CMS Day

Today is officially Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day or as a Nation of brevity tends to say, "MLK Day". Now, before you start turning over desks demanding to know why you weren't given the day off, let me clarify. This is the actual birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This is the day of his birth. It is NOT the day we officially "observe" his birth. So, everyone back to work. You'll get your observed, Federal holiday on Monday.
Second, for all of you inside the Beltway, DC acronym-fluent, wonk-types who read the blog, the title of today's posting is not an ode to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Oh, don't act like that wasn't your first thought. Because I know it was. I lived in Washington, DC. Remember?

Today is my father's birthday. Those of you who know him refer to him fondly as "Chuck Steen" but his initials are CMS, hence today's title. Those of you who know ME well know that I have a very close relationship with my father and aside from being an amazing parent, he is also my friend, my confidant, and my mentor.

All of my life, my father has been a rock and a corner stone for me. Don't get me wrong, Pops and I have had our share of disagreements and being the first born, hard-headed, Type A daughter that I am, I never went down without a fight. But one thing about my father everyone should know is, he is one of the most fair and non-judgemental people I have ever come across. He's a tough cookie and life as his daughter has taught me some valuable lessons because Chuck Steen doesn't let you make a decision without weighing the pros and cons. He is an attorney, a litigator by trade, after all. But that's just it, my father has allowed ME to make MY decisions based on what I have thought to be right. Sometimes we were both aligned and we were both right and we both came out on top and somewhere, a cork was being popped to celebrate. Sometimes we were both wrong and we both felt the agony of defeat as a father and a daughter and somewhere, a cork was being popped to ease the pain. More often than I would care to admit, he was right and I was wrong and in those instances, my father never gloated or gave an "I told you so" aside. He often had the cork already popped for me.

He was there for me no matter what stupid decision I made and as the first born, hard-headed, Type A, AND eternal people pleas-er, I think this has gone farther than he could have imagined. Also, just for good measure, let me just add that on a few, all be them RARE occasions, I was right and HE was wrong and since I am broke most of the time, somewhere a twist-off was being unsealed because I definitely owed him a drink. But this statistic is minuscule and hardly worth mentioning...except for the fact that I am the first born, hard-headed...you get it.

As my father settles into retirement and celebrates another birthday, I want him (and everyone else) to know how proud I am to be the daughter of Chuck Steen. I mentioned earlier that he is my friend and this is a part of our relationship that I cherish dearly. Dad and I talk politics, we talk college football, we talk travel, we talk restaurants, and we talk wine. From time to time, we talk about people. Remember, I said he was my friend and that's always a topic between friends. We do some of our best work at hole in the wall joints where my dad is the Norm of said establishment and we have fun. I think that's the great mark of a friendship; the ability to have fun without TRYING to have fun.

Chuck wouldn't be Chuck without his Chuck-isms. I think for the first half of our lives, my sister and I thought that Chuck-isms were part of every one's nomenclature. We would impart certain phrases or quotes we learned from our father on others and were often met with blank stares of unfamiliarity. As we've gotten older, my sister and I have have managed to work these -isms into conversation and I know of several friends who now quote Chuck on a regular basis. Talk about leaving your mark.

Here are a few of my favorites:

"I don't eat here because it's good, I eat here because it's quick" (Chuck's line for supposed timely eating establishments who are taking too long)

"He woke up dead" (Chuck's way of saying someone died in their sleep)

"He's got a case of the dumb ass" (If you need an explanation, this may apply to you)

"If you can afford to eat out, you can afford a babysitter" (Chuck's quote to demonstrate disdain and a zero tolerance policy for people who take screaming children out to eat with them thereby subjecting the entire restaurant to a night of misbehavior)

"And to think, some people adopt" (This was a line that was popular in my youth. On the very rare occasion my sister and I would prove obstinate or, well, hard-headed, Chuck would look at those around him and hit them with this. Today, this line might have gotten him a visit from Child Protective Services, but back in the late 70s and early 80s, it was viewed as a great punch-line)

"Dessert's Dessert" (This is one of my favorites. Chuck has an affinity for outstanding dining experiences and growing up, a mainstay of our childhood was Sunday lunch at Galatoire's. Dessert's Dessert was the cue to take our party, post-meal, across the street to the Old Absinthe House. A few of you have accompanied us on this field trip. I think I'm safe in saying, it didn't disappoint.)

I know I am overlooking a number of good ones, but these are the ones that are at the forefront.

Here's one of my favorite photos of my father from this past Christmas:





Happy Birthday, Pops!