August 7

Today is August 7.  To me, it is the most special day of the year.  Why?  Well, of course, it is my birthday.  It is a day that should be celebrated, to remember that Tuesday, back in 1945, when at Syracuse Memorial Hospital, in the 15th Ward of the City of Syracuse, the County of Onondaga, the State of New York, the United States of America, I was born. 

It was not the date of my conception which was probably around November 14, 1944 (38 weeks).  If I knew the exact date, I would celebrate that day, too.  Let me thank my parents, Harry and Margaret Lasky, who were then residents of the City of Oswego, the County of Oswego, the State of New York, the United States of America for creating me.  I wouldn’t be here without them and the rest of my ancestors who preceded Harry and Margaret.  Unfortunately, Harry and Margaret died many years ago (1981 and 1995 respectively), but I can’t celebrate my birthday without giving a toast to them.

August 7, 1945 was a day when many things were happening besides my birth.  The headline on every newspaper in the world that day showed the same thing.  The United States military had dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.  This was an attempt to bring World War II (in the Pacific) to a speedy conclusion with fewer American casualties (and Japanese, as well).  It worked.  Seven days later, the Empire of Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender.  You could say that my birth coincided with the birth of the atomic age.

That same day in Canton, Ohio, Alan Page was born.  He played football at the University of Notre Dame (I was at the Navy game in 1966), as well as for the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears.  Page was inducted into both the college and NFL Halls of Fame.  He also graduated from the University of Minnesota Law School, practiced law, served as a State of Minnesota Assistant Attorney General, and was then elected as an Associate Justice of the State of Minnesota Supreme Court where he served until he was forced to retire last year by state law.  I’m wearing a Notre Dame “ND” cap in his honor.  Happy Birthday, Alan.

How should I celebrate my birthday?  Well, today, my wife, Cristina, and her mother, Irene, will take me to lunch at a restaurant of my choosing, Vinheria Percussi (www.percussi.com.br), which is located down the street from where we live in São Paulo.  I chose it because it is a wonderful restaurant with excellent Italian food, which I love, and one in which Cristina and I have frequented for many years. 

I love sweet things, especially chocolate cake (even though it is not healthy).  It has been traditional in my life to celebrate my birthday with chocolate cake.  I remember once I ordered a chocolate cake from a bakery on Bell Boulevard in Bayside, Queens, near where I lived.  When I picked up the cake, I discovered that they had misspelled my name in a message on its top.  I insisted that they correct their error.  This year, for my birthday, Cristina has bought (www.studiodochocolate.com.br) me a wonderful “bolo de brigadeiro” (a chocolate cake similar to fudge).

However, more than food and drink, it will be wonderful to hear from my children, grandchildren, brothers, and other family members and friends who will acknowledge me on my special day.  After all, it is the human relationships we have that make life so worthwhile.

Happy birthday to me!