Today is Rudi’s birthday.

I could go on and on about what a wonderul guy he is — how he cooks a delicious dinner almost every night and actually seems to enjoy it, how his enjoyment for bicycling is contagious, how I admire his ability to sit through long, boring meetings, how cute he looks in the morning on the rare occasion I rise before he does and he and the cats stay asleep curled up together, how his tongue sticks out just a tiny bit when he’s concentrating on writing something, how he knits his brow when he sings and plays the guitar, how he let a friend come live with us for a month in the Burrow because she needed a place to stay and never complained.

I could go on. But I won’t. That might induce sugar shock for the rest of you. He knows I love him dearly. And now you do, too.

We are celebrating by having a birthday picnic with some friends this evening at Malcolm X Park. Tomorrow we jet off to NYC for a 24-hour celebration marathon. Thursday, Rudi has managed to convince George Lucas to put on a little show for us at the Uptown.

Head on over to Rudi’s website and wish him a happy birthday. He is old today (he has nine whole months on me so I can say that with a straight face), but his gray streaks suit him.

Happy birthday, Rudi!