Well, I guess I don’t need to tell you that I had a birthday bash that can’t be beat,
back on Saturday, July 18 at Lake Gregory’s north shore patio. It was a whopper, that’s for sure, with some 200 invited guests, a catered dinner and a live band for those who couldn’t resist “cutting the rug.” (Actually, there was no rug, it’s just an old expression.) We wuz dancin’ and prancin’ on concrete to the beat of the Mile High Band, out of Grass Valley.
Okay, here’s something else you should know: It wasn’t exactly my actual birthday, because I celebrated my 80th birthday at my brother’s house on June 22, in the other Grass Valley, in the Nevada County region of Northern California, where our party of five visited the historic Empire Gold Mine, which is 11,000 feet
deep (nearly two miles). A divorced friend of mine once confided in me that his wife got the gold and he got the shaft. (Sorry, I couldn’t help it.)
Anyhoo, despite my parents having sent me to a fancy cotilion-style dancing school in San Bernardino when I was 12 years old, it was apparently a waste of time and money. I did, however, learn to do the so-called “Surfer Stomp” at the Rendezvous Ballroom in Balboa, back in the 60s. Nevertheless, I enjoyed dancin’ with a lot of pretty ladies at the north shore patio affair at Lake Gregory on July 18.
Not only was this my 80th birthday. (Do I really look that old? Don’t answer that
Question.) It seems like yesterday that I hooked up with Rhea-Frances, my “child bride.” Well, she was (and still is) five years younger than I, apparently a real anomaly these days. It was on Aug. 25,1973, that I married my Chapman College sweetheart at a fancy, church wedding in Whittier, Calif. Like a lot of weddings, back in the day, the first song played by the organist was one made popular by Karen and Ken Carpenter.
We’ve only just begun to live, white lace and promises, a kiss for luck and we’re on our way. We’ve only just begun. (“We’ve Only Just Begun” – The Carpenters – 1970)
An anomaly, indeed – how many folks do you know that have been married for 53 years? According to the latest stats, the average marriage lasts only about 20 years. Here’s how it all began…When Rhea showed up for a free pizza I was giving away to the first caller on my college radio show, it was love at first bite…still is, in fact. Y’all have a nice day now.
Keep it flyin’,
Uncle Mott
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