Cheers & Jeers Wednesday: 75th Birthday Edition!!!

Whose 75th Birthday, you may ask? Of course it can't be dailykos itself, or Markos or Bill in Portland Maine... and is sure as hell ain't me!

In fact, VirgoDad was the guest of honor this past Sunday, at a party that my brother and sister and I threw in honor of his 75th birthday!

Birthday Banner, painted by the grandkids!

It isn't often that all the family members get to be in the same place at the same time, and I certainly didn't mind having an excuse to visit the Napa Valley, where I grew up. It’s a nice little change of pace from my first winter in Michigan.

Yes, I grew up in Wine Country, but it wasn't as glamorous as it sounds. VirgoDad worked for Anheuser-Busch, for one thing -- so when I say that Budweiser put me through college, I'm not kidding! I did baby-sit Robert Mondavi's grandchildren one summer, though... so, who wants to touch me? :P

Cheers and Jeers pulls the cork [twist twist twist] RIGHTNOW! [POP!]

Disclaimer: virgomusic’s substitute C&J is a mere placeholder, intended to tide us all over until the return of our fearless leader and faithful employee, Bill in Portland Maine. While it should stave off the most bothersome symptoms of C&J withdrawal, the percentage of high-quality snark may vary somewhat from what you’re accustomed to. Add coffee as needed to compensate.

VirgoDad enjoyed his party very much, and I must say, he’s in pretty good shape for three-quarters of a century. He’s been far busier since he retired than he ever was when he was working; my brother, who lives just down the road from him, jokes that he has to make an appointment to see him. Between Kiwanis club, church activities, serving as the galley cook on a Sea Scout ship, Spanish classes, etc. – he keeps busy. Oh, and for the past few years, he’s been hosting exchange students from Germany. It works out very well, because now when he wants to visit Germany, he has plenty of places to stay!

Here he is with a few of his young German friends:

And of course, he still makes time to hang out with his 3 kids and 5 grandkids. Here he is with me at my wedding last June:

Oh, and since we’re speaking of moi, I hope y’all don’t mind if take this opportunity to mention my imminent 15 minutes of fame! My Concerto for Theremin and Chamber Orchestra will be premièred this coming week by the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. VirgoDad and I are driving down to San Diego on Friday to attend, and Dr. Virgomusic will be joining us from Detroit as well. An article about the piece is scheduled to appear tomorrow in the San Diego Union-Tribune’s weekend events section, Night & Day, and there are a couple of TV and radio appearances lined up in San Diego next week for the conductor, the theremin soloist, and myself. I hope to get audio and/or video of all of these wonderful events, including, of course, the performances. (I even got a shout-out on CBC Radio 2, which I wake up to every morning when I’m at home in Detroit!) For the moment, though, you can hear a sneak preview of the piece on my blog, Miss Music Nerd!

And here are a few news items I’d like to share, gathered from my recent travels:

Cheers to really making a difference. San Francisco probation officer Darrin Dill wanted to make it easier for his clients, many of whom are homeless, to comply with the terms of their probation. Evidently, it’s easy to miss appointments with your probation officer when you don’t have phone or mail access and you’re hesitant to leave your belongings unattended while you take care of business. So Officer Dill decided to meet with his clients where they live, and took to the streets on a bike in search of his caseload. He also hands out necessities like socks and toothpaste, and refers people to social services. And he’s been recognized for this bright idea with the California Probation Officer of the Year Award. Pretty cool!

Cheers to making lemonade when life hands you lemons... or whatever produce you can get to grow, at any rate! Many vacant lots dot the city of Detroit, the sites of formerly grand old homes that deteriorated to the point where they had to be torn down.  Some of these plots are now being redeveloped as urban farms.  I recently met a woman who works on one of these projects, called Earth Works Garden. The food grown there is used in the nearby Capuchin Soup Kitchen. Also pretty cool!

Cheers to the Big Dog comin’ to town. I just found out that Bill Clinton made a campaign stop  in my little hometown of Napa back in January (here’s a video  from his appearance). Don’t flame me – I’m not taking sides here... it’s just kinda cool, since Napa usually isn’t a top campaign trail destination.

Why didn’t VirgoDad tell me about this? Probably because he’s a Republican... although he did say the other day that he would happily vote for Obama – woo hoo! :D

Last but not least, some culinary comic relief:

I’ve been cooking and baking quite a bit lately (you have time to do such things when you’re a shiftless layabout musician!), and the other day  I noticed a strong resemblance between two essential items sitting next to each other in my pantry:

One day when I was baking cookies, I reached for the vanilla extract and thought to myself, "Wouldn’t it be funny if I accidentally used liquid smoke instead?" :D

Floor's open... What are you cheering and jeering today?