Today is my Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was born on a Thursday, on the 205th day of my birth year.

My Dad and Mom were both back from World War II. Dad was working on a degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa, and Mom was taking care of me. We lived in a very small house in Iowa City, Iowa, so small in fact that my first bed was the bottom drawer of the chest of drawers in the one bedroom. It was okay with me. I was small.

There was no refrigerator. On weekends we would drive to Dubuque to see my Grandpa Harry who was a butcher and pick up enough meat for the week. My car seat was a cardboard box on the floor of the car behind the driver’s seat.

So, I started life in a drawer and I traveled in a box.

I was the Baby in the Box.

It was a good start.

Today, some things are much improved. Cribs are readily available in all sizes and shapes. Car seats are amazing feats of protective and caring technology. Babies are much the same. It’s hard to improve on about as close to perfect as we can get. And, with Mom and Dad, a baby is happy anywhere. Babies are amazing.

It is good to remember where we started and to look forward to watching it happen again.

Keep an eye open for a surprise,

Grandpa Jim