Happy 50th birthday to one of our own

You know… here at the Times Union’s blog portal, we don’t get to spend as much time celebrating each other’s accomplishments as we should.  We’re supposed to be a blog community, and most of the time we’re all doing our own things and dancing to the beat of our own different drummers.

But today, I want to take today’s blog time and wish very special birthday celebrations to one specific member of the blogging community.

Sometimes his words cause anger, sometimes his words cause insight, sometimes his references are twenty miles outside the ballpark, and sometimes his answers are freakin’ awesome.

Dude’s turning fifty this weekend.  That’s a freakin’ milestone.  Five decades upon this earth.  It’s an achievement.  It’s an accomplishment.

And I want all of you to wish him a happy birthday, whether you enjoy reading him or whether you think he’s a pain in the butt.

Yep, this weekend the member of the TU blogging community that turns 50…

Is my blog commenter D357.

Wait, what?  Dee-three-fifty-seven?  The blog commenter who has goofed on Chuck since the days when his blog was on the independent blogspot.com portal?

That’s right, D357 is now an old geezer.  His AARP card should be in the mail to him by now.  That, and his senior discount of 10 cents off a cup of coffee at the Saratoga Race Course commissary.

Of course, since it’s his fiftieth birthday, we have to consider giving him gifts.  I’m sure some of you would like to send him fifty arrows at full speed.  Others would like to offer him fifty bars of soap for the obligatory washing out of the mouth.  I’m sure there’s a few people who would like to send him a commemorative “you’re banned from my trivia games at the Ruck” coupon.

That’s all fine and dandy, and believe me, it’s okay to have some fun with this.

But just remember this point.

Even though there are times when D357 acts like the class clown on this blog, he’s also been one of the first people to help me out when I need something done – special cuts of glass for an odd-shaped Dream Window pane, for one.   He joined me one time on a trip to New York City for a tryout with the Chance.   He’s invited me over to the D357 Estate for Thanksgiving, and he and his family came to my “A Dream in the Dash” art exhibit last year (well, so too did Pat and Jango Davis and several other of my blog readers, and when you all turn 50 I’ll applaud for you as well ).

In other words, D357 may be my blog portal’s gadfly / snark / class clown, but at the end of the day he’s a decent guy who just likes to have fun when he can.

Feel free to add your birthday wishes, however sentimental or snarky, to this page.  Let him know that you’ll sponsor a pet at the animal shelter in honor of his favorite Collarworld stories (don’t tell anybody, but his favorite Collarworld character was Butterscotch).  Offer him your special birthday prose, even if it starts with, “There once was a blogger from Nantucket…”  And I’m sure someone could silk-screen him an “I ♥ LAWRENCE WHITE” T-shirt…

As I said before, the Times Union has a community of bloggers… and within my little blog portal is a community of readers.  Here’s our chance to celebrate one of the family.

Happy birthday weekend, Dan.