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Birthdayletter to Bruce

You turn 70 today. And I celebrate as I celebrate life. I wondered where I would be on this day; and it turns out it doesn’t matter. Some people make fun of fools for christ. I don’t see a difference.
I am as fond of him as I am of you, because to me you’re one and the same. You’re the light. The christ that’s in all of us. 

I asked you to be on the backseat as I took my driving exam. I imagined your light to straighten me up as I was guiding groups on boats and planes. To ‘walk tall’, or don’t walk at all. You walked me to university, my first job and picked up the pieces as I fell down. You hushed the heartaches. I rolled up my sleeves. You were a father when I needed one; a thread to hold on to when i walked on sand. You’re the rock I build my house on. You rewrote the bible and read it to me. To remember what we tend to forget: that 1 and 1 equals three and that light will always conquer the darkness.

Therefore today I celebrate the day you were born like it is christmas. And hope your light will last for eternity. From the badlands to the promised land. Happy birthday.