Golden Eagle drools over big national deal

By yesterday, Stan's brother-in-law had aged sufficiently to qualify for a national parks pass. His young wifie reports:

Indeed! Bill has captured the prey for which he has been lying in wait these many months, his Old Fart Golden Eagle Park Pass, which gets him into ANY federal lands with three guests of his choice for the rest of his life, all for one $10 bill, a deal he has feared the federal gov't would retract on July 1, 2010. It did not, and he now has his card.

In addition to this feat, we enjoyed a walk in a marshland park on the bay new to us, where once Italian fisherman plied the waters on felucca boats, was the home town to Joe diMaggio, oh and pirates and stuff of that sort too. Then on into the town of Martinez for a lunch of grilled romaine salad and crab cake sandwiches, and on to shop Bill's birthday gifts at the Keinan and Heinz Really Cool Stuff store. We nabbed a few items and then picked up a couple steaks on the way home to grill. Oh my, oh my. Dinner was lovely. Zach and Jenn called to invite us to Belated Birthday Brunch on Sunday. Life is good, eh?

Except for one little nagging thing. Now back up to the morning when Bill received an assortment of insulting cards that he good-naturedly accepted. My card read:

Roses are Tough
Violets don't Quit
When it comes to Birthdays
You're older than....
(open the card)
Me.
Now this seemed a perfectly righteous card for me to give Bill as he has always been six months older than me. But the Universe has a way of balancing things. When we waltzed merrily into the John Muir Nat'l Park headquarters that we'd visited with the Jerdees last fall, I said cheerily to the Park Ranger, "We're here on a special mission that we've been anticipating for a very long time. One of us is 62 and we are here to claim that fabulous $10 lifetime pass to all the United States has to offer."

And you know what he said?

"Which one of you?"

UFFDA!

Solveig