Happy Birthday Marty!!

I’m not sure that I have regained my humor, but today’s post is incredibly easy to write.

Today is Birthday number 47 for my brother, Martin…or as many call him, either Marty or Marte’.

Now Marty is the eighth of the nine kids in our family, me being number nine.

He is the closest in age to me, as well as the closest to me in every other way.

He has always been there for me, always sends cards and gifts to Ryno, and well, he’s just an all-around good egg.

Marty is a bit of an oddball. I don’t mean that in a bad way. More of a conundrum of sorts.

He graduated from college with a degree in Poly Sci and a minor in History. What does he do today?

He’s a salesman for a local heat treating plant and a certified metallurgist. Go fucking figure, he’s a Vulcan.

His wife is one helluva sweet woman who is President of a large, local vending machine company.

You might say, she was the "exact change" he needed in his life. Bada Bing!!

Sure, over the years growing up, Marty and I fought, but more often than not, we have had some great times together.

No other time better sums up this love/difficulty relationship than the wheels we set in motion in the late fall of 1996.

Marty and I were huddled around a hibachi in his backyard, swilling beer, when I pointed out that three seats were up for election on the City Commission in 1997.

I said that he should run. He said that I should run.

Well, leave it to fate, a happy accident, or life’s flip of a coin, we decided that he would run and I would manage his campaign.

The next night, after some liquid courage, I made a few phone calls to people I knew and before the 12-Pack was gone, we had raised a few hundred dollars (which ultimately became a few thousand) for the campaign.

While the next months leading up to the election led to some fights, we had a blast because we had fun with it.

Our brochure? Most candidates have their pretentious, picture prominently displayed on the front cover. We opted for a "of the people" caricature drawing instead…



Inside, in addition to brief text blurbs, we had a picture of him with his cute, All-American kid sitting inside of a Radio Flyer wagon. The thing is, that is my kid, Ryno, when he was but not quite 3 years old. Hey, the flier never said it was his kid.

Showing his Christian faith, he proudly stands in front of a church…This picture was actually taken while lining up for a parade. The church and the cross on the wall just happened to be in the background so we used it. Take that, Mr. Huckabee!!

During the parade, our young volunteers walked along side his float passing out his 5x7 cards with flower seed packets stapled to them. Some campaigns hand out candy, but hey, kids don't vote...gardeners do.

We had a massive billboard campaign, and we literally screwed the other candidate with our yard signs.

While the others had the typical, 2x3 foot signs, Marty's had just his last name on it and they stood 4½ inches wide by nearly 4 feet tall. Marty was the potent, phallic candidate.

It was one of the best 10 months of my life, and I admired his discipline in walking door-to-door for months...All the while, giving me the finger when he saw me drive by as he was walking in the bone chilling rain.

Marty won, and went on to serve a second term as well before deciding not to run again.

And, he served admiralbly, and with diligence.

I just want to thank him for that time, and on his Birthday, I want to say “I love you, and thanks for all of the good times, and everything else."

Cheers to all of you, and especially to Marty, Happy Birthday!!