To celebrate my birthday my new state gave to me…

… five driving years… or rather, a Maryland driving license that expires on Dec 22, 2014, on which day I will turn … five years old than I am today. That means I’ve stopped aging, because infinty + 5 = infinity, right? I had to get the license today, since my Massachusetts license expired today, and I haven’t had time before, with all the moving and the living.

So my present from my new state of residence was a new license. My present from my new county, Montgomery, was the company of my daughter Maddie, since schools were closed again. The Tuesday closing seemed rather silly, since the snow stopped falling early Sunday morning. But it did set the stage for the closing tomorrow, Wednesday, which would have been the last day before winter break.

Much though I love my daughter, I wasn’t delighted to have her almost-6-yo company as well as her brother’s 3yo company on the license errand. But I set off with them and a backpack full of documents for the nearest MVA location that does Out-of-State License Exchanges.

I’ll spare you most of the details of the day. Suffice it to say that: not one, but two, proofs of MD residence are required; a letter from Verizon thanking you for your business does not serve as such proof, although a bill from the same company would (I think) serve; a bill from a plumbing company does not serve, although an agreement for ongoing service would.

As you know from the opening paragraph, mission was accomplished, and the new license obtained. The kids weren’t bad. I’d like to think that’s due to the good behavior genes they get from me, but it might have more to do with chocolate and other purchases from Trader Joe’s. So thank you, Joe, and thank you, Maryland.

More thanks to Montgomery County. The trash was collected today – a day late is understandable given the weather, and much better than no collection this week.

And yet more: the street was also plowed. In fact, when we were almost home, and about to turn into our street, we were confronted with a large digger truck, followed by a smaller truck with a plow on front, coming toward us. I decided to yield to them, even though I was going the legal way down our one-way street.

Did I celebrate my new drivers license, and my birthday, by going round the block, ignoring the No Entry sign, and returning home the wrong way along the street? (The alternative was to tell my kids that they had to spend yet more time in the car.) I’m not saying, and I’m not sure whether to invoke forgetfulness, senility, or constitutional protection against compulsory self-incrimination.

Birthdays

M&M by Various ArtistsToday is, of course, the official birthday of one Jesus. However you celebrate it, or don’t celebrate it, I hope it’s a good day for you. Tomorrow is the 5th birthday of my daughter Maddie. Here’s a picture of her and her younger brother. She started the picture, but someone older (not me) finished it off.

I had a rather round-numbered birthday a few days ago. Presents included a print by a local artist, books, and a rather retro music CD. The CD format itself is retro, and not my usual medium for music these days, but this year’s reissue of Nick Lowe’s Jesus of Cool album has enough in the way of artwork, liner notes, etc., for me to ask for it.

The album originally came out 30 years ago. In the USA, it was called Pure Pop For Now People, for fear that the original UK title would offend. Here’s a track that didn’t appear on the album, but appears on the reissue in the form of the demo version. “Cruel to be Kind” includes one of my favorite rock rhymes: “You say your love is bona fide/ But that don’t coincide/ With the things that you do.”

The Next Few Days

Tomorrow is my birthday. It’s also the winter solstice and the first day of winter. It seems strange to have had two feet of snow before winter starts. So maybe it’ll be time to head south, even if only as far as Philadelphia, to spend Christmas with my wife’s parents. Christmas Eve will bring a high full moon. The day after Christmas is my daughter Maddie’s birthday: she’ll be 4.