Lots of Candles in Ann Arbor Michigan

We both have older parents to visit, and recently it was our chance to head over to Michigan to see my father in law.  He was turning 92.  We don't get to see the old gent as often as we would like and a large-numeral birthday seemed an excellent opportunity.

Life as a nonagenarian has some limitations so we went out for meals, sat around and chatted, and helped out where we could.  His apartment needed a bit of cleaning up.  The natural tendency of guys to be casual in their housekeeping having been paired with poor eyesight.

I got a few stories of the old days from him.  I asked him why so many of their family photos feature floods, fires, car crashes and other sorts of mishaps.  He said life in small town Indiana was pretty boring and what else was there to take pictures of.  He declined to tell me stories of my wife as a kid.  I am not sure if it was chivalry or memory that factored in there.

I got him out for a beer.

We had a birthday cake, candles unlit.  His apartment has a mirrored wall that makes for a rather unusual photo.

His days contain many naps.  Lots of old cowboy movies on a really big TV screen.  Meals on wheels shows up daily.  He peers as a big computer screen with font set at the maximum size.  And there are his pals the squirrels.

He feeds a small community of squirrels.  Every day at appointed times he tosses out cracked corn and peanuts.  If he is off schedule a bit the chubby tree rats come right up to his glass sliding door and press their little rodent noses up to it, admonishing his lateness.  Would you like to know how close you can put your smart phone to the fuzzy mug of an insolent begger-pest?

Pretty damn close.

Happy birthday Old Timer!