Hi Dad, Happy Birthday!! I remember as a child we had a birch tree in the front yard of our Massapequa Park home on Van Buren Street. It was really two trees, which had grown into a 'V' shape. One night, you and Fred Pfeifer and someone else went across the street to the woods and dug up this HUGE birch tree and planted it in the dead of night on the front lawn. Who says you weren't daring in those days!! In the morning, some person walking on his way to the train, looked up and saw a tree there, where there hadn't been one the day before. He did the biggest double take!! His reaction was caught by you, and it was a wonderful story you told time and again. You took pictures of Mom and Laura and me in the middle of the V of the tree. It was just the right height for little girls to climb in, and we spent many a day doing just that.

Two weeks ago, Glenn and I bought land in Vermont. And, there on the land, was a birch tree which looked just like the one in Massapequa Park. The sky was a bright blue, and the silver of the birch brought the story back vividly. Now, I have my own birch tree. Of course, I'm not planning on transplanting it, but it is in a good spot to take future pictures.

Enjoy your birthday, Dad, and many more. With love, Jane and Glenn