HB

When I was little, I read a lot of Nancy Drew books. At some point in my obsession with the series, a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys “Super Sleuths” book was handed down to me, and in it was a chapter entitled “HB.”

**Note: Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you don’t want to know the plot of the HB chapter.

In this tale, Nancy gets a mysterious (go figure) note that is signed “HB.” She is told to go to a phone booth at a certain time and wait for a phone call. She does, and the phone rings right on time, and she hears a man’s voice saying “HB” and there are birds in the background. Being the super sleuth that she is, our heroine figures out that the birds in the background are a specific kind of bird, that can only be found at a park (or zoo or something like that) nearby. Thinking she’s about to go find a kidnap victim, our leading lady heads out on her own to investigate… only when she arrives at the building, expecting to find said victim, she instead finds a room full of all the people she knows and loves, who shout “Happy Birthday!” when she enters. Her friends gave her a mystery to solve for her birthday.

At any rate, today is the birth date of a few people (who aren’t famous), and that rambling above is a shout-out to them.

To you who are close, and you who are far, know that just because I didn't call doesn't mean I'm not thinking of you. May this year bring you peace, joy, and great adventures along the way.