If our minds were really sharp we could open up a person in our memory like some super-duper filing draw and there they would be; a fairly endless PowerPoint of detail, all sequential.
Growing old has its pluses and minuses, the most minus of all being the forgetting of parts of that file cabinet. So an old picture, long misplaced, serves to re-boot some images. The "Crickets" soccer team, a season at shortstop, making a home-made radio from Radio Shack and it working, being cornered on the 4th of July on our patio by a little tank that shot sparks, some tears that broke hearts, making scrambled eggs on a big sheet skillet for breakfast...on and on. I won't mention the trip to Cripple Creek in the flatbed of my brother's pickup in the middle of winter...there is more to the story but she would be embarrassed. That was one short stretch of time...maybe 6-8 months 30-sum years ago.
I could flash forward to a San Francisco trip on business and the pleasure of having dinner with her; all fully grown and independent, ordering a martini and eating pate. My oh my.
Anyway, when pictures are found and memories slip out of mind, we can think about her today as she is; with a good and fine man for a husband, two gorgeous kids, smart as whips, and a lot like her. Pretty nice picture indeed.
Happy Birthday....10:51 CDT (some years back).....