Today, my son is a man!

John turned 18 today. I could go all Hallmark on what that means to me but, if you're a regular reader, you know all the "I never had this experience with my father" rants I could start.

To my surprise, his mother did not have a master plan for the day or any big blow out in the works. So, I got there in time to take him out to lunch. To cement my place in his life as the parent who gives the cool presents I gave him something completely useless considering he is going into the Navy in a few months; a full sized, hand made Captain America shield replica.

HE LOVED IT!

The we brought it inside and showed it off to his mother. She rolled her eyes. I got the exact reactions out of the both of them I for which I had hoped. I have always had the philosophy that you can buy clothes and essential things any day of the week; Christmas and birthdays are for FUN gifts.

We then headed out to a local Army/Navy surplus store so I could give him a gift of a gesture on my part. I had gone in looking for the Blue Service Star lapel pin but the dolts who worked there had no idea what I was talking about even tough hanging right beside all the ribbons and medals they had on display was a bumper sticker version.

For those who might be as ignorant an the orangutans running the cash register, the Service Star Banner first came into use during World War I; each blue signifies an immediate family member who is serving in the military during a time of armed conflict. A gold star signifies a family member who had died in the line of duty.

My son has never really been sure how much I support his decision to join the military and I wanted to use the occasion of his becoming an adult to present an outward sign that I love and respect him very much. I also gave him the history lesson and warned him that in his job of Ordinance Technician not to drop any of the ordinance because I wanted to keep my banner a blue banner.

We then went out to lunch for his favorite food; hot wings. We sat an talked and as we did he did seem to become an adult right in front of me. A realization came over me as well; this was not only my son but my friend. He is a funny, witty, intelligent and damned good looking guy that I enjoy hanging out with. I could have been sitting in that wing joint with any number of the bums I hang out with and it would have been the same scene. But I was here with my son and it was one of the best moments in my life.

With this being his 18th birthday, let me commit to record his and my favorite story about the moment of his birth. It was at the exact moment of his birth. He had just slid his way into this world, he took his first breath, he cried, the doctor cleaned him off, I cut the cord, the doctor took him from me and with hands under each little arm held him up for his mother to see...

AND HE PEED RIGHT ON HER!!!!

After leaving the humid warmth of the womb the cold conditioned hospital air slapped into his little body shocking the kidneys and sending a perfect stream aimed directly at his mother's mid-torso.

I don't think I've ever been more proud of my son; he came into the world doing a sight gag!

Happy Birthday, son!