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Happy Birthday, Bill!

Sunday, March 3, 2013

It's that time again, that cold dank rainy/snowy/precipity time in March when the scent of cooking pork ribs and cake rises up from the Indigo Hill kitchen. It is Bill of the Birds' birfday.
photo by Timothy Ryan, who has an eye.

Thing is, he is in San Diego ogling crested magpie jays and western bluebirds for his birthday, which is today. He's  working a bird festival. I think he's taking a bunch of kids birding today. It's what he was made to do. That's OK. He had enough birthday last year to last him for several.

I thought it would be fun to revisit last year's big party, which was ossum beyond ossum. It's the party he's not having this year.

I had a lot of help in pulling the party off. Wendy Clark and Jen and John Sauter came over and worked decorating magic on the Galley's party space. There were flowers and pictures of Bill everywhere. And the Galley staff was terrific.


I'm so thrilled that Marietta has a wonderful place like The Galley and the Adelphia Music Hall, where The Rain Crows are wont to play.
We wont to play there more.


I got a big blowup picture of Dave Tipling's shot of Bill, doin' what he likes to do best--lifting a pint at an English pub.


the RealBillies came over from Athens to play, and they were ridiculously great. There were all these Telecasters going full tilt 


and the beautiful voice of Mimi Hart rang out through the room




and then the beautiful voice of Elsa Thompson did, too.


I think she had as good a time as Bill did.



Bill's best music friend John Kogge came and they played together which was terrific. They played together in the Cenozoic Age.






The music flowed and flowed. Kids danced and danced.


Black Bart showed up in costume. Anybody recognize this specimen (the big male)?


Phoebe got hijacked by Vinnie, with Oona and Erin looking on. I love the Eew face!!


The cake was over the top CakeBoss redonk. Todd Horvath of Bittersweet's Chocolate and Pastry in Canton, Ohio made a mocha cake with coconut cream filling and a fondant icing that was a perfect replica of Bill's new Samik hollowbody. The strap is chocolate. Everything edible. And so delicious.




Bill loved his party, seeing all his friends from near and far. I think the best birthday present, though, was the newly-pressed copies of The Rain Crows' CD, "Looks Like Rain." Hard to believe our CD will be a year old today, too!


We've told "Looks Like Rain" that she will soon have a little brother or sister. "Dream of Flying Dream" is well on its way to being realized. And with all that's happened in this year, that is cause for celebration.


Celebration of the drive and vision of a very special man. A great father and husband, an imbiber of life, and an exemplary human being. He moves through the world, hair on fire, leaping to the next square, then the next...


Happy birthday, Bill!! Where'd you get the little monkey?

Pirates, if you could see your way clear to not breaking his heart this year....



that'd be greaaaaat.











8 comments:

Happy birthday, dear Bill. Wonderful memories of last year's celebration. I love you all. Go, Bucs.xxoom

Posted by Anonymous March 3, 2013 at 5:25 AM

Happy birthday..last year's party looks like MY kinda party!

Oh, the Pirates. Sigh.
We ALL wish!!!

AWWWW. All choked up now. Thanks Jules. This makes being 51 a bit easier.

Keep on playin' your choklit guitar, babe.

Happy Birthday Bill!!

But that can't be Oona in those pics. Not that little baby that Chet protected from the back of the couch, just last week.

We helped him eat his San Diego cake. Then we went out in the 70-degree weather and looked at Long-billed Curlews. Ho hum.

Black Bart looks suspiciously like a West Virginian named Geoff.

Would love to go back to that day of said photo and linger just a little longer. Hear one more song. Sip one more drink. Watch Bill Sr. tickle the ivories one more time as the that light hovered over him - he about to become an angel to an unsuspecting crowd. There are moments that will live with you forever - moments you take on the road and weave into the magic carpet ride that take slips you far away - that was of them. Happy Birthday Bill!

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