Big day on Wednesday: Charlie’s birthday. Me, I always try to take my birthday off from work, but Charlie doesn’t.
“Ida,” he says, “after a certain age, it’s just another day. I don’t want to think about it.”
My feeling is, a birthday is cause for celebration, especially after a certain age. I’m on the back nine, as my golfer friend Betty says. Meaning, I’ve lived more of my life than I have left. So I say make the most of it. Heck, why confine yourself to just one day? Celebrate the whole month!
Anyhoo, Charlie doesn’t make a big deal of his birthday. Still, I like to make it special. We get up earlier than usual, and I take the ol’ duffer out to breakfast down to the Busy Bee.
Charlie always orders their special breakfast sandwich, the “Big Boy.” Picture this: steak, bacon, sausage, ham and cheese between two pieces of French Toast, smeared with maple butter. Yikes! Charlie says he only orders it on special occasions, but I suspect he might sneak one in now and then when he’s hanging with the boys. But what happens in the Busy Bee, stays in the Busy Bee.
I’m also gonna make Charlie one of his favorite dinners: corn chowder, meatloaf, mashed potatoes with plenty of butter, maple carrots, and for dessert, a bread pudding. Easy, peasy!
Charlie and me never go hog wild with presents. It just seems kinda silly. Because, you know, if we need something we buy it. Well, I do anyways. (Charlie’s not much of a shopper.)
I got him some new snowmobiling gloves. His were shot to hell, the stuffing coming out. Listen, when there’s more duct tape than glove, time to chuck ‘em. God, Charlie holds on to things!
Like, I have him put away his own clothes after I wash them. He knows how he likes them folded, where he wants them. Charlie’s supposed to be monitoring the underwear situation, but he doesn’t. So every once and awhile I have to sort through his briefs and tee shirts and do an edit.
So, I also got him a couple four-packs of new underwear. I know, romantic, huh? I think so, because let me tell you, there’s nothing romantic about prehistoric briefs, full of holes, stained. I mean, come on! I wouldn’t even use them as dust rags!
Well, I’m off to whip up some corn chowder before work. I don’t go in until 11:00, so I thought I’d get started on that special dinner for my Big Boy.
That’s it for now. Catch you on the flipside!
Hear Ida Tell It: The Big Boy’s Birthday
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