A Nice Birthday Present

Published by Rick on Tagged Uncategorized

Four years ago on my birthday, I was woken up around 8:00 AM by my doorbell, then just as quickly, a call on my mobile. Both were from Maggie, who decided to bring me my birthday presents. We had just come back from a wonderful holiday in New York, where I hadn’t been for six years, and she hadn’t been for about 25. We flew back the day before Election Day, and while there was anticipation about the outcome of the election, I was fairly confident that America would elect their first female President. But on my birthday morning, with Maggie appearing at my door unannounced, something she hadn’t done before or since, I just looked at her and said “Trump won, didn’t he?” She nodded, and a four-year nightmare began.

We had a choir rehearsal that night, and it being my birthday, the choir sang Happy Birthday to me at the end of rehearsal. Being the only American in the choir, I could only say “This is maybe the best thing that’s happened to me all day.” I later discovered one member of the choir was a Trump supporter. I refused to talk to him for about a year.

In the ensuing weeks, I remember hearing the phrase “give him a chance” more than I wanted to. And my response was invariably “Sorry, but I don’t remember anyone having to say that before, not even about George W.” That particular birthday I spent unfriending quite a few friends on Facebook, including some I had known since high school. One actually had the temerity to say, “Relax, we elected a family man who’s not in the pockets of Wall Street.” My first comment was “What the hell are you talking about?” followed by “Oh yeah, you mean Family Man like when he said about his daughter ‘If she weren’t my daughter, I’d be dating her.'” That was followed by an immediate unfriend and block. I may not have purged all my Trump-supporting FB friends, but of the few that I suspect are still there, none have given me the “But he’s your president, he deserves your respect” lecture.

Four years pass, pretty much everything I dreaded about a Trump presidency manifested itself, most prominently, the political divide. People either hated him or idolised him. In the four years that have passed, I’ve had to cringe every time this horrible man would address his Klan rallies with his nonsensical comments about how no president has done more for the Black communities than he has. Maybe because he repeated that drivel so many times, his support among Black voters was up from what it was four years ago. Certainly if you repeat the lie enough, you can not only convince yourself it’s true, but you can drag others along.

So, on my birthday, there’s reason to believe there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Maggie and I stayed up to watch Joe Biden and Kamala Harris give their speeches, which didn’t begin until 1:30 AM London time. It was worth the wait. It was so refreshing to hear two people speak in full structured sentences without any disparaging words. It was lovely to hear the man talk about “not red states, not blue states, but UNITED STATES.” Sleepy Joe he was not.

Of course, we’re getting the word from the bunker that this will be challenged, that the 5-year-old is going to continue his temper tantrum at least until he’s bodily thrown out of Pennsylvania Avenue. He’ll continue to throw out the fraud charges, the collusion charges, and virtually everything else that he’s more likely guilty of. This is going to be a difficult 72 or 73 days until Inauguration Day. One way in which Trump will have bragging rights: Given that the Pandemic will likely be still raging by January 20, and crowds over a certain number will be discouraged, I think Trump will be able to safely say his inauguration drew a bigger crowd than Biden’s did.

In addition to the fact that we’re looking at a welcome change in the political climate, another way in which this birthday is special is that I have somehow managed to make it to the ripe old age of 70. Considering the amount of substances both legal and not that I’ve put into my body over those years, it’s gratifying just to know that I’m still coherent. I still have my sense of humour and laissez-faire attitude, and have been able to be the person I’ve wanted to be and do the things I aspired to do when I left home 50 years ago. I never got famous or rich, but I always made a living, and am still more than surviving. I haven’t gone crazy, and for the most part have been a good person. The number of people that I know dislike me is still countable on the fingers of one hand. Unless Covid or some other twist of fate steps in, I imagine I’ll be around another 10-15 years. Thank you everyone I’ve ever met for being a part of this life that has kept me mostly happy.

November 8th, 2020



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