Walk in the Glow of Each Other's Majestic Presence

How did you celebrate your 30th birthday?

I had a wonderful, wonderful birthday that year.

I was living in Berkeley, working for Katie Hall at Laurel Management in San Francisco. Jason and I had been dating for over a year, but he was still living in Sunnyvale. My actual birthday was on Friday, but the celebration was spread over several days.

On Wednesday night Jason and a couple of friends from the Foothill Conservatory theatre program joined me to see Berkeley Rep’s production of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. It was marvelous. One of the best Shakespearean productions I’ve ever seen. It was very stylized, but in a way that suggested “stripped down to the text” rather than a superimposed vision. There were only seven people in the cast and they did an amazing job of switching between characters. Both voice and movement were incredibly polished and beautiful and the lighting, in particular, was stunning. More than twenty years later I still remember the bare stage defined by a giant hawser of rope that the cast hauled about the stage to evoke different settings.

On Thursday night Jason and I went to the Oakland Arena for Stars on Ice, the professional skating show featuring Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik. It was lots of fun and had a number of very original performances, playing with black light and blade mics, mixing and matching the pairs and singles skaters in interesting ways.

On Friday at work, Katie decided that since it was my birthday that day and Lycia Carmody’s the next, the company should buy lunch for everyone. So we had yummy Chinese food and they brought out a cake for each of us: carrot with cream cheese frosting for me and angel food with whipped cream and berries—both of which I happen to love. Then I went home to clean and cook and Tom Wethern—in town from Boston on a business trip—came over to hang out with me for a few hours.

On Saturday I got a package from Beckie with a videotape of Impromptu, one of my favorite movies, and a letter from my parents that was so sweet and supportive that I called to thank them and chat for a while. Anne and George were travelling in India at the time.

That evening was my birthday party. Jason was the first to arrive, followed by Rob Harris and Susan Lippincott. We played a couple of hands of four-way cribbage and then Bob Kindall &
Jessie Stickgold-Sarah arrived and that was critical mass, so we moved into the living room as people continued to arrive. About thirty more people showed up over the course of the evening. We drank wine and ate cheese and fruit and salami and veggies and artichoke dip and brownies.

I got some wonderful presents:

• Eric Rescorla brought me _A Beautiful Mind_, the biography of John Nash.

• Robert replaced the recording walkman that got stolen last year, so I could go back to recording books onto tape for
him.

• Jason gave me a cordless hand mixer and brought me a lovely little shell-shaped box from his mother.

• Lindasusan Ulrich and Alicia Bell gave me an IOU for the new cook book by the editor of Cooks Illustrated and a beautiful blue bottle of almond oil and Linda’s housemate, Laura, brought me vegetable soap.

• My housemate, Beth Dart, gave me a funky paint-your-own china kit.

• Linda Branagan, John Sweet & WesCarroll gave me a box with a Year of the Rooster pendant, a mango spice candle and stationery. Wes said later he thought of giving me invitations, but decided that would be too blatant. He also gave me possibly the nicest card I have ever received. The front had an Emerson quote: “What is success? To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate the beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch Or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!” and inside Wes wrote “Yup, that’d be my friend Elizabeth.”

Steve Gisselbrecht called around nine and let Linda Marie Sauter, Jonathan Root, Jeff Fabijanic, and Tom (now back home in Boston) say Happy Birthday to me. That was really cool. Generally, the whole event made me feel very aware of how many people there really are out here who care enough
to come to a party and to think of me fondly, even from far away.

The last hour of the party involved a huge game of Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, which was very close, but Jason and I won. Dave La Macchia was peeved that I wouldn’t let them open the ten Episode One cards included with the deck, for fear of spoilers, since the movie wouldn’t open until May. The last guest left

around 3:30am, after which Jason and I lay in bed and laughed at each other for an hour before falling asleep.

We had a quiet Sunday together, making grilled cheese sandwiches with Scottish cheddar and watching Impromptu. And then he headed home and I cleaned up and that was how I celebrated turning 30.

One of Jason's favorite things is strawberry shortcake. So for his birthday cake I made this recipe. He was amused and pleased and it was really light and delicious, a wonderful summer dssert!

Today is my father's 87th birthday, so we had my parents over for dinner and made some of Dad's favorites. I made shrimp louis for the first time, but since that didn't involve a recipe and only involves plating a bunch of pre-cooked shrimp on lettuce and putting a dollop of Thousand Island dressing on top, I'm not going to count it.

( #59 Shrimp Scampi )

( #60 New York Cheesecake )

It is always so wonderful to celebrate my father's birthday. He's had some close calls through the years that make us appreciate each one, but while he's definitely aging, he is still with us and that is a great joy.