About Birthdays:

About Birthdays:


Is this a 'good thing' or a 'bad thing'?


Today, I have been brainstorming, thinking, "What can I do today that would be 'special' for my birthday?"


Several years ago, I came to the conclusion that, with realistic limitations ($$ and time), generally speaking, I do "What I want", and whenever I want to do it.  With that taken into consideration, EVERY DAY is a birthday for me!  The 'good thing' about the deal is that, thankfully, the actual number of years will only increase one every 365 days.


We go to 'special' restaurants whenever we feel the urge, and not just on select days.  I go see all that St. Louis has to offer whenever I leave the house, and those visits are not reserved for a specific date.  I go to the Missouri Botanical Gardens weekly, the Zoo often, the St. Louis Art Museum, the History Museum, Malls, antique malls and stores, unique shops, and I go to wonderful venues and events at a frantic rate throughout the season. 


For example, this evening, I am going to do what I do during this time of the year, every other year that I have lived in the St. Louis area.  I am going to the opening of the first large outdoor art fair of the season, located at Laumeir Sculpture Park, just 7 miles from our home.  To me, this is a yearly event that I have never missed since I have lived in this area.  The skill, attention to detail, hard work, passion and finesse that these artists exhibit in their fine art and creativity will always inspire me to take the comforting, settling, deep breath that my heart craves, and one which will serve to center and soothe my soul.  


I love the first night, evening openings of these Art Fairs.  I usually go to Friday night openings by myself, without Mark, so I can browse at my leisure, without him getting bored, and hurrying me through the venue.    I can take my time and talk to the artists from all over the country that I have grown to know on a personal level over the 17 years that I have lived in the St. Louis area.  The lines at the wine tasting booth are long, and that area is crowded. No problem.  I will have a locally brewer oatmeal Schlafly Beer,  grab a Lobster Risotto Cake, Wild Mushroom Pesto Quesadilla, or a  Grilled Eggplant Goat Cheese Panini, and enjoy a Spring evening while listening to Jazz on the main stage.  It isn't uncommon for me to spend 3 hours or more on a Friday evening (or Saturday afternoon!) at an Art Fair.


Everyday is a birthday celebration for me.  If $$ flowed more freely, I would be traveling the entire world, sampling all the food, wearing all the clothes, listening to the different music that the people of the world has to offer, and taking in every custom that I can get my fat little fingers on.  


But reality sets in, and I realize that I have not - and probably will not - get a huge inheritance that will allow me to explore the entire world. In the meantime, I am thankful that I have the world that I DO have to explore, the music that I have taught myself how to play, my other abilities that I have fine tuned.  I know people who will not allow themselves such things in their lives, and the price they pay is much greater than the yearning that I experience on a daily basis because I can't experience the entire world.  Their pain is much greater than my own, because they don't know it's source.  The sad fact is that those individuals most likely have more of the resources available to them than those that are available to me, and that they could enrich their lives, but they have made the conscious choice to remain bitter, and to not do so.  That is an unfortunate fact.


With that being said, 


"HAPPY BIRTHDAY - every day - TO ME!"  


:)

- Michael

The Rogue Reverse Vandal Vegetation Vigilante

There has to be a support group for people like me!
Mark has known this for quite some time, but I think I finally reached the point that I have to admit that I have turned into a complete Rogue Reverse Vandal Vegetation Vigilante! 


I firmly believe that no matter where you live, you should take pride in your environment.  We live in Ladue, MO, which is known for lots of nice houses, lots of money and lots of snot.  Disclaimer:  We have a Ladue address, we do *not* have a Ladue house.  There is quite a difference between the 2.


Anywho, our neighbor is renting the house on the lot immediately adjacent to our house.  This fella is a true renter in the fact that he really doesn't care about the outward appearance of his home.  He piles trash from his Jeep in the yard beside the driveway.  During storms, some of this crap will blow all over the neighborhood.  This man also lets this irritating, invasive bush (Trees!) honey suckle grow up over the windows in a haphazard way in front of his house.  


(I will have to play Devil's advocate, and defend him in saying that the neighbor on the OTHER side of our property isn't much better.  This other neighbor doesn't keep invasive bushes trimmed from the front of his house, but he does usually keep his lawn cut.)


To make a long story just a bit longer and more painful.....


This morning, I took the trash to the curb, and I glanced over at the Hoosier neighbor's house.  A second later, I heard his Jeep start up.  I know that this young man doesn't cook at home, and eats all of his meals at restaurants, take-out, fast food, etc.  That is where most of the trash that he piles up in the front lawn comes from.  
I heard the Jeep start up, and I know the proverbial little light flickered on in my head.


The very second that he backed out of his driveway, and I saw his Jeep disappear down the lane, I ran into my garage and got my biggest pair of pruning shears.  I had to work fast because I didn't know if he was going to work, or if he was making a quick trip to a nearby Starbuck's or St. Louis Bread Company for breakfast. 


Like a good reverse vandal, I know that I shouldn't cut back ALL the bad vegetation.  That would be too obvious.   But then again, I am inclined to think that a person that will allow trash to pile up in his front yard isn't too concerned about overgrown vegetation disappearing at a fast rate!


I did wack back some huge chunks, but I reluctantly left a few decoys.  In a couple days, I will creep back over there when he leaves the house again, and I will remove more.  Like the Grinch That Stole the Bad Vegetation, I toted that crap as fast as I could to the huge pile that I started years ago in the far back corner of our yard.


I wonder if he will know the difference when he gets back home?  I wonder if he will even care?  I doubt it, but I DO know that I couldn't take it any more, and it had to go!


ONWARD, ROGUES!  :()

- Michael