From Raising Hell, the question of the week:

Birthday parties are supposed to provide great memories for children. Sometimes it works out that way, and sometimes it doesn’t. What was your or your child’s best/worst birthday party experience?

When Justin turned ten, we did up a full-blown party for him at Chucky Cheese — 12 kids, pizza, two cakes, and like 20 game tokens for each kid. I think it was the first big birthday party he’d ever had, and we wanted the Big One-Oh to be memorable.

I’d have to go into my life for worst birthday, since I don’t know about any of Justin’s before Age 10… lesse.

Age 23: I was out in Oregon, having driven there by myself from South Dakota for Spring Break. My car was hit by a pickup on the way out and suffered about five grand in damage and I had to keep driving it for another 2 thousand miles. While I was out there I called back home and my S.O. told me she wasn’t feeling good about our relationship. We got the divorce thing going a few months later.

I suppose that was a bad one. 23 is just a fucked-up age to be.

I told you it was a LONG drive from Vermillion to Eugene.

But you still wanted to come.

And it was Spring Break '94.

You think that's hell...try driving from Portland to Pierre in an MR-2, those things are not built for cross-country driving.

NOOOOOO!
I turn 23 in a month and a half... wasn't this supposed to be the best time of my life...
Great... now I'll just crawl under my desk.
:)

When I was 23 I had a cancer relapse.

When I was 28 I was bit in the face by a Brown Recluse Spider at work. I spent Christmas Day in the ER. That's a happy place on Christmas morning.

On my 29th birthday I found out my Grandmother had terminal brain/spine/lung cancer.