My Birthday Greeting From The Miami Herald

I awoke about eight, pushed the coffee pot's "On" button, and went to brush my teeth. "A beautiful day" I thought as I looked out the window, then suddenly realized that it was my birthday! Sixty-six years old. 66! Neither of my grandfathers had reached this age. While the coffee pot was finishing its thing I pulled on jeans and a shirt, slid my feet into some deck shoes, and drove down the steet to pick up a Sunday paper.

A short time later I was sitting on the front porch drinking my morning brew and smoking a cigarette as I flipped through the paper. It's become a ritual ~ pull out the coupon sections to give to my ex, the drugstore fliers to peruse later, and check the headlines on the various sections, see what's happening in the world. I don't usually pay much attention to what's usually referred to as The Arts Section, but there it was! Big letters too. FUKU

I mean, OK, it's not the spelling you'd expect to see, but just how else would you be expected to pronounce it? And that would mean that it's not a word you'd expect to see in the Miami Herald on Page 1 of the arts section. Somebody must have gotten a big kick out of pulling that stunt! Or maybe they got a big kick (for real) FOR pulling that stunt? I'll never know.

I did find out later from one of the Herald's editors that he was as surprised to see it as I was, as were a number of other people who work there. It seems that we all got a good laugh out of it, and a good laugh makes a good birthday present. My thanks to whoever the hell it was!