A 21st Birthday Story

 

 

"They say it's your birthday, happy birthday too you..."

 

It is hard to believe it is that time of year again. Another birthday. Another notch on the belt (so to speak). I am reminded of a birthday many years ago in a place far, far away. It was my 21st birthday, the place was Okinawa, and the year was 1970.

 

Not to date myself, but back in the day, (as our Vice President would say) it was a big "bleeping" deal to turn 21. It was a rite of passage. It was the age you could legally vote, drink, become an adult. It was the time you would say goodbye to childhood, and child like activities. The big exciting world of adulthood was now there for the taking.

 

Before I continue, let me give an editorial on turning 21. I never understood the magic of the number. I always thought one should be considered an adult at 20. Why? When you turn 20, you are no longer a teenager. You have entered into the early adulthood age of the twenties. 21 just seemed like an arbitrary one year extension to that number.

 

Back to the story. As luck would have it, my birthday fell right in the middle of a watch string. Not only a watch string, but I had a day watch from 8am to 4pm and then I had to go back to work before midnight. As most "watch standers" know, the dumbest thing you could do between watches was go out and have a few drinks . It made for a very painful and long mid watch.

 

My birthday present from my folks was a call home (collect) and talk to them for 3 minutes. Back in 1970, communication back to the mainland was tough, spotty and expensive. So this would be the first time I talked to my folks in almost a year. I took a cab to Kadena, made the call, had a lousy connection (it is what it is in those days), and after three minutes, the call ended. I went back to the base and tried to get some shuteye before my second watch started.

 

When I think back to the dozens and dozens of birthdays I have been blessed to have since then, I remember some more than others. Even though my 21st birthday was not how I imagined it would be, it still is one of my more memorable. Those three minutes on that phone call with a lousy connection meant the world to me. I would not have traded it. And how did I feel the day after when I was legally an adult? Pretty much like the day before. However, I was one day older, and one day wiser.