My mom will turn 75 on June 3rd. I'm collecting reminiscences. Here's one from my high school friend Mike, and some photos I pulled from our family album:
Dear Jan,
Happy 75th birthday. As the subject of one of my earliest songs, People in Airports (See Stan, With Jan, Hand in hand, Waiting for the airplane to land [granted, its no Moore Christmas poem]), my first impression of you must have been as a traveler. The view was likely influenced by the photo I saw of young Barb riding a camel, with pyramids in the background. Though I was certain that it was somehow taken at the Park Forest Kresges with the desert backdrop, I was assured that it was a real camel and real pyramids.
In 1981 you welcomed me on one of your family trips to the boundary waters. I remember wearing a bandana and not shaving for a week, carrying canoes, bears, setting up a tent every night, cooking food (or did I do the dishes?), and other activities that add up to a once in a lifetime experience.
When I think of you I think of: lemonade on Oswego Street, math, seeing you at my wedding in Champaign, your teaching overseas, seeing you in Nahant, and the glue that holds the Moore Family together.
Thank you for letting me be a part of your family experience.
Love,
Michael