Rare, Collectible, & Otherwise

Tag: birthdays

A new day. A new life. Happy Birthday, Savannah.

I have a new granddaughter as of this hour, and if I had a fancy smartphone I could describe what a beautiful little girl she is. The image on my phone is so small that Savannah – as she is to be known – looks like a tiny fingernail. A pretty one, though.

Her mother, however, is clearly beautiful.

Radiant, even.

What an age Savannah will experience! Things I cannot even imagine: I am still taken by the fact I can seen an image of my daughter and granddaughter transmitted by satellite to my telephone within the hour of her birth. What will it be like when Savannah is her mother’s age? What marvels are in store for her and those growing up with her?

Without question, she’ll grow up in a world of love and care, with a wonderful mother and father – the good fortune that so much of the world looks upon with envy.

Happy Birthday, Savannah!

I hope I am around long enough to witness many, many celebrations of this day!

What Changes We’ve Seen!

The grandbabies are one year old today. In that amount of time, the twins have become little people, junior versions of the rest of us, smiling, laughing, making silly noises, and driving to Quik Trip for Hot Cheetos.

Time flies, you know. In just 99 more years, they’ll celebrate their 100th birthdays. How different I imagine it will be then. Those turning 100 today have seen some changes, don’t you know! Before 1910, there was no Jell-O. No toaster in the kitchen. In fact, the bread sold in the store wasn’t sliced – that machine hadn’t been invented yet. There were a few cars on the roads, but there were few good roads. And none of the cars had windshield wipers because they hadn’t been invented yet. In fact, rain had only been invented a couple of years before.

No doubt, the twins will see some changes. “What sort?” you ask.

I wish I could say. I hope all the changes are the greatest thing since sliced bread. They’ll probably involve cell phones, new apps, of course, like a lawn-mowing app and a drive-the-kids-to-the-dentist app. They’ll find some cures by then, and maybe I’ll still be around, getting rested up for the twin’s 100th birthday party using my cell-phone’s nap-app.

Happy Birthday, little ones!

Ch-ch-ch-Changes…

I scare people. Don’t mean to.

I’ve dropped by some independent bookstores, where the owner or clerk is sitting behind a tall stack of books, peering all glowy-faced into the screen of a computer. I’m in and out before a word is ever spoken.

Me? I call out Good Morning! and people grab their throats and exclaim “You surprised me! I didn’t see you there!” Admittedly, I was behind the counter – but I thought that is where clerks are supposed to be.

I sometimes don’t get all my work done, getting caught up in talking to one person or another. Talk about anything, just about. More and more though, I hear people bemoaning the way the world has become. They’re missing the simpler times and places. I’m not giving up the computer, but I understanding their position.

Imagine the changes seen by Walter Breuning, who was born on Sept. 21, 1896, in Melrose, Minnesota, and moved to Montana in 1918, where he worked as a clerk for the Great Northern Railway for 50 years. Even today, it must be like stepping back in time in some parts of Montana. Walter celebrated his 114th birthday yesterday.

He remembers living out there with no running water and no electricity. Just like I did in Joplin, Missouri, where I’d landed my first out-of-state radio job, but quickly had my utilities disconnected for lack of payment. As Walter said yesterday, “That’s not very pleasant.”

Walter was there before cars. Before many US cities. Before Mountain Dew and Hostess Twinkies. Talk about roughing it. He regrets the railway jobs that were lost when computers were installed, but other than that, Walter admits change is good. And even the change in his pocket is different. After all, he had pockets before Lincoln was on the penny.

Just remember – when it gets to the point where you’d don’t like change, you can always change your mind.

When it seems overwhelming, you can change that, too! Try this:

IS YOUR NAME FAMOUS?