My Favorite Birthday as a child was one where I woke up to an empty house, found my pancake breakfast accompanied by a note that told me to follow the clues. As I roamed around our house and garden the clues would lead me to little hidden treasures; a candy necklace, box of cracker jacks, a surprise ball, new socks, and the next clue, all leading up to the finale, the BIG box of crayons which included periwinkle and burnt sienna and indigo, magical colors. The crayon box rested on a big pad of fresh white drawing paper, something I'd coveted after years of using leftover newsprint that I had to cut into squares myself. I can still feel the August early morning sun and dewy grass under my bare feet, smell the orange blossoms and the alluring scent of new wax crayons (other profoundly evocative childhood scents - Playdoh, Tinker Toys, Silly Putty, the ocean, the scent of tar at the ocean, forest fires, night blooming jasmine, Coppertone, hot asphalt, eucalyptus, chlorine).
I remember an art project that required the use of crayon shavings, great for over-used nubs; you arranged them on waxed paper then put another sheet on top and gently ironed. They'd melt into vivid abstract landscapes.
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| Melted Crayons on Painting = Starry Night |
When I was living the giddy bachelor life in Paris, my room mates and I gave a New Years Eve Party called Come As You Will Be In Ten Years. This was a major theme hit! Astronaut, Lawyer, best of all, a transgender cabaret star arrived as a pregnant version of herself. Sweet, beautiful as ever and a bit triste, but isn't it extraordinary that in 30 years this has gone from an unrequited yearning to a possibility, with the science ever improving.
For those of you who are confused by this issue, here is my moment of awakening; while Pinky was in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) there were a lot of very sick little babies, one of the babies who had been in the incubator next to us for a month had been born with no gender. According to the nurse, one in a hundred babies were born with this issue! The protocol was to wait and see if anything developed, but if nothing changed, the parents selected the gender and hormones were used to push the baby in that direction. This explains a lot, and should make every one of us respect the others' journey, if we haven't already evolved there.
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| Professional Version |
The Surprise Ball
You can purchase a beautiful and sophisticated party ball at wonderful gift shops like E.A.T. Gifts on Madison Avenue in NYC. If you call them, ask for Sean. Not only is he intelligent and helpful, but charming to boot.
I have made my own from things found at the dollar store. My ball is never round, but looks like a crumpled object for the waste paper basket. Good friends don't judge you on this. Check out this blog for excellent instructions; Honestly, WTF
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| OCD DIY VERSION |
There used to be a shop in NYC called Johnny Jupiter which would have every party need imaginable and another intelligent and charming Helper. He is still a friend, David Wronski, and writes a delightful blog, Wronski's Wramblings.
Pinky always called David Mr. Jupiter, to his amusement.
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| Aladdin's Cave |
