HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEN!

What a special day! Today we celebrate YOU. Your life is worth celebrating today and everyday! I imagine when you, the 9th child came along 54 years ago your mama must have been so incredibly weary, yet incredibly overjoyed that she had another boy! You were her 7th manchild! I can only imagine!

To buy a home in 1955 your parents would have shelled out $22,000. I wonder if the Troxelville estate came close to the average! Location, Location, Location!

Parents worried about their children seeing too much TV in 1955. Shows like Hopalong Cassidy and Gunsmoke. Technology, Technology, Technology!

An average income in 1955 was $4,137. Your daddy worked on the railroad to feed 11 hungry mouths, I wonder if his paystub came close to the average. Your mother was a stay at home mom long before the term was coined. I can imagine the ingenuity of your mom, sewing, preparing meals, making cards rather than buying them. In my 31 years of marriage to your family, I never remember seeing her drive the car although I know she had a license. I guess with that many children, she wouldn't have been able to fit them all in the car at once so she didn't have to worry about driving!

In 1955 when Mom Seler went to the store, she spent 92 cents on milk, 18 cents for bread, 53 cents for a 10 lb. bag of potatoes. She would have never dreamed of buying oreo cookies for 39 cents. Snickerdoodles and 1234 cake...now that's what the kids like! When the cantalope man came through town..fresh fruit was the treat of the day.

You have always said that your family had their own baseball team, their own volleyball team, the only thing that you all didn't have for your own was a bed! You spent so much time together as kids must be that is why you and your 6 brothers joined the military, you could finally have your own bed and some personal space!

When you were born,Dwight Eisenhower was the president and Richard Nixon the vice. When you were born you would have seen "I like Ike" posters around the community. When you were born Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus.
When you were born radios were tuned into baseball, remember the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankee games!
When you were born, Albert Einstein died.
When you were born The Platters and Elvis Presley were hitting the airwaves.
When you were born a baseball glove cost $9.95.
When you were born Disneyland in California was built.
When you were born a postage stamp cost 3 cents!

Today living in Jamaica it is hard to imagine a stamp costing so little. When someone sends a package to us the cost is unreal.

Life has changed but how could so much change happen in only 54 years? At times don't you feel that you are still in your twenties? At times don't you feel like it can't be possible to be this close to 60?

Since I am unable to run to Macy's to get you a new shirt and tie for your birthday or go to Brookstone for a new gadget, I am dedicating this blog to you. I give you words. You continue to tell the kids that words are captivating. Words are worth studying. Words are intriguing. You tell the churches where you preach that you love words. You preach sermons distinguishing the many meanings in just one word. Your youth groups have always teased you about teaching them new words and using words above their intellectual ability!

Within our little family, words mean alot! Maybe the 3 of us are vocal because you have taught us the importance of words. Maybe we are chatty because you taught us so many meanings to words. Maybe the 3 of us never meet a stranger because you have modeled the wonderful use of words.

Because of your words, you are a wonderful father. You made tapes when the children were young and you were traveling. Your written notes are something that both Ryan and Renee treasure. Your daily morning email to Ry while we are in Jamaica and he is in college have many times been the key to the success of his day. Your lunchbox notes brought great pleasure and when not there could traumatize them!

You are a man of words. Thank you for sharing them. Thank you for not clamming up and keeping your words to yourself. Thank you for realizing a long time ago that since we only pass this way but once, your words would bring healing and not death. Thank you for speaking into my life since the day I met you with words that were appropriate for the moment but have lasted a life time. Thank you for in the most precarious of times your words were like apples of gold on a tray of silver. Thank you for talking, thank you for correct verb structure, thank you for your written and spoken words! Thank you for teaching us how to be deliberate with our words. They are treasures to your 3 greatest fans!

Happy Birthday Den! I wish you:

Happiness.....deep down within
Serenity......with each sunrise
Success.....in each facet of your life
Close and Caring friends
Love....that never ends
Special memories...of all the yesterdays
A bright today...with much to be thankful for
A path....that leads to beautiful tomorrows
Dreams.....that do their best to come true
And appreciation ..of all the wonderful things about you.

Sweetie, I wish you a year of God's most precious Word...written and Rhema.
Forever.......Debby