Lanny's birthday is January 26, 2012

Tomorrow is Lanny's 71st birthday.  To a youngster he may look old, to me he looks distinguished and handsome with his white hair and mustache.  How he feels is another matter.  When asked how he feels, his immediate reply is that he feels "with his hands."  Sometimes he explains that he feels the same as he did when he was younger, and sometimes he wishes he were 28 again or had the body of a 28 year old.  

It wasn't too long ago when he was a superman, he who could do all and be all.  "Look, up in the sky, it's a plane, it's a bird, no, it's STARMAN."  Now he's a galiant and charming Starrman who is loved by many and still does great things.  He may not be "faster than a speeding bullet, or more powerful than a locomotive or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but he can still play a good game of pinochle, have a colossal understanding of situations and put things into perspective, outwit and out-talk the best of us, access his remarkable memory, do repairs around the house, enjoy fishing, chauffeur me around and make a good grandpa, a good great-grandpa and husband, just to name a few.  So we'll keep him!

The Giles girls, Stefanie, Olivia and Liz dedicated a song to Dad/Grandpa entitled, "Calling You."  Be sure to listen to the video below.  They also sang a song called "The Grandfather's Clock."  Grandpa plans to continue to tick-tock until he reaches 90.

I thought it would be a good idea to share some quotes from Lanny's autobiography and his biography by his mother, Nola. We will begin with some experiences of when Lanny was younger and move on from there.  Here are a few paragraphs from his earlier days by his mother.

"Lanny took an active part in his ward from the time he was small.  He gave his first public talk in Primary conference when he was three years old.  It was:

I love my flag
My country's flag
The red and white and blue.

"When he was three and a half years old he was in an operetta.  He was Jack and Lawana Estep was Jill.  He carried a little red bucket and was dressed in short pants and it was not until he was a grown man that she (his mother) learned how much he detested those short pants!

He began singing on programs quite often when he was about eight years old.  He often sang with a girl his own age, Judy Whiting.  Mother often said she was never so thrilled as she was one Christmas program when he filled in when someone failed to show up and sang "Silent Night" with no previous practice. She felt she had never heard it sung as beautifully as he sang it into the mike that day."

Jack 

The next few paragraphs deal with his time in Vietnam.  Just to refresh the memories of anyone reading this, Lanny was drafted into the United States Army when he was 25 on the 8th of November, 1967.

Quote by Lanny:  "I was soon given charge of a squad of my own.  You learn to know each other pretty well when you're thrown together under those kind of circumstances.  You learn the soldier's wife's and mother's names and feel you know them personally.  You know a man's breaking point and who you can count on when the going gets rough.  You see a green kid become a man over night.  I was a very lucky squad leader and never lost a man in my squad during my whole tour.  I had a few badly wounded but they all fully recovered and are alive and well today.  All squads weren't that lucky and with each casualty our outfit suffered the odds got just one better that the next one could be you, a thought everyone tried to avoid but it was always present in the back of everyone's minds." 

 Lanny has kept in touch throughout the years with several of these men who served with him.

Nola writes:  "Lanny served one year in active duty as a sargeant in the infantry.  He served with Company A, 2/7 Cavalry, 5th Platoon.  He was wounded and received the Purple Heart.  He also received the Bronze star for meritorious action under fire.  During the end of his tour he contracted an Asiatic fever.  He was very ill and lost a lot of weight and was in the hospital in Vietnam and a short time in Japan.  He was told by a doctor that this disease is usually 98% fatal.  So he was really lucky and blessed to survive and return home."

Gary sent a Happy Birthday card and in it he said, "Like wine, classic cars, and Old Tyme Radio-some things just get better with age."  And Hiromi writes, "I hope you can get a great dinner you've never had before like Cabbage Roll!  You should try it!  You will love it!  And cabbage is good for you."  (It's a known fact that Lanny hates cabbage so if Hiromi can convince him to eat cabbage she is a magician!)
 Shogo wishes him a day filled with awesome thing!  Elica writes that he's the best grandpa ever.

And Richelle and Larry surprised us with  computers they had to replace our broken ones, and spent the evening setting them up.  So now  Grandpa and I have a computer each we can use.  Thanks kids.  Grandpa has already enjoyed a re-run of Muhammad Ali fights. 

Happy Birthday Lanny dear.  You're the best.