It took me five years to remember Maria’s birthday – January 28, and I still don’t really know exactly how old she is – somewhere in her 50’s. I guess it doesn’t really matter. Maria really doesn’t like presents, and she is always scolding me for giving her too many, but I love giving her gifts when appropriate, and I doubt I will give it up.

I think of her birthday not in terms of presents, but experiences. Maria doesn’t need or want much in the way of material things. She loves books and funky, inexpensive things to wear. That’s about it.

So I try and think of places to go with her. This year, she talked of wanting to go to the Salem Essex Museum in Massachusetts to see an exhibit of the artist Georgia O’Keefe’s personal style, her clothes and symbols and designed possessions.

So I decided this would be the perfect gift.  She was delighted.  One of the things I love about Maria is that if I gave her   a diamond bracelet she would gag and beat me over the head with it. If I buy her a ticket to an art museum, she melts with joy an gratitude.

(I did order a couple of neat presents, they are hidden on the property. I’ll save them for the hotel.)

I reserved a room near the museum and we will go there just before Maria’s birthday and spend a weekend seeing the O’Keefe exhibit and checking out the Witch Monument and museum. We’re staying for one night.

Some Americans always seems to need to blame someone or something for its troubles, once it was the witches, now it’s the immigrants and refugees. History does always repeat itself.

I think this birthday will be sweet, we both love George O’Keefe and share the experience of her work and her life. We have also begun to perfect what I call our “rocket” trips, our short and sweet one or two day hits to special places. I think she’ll love her presents once she stops squawking at me for getting them.