birthday venus with surprised day-long spa in 1394
Reader Interrupt: What about Nazy’s birthday? Wasn’t that the highlight? Did you forget?”
All faithful readers will, of course, know that I did not forget Nazy’s birthday. In fact, I arranged the conjunction of the heavenly bodies to enhance her celebration and to make it clear that I was thinking of her. I even took a photograph to reinforce the point.
Celestial events were but a small part of the birthday celebration. Nazy had, of course, been shopping with my sister Marjorie during her visit to Santa Barbara.
Newsflash: Marjorie, from New England, applied for refugee status (displaced by weather) while she was visiting California. We received confirmation that her application is queued and “will be served in the order in which it was received”. Estimated waiting time: decades.
Exhibiting the husbandly skills honed over years of marriage, I had detailed consultations with Marjorie before she left. These resulted in a vast compendium of potential birthday gifts. I choose a ‘perfect’ pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes that ‘looked great’ and will ‘go with the blue and green dress’. I even found a matching birthday card.
That, of course, was just the beginning. Melika proposed a special brunch at the El Encanto Hotel that overlooks the city. Melika and the Grand(est)son joined Nazy (who wore her favorite giant hat) and me. We all enjoyed wonderful food and a spectacular view. When Melika remembered that she had to go to work, Nazy offered to drop the baby off at the Nanny’s.
“Dad will do that, Mom. You're staying here.”
“But..”
“Dad and I got you a spa day. You’ll have a massage, a facial, a pedicure, a manicure and a wash and blow dry.”
“Wow!” Nazy replied. “Can Dan take the baby to the Nanny all by himself?” Nazy thought. “Oh Wow. It’s going to be great. Now, drive carefully, Dan. Look around at intersections. Carry the baby up the stairs with two hands. Make sure that Yari remembers to feed him. Pet the cat while you’re there. Drive with caution. fasten your seatbelt. It’s a long drive..”
“It’s a short drive, Nazy.” I replied.
“Most accidents happen on short drives. There is a crazy driver around every corner.”
“I’ll stay away from corners. You just have fun.”
“Text me when the baby is safely delivered.”
“Of course.” I replied. “Do you care about when I’m safe at home?” I thought.
Both the baby and I made it home safely. That evening, I told Nazy that we had reservations at The Lark, a trendy and tasty restaurant in the Funk Zone. I didn't tell her that Melika, Tom and young Jamshid were going to join us. I also didn’t mention that Stefan and Mitra were coming from Los Angeles.
In the interests complete transparency, I am compelled to report that I eschewed valet parking at the restaurant and chose an on-street spot that was ‘close enough’.
“Close enough?” Nazy interrupts. “You parked so that my door was right next to a thorn bush.”
“It was not a a thorn bush, Nazy. It was a cactus.”
“It was a California prickly pear cactus,” Nazy replied - astonishing me with her knowledge of the local horticulture. And it wasn’t easy to get out of the car.”
“I would have come around to help, Nazy,” I began. “But I would have gotten pricked by the prickles,” I thought. “I did offer my leather jacket and pocket machete.”
“It would have been more romantic if you hadn’t told me to make sure that the jacket wasn’t damaged by the thorns.”
“Prickles, Nazy. Not thorns.”
“Where is the machete when I need it?” Nazy thought.
We had another great meal. Mitra and Stefan stayed the night and got a chance to play with The Grand(est)son, who has now discovered that there is a difference between adults. He is most comfortable with those he sees every day. However, Mitra and Stefan managed to rhythmically work their way into his confidence. by dancing with him. And although he can crawl, he prefers adult-assisted walking to grand(est)son-powered crawling. Stefan and Mitra were available to help.
The Mission photo at the beginning of the letter was taken on my wonderful Nokia 1020 mobile phone - a device that I have now redefined as my Nokia 1020 mobile camera. I simply can’t get it to do telephone-ish things. It randomly turns of the bluetooth causing the car connection to fail. It silences the ringer when the battery needs replenishment (and doesn’t ‘un-silence’ when fully re-charged). As a result, the ‘phone’ doesn’t always ring. Apple has made reception of text messages on non-Apple devices problematic. I can’t (easily) move my iTunes library. And..
“You really wanted that phone, Dan.” Nazy recalls. Accurately.
“I really wanted the Whale House and a Moon-phase watch too,” I thought. “I should reconsider anything that I really want.”
And, finally, Nazy and I celebrated the 13th day of 1394 (of the Persian calendar) in the traditional way. We went outside and tied grass in knots making seven wishes for the coming year.
Reader Interrupt: You wrote about Nazy’s birthday and you wrote about Melika’s birthday. I believe that there is an important birthday in between - a birthday that you forgot.
“Darius!” I reply. “I did not forget your birthday. I am saving it for a slow week. After all, you on your way to Greece to present an Economics paper? Are you aware of the Greek economic situation? Could there be a less appropriate place to have a conference on Economics? And didn’t you take a 3:30AM flight in order to ‘save money’ for the American University of Beirut?” This is material that will fill a content vacuum. Next week. And, Happy Birthday! Darius.”
You can see a lot of photos of Nazy by clicking here
For last week's letter click here
Dan 'Tying the Grass"
