Happy Birthday!

I've always been big on celebrating birthdays. Unfortunately, my birthday comes at a most inopportune time since I was born on August 7, 1945. August 6, 1945 marks the date that the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and three days later on August 9, the second atom bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. My birthday falls right between those two devastating occurrences. Therefore, it is always associated with those events. I wrote a bluesy song in which I elude to that fact called Atom Bomb Baby. The chorus of the song goes: I'm an atom bomb baby, I came into this world with a bang!

I'm an atom bomb baby, I came into this world with a bang!

I was born between the big ones they dropped down on Japan!"

Another problem with my birthday is that it occurs during the dog days of summer when everyone is on vacation. So, I never had a chance to celebrate it in school while growing up. My way of countering that unfortunate fact was to celebrate my birthday in a big way as an adult, especially my decade birthdays. For those occasions, I always planned a big concert at my home church, Walker United Methodist, of which I've been a member since 1986. For these occasions, I invited all my friends as well as Walker members. I designed flyers and programs while inviting other Walkerites to perform with me.

I called my 70th birthday concert Seventy and Still Kicking! It also happened to be a CD release concert at which my CD -- Classical Autoharp in Ragtime -- became available. This CD contains original autoharp arrangements of classical and popular melodies. Some of these include The William Tell Overture, Over the Rainbow, and The Hallelujah Chorus. At this concert, I played some of my original songs with Mary Parker, as well as instrumental selections from the new CD. I also invited several of my friends like, Mary, Doug, Sally, and Lynn to play music and tell stories. This concert was a heartwarming success.

My 60th birthday concert I called: "I Can't Believe I'm Sixty!" At the time, I belonged to a folk music group called The Waxing Nostalgics. This group emerged from a community ed class I facilitated, in which four of us got together to play folk, country, gospel, blues, and classic rock tunes. For more than fifteen years, we continued meeting at each others' homes to make music and share songs. My 60th birthday concert featured songs by The Waxing Nostalgics, as well as tunes from my Autoharp Forever CD, which contained original instrumental arrangements for the autoharp.

However, my most memorable birthday concert came about in August 1995 when I celebrated my fiftieth, or semi-century birthday. At the time, I had just recorded my first studio album, a cassette tape of original songs called Atom Bomb Baby. For this concert, I pulled out all the stops! I designed flyers and programs. I invited my dad, who came all the way from Cincinnati, Ohio, to attend. In fact, it was the only time my dad ever heard me perform. The concert itself was preceded by a pot-luck dinner at which my birthday was celebrated. Then there was a variety show featuring two of my closest friends: George and Layah. George played his dobro while Layah sang some of her original songs. I performed songs from my new studio tape including Semistar and Atom Bomb Baby. This concert turned out to be an unforgettable experience at which I was surrounded by friends from all walks of my life. I was inundated with cards and gifts celebrating my big day. I remained on a high for an entire week afterwards.

And last week, I turned 79. That means I'm only one year away from becoming an octogenarian. It's hard to believe! If I'm still around on August 7, 2025, I plan to celebrate my eightieth birthday in a big way. I hope to host another Walker concert including performances by friends like Mary, Sally, Doug, Lynn, and others. Maybe, I will have recorded another CD by then. I can just wait and hope for the best.