I read an excerpt from a book that I pick up off and on, called "Simple Abundance." It's a 'day' book, with writings for every day of the year. My cousin Mary Ann gave it to me a long time ago, and I really treasure it because I don't have to read it all the time, but when I do, it seems to hit the spot. Today it reminded me that writing is a tough avocation. You say to yourself, "Self, you can't write anything today, because there's nothing to write." Simple, eh? Well that's a cop-out. If I am going to write (and this blog was intended for me to scribble every once in a while) I'll have to get more disciplined about it. Maybe it's ok to just jot down a few thoughts every once in a while.
Today's thought concerns one of my sons-in-law. Today is Dan's 50th birthday. I've known Dan since he was a gangly, tow-headed freshman in high school, coming home off and on with my oldest son Andy. They met each other when Andy joined the swim team at the local high school.
Suddenly, in my daughter Barb's sophomore year in college, Dan discovered that Andy's pit-tailed, perky cheerleading siste had turned into someone he wanted to get to know a bit better. The end of the fairy story is that Dan and Barb were married, combining two families that had been friends for many years. I must admit that as time elapsed, familiarity sometimes was the breeder of contempt, as they say...and Dan and I disagreed on a fair number of things over the years and still aren't afraid to tell each other that we're not on the same track. But as the years went on ( and I got older and wiser) I couldn't help but see the perserverance, the dedication, and the genuine goodness streaming out of Dan. In addition, he has always been fun! Just a bit quirky...he will greet you with his 'pirate voice' more often than not...he covers his concern and goodwill with an interesting sense of duty to the environment and the historic neighborhood in which he and Barb have raised Patrick and Tim. Buy a building for his appraisal business? Sure, and then rent out parts of it to a wonderful children's book store and give a neighbor/friend a boost, renting space for her art gallery. When he realized that not many people would visit his appraisal office, Dan started the Guerilla Art Gallery in his front windows, hanging and displaying 'outside' artists who might not find the wherewithal to show their works. He loves Halloween...dresses up every year and helped organize the Washington Heights Halloween night out. One year, he left Jerry and me at home to give out small plasic prizes to the kids. We ran through the 2000 that he provided!!! After Jerry's bike accident, Wisconsin snow was piling up on our driveway. Late one afternoon, there was Dan, shoveling away. He'd driven the several miles to our house after work just to be sure we were able to navigate our front walk. We met him through swimming, but he's really quite a talented thespian. He spends hour upon hour practicing for and helping with the St. Sebastian Cabaret. So...I guess this is my love song to Dan. Happy Birthday, Dan. 50 years seems but a moment!