Raymond · Sixty-One

01

The Proclamation

carried unanimously

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

Household Council · Notice No. 61

On the Occasion of His Sixty-First Birthday

Whereashe has governed Ħad-Dingli with the very same patience he once reserved for his own child — a posting widely agreed to have been the harder of the two;

Whereashe has never once in sixty-one years been observed declining a second helping, and this Council notes that whatever he has lost off the top, he has more than recovered elsewhere;

Whereashis favourite colour is red — convenient, given the flag he represents.;

Whereassixty-one years of service to this household remain entirely unpaid, and not one complaint has ever been filed;

It is hereby declaredthat the 9th of August be observed, annually and without exception, as a day of cake, family, and zero council meetings.

Signed, sealed, and thoroughly meant.

02

For the Record

a short official history

Office held: Mayor of Ħad-Dingli. Elected by the village — at home we never bothered with a vote.
Term of office: Father. No end date, no successor identified, and no interest whatsoever in stepping down.
Favourite colour: Red. Sixty-one years running. Not open to public consultation. (U Viva l-Labour!)
Response time: Immediate, for anybody in Ħad-Dingli. For the thing we asked him to fix at home — we are assured we remain on the list.

03

The Archive

the version of him we get

Raymond with Clayton and Sandra outdoors at sunset — Golden hour

The family together at dinner by the sea at sunset — All four of us

Raymond and Clayton on a boat by the mountains — Out on the water

Raymond and Clayton by the pool at night — Cruise nights

The family raising a toast together — He starts the toast

Raymond, Sandra and Clayton sitting together — The three of us

The family together at Christmas with grandparents — Christmas, everyone present

Raymond and Clayton at dinner on the cruise — Father and son, no notes

04

One Last Thing

off the record

You've spent sixty-one years looking after people.

Ħad-Dingli gets the version with the title. We get the one who answers the phone at any hour, drops whatever he is holding for anyone who needs him, and still hasn't got round to fixing that thing at home.

Same man either way — he just never sends us the invoice.

So take the day off. Delegate something. Let somebody else carry the chairs for once. The village will survive one afternoon without you — we checked the minutes, and there is nothing in there about it.

Happy
Birthday,
Pa!

Clayton & Sandra — and Pupa, always. 🐾