January Birthdays: 2nd, 3rd, and 200th

January has a number of special birthdays in addition to that of my sister, Carolyn, who doesn't want her age mentioned, even though she is 12 years older than I am and her birthday card had a hole burned in it from the large number of candles on her cake.

Ahem, I digress. Solomon started to celebrate his 2nd birthday a little early. Linda and I went to Salem for the occasion, and I must say we had a great time. We gave Sol a wooden tool box, a monster truck ("Pickup!") and a really neat little drum set. Sol, we love you!

Yesterday, Ander celebrated his 3rd birthday. I had mailed a monster truck to him and his mommy, Kathy, reports that Ander was really excited to get his vehicle. ("Cool truck!")

We took the old Columbia Gorge Highway on our return to Pendleton from Salem. The highway was carpeted with bits of twigs, leaves, little branches, big branches, and some pretty darn big trees! We learned after the fact that the Gorge had a storm the previous night with gusts of 75 mph!

You don't turn 200 years old but once, and Edgar Allen Poe did yesterday. As we could not go to Baltimore MD for the "official" graveside observance, my good friend Terry Templeman and I held our own observance in Pendleton's Olney Cemetery late last night. Terry brought some good cognac with which to toast Poe, and I a long stemmed rose to lay upon some handy grave, thus duplicating the Balitmore ceremony. It was a good time for reflection, and Terry started us off with a reading of Poe's The Conqueror Worm.

And so ends another post by mortal man,
A word, a gesture, like no other can...

Eh, the next Poe I'll not be. John