Your family and friends thought that it would be nice to send you some long-distance birthday wishes this year! We're thinking of you even though you're far away. Hope you enjoy!!
Wishes from family:
Steve, Happy Birthday little bro! Okay, 25 is not so little anymore. I can remember when you were born! No joke, I was out at recess at my Catholic elementary school and Eric or Bryan (can't remember which) walked over from his school across the street to tell me that you had just been born. So many great memories through the years of you, but nothing beats Gospel Bill, a hamper to draw on and a bathroom for hours and hours! What is the point of a public blog if you can't use it to embarrass someone??Anyway, can't wait to hang out for a month! Deep bonding going on this summer I feel.
My pic is a cute pic of us from Dave and Katie's wedding. We kept shooting it until we got "real" smiles! Many more pics to come of us in India together! With monkeys I hope!
Love You Lots, Vicki
Wendy, Nathan, and I want to wish you a Happy 25th BDay. I realize that you probably don't understand why people congratulate others on their BDays, its just part of nature and happens automatically. I guess the reason is more to celebrate one's life up to that point. Stephen, I have watched you grow every year since your birth (with a few misses in there) and you never cease to amaze me. Each year you expand your mind and experiences more than anyone else I know. The last 24 years have made you such a unique individual and each year I look forward to seeing what is next in your life saga. Have a didactic 25th year. HUG!
Happy Birthday! Twenty-five? How can it be? So happy you are able to do the traveling and study that feeds your inquisitive mind. Love, Dad and Linda
Happy Birthday, Buddy - Where the heck are you?
Oh sagacious brother of fewer compiled years on this good planet Earth. You have reached 25... a quarter of a century. You are possibly 1/4 way through your life (assuming you live to the nice round number of 100... which is quite likely given your deprivation of diabolical red meat). Let us consider one quarter.For a quarter I can go to a gumball machine and turn the steel knob to see a brightly colored ball pop out. So glossy and inviting with a taste so vibrant yet short-lived.
For a quarter you can place a call from an antiquated phone booth stinking of human pee. Only that call better be short and surely must be local (not from India).
One quarter of an hour leaves us with just enough time for an afternoon siesta. Time to rest our heavy eye balls and visit a far off dream land. Or perhaps time for a brief mediation on loving-kindness. The sensation of a stray dog licking our hands or petting the lumpy skin of a newborn puppy born invaded by malignant tumors.
Couscous often calls for one and 1/4 cups of water. Couscous, so plain and lackluster. Yet when combined with the proper far eastern seasonings can be such a treat.
A quarter of Steelers football... typically a power struggle for field position. Hard hitting Bettis ramming it up the middle for 2 yards at a time. Perhaps a field goal or two. But nothing too dramatic.
What exactly am I trying to convey? I believe it is something along the lines of: You haven't even begun yet. This has been just a mere gumball, a local call, a siesta, a cup of bland couscous, an opening quarter to survey the other team. You have seen what you are up against. You are the cartographer defining the parameters of your life. You are the Stratego player recognizing where the bombs are. You are just developing your taste for the best nan breads. You understand how many apples you'll need to climb the Himalayas.
So I await in the wings. Looking on in anticipatory glee at the next 3/4 of your life. Will Big Ben make another game saving tackle? Will you successfully save whole herds of goats, chickens, cows with your life long diet? Will your beard reach guru proportions permitting you a devoted flock of followers? Will you write a dissertation bringing together your varied interests in religions, beasts, and sexuality? Will you write a novel or autobiography at the intersection of these interests? Perhaps.
One thing is for sure: I respect your journey on the road less traveled. Your first quarter of life has been unorthodox even heterodox. You have not shrunk from uncertainty but embraced it. You move forward resisting the urge for comfort. Novelty is your muse. Adventure your carrot. Seeking the bliss of life in the seeming smallness of everything. Your senses are sharpened on the grindstone of unfamiliarity. And these faculties will serve you greatly in the next period of your life. I hope they are put to maximum use in whatever you do.
I leave you with a quote:
Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone. ~Jim Fiebig
P.S. The attached photos illustrate the powerful effects of aging. Only 1 year! Perhaps why I've been banished to the over 70 rec basketball league.
P.P.S. Consider moving to Seattle... very moist.
Wishes from friends:
~michael and chai lei
Dressing up at the Pirate exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago.That's my hair too. Anyway, been a long time man. Hope we can see each other soon.
And happy B-Day!
Best, Brian
Janam Din ki badhai!! It's "Happy Birthday" in Hindi. Now you're turning mid-twenties but you're still too young! :)The skyscraper picture was taken in Haeundae, Busan and this is another aspect of Korea besides temples and mountains. Plus, I want you to keep good memories of Busan, not bad ones like Busan boss.
I'm happy to know a good teacher as well as a good friend. Even though you're younger than me, I've learned a lot from you. Thanks, Steve.
I hope you have a super wonderful day!! :) hugs!! BTW, when are you planning to shave your beard?
Love, Jeong Yi
Foreign bonanza. Stephen and former colleague Robbie win back-to-back raffles at BNU's faculty party, December 2006. Contents include stained bed sheets from the Tang Dynasty.
Wanderlust is contagious. May the same be said of God's Love.
long white eyebrows mean long life in chinese culture, i happened to see this picture in a theatre and i think it's a good birthday present. happy birthday, stephen. from your friend mengmeng
Steve!
Wish you have a happy birthday in India!
Let's meet up in NYC!
Just call me if you need Kimchi!
Chase Chang O Son
Love, Ethan and Azi
Happy Birthday Stephen! My picture is of a few assorted items that make me think of you. I'll let you parse through it for meanings on your own -- I suspect you'll enjoy that more :). Remember: nothing is accidental. ...except for those things that are. I couldn't get a crisp shot of the Risk cards, so I'll tell you that they're "Eastern United States," "India," "China," and "Kamchatka," (in that order). (I couldn't find one for South Korea :)). Also, the book on the far right is the Bhagavad Gita. Oh, and the reason the bishop's miter is gone is because Misty ate it years ago. (But is that *really* why the bishop's miter is gone?) -- Oh, and the title of this little piece? "Home Sweet Home." Peace my friend, Jeff
Nothing to be said
Nothing to be done
Only the splash of a falling rock
Happy Birthday Steve!
Love, Bob, the lunatic artist
Steve, from the majestic Atlantic, I send you a warm Birthday Blessing: May your heart be a sanctuary of peace, and may your very being give rise to the joy which comes with each new day.
--your friend, Chad
We are sending pictures we took at Endsville last weekend. It was a beautiful, although somewhat chilly, spring day. The white dogwood was glorious and everything was that special green that one sees only from May to June. I planted 200 individual nasturtium seeds one by one all around the house at the base of the deck and porch. (I had actually asked Adrienne if she thought there were really 200 seeds in the packets - when I poured them out to soak for a while, it didn't look like that many; once I started planting, however, I was sure that it was closer to 1000.)
And for my gift to you, I thought you might like to come on a little walk with me, to some places we like to go. Can you guess them?
I know, this one's easy.
If you look closely at this one you'll see many familiar sights. In the background is a place you went last year on your birthday and in the top left corner there's a great place for early morning hot chocolates :) 
Sending you special wishes from your favorite places here in Pittsburgh. (And so is Bob the cat.)
Unfortunately, I couldn't find him as Edgar. So I settled for John the Baptist.
Bonus photo.
No comments:
Post a Comment