JULY 18, 2018, 1:11A.M.
As I slowly raised my eyelids, and attempted to blink-away the crust surrounding both eyes, the room in which I was ensconced slowly…slowly came into focus.
Straight before me was the ceiling to floor curtain slid into closure on the grommets attaching it to the rod attached high above…running the entire width of the room. Since the curtain itself was completely solid( neither transparent, nor opaque), no light filtered through its entire length. Hence, my vision was entirely blocked to the immediacy surrounding me.
On the opposite side of the curtain, I could barely distinguish any sounds whatsoever. However, after tuning my ear to the emptiness, I could barely distinguish a feeble cry emanating from the far side of the room…the side blocked from my vision.
Gradually, my eyes accustomed to the darkness, and a tiny bit of illumination filtered through the early morning hour.
I noticed a television monitor attached to the ceiling on the far right side of my bed….a mobile table alongside my left arm…and a doorway leading to another area further to my left hand side.
Where was I? What was going on? Where’s Carolyn, Hobbes, and the Kitties?? AND..what in the world was attached to my arms???
THEN…I realized where I was, and what was happening. ..UPMC Presby Hospital, Pittsburgh. Arms laced with I.V’s…but ALIVE!
What a Birthday Present! A true Gift from Eternity!
JULY 18, 1948, 1:11A.M.
OUCH!!! Whose hand is smacking me on my backside…AND, REALLY smacking me HARD!
Hey!!! I’m upside down, and someone is holding me by my ankles…at least I THINK they’re my ankles. What else would they be called???
OOPS! WOW, that feels SO good! I was really getting cold hanging there. Thanks, SO MUCH for wrapping that little blanket around my tiny body. Thanks, also, for wiping my eyes and lips. They were kinda “juicy!”
Now what??? I’m being laid down onto some woman’s body. HEY! What’s she doing? SWEET! She’s wrapping me into her arms and holding me onto her chest. THEN…surprise: her lips reach down and touch my forehead in a kiss.
WOW! The warmth of her Love is spreading throughout my little self.
I hear someone say,” What a beautiful little boy you have there, Eleanor! Congratulations on bringing him into this Life! Have you decided upon a name for him?”
Eleanor replied without hesitation: “His name is George Paul.”
The Gift of Life…the truest Gift one can ever receive.
JULY 18, 1954
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOUUUU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOUUUU! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR GEORGIE, (You Creep, my Cousin, Neighbor, Friend, Pest, etc., etc. ,etc.) HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOUUUU!”
I’m surrounded! “Wait, Georgie, before you blow out the candles, Daddy wants to take a picture.”
OK, Mommy, I’ll wait.
Behind, the band of relatives and neighbors formed a three layer crowd of MORE than 50 kids…Barbara Anne, Butch, Gary, Wayne, Laverne, etc.
Mom and Aunts Eileen and Gerry, arranged them into three rows according to height. I was centered in the front row. There, lying on the low table in front of me was the birthday cake which my Grandma Finster had created. More than THREE feet in length, it formed a railroad train engine…one which could be seen in the Saturday Morning Western Programs like Hop-Along-Cassidy, Roy Rogers, and others.
I was dressed in one of my birthday presents: a Cowboy Suit with boots, spurs (plastic, of course), a wide-brimmed hat, and matching holsters …each carrying a silver toy six-shooter.
“One-Two-Three! Smile, Everybody!”
I pulled my toy pistols, and Dad shot the picture. I still have it!
The Gift of that day so long ago has NEVER been erased in my Heart. Many, MANY of those Kids in the photo have left this Life…as have Mom, Dad, her two sisters Eileen & Gerry, and my Grandma.
BUT…if I try, I can STILL taste that cake!
JULY 18, 1982,
EARLY MORNING HOURS
What’s that smell?
SHHH! Something’s out there. I cautioned Carolyn to remain silent as I slowly and cautiously unzipped the window lining of our tiny Coleman camper adjacent to our heads in bed.
Then, in the dying embers of last evening’s campfire, I observed a tiny parade of black and white striped creatures edging near the fire pit. I tapped Carolyn’s shoulder, and motioned for her to join me in my observance.
There slowly wheedling past in front of our eyes, was a Momma Skunk and her babies.
WOW! What a surprise! What a WONDERFUL Birthday Present Nature had gifted to me in these early morning hours!
A true Gift we have NEVER forgotten!
JULY, 2020
Late in the afternoon, after I had returned home from completing my work in Meadville, I gathered Hobbes to my side, and we both headed to the mailbox at the end of our gravely, forested driveway.
Yep, of course, I scooped into my hands several expected communications…some bills, a few advertisements, etc.
But, as I leafed through the assorted envelopes and papers, my hands grasped something completely unexpected: a BIRTHDAY CARD!
Who would have sent me a B’Day Card? I turned the envelop over to reveal its source; but, the outside listed only my name and address.
So, with somewhat “contained” excitement, I opened the envelop and removed the card from within.
“BIRTHDAY WISHES” topped with a series of stars decorated the face of the card. Inside were/are the words: “Happy Birthday! Wishing you all the best on your special day! From all your friends at Y.G.B.O.I.”
The card also contains the signatures of nearly 50 Staff Personnel!
Another true Gift!
THE MESSAGE
Life is overflowing with Gifts, whether they be in the forms of Birthday cakes, cards, toy pistols, or the parade of animals.
The truest Gifts are those of LOVE and REMEMBRANCE….and. perhaps, most importantly, HOPE.
Nothing can erase those Gifts from our Hearts.
We sometimes forget them while being surrounded by the “busy-ness” of every day.
But, if one takes a moment to open the “Eyes of Heart” and REMEMBER….well, one will experience a HAPPY BIRTHDAY once again!
“Once you choose Hope…ANYTHING’s possible!”
--Christopher Reeve---
MAY EVERY MOMENT OF YOUR EVERY DAY BE FILLED WITH LOVE, PEACE, AND HOPE!
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