Hmm..
- Unbelievably expensive dinner (and damn good steak)
- Wrapping paper
- Chocolate Bill Knapp's cake
- Candles
- Dog begging for food at my feet
Well, four of those things are special. Must be my birthday. No more blogging today.
Tom Petty died today, aged 66. I won't claim to be a huge Tom Petty fan, but I've bought an album or two and sang along in the car to one of those songs everyone knows. I'll stream a lot of his catalog today to remember the songs I've heard once or hundreds of times.
I also owe Petty credit for a singular moment in my life, and one I never expected to last in my mind.
Nearly 20 years ago, I was a fresh-ish faced transplant to Ann Arbor, MI by way of my first "real job" out of college, working for a software company in Dexter. I was renting a house with some other folks who'd also been displaced as a result of a fire at my first apartment. I was the only family member East of Lansing, which made me a contact point for anyone going through Detroit Metro airport.
Which is how my uncle Dean came to spend a few hours with me one evening. At the time, my grandparents (his parents) were wintering in Texas. My grandfather had health problems most of his life and…
I also owe Petty credit for a singular moment in my life, and one I never expected to last in my mind.
Nearly 20 years ago, I was a fresh-ish faced transplant to Ann Arbor, MI by way of my first "real job" out of college, working for a software company in Dexter. I was renting a house with some other folks who'd also been displaced as a result of a fire at my first apartment. I was the only family member East of Lansing, which made me a contact point for anyone going through Detroit Metro airport.
Which is how my uncle Dean came to spend a few hours with me one evening. At the time, my grandparents (his parents) were wintering in Texas. My grandfather had health problems most of his life and…
missed your birthday? damm A big virtual bottle of tabasco sauce to you
ReplyDeleteHA! Thanks Karen!
ReplyDeleteAh, but the Bill Knapp's cake isn't quite the same without a barely audible, 14th-generating tape recording of "Happy Birthday" piped through a single speaker at one end of the dining room. And having the cake settle in on the au gratin potatoes already in your stomach. And 10 cent York pepperment patties at the counter. And....
ReplyDeleteSorry. Happy belated birthday!
Oh, 10 cent York peppermint patties.. you know, at its best, Bill Knapps wasn't that bad of a place. Of course, at its worst, it ranked slightly above cardboard. Ah well, at least someone saved the cake.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the (belated) wishes. You almost beat my parents in saying so.