Now, my brother and I have had a contentious relationship throughout the years, with us settling into an affectionate comradeship that could never have existed 15 years ago. This year I sent him an electronic birthday greeting, to which I received “Big D, a virtual card, how thoughtful. I shall place it on my virtual mantelpiece in cyberspace for all my virtual friends to see.”
J (my brother) & M (my sister-in-law) always seem to take holidays in celebration of my birthing. Here is the (real) post card I received from them this year:
“Dear Big D,
As has become our custom, we have once again celebrated your B-day with a trip to an exotic location. This year we have gone all out! We have taken a suite at the City Palace complex in Vdaipur on the shores of Lake Pichola. And last night for your birthday we dined at the Lake Palace Hotel, which floats majestically in the middle of the lake. Look it up on the web, search “Lake Palace Vdaipur.” A grand opulent affair – no expense was spared on this special occasion. I hope you appreciate it, we always try and do something you’ll enjoy.
Love,
J & M
*A word of advice, if you travel to India, remember this. – Do NOT eat chicken curry at a small roadside restaurant in the middle of NO WHERE – run by Hindu vegetarians who have never heard of salmonella! The result is as bad as what you can imagine!”
They’ve traveled to Indonesia for my birthday, Fiji & Tonga too! They must certainly hope I live a long time so they can continue their August travel tradition. I’m sure if I pass away in the near future they’ll just switch it to a memorial tour, but that doesn’t have the same panache as a birthday bash.
This certainly was a year for postcards. My Mum sent me a postcard too – my Nanny (grandmother) had a stroke earlier this year. Mum has had her moved to a full time care center in New Zealand. I found out late last week that Nanny believes it’s 1946. She knows she’s not in her 40’s, and accepts she could be 70 or 80, but she is firm on the year being 1946. Nanny doesn’t know who Mum is, who her grandkids are or really why she’s in this strange place. She isn’t talking, but she is beginning to write again which is how Mum has been communicating with her. For my birthday Nanny signed a postcard for me, “love from Nanny.”
I think that may just be the best birthday present I ever got.
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