Birthday Parties
Hey, for the life of me, I can’t figure out why April 27 isn’t a national holiday. There were so many great people born on that date.
Ulysses S. Grant, eighteenth US President, was born on April 27, 1822. American Top 40 host Casey Kasem was born on that date in 1932, and legendary bowler Earl Anthony came into the world on the same date six years later. KISS lead guitarist Ace Frehley was born on April 27, 1951, and basketball legend George “The Iceman” Gervin arrived exactly one year later.
Of course, Silas Merritt Robertson was born in Vivian, Louisiana, on April 27, 1948. Hey, I share the exact same birthday as B-52s lead singer, Kate Pierson. Who doesn’t love their songs “Love Shack” and “Rock Lobster”? Plus, they make a great vitamin, Jack!
Hey, I love celebrating my birthday. I’m sixty-eight years old, and the Good Lord willing, I’m going to have quite a few more birthdays on this side of heaven. Fortunately, I have a loving family and very good friends who enjoy celebrating my birthdays with me.
When I turned sixty-five years old, in 2013, the guys I play poker with every week wanted to throw me a special surprise party with a big poker game. To pull it off, though, they had to play a really funny practical joke on me.
My best friend, Phillip McMillan, was the main organizer. He knows I love everything about Native American culture. I grew up playing cowboys and Indians, and I still collect arrowheads and other artifacts. I’ll buy Native American jewelry, beads, moccasins, clothes, tanned hides, baskets, and anything else I can get my hands on.
Well, Phillip and my buddies decided to rent out a store in a strip mall in West Monroe, Louisiana. About a week before my birthday, they printed advertising signs for a Cherokee Nation auction at the store. One of my friends, Marshall William Guyton, personally delivered me a flyer for the auction. I found another one on the windshield of my truck later in the week.
That Friday night, Phillip picked me up to take me to our weekly poker game at our friend Jeff Williams’s house (we call him Nurse). During the drive there, Phillip put his phone on speaker and called Nurse’s house.
“Hey, guys, I have some bad news,” Nurse said. “Unfortunately, we can’t play poker tonight. Something came up and the game has been canceled. I’ve already called the other guys.”
Phillip hung up the phone. I shook my head and said, “Pitiful. I was really looking forward to playing poker on my birthday. Are you sure we can’t get a game up?”
“No, he’s already called everybody else and canceled the game,” Phillip said.
“Well, just take me home then,” I said.
“Wait, did you hear about this Native American auction?” Phillip asked. “There’s nothing else to do. We might as well go by there. You might even be able to find you an authentic bow and arrow.”
“Oh, yeah,” I said. “I got one of their flyers. Let’s go see what it’s all about.”
Phillip pulled his truck into the strip mall. From the parking lot, I heard drums beating and Native Americans chanting. Honestly, it sounded kind of spooky.
“Hold up,” I said. “I don’t know about this.”
“Nah, let’s go in and see what’s happening,” Phillip said. “If we don’t like it, we can leave.”
We walked into the dark store and could only see silhouettes in the back of the room. There was only a dim light in the front. I saw a handful of men chanting and dancing in a circle. They were wearing Native American headdresses and were carrying tomahawks over their heads.
“Nope, we’re out of here,” I said.
“Let’s just take a seat in the back and see what happens,” Phillip said.
Hey, I’ll admit I was pretty nervous. I was holding on to my iced-tea glass extra tight. After a couple of minutes, the lights suddenly came on. The Native Americans looked at me and screamed, “Happy birthday!”
I burst out laughing. I couldn’t believe my buddies had tricked me so easily.
“Boys, I thought I had run across some kind of cult,” I said. “I looked over, and McMillan was chanting with you. I thought to myself, Well, they’ve got him. Then I saw Jase and thought, Oh, no. They’ve got Jase too!”
Jase looked at me and said, “Let’s play some cards, Si!”
Two years later, Phillip and I were driving to our friend SpongeBob’s house for a poker game on my birthday. We stopped at my nephew Willie’s restaurant in West Monroe to pick up food for the game.
“Hey, I’m staying in the truck,” I said.
Phillip came out a few minutes later.
“There are four containers of food,” he said. “You’re going to have to come inside and help me carry them.”
When I walked into Willie’s Duck Diner, my family and most of my friends were there for a surprise birthday party in my honor. It’s great to have so many loved ones and great friends who will go out of their way to make you feel special. Hey, they make me feel like my birthday is a national holiday every year.