My Life - Chapter 54 - Birthdays

This was our chariot for an evening at
the theater on my 40th birthday. 9/20/2003

 The thing about birthdays is that the more you have, the less you appreciate them, until the total becomes overwhelming and, perhaps, unanticipated.

 The question for this chapter was to share memorable birthdays, instead I'm writing about several that shine the brightest.

 I turned 6 in first grade.  As was the custom at St. Paul Lutheran School, mom prepared treats for the whole class and brought them to school near the end of the day for a class party.  

Mom was a good cook, but I learned through the years that baking wasn't something she enjoyed, which makes this party memorable.

She made two dozen cupcakes with chocolate frosting, then wrote in white frosting the name of each classmate!  It was amazing.  It was a lot of work, to the best of my knowledge she never did such a thing again.

That was only part of the fun, after school she drove me to Madison where I sat in the live audience of children on WISC-TV's Circus 3 show.  (I found an article online from a weekly newspaper in Madison called Isthmus that the show ran from 1961 to 1972 with 13,000 children appearing on the program.  I was on twice.)  

The cartoon and variety show was hosted by Cowboy Eddie and his ventriloquist Howie Olson.  I recall each kid being asked a question on camera. I managed to say something.  To cap the evening, our family went to Shakey's Pizza for supper before driving home.

Ten years later, I turned 16.  I wasn't ready to for my driver's test, but I was excited that I was finally able to take the Driver's Education class in high school (my junior year).  I passed the driver's test despite slightly brushing a car with my front bumper while pulling out of a parallel parking spot. 

A driver's license meant dad didn't need to drive my date and I anymore and provided my first taste of independent living and the responsibilities that go with it.

I turned 18 freshman year of college.  It meant I could vote.  In 1981, it also meant I was old enough to drink legally in Wisconsin.  In Iowa, where I went to school, the age was 19.  On a short trip home over break, two of my 'legal' friends and I drove to Milwaukee for a brewery tour and free samples afterward.  

Voting was and is an important right and privilege.  I can't think of more than a time or two where I missed going to the polls.  As the foundation of our country's form of government, I'd like to see every eligible person vote so the majority decides issues instead of a majority of those who take the time and negotiate the barriers to vote.

I've never been a big drinker (a case of beer can last two or three months in our house), but I enjoy a nice beer.  One time that stands out was the year I turned 20.  My folks came to visit me at school and I lifted a glass of beer with my Dad in Drake's Rathskeller.

We were living in my hometown of Janesville when I turned 30, living in our first home down the street from a good friend I met while working at WCLO.  He joined our family at a family restaurant that had a goofy-looking mascot who harassed/celebrated with the adult birthday boy or girl.  Selfies weren't a thing then, but the picture of me wearing a blue plaid shirt standing next to the creature is unforgettable.

Usually I treat the anniversary of my birth like every other day.  Some times, that wasn't up to me.  The year I turned 40 my wife pulled off a surprise party.  My closest friend in Augusta asked me to go into Eau Claire, which seemed suspicious, so we drove to the big-box hardware store.  By the time we returned, it looked like a convention was going on as cars filled the driveway and lined Lincoln Street.

I wasn't surprised, but was appreciative more people came out than I ever expected.  It was a nice evening.

On the actual day, Gene and Karen were part of our double date to celebrate my birthday as we took a limousine to Eau Claire for a performance at a dinner theater.  It was a fun way to mark the milestone. 

The last memorable birthday wasn't even mine, it was Matthew's.  When he reached his 30th year, it set me back farther than my 30th, 40th, or 50th ever did as I wrapped my head around being old enough to have a 30-year old!

I can only guess what it will be like to have a kid who is retired!  That's quite a few years from when I'm writing these words, I hope I'm around to learn what it's like.