And feed them on your dreams, the one they pick's the one you'll know by...

dan the man
Originally uploaded by Josie R

If you see this guy around town today, be sure to wish him a happy birthday.

Five years ago my sister and I made a list of 50 things we'd learned from our dad. Some of them humorous, some of them serious, all of them true. Some of those I'm still working on (I will admit to the occasional struggle to determine the direction I'm heading at any given moment, both literally and figuratively...), but some of those lessons have stuck... it really is true that Joni, James and Bob have laid down a pretty good life soundtrack, that doing what you love goes a long way toward loving what you do, that there's no better friend than a sister, and, perhaps most importantly, that skin-tight, cowboy-cut wrangler jeans are strictly for cowboys.

So, dad, in addition to wishing you many happy returns, I'd like to say, thank you for everything you've taught me, and all the things you continue to teach me. You get to take at least part of the credit for my dazzling wit and sparkling personality, and it's been well established that I got my smart mouth from you. :)

Thanks most of all for your love and support. Someday I'll buy you lots of expensive presents, but in the meantime you're stuck with being lauded on the blog.

Happy 55, baby, you make senior-citizenship look good.

Love you.


**Edited to add: Dad, are you ignoring this because I called you a senior citizen?? I should have said you make "retirement eligibility" look good, but that just doesn't have the same ring to it.