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Dave Whitaker, The Forty Year Old | |
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April 10, 2007: Four decades ago, Beverly and Bob Whitaker had their first son, Dave. Things didn’t go quite as they hoped, so they tried again a couple years later and got Mark. After that, they stopped; you can draw your own conclusion as to whether they just plain gave up or decided they were satisfied the second time around. Hey, I’m the big brother; it’s my job to get in jabs at my little brother, no matter how old we are. |
In that spirit of teasing, let me offer up the photo at right. Look at those faces. Len, Steve, and I don’t look thrilled to be packed like sardines at…well, I’ll explain where later. However, Mark, on the far right, seems to be getting some perverse joy out of it. Come on, turn that smile upside down… |
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Something as important as a 40th birthday requires more celebrating than what can be squeezed into one mere day, so my party roughly ran from April Fool’s Day to Easter – about a week and a half. Things kicked off with a visit from Becky’s brother, Chris, who flew in from Arizona. I didn’t think that much of the timing, although Becky hinted that it had something to do with my birthday. |
So, on the afternoon of the 2nd, Becky kicks me out of the house. No, no, no – I didn’t do anything bad; she thinly disguised what was obviously going to be some kind of birthday preparation by offering me a few hours to go to a movie or something. Of course, I’m such a homebody that given a few hours of non-parenting time, I’m apt to slave away on the computer on, well, things like websites, that it felt a bit like getting kicked out. But all was well when I came home to a decorated house and friends and family there to surprise me. |
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I was then treated to a walk down memory lane with a “This Is Your Life” presentation, complete with lovely photos like the one at the left. |
Levi was fairly baffled by it all, but still mesmerized. Perhaps he’s wondering what kind of “This Is Your Life” presentation we can do for him when he turns 2 next month. |
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Ah, the difference, though, that a few years can make. Evan knew what was important about a birthday party… |
Of course, we didn’t have time to get to the cake until later. After a quick dinner, and the passing around of T-shirts, which Becky had made for the occasion, we were off for another surprise – an Eric Clapton concert!
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With Mom and Dad taking on babysitting duties, 8 of us headed off to see Clapton, who obviously coordinated his entire tour to see to it that he could be in the Kansas City area around my birthday. |
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By the way, Chris went with us too, but took on the role of shutterbug and wasn’t in the photo above. He also got some nice shots of Clapton – I especially like the one below of the stage engulfed in blue with the big screen backdrop showing a close up of Clapton’s guitar.
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Just in case family, friends, and Eric Clapton weren’t enough, we took the party on the road. Becky, Mom, Dad, Evan, Levi, and I loaded up in the van for a trek to Iowa to see my grandma. She’s 92 (I think I have that right) and you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with a better attitude about, well, anything. By the way, I’m ready to be twice my age already – her assisted living facility basically seems like a dorm for senior citizens. |
Of course, another celebration meant another cake – and Evan was right there on hand again to help blow out candles. |
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Then we came home and, after a brief reprieve for Easter, my actual birthday came on the 10th. There was certainly no need for yet another festivity, but I got one more surprise – the new Marillion album (pictured at left)! If you don’t know who Marillion is, then I haven’t done my job of telling you all about my favorite group that no one ever has heard of. Click on the album cover at left, read up on the band, and get back to me for your 20-question quiz. Anyway, they released their 14th album just in time for my birthday and Becky got an import of it (they’re a British band) since it will be a couple more weeks before it comes stateside. |
And with, that, we shall end the party. Close the doors, turn out the lights, and leave the mess to clean up tomorrow. Thanks to everyone who helped celebrate the big B-day for days on end and an extra thanks to my wonderful wife for working so hard to make it special. I love you, Becky! |
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