<h2>No illusion of grandeur</h2>

I actually created this blog (well, the "Prose and Konz" name, anyway) two years ago, delusionally thinking I could compose profundities warranting widespread reading and discussion. After a few seconds contemplating that fantasy, reality hit home. "Who am I kidding?" I asked myself. I also had the quick answer: No one.

So the template sat idle for 24 months or so. Until today, my birthday. I just decided to come back here, and instead of trying to compose profundities, I'd use Prose and Konz as a sort of personal journal, contributing to it as much, or as little, as I have time for. And to write regardless of how pristine the prose turns out, which includes not stopping to worry about whether sentences end in a preposition, like the one immediately before this.

My daughter Elizabeth left me a birthday card on the dining room table this morning before leaving for class at IUPUI. I opened it a few minutes after she left, and I was struck not only by how elegant it looked, but how it looked like she created it herself. I was truly touched. And even if it turns out she didn't compose the text herself, she sure found a card containing text that read like it could have been self-composed; the voice in the message spoke as if only to me. Thank you, Luv Bug.

Elizabeth and my other daughter, Kelly Anne, and her daughter, Lizzy, are planning to take me to lunch this afternoon at Red Robin, a place known for its delicious burgers. Then Elizabeth and I will visit Mallow Run, a winery, afterward. My previous visit to Red Robin also was with Elizabeth, Kelly Anne and Lizzy. Red Robin has wonderful burgers and french fries, which they boast about being "never-ending" or "bottomless." In other words, supposedly if you eat all the fries, they'll bring you out some more. And more again, if that serving goes empty. Ad infinitum ... until you can't eat anymore.

When I first visited Red Robin, I couldn't help but be reminded of Flakey Jake's, a chain that pulled up stakes and left town about 10 years ago or so. It's scary to think it's been that long, but ... it has. It was a favorite place for the kids when we'd look for places to dine on Saturday nights. Aside from the main fare itself (loved their fries), the kids and I enjoyed how Flakey Jake's allowed every diner to select burger toppings from sundry options spread out in buffet-like style. It was quite the rarity in the dining community.

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Lots of people get a kick out of knowing what celebrities share their birthdays. I'm one of them. Among living celebs who have June 4 birthdays are actor Bruce Dern (who turns 73 today), former Mamas and Papas singer Michelle Phillips (68), Gordon Waller of the 1960s British wave pop duo Peter and Gordon (64), pop/R&B singer El DeBarge (48), "Brothers and Sisters" and "Six Feet Under" actress Rachel Griffiths (41), "Saturday Night Live" alum Horatio Sans (40), "E.R." actor Noah Wylie (38) and actress Angelina Jolie (34), who in today's paper I learned has just knocked Oprah Winfrey out of the top spot of Forbes magazine's list of "most powerful" celebrities, which supposedly is based on media coverage, earnings and "other things." Maybe if Oprah would start adopting some children, she could grab incessant media coverage and get back the top spot next year. Still another celeb, actor and former "Hardy Boys" star Parker Stevenson, was born on the exact day as me.

Among deceased celebs sharing my B.D. -- country singer Freddie Fender, opera singer Robert Merrill, actress Rosalind Russell, actor John Drew Barrymore, "McCloud" actor Dennis Weaver, former U.S. Sens. Howard Metzenbaum (Ohio) and Gaylord Nelson (who was from my boyhood home state of Wisconsin) and last, but not least, King George III. Quite a list.