Mike and I have been best friends since the mid 1970's — long enough past that my aged/injured brain can't remember when we weren't. We've celebrated good times together and supported each other through bad times. He is an accomplished actor, be the role serious, comedic, or musical. One of my favorite. performances was his leading role as a blind musician in Butterflies Are Free. In that role he had to learn how to play the guitar and accomplish day-to-day tasks as sightless person. He was terrific! More than that, he continued playing the guitar, and getting better at it all the time. He and I used to sing on my front porch for hours. As time passed we began performing at nursing homes, getting asked back on a regular basis. That continued until he and his wife, Angie, migrated to San Marcos, Texas several years ago. We still meet almost every Monday for brunch, with two other good friends, via ZOOM. Enough history. Let's get down to the subject of this post THE CARD!
We hosted a big party at our New Paltz home for my fiftieth birthday in 1992. We said "No Gifts" on the invite, I believe, but that's not relevant to this story. Most folks brought cards with various sentiments ... you know: funny, serious, off-color, maybe even some with a religious theme. Mike presented me with the card pictured below. The front is top left, the back top right, and the rest is the interior.
To assist you a bit in reading it, Under Happy Birthday "By sending you this Gard that is printed on 100% recycled paper, I am expressing an interest nit inly in your birthday but in Environmental issues as well." On the interior right is "Please return it to me when you get the chance, so I can send it to you next year."
My birthday is February 16th, Mike's is the 5th. I returned the card with a birthday wish written on it, in time for his birthday. Since it was first presented to me in '92, it has gone back and forth every year with the exception of a couple when we couldn't find it. Each year two birthday wishes were added, one from Mike and one from me.
I will find a place for my sentiment before mailing it in 2026, and I'm certain Mike will as well. Pretty soon we may have to resort to microdots.
Namaste
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Comments are always from "anonymous". Often I can identify the author by the content of the comment, but that much cogitation makes my 80 year-old brain tired. Please help out an old man and identify yourself within the text of the comment. Thanks for the comments whether or not you ID yourself. Tom