On Sunday, my favorite person celebrates his 58th birthday!

Trying to buy him a gift is always a challenge -- he's difficult to surprise, and when pressed always says that there is "nothing that he wants." I however, know this is not the case -- I just know that what he really wants cannot be wrapped up in a box with a pretty bow.

So, dear husband, if I had it within my power, this is what I give you for your birthday this year:

1. Another World – I’d bring back your favorite, long-ago canceled soap opera – complete with the characters you loved so much – and a one day ticket to Bay City so you could spend a bit of time with them.

2. A visit with your beloved Pups, long gone to heaven – wouldn’t it be fun to watch Maddie, Manny, and Boris play in the yard with Lucky and Fletcher? And you know not one of them would listen to a simple command without a treat included.

3. A private audience with one of your favorite singers – maybe Janis Joplin?

4. A week without pain of any kind – no aching back – and you could sleep facing any direction you like!

5. Your own piece of private beach -- complete with a big chair, a tall glass of sweet tea, and dolphins jumping in the ocean off in the distance.

6. Your own personal “no fly” zone – there are few things that make you crazier than a buzzing fly – so on this special day I would ensure that your personal space repels all such winged creatures.

7. The opportunity to direct your own Broadway show – with your ‘fantasy’ cast. What would you choose? Mack & Mabel? Or maybe a revival of Kiss of the Spider Woman?

8. A guest appearance on one of the Law & Order shows – you’d be fabulous as a jury foreman, or the guy that finds the body behind the dumpster!

But most of all, I would give you the gift of seeing yourself as others see you. The children whose lives you've impacted -- the ones who run up and hug you in restaurants, the parents who stop you to tell you how well "Susie" or "Billy" is now doing in college or the military. Those who are shocked and pleased that Mr. Stocker remembers them almost ten or twenty years later. A generation of kids who will go out into the world a bit wiser due to your influence and guidance.

Happy Birthday Morty!