# 18

I must say that I did have a great birth day. I spent the majority of it just hanging around the house doing garden work. This included but was not limited to trimming, cutting, and chasing squirrels and guinea pigs with a weed eater. All the while giggling like a little school girl. . “You bes’ run boy!”
I know with this last birthday I have many people to thank and I know I will miss the majority of you. So if you see yourself missed please know I think of you and I just can’t get you all in one message. The first volley goes out to Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Tammy for the really cool new I-pod. Also Mom and Dad for the literal ton of wood and grandma for sending it up. I refer to the beuitiful Spanish style wood gates that will eventually be set up at the front entrance car port to the property once I get a construction crew out here. Again! Also thanks Grandma for the air tickets. We had a really good time. I also want to thank Chris for the eye-popping 2 and a half gallon bottle of Johnie Walker! I do not think any will be able to “Keep on walking” after this on. Before this I had only heard of this fabled bottle through the grape vine from my friend Tyson. It is Tysons fantasy to become a monk and shut himself in a room with a bottle of J.W. and write (Or was it Jack Daniels?). So for his birthday several weeks ago his wife gave him one of these. As for me I was like Thomas and Maddy the night they went to bed with their Christmas gifts. I took my giant bottle to bed with me and curled up around it. Rob if you are lucky I just may save you a shot! But the rest is mine! When I am finished with the bottle (in a couple of weeks) I am going to mount it on the wall like a trophy deer head. I also want to thank Andrea for the lesson that size makes no difference. I really love my little teeny-tiny, have-ta-squint-ta-see cactus. Lets see how much this thing will grow this year. Thanks to Jim and Christina, but mostly Jim for almost getting us kicked out of that kiddy park in Santa Cruz for trying to sneak in beer. I have not seen anybody get cought so much since I was in Highschool. That is the last time I am going to lend you my back-pack for contraband….for a while. I can not forget Leah. Thanks for the other bottle. It is very nice and classy and I will save it for a special occasion. I would like to take a breather here and say that that the world is a much happier place when all my friends are competing for my love. You know I love all of you! To keep a steady pace I want to thank Jack and Audrey for the choir of “Happy birth day” and all the cool videos. And my special message to them is “We live in a time of wonders and miracles where love traverses not only the years but also the blackest of oceans.”
I also want to thank all the well wishers that have been and are still sending e-mails and making phone calls from in town, in country, and around the world. You all know who you are. Whether it has been a happy birthday or just calling me a “potty head”! Thanks Blair this is the first time that it has been put quite that way cuz I usually get potty mouth. But it stands to reason if one is writing and not talking it would be “potty-head”.
I feel I also have to thank Angus and the boys for asking the truly important questions. Indeed, who did make who?
Since my last e-mail I have gotten a couple of responses. They have been mostly “Well that was last year, what about 2007? Do you have any new year resolutions?”. Well I am here to say “As the matter of fact I do.” Here they go:
1) I plan to gain a clean 20 lbs this year.
2) I want to do some more traveling this year.
3) I am going to try to get out of my bad habit of nude house cleaning. I will first take it in parts. First I will just stop house cleaning then later work on the nude part!
4) And…AND I may or may not be able to get rid of that rash that I picked up last June when I was in the quad city area. I blame the origin of this on one of two possible sources. One Ginny’s cats and two Jason Boehmes couch on which I slept on the night after I saw him pass out naked on the night before. Just for the record never was there an instance in which we were both on it together. I think.
I do see the response of god in me through you my community and my family.
Thank you, I love you all
Rusty

I was chewed out because I forgot to mention my favorite gift in my last e-mailing. This was when I went to the airport to pick up my family from their trip to Grandma and Grandpas. My five year old daughter came running out of baggage claim with an airline snack box beaming and saying “Happy birthday Daddy!” I took the box and found a delicious airline sandwich in it. Thank you Maddy! It is interesting to mention that there are rumors that there was originally a cookie in the box as well that did not quite make it to me. Of course this is just a rumor that has not been confirmed.
FeO2