Yes obeedúid~, God has a sense of humor... Or, "The Strange Mystery of The Conspicuously Absent Alan "The Bird" Casline..."

O.K., so I turned the "BIG FIVE OH!" last week(March 2nd). And Saturday night March 1st Dawn threw a party for me with close friends and family. I enjoyed myself immensely. Nothing like people you know and love to make these hurdles easier.

We had Pizza and Beer, (Soda for the little ones) And after I opened all the cards and presents...

(THANK-YOU EVERYONE!
FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL GIFTS
AND SILLY CARDS TOO!)

In anticipation of my 50th birthday I contemplated for a week or so just what I should do to "...Not Go Gentle into that good night..."

...Well, BOZO had been of some discussion of late in my E-mails and I actually admited that when I was in Collage I was a member of an unauthorized fraternity named "The Royal Order of the BOZO's". ...and, that my Brother BOZO's referred to me as: "Phi-O'bus-BOZO." (...I was the Spiritual Leader of course; as I was paying my own way through school and I didn't want to party myself right out the door!)

...So,I asked everyone to put on "BOZO the Clown" noses so I could take a group picture to remember it all. Here are some of the pictures courtesy of Barbara Vink's Camera:

The left side of the room featuring my lovely daughter
front (and a little off center...) ;)
Alan "The Bird" Casline conspicuously absent.

The right side of the room featuring Dawn! Front right.
Also, Alan "The Bird" Casline conspicuously absent.

Dan and Tony.
Featuring Burkie's Shirt coming out of Dan's head!
at Alan "The Bird" Casline's table no less....

The Bates Family minus Kevin.
They don't know Alan "The Bird" Casline
so I won't ask them what happened to him...

Nope, thats not Alan "The Bird" Casline either.
It's DevoBOZO just back from
the mystical land of Middle Smurf....

This would be the owner of the camera,
eminent poetess, scholar and mathematician.
But not the conspicuously absent Alan "The Bird" Casline...

~~~

Oh yeah, I took the pictures so
I'm conspicuously absent as well!
I can fix that though:

Here he is folks, "Phi Obus Bozo!" alias "Card Carrying Old Guy!"
Not, of course, the conspicuously absent
Alan "The Bird" Casline...

(Hey do I look scary or what?!!!)

And just to prove that God does have a sense of humor my Church Buddies saved their noses and brought them to church the next day. (Good thing I still had mine in my coat pocket...)

When the Lay Reader (Steve: pictured above against the wall with his daughter Sam in the photo of the right side of the room) asked the congregation to pass "the Peace of Christ" they all stood up and put their noses on!

Best one liner of the day goes to Pastor Brian: "...and now I have to Preach to you BOZO's?"

As a special Birthday present Pastor Brian allowed me to help serve communion with him and Steve.

BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER!

Pastor Brian later admitted to me that he was afraid Steve and I were going to help serve with our noses on too! Even when I was doing "Clown Ministry" I wouldn't have done that though. I love to laugh but I do have a serious side as well. :)

~~~

Later that day I went over to Mom's house and she let me take home some family artifacts to scan. Yeah, so you think God has a sense of humor? Guess what my Great Great Great Grandfathers lawyer's name was....

Yup! Thats right! Bullwinkle!

Think about it. Bozo & Bullwinkle!

Now look at the both of them side by side:

Is it me or do these guy's look related?
Come-on look at the ears!
Look at the nose! (O.K., so I Photoshoped the nose...)
But hey! LOOK AT THE EARS! er, horns?

Bullwinkle is supposed to be a cartoon character !
...not my GGGGrandfather's lawyer!

:0

obeedúid~
11/Mar/08
(I started this thing on 03/mar but life has been busy....)

P.S.: If anyone finds Alan "The Bird" Casline tell him I am plowing my way through the 1885 edition of "The Complete Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson." (a particular favorite: "SUPPOSED CONFESSIONS of a second rate mind." )

;)

PS,PS: This is what Burkie and Sullivan look like from the floor apparently:

I don't know who was down there taking this picture
but I'll bet they were having fun!

Perhaps it was:
the conspicuously absent Alan "The Bird" Casline...
I know he was present at the party;

...but for some reason
there are no pictures to prove it!
He must have been in stealth Mode....

Wherever he was
it's one of the great
unsolved mystery's
of the day!

~~~

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light!"
~Dylan Thomas~

~~~