Fitty Four

So I turned fifty four yesterday. Dennis Leary once said there comes a time in a man's life when he ought to realize his birthday is no big deal, and that time is age 9. Still, when you have a wife and 2 daughters and a lot of female friends, that's not a tenable concept. We were going to have lunch at the Capital Grille Wednesday, but Wifey's father was taken to Mt. Sinai, on what we thought might be the final journey. But not so fast! The hospital of my people gave him the highest of care, and he's on the mend -- I predict he'll be discharged late next week, to resume his life at the nursing home. Friday night the Ds met me, as Wifey went home to rest, and we had some dinner at Morton's. They had plenty of room while the Grille was sold out, and we saw why -- they haven't upgraded the place since it opened, and the service was very slow and inept. Still, my martini was cold, and the Ds sparkled. D2 met friends and spent the night on Brickell with D1. Saturday am Wifey and I met my sister of another mother, Mirta, at LOL. Lori was working, and after Wifey told her it was my birthday, brought the staff over with a Linzer tart and a candle, and sang. Mirta gave me an awesome gift: a bottle of Middleton, the fine Irish whisky I always like to keep around for special toasts. It's very expensive, and Mirta is not wealthy -- so the gift had deep meaning. We left LOL and a small Asian lady was handing out cards for a new nail salon that opened next door. Mirta mentioned she wanted an eyebrow wax, so I went in and bought her a manicure and wax. She and Wifey protested, it was MY birthday, but they know me well -- I'm much happier buying stuff for others than receiving it. Well, Wifey said, we ought to ALL go in, and we did. I treated myself to a "special" pedicure -- it lasted nearly an hour, and left me with the feet of a young girl. Well, not exactly, but they WERE left looking less reptilian than usual, and felt great. Mirta left, and Wifey and I came home and watched PHillip Hoffman's last move, a thriller about terrorists in Germany. It was pretty good -- he was terrific -- what a waste he died so young. The Ds came over, and accompanied me to my birthday task -- cleaning out my closet. We had a blast -- D1 expressing, loudly, shock and horror at some of my jeans and shirts from the first Bush Administration. She and her sister tore through mercilessly -- I offered only a little resistance -- my vintage Canes shirts, though far too small, needed to stay. But before long, there was a pile of clothes nearly 5 feet tall and 5 feet wide. They even grabbed all of Wifey's old sweatsuits, which she had sneaked onto one of my top shelves, and added them to the pile. Wifey wasn't too happy about that, but soon got over it. We hauled away the clothes in 5 huge duffels, and headed to Goodwill. The clerk there doesn't show a lot of good will -- she's a rather sour Latin lady who looks like she hates her job. I cheerfully said it was my birthday, and I got to give charity with my daughters -- what a blessing. She answered something in Spanish that I think translates to "whatever." But the three of us still felt great. A lot of my jeans still had tags on them, as did the shirts, so I'm thinking some folks will truly benefit. Then again, Wifey and several of her rich friends love to shop at the thrift stores, so if I see Jodi's friend Bob or a retired lawyer named Larry wearing some of my donated clothes, I won't be surprised... My birthday dinner, by design, as there have been lots of major meals lately, was takeout from Whole Foods. The Ds and Wifey had salads, and did I, but with the civilized addition of fresh made jerk chicken. This am Dr. Barry is coming with his family to LOL -- his boy Scott's favorite -- worth the drive from Pembroke Pines. Lori will take care of us, and we need to toast over coffee (ha) Scott's graduation and preparation for his U Maryland adventure. So last night, as Wifey, D2, and I sat on the couch watching a Season 4 "Sopranos" (D2 plans to see the whole series by end of summer), I remarked it was an awesome birthday. Wifey said it wasn't very exciting. And that's exactly what I wanted.