Happy Birthday To Me

Yesterday was my birthday, number eighty-one. I ain't much for parties but Dorothy is. I reckon it gives her a good shot at showing off her cooking. She invited a bunch of friends over for supper last night. It wasn't a surprise or nothing, just a party. Dorothy made a large cake and stuck eighty-one candles into the frosting on top. It didn't have words on it 'cause they would have been impossible to read with all those candles standing tall over the letters. Folks around here are big on joking things up. The ones that were volunteer firemen--most of the men and some of the women--came in full uniform and drug one of those big fire hoses up on the front porch. They claimed it was in the town charter that whenever somebody was going to build a big fire they had to notify the fire department and the fire department had to standby in case things got out of hand. They claimed that because of the number of candles on my cake they were compelled to come out for duty. Ha Ha. I laughed along with 'em just like it was funny or something. Dorothy allowed the hose as far as the front door but said no to them bringing it in and standing by while the candles were lit up. It took eight breaths but I blowed all of 'em out. So I reckon all those heroes can go home and sleep easy tonight, knowing they done their duty, doncha know?

Tales of Harper, short stories and poems about the fictional town of Harper, Mississippi is available on Amazon Kindle