I Had A GREAT Birthday - Thanks To All!

MIGHT AS WELL BE MEMORABLE!
Well, if one lasts long enough to celebrate 75 years, it darn well better be a good celebration, right?  Mine was terrific!  Thanks to all who had a hand in making it such a wonderful, memorable day.

STRETCHED IT OUT
We cheated a little by having my birthday dinner the night before.  Of course, that put the onus on me to actually survive until Sunday.  The dinner was just dandy!  I wrote about that earlier.

FACETIME WITH MISS HARPER
Then, on my REAL birthday, I slept in - my prerogative - and the day was launched when we received a FaceTime call from our nephew and his little family in Omaha wishing me a Happy Birthday.  Nothing quite like having an 18-month-old wish you Happy Birthday!  A perfect way to begin the day!

 BREAKFAST, THEN THE PICNIC
My Sweet Sue and I had breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants, then dropped in for a visit at the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbor's Group annual picnic at Harper Park.  The weather was perfect and the Eastsiders know how to throw a shindig. 

CHIEF SHARPNACK
We saw lots of old friends and met some new ones.  Chief Rob Sharpnack and his soon-to-be-SWAT-member son, Colin, were in attendance, along with a couple of his finest.  I'm not sure, but the Chief may have been playing PokemonGo!

FIRE/RESCUE REPRESENTED
Fire Division Chief Jason Pyle and Battalion Chief Tim Vasin were at the park, answering questions posed by residents - in this case, councilwoman Katrina Foley and my sweet wife.  Have you ever noticed that the ladies just love Firemen?

PROBLEM-SOLVERS, TOO
Council candidates Sandy Genis, Jay Humphrey and John Stephens showed up and were busily answering questions and chatting with residents.

FAMILY FUN TIME
 Lots of families found space in the shade to enjoy a day of fun and fellowship.

 AND GAMES FOR THE KIDS
There were some fun games for the kids, including the ever-popular water balloon toss.  And, once again, someone got soaked.

THE BIRTHDAY CARD!  I BLUSH...
A high point for me was the surprise birthday card created for me by many of my friends.  It had some nifty artwork on the front and dozens of signatures from well-wishers inside.  I'm overwhelmed by that outpouring of kindness, particularly when the assembled masses sang Happy Birthday to me!  I was choked-up... and very, very grateful.  We left shortly thereafter - and before a lovely birthday gift basket was presented to us.  We found it on our porch, awaiting our return home, a few hours later.  Once again, we are very grateful.

THE END TO A PERFECT DAY
We took in a movie, then had dinner at another of our favorite restaurants before returning home and hunkering down to watch Olympics coverage and read the growing number of great birthday wishes all over social media.

YEP... A PERFECT DAY.. THANKS TO ALL
As I said, it was a GREAT day and, again, I want to thank all of you who participated in making it so memorable.  I'm feelin' the love!  It was, indeed, a Happy Birthday To Me.  And, to those many of you who asked about my health, and when I'm going to be back in the saddle again... soon, very soon.  The City seems to have taken August off, so we'll be ready to go when they are - right after Labor Day.  In the meantime, there are candidate forums awaiting all of us... see you there.

Sharing A Chuckle

A "GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS" SITUATION
As you know, I blew off celebrating my birthday yesterday to attend the most recent Charter Committee meeting.  The good part of that decision was I got to see Ernesto Munoz at his best.  The worst part was I got to share watching Tea Party Tom Pollitt try to keep up with the proceedings and articulate something coming straight from his own head and not from a prepared script by the leaders of my Republican Party!  Talk about painful!

CHECKING THE MAIL
However, just before I departed for City Hall yesterday afternoon I collected our mail and found a wonderful birthday card from a couple who have been life-long friends - she caught the bouquet at our wedding and they married a year later.

SMILE ALERT!
I won't share the inscriptions they each wrote, but I cannot help myself with the cover of the card.  It's a nearly decade-old New Yorker cartoon by Alex Gregory and my friends just couldn't wait to mail it to me.  You'll understand as I share it with you below.  I know all of you will smile, too. (Click on the image to enlarge for the full effect) 

Happy Birthday To Me...

Charter Committee Meeting Tonight, And More

BACK AT IT AGAIN
The Costa Mesa Charter Committee will meet again tonight at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) adjacent to the Police Headquarters on Fair Drive at 6:00 p.m.  As has been the case in past such meetings, the proceedings will be facilitated by Dr. Kirk Bauermeister and Dr. Mike Decker.

WILL HE OR WON'T HE?
The agenda for this meeting can be found HERE.  Since that pesky "moment of silence" is on the agenda again, I'm going to be interested in seeing if Tea Party Tom Pollitt still insists on having an invocation.  As I've said many times, no other committee or commission for that matter, has an invocation.  None of the committees even say the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag.

CONTRACTS AND PREVAILING WAGE
The committee is still working its way through the Public Contracts segment of the agenda elements they agreed upon at an earlier meeting.  This time they will have in their hands a letter from Director of Public Services, Ernesto Munoz, which answers many of the questions asked earlier, primarily about how our current bidding process works and the prevailing wage issue.  You can read that staff report HERE.  This is an interesting, brief yet thorough, summary of how contracts are handled by the City currently and is especially interesting and timely considering the rumors swirling around town over the past several days regarding expenses for the 60th Anniversary Celebration.

IF YOU CARE, COME TO THE MEETING
These meetings usually last until around 9:00 p.m., with a break or two, depending on the agenda.  For those seriously interested in the evolution of a possible charter for this city, attendance at these meetings can be very informative.  And, if you wish to address the committee, each speaker will be given two minutes to present a view to them.  Each of the volunteers seem sincere about their participation and, in a few cases,  the personal bias they brought with them into this process is beginning to coagulate into impatient requests.  It's going to be very interesting to see how Bauermeister and Decker "facilitate" this issue.

A HECK OF A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
So, I'll spend my birthday evening plunked down on a fairly uncomfortable chair, listening to a group of folks being facilitated.  Then I'll write to you about my impressions of the evening.  Sound like fun?  Nah, I don't think so, either.  Assuming we get the fire permit for all those candles, my cake will come Thursday, when my sweet and very patient wife will drag me to a favorite restaurant to celebrate six dozen years.  Happy Birthday to me... again.

A Special Day...

...FOR A SPECIAL WOMAN
Long ago, and not so far away, the sweetest little girl in the world was born on this date.  I won't tell you how many years ago, but just know that to properly celebrate her birthday today we needed to get a fire permit for the cake!

I'M A LUCK GUY
In our neck of the woods a lot of guys my age start looking around for a "trophy wife".  I'm lucky - I found mine 46 years ago! 

So, a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweet, loving and VERY patient wife, Susan.  She can click HERE to hear my wish for her sung by Lee Ann Womack.

One More Candle...

WHEW!  STILL VERTICAL!
Yep, that's right... today I'll add one more candle to that cake and hope the Costa Mesa Fire Department doesn't show up to extinguish the flames!

CELEBRATING WITH MY SISTER
I began celebrating this newest milestone Sunday with my baby sister (HER big day is next Sunday) when she and her husband and another old friend (they're all old now) came to dinner.  So, since it was hot as heck and we are not air conditioned, we chose to venture out to one of our favorite restaurants - which IS air conditioned - for the celebration.  We then returned home for a nice, big chunk of my mother's recipe chocolate cake in a bowl of milk.  Yep, I still celebrate my birthday that way.

AND ANOTHER FAMILY EVENT
Last night we continued celebrating with another family gathering.  I'm sure they all figure I might not remember just one, so they're covering all the bases.  This time I had "birthday pie" - and it wasn't humble, which will surprise nobody, I'm sure.

NO SURPRISES, PLEASE
I have no idea what kind of birthday celebration we'll have today... surprises are bad on the hearts of guys my age.  We'll just go with the flow...

AND MANY MORE....
So, to all of us celebrating a birthday today, August 14th, here's a little something for us from the Beatles... enjoy.

Happy Birthday To Me - Again

WHAT FIRE PERMIT!
Well, folks... Sunday is a BIG milestone for me - another birthday - and I'll be looking pretty much like that handsome fellow over there to the left - assuming we're able to get a fire permit for the cake. While this one is a major milestone, at my age, EVERY birthday is a milestone. :-)


GRACIAS, AMIGOS...
Thanks to all of you for your words of encouragement - and for the words of amazement that I've actually made it this far. To those of you who write or call to tell me you like what you read here - thanks - keep those words of encouragement comin'. They make dealing with the ravages of advancing geezerdom much, much easier.

...OR NOT
And, to those who don't like what they read here.... well, to each his own. If the stuff you read here causes you heartburn, I have a great solution for you - just stop reading! Or, chomp a few Tums and keep on torturing yourself.. it's up to you.


IT'S "SING ALONG" TIME
I'm a very, very luck guy. I've have had a great life with a wonderful woman at my side for 44 years and a supportive family and tolerant friends.


Now, please help me celebrate my birthday by enjoying this little ditty from another kindred spirit. I'll be back with more important stuff soon. Enjoy...

Riggy Stumbles Out Of The Blocks

RIGGY'S FUND RAISER
A friend sent me an email flier to carpetbagger Jim Righeimer's first fund raiser next week, which will be held at the same time the City Council meeting will be in session... good timing, Riggy! At least we won't have to worry about him dozing off in the Council Meeting.

OH, BOY...
I read the flier and smiled. Then I went to Riggy's election website, www.righeimer2010.com for more information. I smiled a lot more...

NOTE: I checked Riggy's web site (above) at around 3 p.m. today - it's GONE! Poof! I assume he's responding to this entry and is "fixing" it. About time!

NOTE 2: At 10:20 p.m. on August 14th the site is still blank. Maybe his web master doesn't work on weekends. Or, maybe he's just decided he's such a slam dunk in this election that he doesn't really need a web site.

NOTE 3: Riggy continues to stagger. As of 4:30, Monday, August 16th, his web site is still a blank page. I can't imagine what's taking so long to fill in the blanks of the template and prepare the appropriate links. Maybe he hasn't figured out what his positions are on issues here in town. Anyhow, Riggy - the clock is ticking. Light a fire under your web master, buddy.

NOTE 4: Well, it's 5 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17th and Riggy's web site is still just a blank page. If someone sees him at the council meeting this evening will you please ask him when he's going to get his site back up and running? How will we know his stand on issues? How will we know who's supporting him (or how to spell their names)?

NOTE 5: Hallelujah! At 3:15 Wednesday, August 18th, I checked Riggy's web site and found it back, fixed and in full flower. So, now you can go to that link above and enjoy. Finally!!

HABLA LATIN?
One immediate reaction was that it looked like old Riggy is trying to play to the Latinos in Costa Mesa. Why else would much of the text on his web site be in Latin? For example, his "Issues" and "Upcoming Events pages are all in Latin. Does he understand that Costa Mesa's Latinos don't speak Latin?



DON'T GET ALL EXCITED...
OK, I know... this site is a work in progress and that Latin lingo is just a place holder in a template being used to create his campaign masterpiece. Still, one might hope he would have his "Issues" together before releasing the site. Heck, he didn't even have this fund raiser in his "Upcoming Events".

SHALL WE CALL HIM "BRIAN" NOW?
I did wonder, though, who "Brian" is. See the bottom of the page below. Geez!
OOPS!
So much for teasing him about premature release of his web site. Of more interest is the fact that, on his "Endorsements" page he misspelled Gary Monahan's name and - are you ready for this? - he also misspelled his buddy Dana Rohrabacher's name!
PAY ATTENTION, RIGGY!
Now, Riggy has always seemed more than a little flighty on the dais, skipping around the agenda and not really paying attention some of the time, but this is just plain sloppy and not very smart! C'mon, Riggy - you may think you've got this election in the bag (finally), but can't you at least pay attention while you go through the motions? It's just a little disrespectful to the electorate, don't you think?
***

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US!
On a much happier note (for me, anyhow), this weekend my baby sister and I will get together to celebrate our birthdays. Happy Birthday To Us!