Especially if you happen to be Bhumibol Adulyadej, more commonly known as Rama IX. The king of Thailand – no Yul Brenner jokes, please – has reigned since June 9, 1946, making him the world’s longest reigning current monarch and the world’s longest serving head of state. (The Thai monarchy has been in continuous existence since the founding of the Kingdom of Sukothai in 1238.) Today is the king’s 85th birthday and for the past ten days I’ve been greeted by billboard-sized photos of his majesty everywhere I go. This little shrine outside my hotel was the most demure example I could find.
Happy 75th Birthday to one of the classiest suspension structures ever to cross a body of water: San Francisco’s singular Golden Gate Bridge. Girl, you look good.
To combat February’s winter blues – and celebrate a very minor birthday – I’ve headed south. Way south, off the coast of Venezuela to the world’s newest country, Curaçao. You may have heard of it, if only for the famous blue liqueur with the same name; yet this small island – formerly part of the Netherlands Antilles – boasts a UNESCO-designated harbor and a rich history as the main port of the Dutch West India Company. And then of course there’s all that lovely Caribbean sand. And sun. And sea. Happy Birthday to me.
One of the cooler prezzies I got this year for my birthday was this bottle of Kings County Distillery corn whiskey, better known as moonshine. Distilled right here in Brooklyn, New York, it ups the ante in my growing push to eat more locally. Now I’ve got to think about drinking locally, too.
I got a long overdue birthday package yesterday courtesy of the Royal Mail. Nothing quite matches the excitement inherent in unraveling a parcel that’s been copiously taped and bundled and shows all the wear and tear of traveling across an ocean. This particular box did not fail in igniting my imagination: dented, partially crushed, not only was it pock-marked with random stab wounds, but the postal tape indicated it was mailed almost eight weeks ago. No bother, since A: I wasn’t expecting anything fragile; and B: the distressed look only added to the romance and mystery of it all.
I noticed from the outset an Edinburgh return address, which immediately set my expectations high. So imagine my grin when peeling back the lid I found a pair of brown knee-hi boots and a thick pair of proper kilt socks to go along with them! A big shout out and thanks to Howie Nicholsby, the creative life force behind 21st Century Kilts, as well as the man who taught me everything I needed to know about kilts. I’ve already written a bit about Howie and my minor kilt obsession. In fact, Howie was my first posting on this website and only recently I decided that a return to Edinburgh for a new kilt should be in the cards this year. It’s killing me that this snowy winter weather is delaying the return of spring, daffodils, and my exposed legs. Could it be that good things really do come to those who wait?
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