This is a compilation of my monthly Birthday Cards in 2023. Various boxed designs have been deleted and all verbiage has been made flush left for consistency.
Each was originally signed, “Peace, Bob.”
JANUARY:
In an uncertain world where personal control is elusive, staying with well-intentioned
New Year’s Eve resolutions is a challenge.
I do an exercise at year-end called “burning your burdens.” I write down a personal shortcoming
to be eliminated. Then I go outside and burn this paper … and have a glass of champagne.
Spoiler alert: sometimes that burned shortcoming has a way of re-appearing the next year. Whoops!
Societally, there is a long list of shortcomings it would be nice to burn, but I won’t enumerate them here.
Regardless of those who focus on the dust on the piano legs rather than the music,
the USA is still the country people move to, not from.
I know you have accomplished much — stay true to your positive values.
You are an inspiration in my life.
FEBRUARY:
Ah, February: love is in the air –
before, during, and after the BIG DAY itself!
Not only is love a wonderful positive all by itself, but focusing on your relationship with loved ones represents a way to stay sane in today’s troubled world.
Negatives abound: on-going discrimination; an inability to construct a logical, humane immigration policy; dishonesty and/or outright corruption at home and abroad; never-ending mass shootings; an unwillingness to consider the other person’s viewpoint. It’s a depressing list, benefiting only drug companies.
So focus on meaningful love and do not be hesitant to tell the other person involved.
There is magic in the initials ILY!
MARCH:
What happens in March that is worth noting?
(1) We add an hour to the clock, for reasons which escape me; (2) Spring begins and complaints about Winter cease; (3) International Women’s Day is celebrated, and (4) skip to the bottom.
Apropos of nothing in particular, did you know that for the white population, 58 is the most common age; for African Americans and Asians, it is 27; and for Hispanics, it is 11!
Of newborns, the United States is already a nation of multiple minorities.
It is time for everyone, of all political persuasions, to fully recognize the evolving blended look
of this unique country.
The answer to #4: March is famous for it being the month of your birth.
APRIL:
Maria Ressa won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her lifelong fight on behalf of responsible journalism, more specifically, her battles against the dishonesty of the government of the Philippines, her native country and the world’s second-most on-line country.
In her book, “How to Stand up to a Dictator,” she has much to say about the deliberate decision by social media companies to employ their technological wizardry not on the side of defending and communicating facts, but on the side of playing to people’s emotions.
Facebook has the world’s best business model: people give it free information of all kinds. It puts this information through its algorithm grinders and sells it repackaged to eager companies. It knows hate and fabricated posts stimulate traffic to Facebook. Dictators and corrupt individuals take advantage of this, each functioning in their own sphere of power and coercion.
Admittedly, it is not a discovery that negative sells better; conventional network news outlets have known this from the beginning. What is unprecedented is the absence of any serious vetting process for that news item, the speed with which complete lies can gain traction around the world, and the absence of any dynamic tension between journalistic ethics and the business of making money.
Today’s younger generation only knows this Facebook world; historical and contemporary awareness of complexity have been ground into little factoids for ease of consumption while they are smothered by layers of money-making algorithms.
Take time in this month of April Fool’s Day to assess what is real in your life, what is valued, what you love, what makes for a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
MAY:
Many, many years ago, I compiled a long list of sayings, some borrowed (without attribution) and some created. The sayings were posted not on Instagram (yet to be invented) but on our refrigerator. At our daughters’ high school graduations, the insights were typed up and presented as gifts, not because I am unduly cheap and not because I had delusions of being an influencer, but simply because I thought it was a cool thing to do.
The modest list below follows in that tradition: sayings in no order of importance.
*Ask, analyze, assert, accept.
* Any real change implies the break-up of the world as one has always known it, the loss of all that gave one an identity, the end of safety.
*Be quick, but don’t hurry.
*Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
*Dream … plan … build … manage … improve.
*Encourage, enlighten, empower.
*Footprints do not begin in the middle of the snow.
*How can you love somebody yet want to manage the amount of happiness that a person is allowed.
*In a competition, you either win or learn.
*It will be impossible (for the world) to build an ecological future while still maintaining our system of unrestrained material consumption.
*Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
*Kisses are a better fate than wisdom.
*More laughter equals fewer heart attacks.
*Own your actions.
*Our grandparents had careers. Our parents had jobs. We complete tasks.
*Recognize a problem, engage in a problem-solving process, stay focused until the problem is resolved.
*Sometimes the wrong train takes you to the right destination.
*Try to not use either “like” (if you are under 30 years of age) or “but” (if you are older) in your conversation; it’s a challenge!
*We can’t exchange these people for other people. We have what we have.
*You did not know that people could dictate life. You were used to accepting what life gave you.
*You know, I never think of Americans as having brothers and sisters. They always seem so alone in the world, so individual, so … self-absorbed.
MAY/UVALDE:
The 24th marks one year from the day when 19 kids and 2 adults at an elementary school in the small town of Uvalde, Texas had their lives – and those who loved them — destroyed by a gunman. I have been to Uvalde, an hour’s drive from the Mexican border, talking with and supporting mental health professionals attempting to provide solace to shattered families.
Today, in your state, more than two people will die by guns. Tomorrow, another two-plus. The following twenty-four hours, the same. In fact, to be exact and using national averages, in 2022, 2.6 people died by guns every day in every state.
In the specific category of mass shootings of schoolchildren, this country has no peers in the world. It is willing to see kids die rather than face up to the need for gun reform. With all due respect to the Constitution, it is not possible for words put on paper at a certain time in history to anticipate change in an evolving world. In the words of author Geoff Canada, violence has escalated: fist, stick, knife, gun. Only the latter has a high rate of finality to the person on the other end.
Changes under the heading of gun reform are (1) minimum age for a license,
(2) restrictions on the type of gun which can be purchased without a background check, (3) legal limits on where a concealed gun can be carried, and (4) increased urgency among mental health professionals to invoke red flag warnings that indicate a possible shooter.
Arming teachers and instructing kids with active shooter drills will do nothing to alleviate the mental health situation of our young people, nor of their parents and guardians, jumping when a call from the school comes during class hours.
For a thoughtful, pragmatic approach to gun reform, I highly recommend reading “A Smarter Way to Reduce Gun Deaths,” by Nicholas Kristof. It appeared on page four of the Sunday Opinion section of the New York Times, January 29, 2023.
JUNE:
Welcome to Summer: trips to the beach for swimming (a little), volleyball (if there is space), sun (lots), reading (maybe — nothing strenuous), food (especially of the junk variety), and legal beverages (within limits of course).
The month of June, in which we should all take Pride, includes Flag Day, probably little noticed by anybody under a certain age; Father’s Day, always less commercialized than Mother’s Day; and Juneteenth, an important commemoration unfortunately not readily identifiable by many people.
Alas, the fun and holidays of June do not contradict the economic necessity of having a job. Bills must be paid and credit card debt is expensive. Hopefully you like your current employment situation. If not, it seems that “we’re hiring” signs are omnipresent.
Whatever you are planning for the month, take time today to have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
JULY:
If you grew up in a warm weather climate, July must feel like you have done something right and gone to heaven.
For others, it’s too hot. There is a temptation to move north before all the ice caps have melted.
A full moon takes place on the third of the month. For unknown reasons, when everybody seems to be acting a little crazy, it is common for an observer to suggest that “it must be a full moon tonight.”
The Holiday Heart of the month is July 4, which is still America’s Independence Day unless it has fallen victim to cancel culture.
Whatever you celebrate this month, make sure it includes a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
AUGUST:
August is named after a Roman noble who has not yet been culturally cancelled.
It is often an insufferably hot month, but then July was not exactly cool.
Contrary to conventional belief, the month has numerous holidays. There is
National Ice Cream Sandwich Day on the second, Book Lovers Day on the ninth, and National Fajita Day on the 18th.
Only a cynic would believe that customer-seeking businesses are behind the creation and promotion of these holidays.
My favorite, because there is no mercenary motivation, has to be National Just Because Day on the 27th.
SEPTEMBER:
Students are back to school, which makes some happy.
Celebrating Labor Day, a huge event when manufacturing unions were strong, now is without much participation.
Business activity picks up usually; people return from vacations and spend money in a normal fashion.
There will be at least one Presidential debate (don’t ask!)
Mental health is under pressure. It is more important than ever to have fun
whenever possible – like today, your BIRTHDAY!
OCTOBER:
October is an unusual mixture.
Half of it completes Hispanic Heritage month.
The clocks get changed, time falling an hour.
The weather is a healthy combination
of cool air and warm sun.
Alas, now students must make those
loan repayments which were not required
during the COVID hiatus. Sorry for the reminder.
Will the list of prominent indictees lengthen?
We already have Trump, Menendez, and Biden’s son.
Makes you want to go apple-picking
instead of checking the news.
Meanwhile, regardless of the calendar
or the climate or any semblance of a coordinated
immigration program, people are pouring into the country.
Apropos, I found this quote to be on point:
”To have a parent from another country
is to know how little you can take for granted,
to understand how deeply we have been shaped
by families and cultures,
and to see how easily we could be another person.”
Today is your special day, be yourself.
Have a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
NOVEMBER: A Time to give Thanks
For the cry of a newborn
Not for babies slain in wars
For the beautiful sunrise
Not for the possible sunset of our planet
For aspirations
Not for the cost of higher education
For basketball
Not for age and injuries
For the ability to vote
Not for the quality of our candidates
For welcoming immigrants
Not for the absence of a comprehensive program
For literature of all types
Not for book banning
For open discourse
Not for ignoring facts
For judicial impartiality
Not for reliance on 200 year-old precedents
For art
Not for high prices at museums
For suburban parks
Not for urban parks being scarce
For beauty
Not for crudeness
For peace
Not for how hard it is to find
DECEMBER
What can I say about December that has not been written elsewhere, in greater quantity and quality.
Maybe I should simply
take a walk down memory lane:
On Christmas Day, my father standing at the base of the staircase and announcing that Santa had not come this year. He was kidding, thank goodness.
In my Wall Street days, writing an extensive report on American Greetings that was labeled the best ever on that particular industry.
Family creating our own Holiday card
and stamping it Howmark instead of Hallmark.
Whatever your special memories are,
you have the opportunity to create new ones.
Pray for peace — for all,
not only for those with whom you agree.