In celebrating birthdays, we celebrate the gift of life, and the day a person was born. In remembering the birthday of a loved one passed away, we still celebrate that persons life, in who they were, and what they meant to us.
Today, September 4, I celebrate my brother Walt on what would be his 66th birthday. I reminisce about other of his birthdays , and think back to 1975 when we celebrated what is called one of those milestone birthdays, my brothers 21st birthday. What a happy, special time it was! Mom hosted a party for him at our home on Manzanares in La Mirada. The Manzanares house was a fun house, suited to parties and gatherings. We had a ping pong table set up in the garage where many a marathon ping pong game was played, a swimming pool in the backyard and an open kitchen leading into the family room. For Walt’s birthday party Mom prepared a Buffett dinner with lots of finger foods and a large birthday cake as the centerpiece. Many of our good friends were there - including Pasty and Lawrence Mattix, who knew Walt from the time he was a baby,( and bought him his first pair of cowboy boots when he was 5 yrs. old), Jimmy Taylor, my brother’s best friend since Junior High; Jim Moore , Jim and Linda Funk, and Walt’s longtime girlfriend, Patty Wilson. Patty, not only Walt’s girlfriend, but one of my dearest friends; like a cherished younger sister.
One of Walt and Patty’s favorite television shows was Baretta, staring a Cockatoo. Walt was enthralled with that Cockatoo and told Mom that’s what he wanted for his birthday. Although it wasn’t a white Cockatoo, Mother did give Walt a parrot. And he loved it! He named him Harris. Walt said if he ever got another parrot he’d name him Frank, then he’d have Harris and Frank named after the fashionable men’s clothing store in Southern California. Walt never did get another parrot, but he always felt a special kinship to Harris, teaching him to say a word or two, and glad for Mom’s special gift to him. Harris lived a long life, and resided with our Mother several years after Walt moved from home in 1981. How Mom ended up with Walt’s parrot was a topic of conversation that always brought smiles and laughter.
While Harris no longer here, Patty’s gift to Walt on his 21st birthday is. A ski poster laminated onto wood. Very popular at the time. Walt kept it all through the years, and now it still has safe keeping in a closet downstairs. Harris and the ski poster are sweet reminders of my brother, his 21st birthday and the fairly idyllic life we shared. Our home a safe haven for us, filled with love and joy.
Happy Birthday, Brother!
September 4, 2020
