The Boy Who Has Everything: A Birthday Dilemma

Pip is 19 today. In some ways -- vocabulary, insights, sense of humor -- he's always been old beyond his calendar years. But in other ways he hasn't changed all that much since he was a toddler stacking soda cans on the kitchen floor.

We haven't bought him a gift yet. He doesn't need much of anything but he's been angling for a three-volume history of China so I'll probably invest in the first volume and see how it goes. He hasn't asked me to buy him a book for nearly a year. College does that to a person I suppose.

I think the best gift I can give him right now is my time. When I tried that the day before yesterday, he dragged me into Pokemon Center in Yokohama. I lasted all of three minutes before escaping to the book store to hunt down the British version of the Harry Potter series. His father has a greater tolerance for Pikachu than I.

"If I was too old for Barbie at 10, you're too old for Pikachu at 19!"

This week I think we'll spend some quality time folding laundry together and cleaning his room.  Maybe I'll teach him how to pot plants.

What Comes After Middle Age?

The Ancient Mariner hasn't mentioned that his birthday box showed up in Borneo so I'm thinking it probably won't reach him until the USS Blue Ridge hits the next port a few days from now.

This is a milestone birthday for the love of my life. He's eligible for Medicare. He's in good company, too: Steven Spielberg, Patty Duke, Hayley Mills, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Liza Minnelli, John Woo, Oliver Stone, Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Susan Sarandon, Donald Trump, Connie Chung, Cher, Tommy Lee Jones, and Laura Bush. (Did you know that Tommy Lee and Laura attended the same high school?)

Freddie Mercury was also born in 1946 but, alas, is no longer with us.

Happy birthday, Mike. Maybe next year I'll make you a cake.

Gadzooks! I Guess We Really ARE Related

Happy birthday to my brother Jerry, one of the six greatest men I know even if he only reads my blog when he's standing behind a church lectern. Maybe someone can pass this along to him. You might not want to share it with his boss.

Tick, Tock

My brother Jim turns 50 today. This boggles my mind.

Jim's the baby of the family, the youngest of six. The year he entered St. John's School as a first grader I made the leap across the central foyer to join my older brothers in the high school. This was the only year all of us attended the same school; Jerry left for the University of Dayton the following autumn.

Jimmy was incredibly precocious, of course, with five older siblings to teach him the ways of the world. Yet I still have not adjusted to the fact he has a driver's license let alone two teenage daughters. In deference to my nieces, I'm going to wait until Jimmy turns 60 before sharing some of my favorite stories.