Birthday Surprises

There’s a meme going around (last stop: Fashionista_35), suggesting that we post random facts about ourselves that no one knows. I posted something like that awhile back, but some things on my original list have been updated, and my LJ friends list has definitely expanded since then. (Yay!) So here are seven fun, fabulous, and/or frightening facts about me — depending, of course, on your perspective: 

1. My father was a tent revivalist– his cathedral, a two-thousand person tent. Ever seen “The Apostle,” with Robert Duvall? That’s a close-up view of my dad. One day, probably after finishing my current project, I plan to write a memoir about that experience, as seen through the eyes of a child.

2. I once taught at an exclusive school for children of the wealthy and well-known (think Matthew Perry, the Portiers, the Hiltons). For Christmas that year, I unwrapped lots of luxe gifts, purchased at stores on Rodeo Drive by personal assistants, in mass quantities for me and the rest of the staff. Sentimental tokens of the students’ and parents’ affection for us teachers? On so many levels, not.

3. My name, words, and picture have appeared in Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY, Christian Science Monitor, San Diego News Tribune, and other smaller presses — not to mention CNN and local broadcast media. No, they didn’t make me famous, nor was that the point: these articles were about important causes that I’ve sponsored or promoted.

4. A while back, in celebration of a milestone birthday, I rode my Bianchi from Seattle to Portland. Just me and ten thousand other riders, biking 198.6 miles over the course of two days. I cherish the medal I got at the finish line, proof positive that I am far from the finish line of my life.

5. I am the shiksa exemplar for the Yiddish word farblondjet: that is, I’m frequently lost, really lost. I’ve got a great moral compass, I think, but no geographic sense of direction at all. (And no, it’s not lost on me, the inclusion of ‘blond’ in that word.) My knight-in-shining-armor husband is rescuing me from this misery: he’s given me a gift certificate for a GPS for my birthday.

6. Samuel Ullman said it well: “Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting out ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” I’m an optimistic, energetic person who believes it’s important to keep her soul, if not her face, relatively unlined.

7. On a related note, today, I turned 50! Here, an impromput picture of myself that I just took to mark the occasion. No PhotoShop retouching or digital tricks…take me as I am. As Coco Chanel once said, “Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” I’m headed out the door right now to prove her point. 

65 Comments

  2. HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my new friend…. I like your facts!

    I have NO sense of direction either… maybe it’s a birthday thing! Let us know how you like using the GPS!!

  3. Wow, I would never have guessed you were 50! Wonderful 🙂 (I was thinking closer to my age, 38, btw). My cousin could use a GPS — she can get lost coming home from the grocery store (huge family joke, of course) 😉

    • Oooooh, a birthday unicorn and cake! I’m so excited to have this on my blog! Absolutely stunning! Thanks for the good wishes for my birthday. I’m looking forward to seeing what lies ahead.

  9. I thoroughly enjoyed your facts. What an interesting life you are leading with a wonderful point of view.

    Enjoy the birthday and many more adventures ahead.

    • Thanks! And are those bleeding hearts or fuschias? Whatever they are, they’re lovely. I’ve got camilias, roses, and pansies in bloom in my yard right now…I love flowers!

      • Ooooh! Another gardener! I love flowers, too. I had bleeding hearts in my garden this season (though that picture, sadly, is not from my garden but from some place on the web). I also grew fuschias and roses too. Unfortunately I live in NY where the growing season is only 3 months. Though despite the fact that it’s November, I still have a few marigolds and cosmos out there.

        Hope you had a good birthday.

  17. BEE-YOOO-TEEEE-FUL, birthday girl!

    I’d take a pic of me and post it (I turned 34 today), but I am techno-challenged, am still wearing my pjs, and haven’t yet brushed my teeth. 🙂

    HOWEVER….

    Red Hot Date with DH commences in one hour.

    Must get shaking….

    • I DO lead an interesting life…for better and sometimes worse, there’s always a story to tell at the end of my day. 🙂

      Thanks for the birthday wishes, by the way!

  19. I REALLY enjoyed this particular post. So personal. I feel like I know a little more about you, and the surprises were intruiging and interesting.

    Hope you’re having a WONDERFUL day, me dear!

    • I’m glad you enjoyed them, Katherine. It’s fun to let down our hair now and again, eh?

      I had a fabulous birthday, thank you. Thanks for sharing a little of it with me.

      Now, where’s that Letter E post? *puts hands on hips and wags finger* LOL

  20. You look stunningly, fabulously GORGEOUS!

    HAPPY BIRTHDAY and may it be filled with as many rewarding experiences as this last one was. (And a book sale or two! *g*)

    • What a sweet and thoughtful wish, Barb. Thank you so, so much! And about that book sale (or two)…let’s hope the momentum gets going soon. I’d love to celebrate a sale during the holidays, but time’s sneaking past us as I type. 🙂

  31. HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY, MELODYE! Congratulations – I hope I look that good when I reach 50. Hope your birthday was as nice as you are… and have a great year!

  32. Happy Birthday, Melodye! I hit the 1/2 Century milestone, myself this year…and (truth be told) I’d highly recommend it to anyone! There’s something so ‘freeing’ about being 50.

    Enjoy~
    Vicky

  33. I hope it was wonderful!
    I so agree with you about turning 50. I turned 55 about a month ago, and I love this decade – the best one of my life! I look forward to the 60’s. I only understood the cult of youth when I was young!
    The photo on my post is about a year old. No facelift, no hair dyeing, the real thing.

    Oh, and I could do with a GPS myself!

  34. Amazing Face (50 Looks Great on You)

    Sing along, please:
    “Once you were lost” (pre-GPS)
    “Now you are Found” (with the Mr., with your life’s work, with your friends)
    “Amazing Melodye”

    And what a song of joy you are. I love your name and you and everything about you.

    Mwah. {}

    -Pamela

  37. From one scorpio to another, let me wish you one fabulous birthday!!! Oh, and you seriously look amazing — I can only hope and pray I look that awesome when I’m 50!
    ~Lynn

    P.S. Don’t we scorpios rock?! ;D

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