Happy birthday, Forever_Town!

Didn't happen.

My birthday consisted of dinner with the Dads at the Olive Garden. We partook in some food we all seemed to enjoy, some wine and Corona (I did the beer, natch!) and some fabulous dessert.

After that, the Dads drove me to the bar where I spent my birthday night. I ended up with like six or seven rums and Cokes, a blonded headed slut, a Girl Scout Cookie and a screaming orgasm. When it came time to pay my tab, the bartender whom I befriended last year waved off the card. He later told me my tab was on him and another bartender.

I called a cab right after getting money from my bank's ATM. Usually, when I called a cab back in the day, it would sometimes take at least 20 minutes before that cab got to me. Sometimes it would take HOURS. This time, no sooner do I hang up the phone than the cab is already there.

Yes, I remember more than I expected, but I had a blast nonetheless.

 

Sounds great, f_t. Glad you had a good time.

A Girl Scout cookie?

 

I was hoping you would take notes like Mike, but with tattoos not pen and paper.

 

Here's to you, from me, and all the artists herein.

Hope you'll enjoy some stuff that you like, or that I've read is otherwise meaningful to you:

And, just to give a little something that's from/of me, here are a few that are among my favorites, for reasons I have not yet explained on that thread but that, perhaps, I will, someday. For now, you'll have to settle for somewhat abbreviated explanations:

(This one makes me think often of the son of family friends, a young man who was hit by a car and killed while riding a bicycle. His parents -- close, lifelong friends of my folks and the godparents of one of my brothers -- grieved for the rest of their lives. They had two other sons, but, truly, they were never the same again, and voiced constant reminders to others about the preciousness of life).

(Heard this on the radio once during a particularly rough period in my life many years ago, and it struck a chord with me. It's something that has stayed with me ever since).

(A family favorite -- a couple of my brothers are Beatles fanatics -- and we're all admirers of the group and their impact on society at the time and on music ever since then. Also another song with a message, one that I wish everyone in the world would take to heart).

(I consider Elton John to be one of the greatest pianists and musical geniuses in history. This is just one of hundreds of songs/reasons why. He and his music have effectively spanned decades and generations. Such longevity, with continued and consistent success, relevance and popularity, is what I consider the true mark of greatness).

(Every time I hear this song, I think of a good friend who committed suicide. It's sad, and yet, I find it uplifting/energizing at the same time).

(Love the resonance of this one, and it's apropos for fathers and families everywhere. It also serves as a reminder of appreciation for my father, who, like Dan Fogelberg did, suffers from prostate cancer. All indications are that he is in the waning days and weeks of his life. Not to put a damper on things, but I think you like Dan Fogelberg, and so, thought you might appreciate this one as much as I do).

And, last, but definitely not least:

(Truly a signature song of a group if there ever was one, and, for different reasons than you, one of my favorites ever. Love it, and you can't help but rock 'n roll with it).

Well, I took a little time putting this together for ya, and now, I see that it's past your birthday on the east coast...I guess I missed deadline, darn it!...Oh well, I hope the thought counts.

Here's wishing you a belated happy birthday, f-t! Hope it was a good one...

WriteThinking

 

Thanks again, everyone, for the birthday wishes!

For many reasons, this birthday is one I will never forget.

 

Or someone?

 

I think he's saving something -- or someone -- for No. 36.

 

Happy belated birthday FT. I hope it indeed was a great one and it certainly sounded like it was.

 

You have no idea how disappointed Poindexter is that you're not a teacher.

 

His fetish is female teachers doing male students.

I don't think I'd qualify.

 

For the first time in four years, I'm recapping an extended birthday celebration. Since my birthday fell on a Thursday this year, I decided to make a four-day weekend of it. Here's the recap.

On Wednesday evening, I went to the my favorite bar near the Big School for 50-cent wings. While I was there to enjoy some of the best wings in the county, one of the bartenders made shots for a couple of women who were sitting nearby. He also made a third and gave it to me. It's not the first time he's done it, so it wasn't exclusive to my birthday, but it was a cool way to start with the birthday fun. When I got home, there already was a Happy birthday thread dedicated to me on SportsJournalists.com. Folks were also signing my Facebook and MySpace pages wishing me a happy birthday.

I found out some news that seriously dampened my spirits; however, the bearer of the news was determined to not let it affect my enjoyment of my birthday. I saw he made peace with the news far, far earlier than I did. I decided that I would have to make peace with the news in my own way, but I believe I have. More on that later. Anyway, on Thursday morning, I opened cards from the dads wishing me a happy birthday. Later that evening, we went to the Olive Garden for dinner.

After dinner, Dad #2 and Dad #1 dropped me off at the aforementioned bar so I wouldn't drink and drive (at my behest). While there, I must have had at least six or seven rums and Cokes in addition to a blonde headed slut, a Girl Scout Cookie and a screaming orgasm. When it came time to pay my tab, one of the bartenders waved my card off and told me it was on him and the other one. I called a cab for the first time since before I owned my car. Surprisingly to me, it came right away and I was on my way back home.

On Friday, I pretty much had a chill night after Dad #2 and I took a bunch of stuff to the dump, going back to my favorite bar again just to have a night to relax a week after the place was closed for the holiday. I got one more free shot for my birthday, which was what I've named after myself. It was something I created so that a particular bartender could fulfill his bet on the Orioles-Nationals series. I had equal parts whiskey, tequila, rum and vodka mixed in with hot sauce and sour mix. I downed that sucker too. I think it hit me harder than anything else I had that night. I also had a bunch of water so I sobered up before I left.

On Saturday, my aunt came down and my grandmother came to the house. Problem was, Dad #2 added oil to Dad #1's car without the car having been warmed up. We found out the car was overloaded with oil and he had to get an oil change. That took much, much longer than expected. We ended up having to take my grandmother back to her retirement community and having to wait until after dinner to have my birthday party. When we were finally done with that, I went to my favorite karaoke bar for my Saturday birthday celebration. One of my employees came by and she also brought a birthday cake. The KJ played "Happy Birthday" in my honor and I got cards from my employee and one of the patrons. Said patron also included a gift card to McDonald's and a package of chocolates. The karaoke owner's fiancee sang Gretchen Wilson's "Here For The Party" for me, I sang "Whenever I Call You Friend" with my friend and fellow Stevie Nicks fanatic and later "Gypsy" by Fleetwood Mac to close the show.

Now the downer parts of the weekend. After hearing the bad news, I needed to do some things to have come closure from it. I sang "Edge of Seventeen" at karaoke and "Go Your Own Way." Once I got finished with "Go Your Own Way," I had closure. Earlier in the week, I found out a favorite SID was leaving his job at the Big School. By the time I got to the Media Relations office, he'd already left. That inspired me to sing "Wasted On The Way," which to me is about lost opportunities.

On a more amusing note, my employee sang "My Humps" and I ended up doing most of the male vocals in it.

 

I'm fairly drowning in Facebook notes. Thanks to those of you on here who wished me a happy birthday this year!