Nick at Fifty!

 

by Pa Rock

Proud Father

Whoever thought that I could possibly live long enough to wish one of my children a "Happy 50th Birthday?"  Yet here I am, on a beautiful Monday morning in rural Missouri, doing just that!

My oldest, Nicholas Karl Macy, "Nick," was born fifty years ago today at Camp Kue Army Hospital on the Japanese island of Okinawa.  His time as a resident of Asia was short-lived, and he was at home in the United States two months later.

Nick has already outlived the large hospital in which he was born.  I had the opportunity to revisit Camp Kue Army Hospital on the Japanese island of Okinawa a decade or so ago when I was once again living and working there.  At the time Nick was born, the delivery room was on the top (fifth) floor of the hospital, and military policy kept expectant fathers out of the way in a waiting room off to one side.  I remember suffering a massive headache while Nick was entering the world next door (births can be hard on fathers, too, you know!), and a delivery room nurse bringing me some aspirin and a glass of water.  I also recall that I was watching an episode of "Sanford and Son" (remember Fred and Lamont?) on a large table-top television in the waiting room while Nick made his debut, though I don't remember what the episode was about.

I revisited that waiting room while I was back on Okinawa.    It was startlingly familiar, though the big television had been replaced with one of the small, flat-screened variety.  At that time,Camp Kue was in the process of closing, and the staff was moving to a much larger and nicer naval hospital which had just been built nearby.

Nick found that he was a natural fit living in Missouri, the place in which he has resided almost all of his life.  He likes outdoor things like hunting and fishing, and there is plenty of that in the predominantly rural "show me" state.   He raised his son, Boone, here and has formed many close friendships and connections in southern Missouri. He has recently been harvesting blackberries from a large patch that he planted - an activity that reminds me of when he would pick the same type of berries as a child from a patch that grew wild near our home in Mountain View, Missouri.

It is easy to tell that Nick is right at home in the Ozarks as he cruises up and down the country backroads in his classic 1964-and-a-half, shiny, red Mustang!

Nick is a good son.  He works hard, enjoys life, and is never too busy to stop and help his old dad out around the house and the farm.

Happy birthday, Nick.  I am very proud of you and always wish you the absolute best that life has to offer!