Day 29 – The night of your 21st birthday

Day 29 – The night of your 21^st birthday (if not yet 21, the last birthday you had)

I turned 21 on August 15, 1969. I had finished my undergraduate education two months prior (in just 3 years) and was preparing to return to start on my first Master’s degree in September. That summer I worked for Uniroyal at their Eastern Management Information Center (EMIC) in Naugatuck on a corporate funding model. My birthday that year fell on a Friday, so I was at home after work.

I’ve never been a big celebrator so had nothing particular planned. But 21 is somewhat of a big deal, so my mom made me a cake for the occasion. In pictures that she took (and which I have a copy of), the cake was decorated with white icing with blue for the words “Happy Birthday” on it. The cake itself was probably chocolate, which has always been a favorite. Twenty-one candles would have been a bit extravagant, so there were just three candles – two longer ones in blue (representing two decades) and one shorter one in white.

With nothing else planned for that evening, or even that weekend, it would have just been a quiet evening at home with the rest of the family. But that’s what always made birthdays and other celebrations anyway – being with family.