A quarter of a century plus
Today is Alex’s birthday, so if you get a minute, could you drop him a little birthday greeting in the comments? I’m sure he’d be mighty appreciative.
Portrait of a man who is now a year older, although you’d never know it. I attribute his youthful appearance to the beneficial effects of living with me. Okay, and also the minor fact that he’s well under thirty.
In honor of his birthday, and because he secretly likes this sort of flattery, I have assembled a list of the qualities that make him so great. The list is in no way meant to be comprehensive (as we say in academia when we are hedging), but it is a healthy start.
Why Alex Is So Great: A Completely Objective List of Attributes According to His Wife:
1. Alex frequently helps people out with no expectation of compensation, reward, or reciprocal favors. He’s just decent like that.
2. Alex has a great sense of humor and is extremely funny himself. This makes life with him so much fun. (Of course, I happen to think the one truly unforgiveable human sin is humorlessness. It it practically a form of cruelty.)
He has also endeared himself to me by invariably laughing at my jokes. A man who likes a funny woman is a good man indeed.
3. Alex is very smart.
He is the kind of smart that allows him to remember the etymology of the word “walnut” even though he last looked that up four years ago, to calculate the half life of a small polonium sample, to write database programs for the computer for fun, and to think his way around a historical question.
But he also has the kinds of smarts you need to tackle day-to-day problems. In a rational fashion.
I’ve seen some irrational in my lifetime, folks, and I can tell you: I like rational better.
4. Alex is generally cheerful. He tries, and mostly succeeds, in focusing on the good aspects of the day.
This is harder to do than it sounds.
5. Alex treats other people with kindness and respect, even if they are not in positions of great power or authority.
If you ask me, the way a person treats the waiter, the bus driver, the receptionist, or the cashier at CVS is a better test of character than the way he or she treats the CEO of General Motors or the Director of Admissions at Yale.
Alex passes.
6. Alex works really hard at the things he loves to do, like history of science, but he doesn’t use that as an excuse to act superior.
7. He is not easily flustered by snafus when they involve things over which we have no control. Like traffic. Or the dog getting skunked. Three times in the span of two months.
This is a great quality because life is frankly full of skunky dogs, infestations of mice, traffic jams, thunderstorms, grainy peaches, and flat tires.
8. Alex married me, which is a testament to his excellent and discerning taste.
9. He can’t carry a tune, but he’s got rhythm. Who could ask for anything more?
10. And lastly, he’s really cute.
Happy birthday, Alex! And many more!
September 5th, 2007 at 12:15 pm
For Alex to exhibit all those sterling qualities at such a young age is truly remarkable. My DH and I are both 60 – and it’s taken us this long to achieve most (some?) of Alex’ traits. You are lucky indeed. Happy happy day to Alex. He sounds like a great blessing in your life.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
The happiest of happy days, Alex! It’s been fun having this little bird’s eye view of your and Ellen’s lives. I feel like a voyeur sometimes, but that’s not a bad thing.
I’m still laughing about the infamous “letter to a craphound landlord.” That showed a lot of the qualities Ellen is praising now, and was much appreciated.
So all the best!!
September 5th, 2007 at 1:03 pm
Happy Birthday, Alex! I hope you have a wonderful day today 🙂
September 5th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
Alex – Hope you have a wonderful day! Sounds like you deserve it (of course we know how objective your wife is!) Happy Birthday!
September 5th, 2007 at 2:37 pm
Happy Birthday, Alex! I hope there are LOTS more of ’em to come.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Good lord! I just realized Alex is younger than my kids. Oh, my GAWD, I’m old enough to have kids that age! Thanks a lot, Ellen; you might have made Alex’s day but you ruined mine! I think to overcome this depressio, I’ll have a little nip and a lie down, and maybe even some yarn fondling.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Happy birthday Alex! Hoping it’s a great day.
September 5th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
Today is my son Alexander’s birthday as well — he is 11 years old! Are you an Alexander, too? Have a great day!!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Happy Birthday Alex!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Happy Birthday Alex! And wishes for many, many more!
Ellen, I’m going to save your list as a starting point for a datability checklist. Seriously, as I read it, I realized how many of those traits are essential. Especially Number 7 – having been the recipient of the antithesis of Number 7 behavior . . . oh my, Number 7 is important!
September 5th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
Happy, Happy Birthday, Alex. What a list that is. I think you’ve got an admirer!
September 5th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Alex,
Ellen has always been a critical thinker, so to receive a list of qualities like that from her is truly wonderful.
We are happy that you are her husband and now a member of our clan also
Happy Birthday!
Joan
September 5th, 2007 at 5:10 pm
Ellen, you forgot another one of Alex’s good qualities; he lives with a knitter and all her “stash!”
Happy Birthday Alex!
Colleen
September 5th, 2007 at 5:42 pm
Happy Birthday, Alex!
(And, Ellen, I’m with Jennifer about the checklist potential here. Though I agree with her that #7 is very, very important, my dealbreaker may be #2. Humorlessness is a cardinal sin, indeed. Extremely hard to live with.)
September 5th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Happy Birthday, Alex!
Yeah for number 5 – to me that is one of the most important qualities a person can have.
September 5th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Plus he’s HOT-looking. How many database writer palonium samplers can say THAT? Happiest of birthdays, Alex! As we say on the border, Feliz Cumpleanos!
September 5th, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Happy Birthday! I also just realized that you’re only a few years older than my daughter. Sigh. I hope she finds someone as wonderful as Ellen says you are.
September 5th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
As is the habit of my kids and their friends: “Happy birthday to you, cha cha cha”!
September 5th, 2007 at 10:34 pm
Happy Birthday Alex. I will tell your wife, it’s important in the long run to have married a cheerful man. This will get your butt out of many, many scrapes.
September 5th, 2007 at 11:37 pm
Thank you all for the wonderful notes and rampant flattery! And thank you Ellen for the wonderful birthday posting!
September 6th, 2007 at 5:37 am
Always a day late and a dollar short, Happy not-Birthday-anymore Birthday! 😀 Hope your day was wonderful. Congrats on the good sense and taste to marry a wonderful lady.
September 6th, 2007 at 4:24 pm
Happy birthday, Alex! I discovered this blog right about wedding time and am enjoying your wife’s sense of humor and intelligence immensely. You do have good taste, man!
September 17th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Alex is the best, if I say so myself.