Musings–5 Favorite Birthdays

By pnwauthor

DSCN1341On this bittersweet end of June day, I turn 52 years old. I say, bittersweet because I love birthdays but I spend most of mine alone. So to cheer myself up, I am remembering 5 of my happiest birthdays. I tend to favor traveling on my birthday or spending the day with someone special. So with a drum roll, here we go:

  1. A childhood birthday spent in El Paso, Texas at my grandmother’s house. I actually don’t recall my age for this birthday, but I believe this was my 7th or 8th birthday. My cousins were there, we smashed a pinata to bits, and I let the cousins and siblings have the candy as I swept up the small change. We also hosted a talent show. Back in those sexist times (early 1970s), my sister and I were relegated to go-go dancers.
  2. Spending my birthday (or days after) on Salt Spring Island, Canada with my at-the-time French boyfriend. We had some good music with us, enjoyable weather, and we stayed at a comfortable and friendly B & B (the first B & B I ever stayed at). There were also many comical moments including missing a ferry.
  3. Spending my birthday in London, England and landing a rock music gig at a club in a basement. But on my birthday, I think I just ended up at other musician’s gigs in the suburbs. I played pinball and most likely have the lowest score ever as the game lasted a few seconds. Incidentally, my gig that I played in the club basement landed me in the pages of Melody Maker (a big deal at the time).
  4. On my 40th birthday, I hosted a collaborative poetry and music event with my colleagues and friends to promote compassion. The event was held at Third Place Books in Seattle and a vegan bakery donated the cake. I think some of the poets were taken back that I dedicated the event to Saint Francis of Assisi and Dennis Kucinich, a US Congressman running for US President at the time.
  5. Spending my birthday with my good friends Daphne and Marjanii as well as, my the French boyfriend of that time. This was the same birthday lumped in with the holiday on Salt Spring Island.

And I also have pleasant memories of a dinner party birthday at my Queen Anne apartment in Seattle. That was when I had many friends (both new and old). Again, that bitter sweetness rears its head since most of those people disappeared from my life ages ago. I wonder if any of them remember me. I sure remember them, and often.

Okay, enough of my Cancer sentimentality. Don’t cry for me Argentina, lol.