There was a boy who was twelve, shown here with a very slighly used cousin and the hand of a used grandmother.

And there was a birthday, so naturally there was a cake, a goldfish-shaped cake, although no one can explain why, and you would be wise not to ask the why of that if you expect to reach fourteen, is that clear? Would you prefer a dung beetle? I can do a dung beetle. There's plenty of food coloring left, you know!

Nevermind, it's a really great cake, Mom. And it really was.

There was an afternoon of laser tag at a local laser taggery in the mall with two school buds and one little brother budlet. Peace/love, dudes.

And after laser tag, the survivors returned to the house where they consumed the fishy cake awash in ice cream. (Um yes, that's exactly what I mean: both cake and the survivors were awash in ice cream.)

After cake and ice cream, they made time out back on the trampoline to consider life, the universe and everything.

Finally, right before our very eyes (and just what is a very eye, Dad?) the twelve turned thirteen, looking ever so much more mature and earnest after the transition, despite the fact that on a birthday one need not comb one's hair or even shower, especially when you own a full aerosol can of Brut deodorant that can also be used to kill dandelions and petrify spiders.

Happy birthday, Owney Baloney!

I have obviously gone crazy with the effects on the photos here, but I have had so much fun figuring out the software that came with the Sony camera that I can't help myself, and who am I apologizing to anyway?

I have also discovered that this software (ArcSoft PhotoStudio 2.0 SE) is currently available as a free download here, or you can browse through the other products on ArcSoft's web page until you reach their link for free downloads.

By the way, this page might not look right in browsers other than Explorer. I'd appreciate knowing if other browsers treat this layout less kindly. Please feel free to let me know at the e-mail address below, and sooner or later I'll correct any problems.