A Big Softy at Sixty

Hubs and his Kids
Originally uploaded by GraceD

My husband turns 60 later on this month but we gathered this past weekend to celebrate his birthday. Our experience with the Hubs is that he's almost always on a business trip on his big day, so we closed in on him early before he could get away to Mexico, Singapore, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota or wherever else he's doing business when he really should scarfing down some major birthday cake action with us.

Hubs' five kids converged from near and far - flying in from Brooklyn and Los Angeles, driving up the coast from Santa Barbara, making the quick trip over the hill from Silicon Valley. We cooked a big Italian dinner, drank wine and toasted the Hubs/the Dad. The sweetest part was that instead of giving our good man gifts, the kids wrote him letters, a few of which were read aloud. One of these was the following list, put together by Hubs' beautiful and brilliant daughters:

60 Things we Know About Dad at 60

1. He wears a leather watch vest around the house
2. He lifts grocery bags so as not to miss any opportunity for exercise
3. He eats late night snacks like ice cream and cereal standing up in the kitchen
4. When he’s frustrated, he says, ”Dammit!”
5. He likes to take things apart and look at them under microscopes
6. He reads Watch Magazine
7. He loves the History Channel
8. He loves that Malcolm is aerodynamic
9. He pines for vintage pocket watches
10. He gets mad at flashy watches with diamonds all over them
11. He uses a snorkel and mask for ease of breathing in hotel pools
12. Wine gives him headaches sometimes
13. He likes to wear his red bow tie at the office for an idiosyncratic look
14. He also likes his red glasses for the above reason
15. Despite over 50 years of phenomenal guitar playing, he won’t play in public
16. He’s a smarty pants with patents and such and he doesn’t brag about it
17. He and Grace talk to Malcolm in strange voices
18. He’s turning into a big softy
19. He always says he doesn’t really like people but we suspect he does
20. He does his exercise at the nearby resort hotel gym
21. He always seems to be watering the yard
22. If not, he’s probably reading a science publication on the deck
23. He’s one of the few people whose slide shows you actually enjoy
24. He enjoys smoking his pipe
25. He loves Beyonce
26. He imparts wisdom, for example telling  (our friend) Jordan, “When you feel like you don’t want to edit yourself, that’s probably when you should.”
27. There is no where he’d rather be than at the house with his family
28. He thinks Bush should be publicly executed for crimes against humanity
29. He doesn’t take any b.s. from airline ticket agents
30. His secret wish is to retire and take science courses at UCSC
31. He likes to sail
32. He is one of the worlds few men who can pull off a Hawaii-5-0 mustache
33. Perfume gives him a headache
34. He hates New Yorkers
35. He still has a little New York in him after all these years in California
36. For example, telling a taxi driver to just “let him out” for not knowing how to get to the hospital
37. He loves the Sopranos
38. He misses Lola Falana's long elegant fingers                                                                                     
39. He yells, “I know these women!” when he watches 'Sex and the City'
40. He always answers the phone, “(ahhhhh) George Marcellino”
41. He responds to the following names: Popsy, Monkey, and Badoo
42. He’s the only person we know who got his dog laser eye surgery
43. He and Grace like to wear sporty gear for potential spontaneous activity
44. He eats pizza with a fork and knife
45. In recent years, he’s been taking on a Sean Connery essence
46. He also eats quesadillas with a fork and knife
47. He always says, “what the hell is this?”
48. He likes to call things by their proper names including:  CoCAH-CoLAH or DOHs OHsos
49. He once grew marijuana under the house and asked Jenn to water it
50. When drunk Irishmen look at his daughter on the tube, he turns into Tony Soprano                                         
51. He likes to talk about YOUR feelings
52. He calls us all “baby” because it’s easier than mixing up all of our names
53. As an adult, he played on a softball team called,”The Inner Kids”
54. His favorite snack is a block of cheese with cashews
55. He’s extremely punctual but he’s trying to be relaxed
56. He always has his suitcase packed a week before he leaves for a trip
57. He hates matching his socks ("they all look the same!")
58. He’s a late developer in the dog lover community
59. Yesterday, he couldn’t find his cookie and realized it had been flattened (against his wallet) for 4 hours in his pants pocket
60. His daughters adore him

Comments

[Rhi]

I love this and am filing it away for when my Dad turns 60 in a couple years. I'm an only child, but I don't think I'll have trouble coming up with 60 things - he's a pretty awesome guy. :)

[Kalyn]

Love it! How nice to hear about dad from the daughters point of view. He sounds like a great guy.

I turned 60 this year myself (Can't quite believe it, but it's true.) I wrote a post about Sixty Things I've Learned in Sixty Years. Fun thinking about it!

[beth]

That was incredibly beautiful. Happy early birthday George.

[Bakerina]

I love this list so much. I think George is heroic. And I am a little sheepish because I felt kind of feckless and ditzy in his presence when I stayed with you last year. I swear, I'm neither feckless nor ditzy. I'm just in awe of George.

(I am *dying* to hear stories about the SaTC-esque women he has known. I'll bet those stories are priceless.)

[pam]

Now I've totally got a crush on George. When can I come back to Santa Cruz?

[Brianna B.]

One of the one's I feel like I have always known about George is #25.
:)

[me]

you are my new heroes!