Mistah Schleckah, XLVI

My little friend Mistah Schleckah is 46 today.

Happy Birthday, Mistah!

Let's take a quick, abbreviated look at Mistah's life, shall we?

Little Billy started his life as any little Billy would, with a Dad, and a Mumsie, and a little sister Kelly.

Billy and Kelly had a lot of fun, and looked good doing it.

I mean, really. How handsome can one boy be?

Oh, right. This handsome.

And then 20 or so years passed, and Billy met me. Exactly one week before this photo was taken.

I'm not sure he even was legal then . . .

. . . he sure didn't look it.

We had a great time together, and traveled from Detroit . . .

. . . to St. John.

And then I married him. Of course I did.

He was, after all, a hot potato.

Soon after Bill met me he became an Uncle-to-be.

.

And he latched right onto that.

He immediately embraced the Uncle life . . .

. . . and is really good at it.

.

And then, in 2001, we took off in the Westy . . .

.

. . . and nothing has been the same since.

From the Outer Banks of North Carolina . . .

. . . to the canyonlands of Utah. . .

. . . from the Florida Keys . . .

. . . to Wrigley. And NO, we did not have a son along the way . . .
.

. . . but we did have a lot of nieces and nephews along the way, including Bayba D, who was mere days old at Wrigley, and turned 8 the other day.

Mistah hiked in the Baja peninsula in Mexico . . .

. . . and in the Mojave Desert . . .

. . . and on the banks of the Rio Grande in the Big Bend in Texas . . .

. . . and, of course, in Fort Davis. This was his 41st birthday.

. . . On the road, there's not always the immediate chance to shower . . .

.

. . . and the sand of the desert -- the Anza-Borrego, here -- can coat you like a cutlet.

But that's what springs and streams and the Colorado River, at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, are for.

.

Mistah Schleckah has had interesting jobs . . .

. . . and successful shopping excursions . . .

. . . and connects fully with the munchkins . . .

. . . and is, all of a sudden, a solid citizen of Connecticut once again.

Well, semi-solid.

Happy Birthday, Mistah Schleckah!

.

Now get out there and have a great day.