sale is sponsored each year by Circle of Friends (www.cofmidcities.org). a local organization dedicated to oncology and hematology patients at Cook Children’s Medical Center. Club members spend weeks preceding the sale decorating pumpkins with Halloween themes, Thanksgiving motifs and school mascots to raise funds for the group’s projects.

Acting as co-chairs of the fundraising event are Lorraine Cheney and DeAnna Bryant. Pumpkins will be sold from $3 to as much as $100, and the sale only lasts until the pumpkins are sold out, usually before noon. Pumpkin sales have averaged $15,000 over the past six years, according to Cathie Mollenhoff, who is serving as one of two co-presidents along with Barbara Boerner.

Established in 1984, the non-profit organization Circle of Friends sponsors projects throughout the year to support medical center patients. A major focus is Camp Sanguinity, a one-day camp held near Meridian, TX for 4- and 5-year-old patients. Throughout the year, Circle of Friends hosts other projects to benefit the hematology-oncology patients and their families.

What recession?

This year’s Jewel Charity Ball ignored leading economic indicators, raising in excess of $3.5 million.

Gail Landreth, 2008 president of Jewel Charity Ball Inc., (www.jewelcharity.org) announced at the Feb. 12 annual meeting and celebration that this year’s ball total was $3,544,655.65. Most of the proceeds will be designated for Cook Children’s Medical Center’s uncompensated fund, while portions also will go toward behavioral health and hematology/oncology programs.

The theme for this year’s black-tie gala was “Jewel of the Nile,” with live camels greeting ball guests as they arrived Jan 10th. Decorations included giant obelisks and statues of the Egypitan god Anubis. Eiseman Jewels, NorthPark Dallas provided the jewelry showcased for the evening.

New ball president Jeanie Luskey officially took office Feb. 23, although she already is working toward the 2010 event, having held her board orientation Jan. 20. The next ball is set for Jan. 9, 2010.

The first Jewel Charity Ball was held in 1954 when $9,000 was raised for what was then known as Fort Worth Children’s Hospital. Now the charity ball, held every January in Fort Worth, draws approximately 2,000 guests.

The cumulative amount over the 55 years of the gala’s history now totals more than $45 million.