I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen birthdays

Standard

‘But I’ve never seen James Taylor and The Dude in the same room at the same time’

If you run into James Taylor today, you might want to wish him “Happy Birthday”. Because, if you happen to be on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, it’s probably The Dude that you’ve run into, and it is indeed his birthday today.

James Taylor’s was in March, and he is a few years older. But, if The Dude’s heard it once he’s heard it a thousand times: “Hey! Did you know you look just like James Taylor?!?” Who knows? Maybe people are constantly stopping JT with: “Hey! Did you know you look just like this guy called The Dude who turns up in Lutheranliar’s blog?!?”

Even James’s ex, Carly, did a double-take when she passed His Dudeness on the street one day. (I heard this straight from The Dude’s mouth. And he would never ever tell a lie, not even a Lutheran one.) And I once went to a Yo Yo Ma concert here in New York (the real Yo Yo Ma, not my invented syndrome), where guess who was a surprise guest performer? Yup. Someone who looked just like my personal husband, dressed in a very expensive-looking tux over a black tee shirt. After that, I got The Dude a black tee shirt. That’s one great look on a tall baldish guy, tux or no tux.

Enough kvelling. Let’s truck out some photographic evidence, and let you be the judge. Don’t these two look rather incredibly similar, diabolical eyebrows and all?

Here are a couple more shots of the guys with ties. (That’s another thing they seem to have in common—showing up at tie-wearing events):

But hey. Enough about neckwear. Let’s take a look at something way more important to these doppelgängers. Headgear. Because both of these guys, devastatingly handsome though they might be, are also somewhat, er, hirsutely challenged. So they favor hats, whenever and however hats can be worn:

The difference? If I were to hazard a guess (and knowing His Dudeness as well as I do), it would be that James’s hat-wearing motivation is Form, while The Dude’s is Function:

While roaming the internet for this story, I discovered that this Dude/JT resemblance goes way back. All the way back to when they both had hair. Lots of hair. And not just on their heads. Check this out:

And look what I found in my very own photo files? (Not on the internet, thank the privacy gods):

The trendy young mustachioed Dude with fellow mustachioed friends and their backyard crop

The trendy young mustachioed Dude with fellow mustachioed friends and their backyard crop

Yet another JT/Dude similarity! Though, knowing The Dude like I do, I’m pretty sure that fondling those fronds is about as close as he got to Sweet Mary Jane.

Back to more wholesome congruences. There’s actually someone else who looks remarkably like The Dude:

The Dude and yet another Doppelgänger: The Child

Clear evidence that I was a mere conduit for The Dude’s genetic material

In closing, let me encourage you once again to wish The Dude a very happy birthday if you do run into him today. He likes a nice birthday wish. Though he does hate a fuss. Just last night we were dining at our favorite sushi place (the place where we “met cute” more than 30 years ago, but that’s another story for another time). And here came the waiter, dressed as a bunny (honest, you can read about this tradition here), while everybody sang “Happy Bunny to you-ou”. The look on his little Dude face when he thought the bunny was coming for him!

He much prefers this kind of celebration, commemorated in a cute birthday card from about twenty years ago. James Taylor, eat your heart out:

It doesn't get better than this. Happy Birthday, Dude!

Wine, Carvel Cake, and The Child. It doesn’t get better than this. Happy Birthday, Dude!

Amagansett, New York. June 2015

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

18 thoughts on “I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen birthdays”

  1. You made the very best conduit, Alice. I think your Dude’s eyebrows are much nicer, less demonic. Wish him a happy birthday from a total stranger who also likes functional hats and birds. Love to you, too, Alice.

    • Why, thank you kindly, Miss Judy! I will indeed pass your birthday wishes along to the One With Less Demonic Brows. I didn’t get him another functional hat this year, but I did just drive to Carvel in Bridgehampton in summer Hamptons traffic for the requisite cake!

    • Thank you so much, StomperDad! He is indeed a very nice Dude. I hope he reads all these nice comments people have left; he is ‘allergic’ to social media, including my blog (!) So I will be sure to tell him in person.

  4. Chini

    Happy Birthday to the Dude! Thursday is Charlie’s. If you come out this weekend maybe we can get together and everyone will think we’re celebrating with James Taylor and Sean Connery.

    • Why thank you, Ruth! I’ll be sure to pass your birthday wishes along to the Birthday Dude himself (!) And thank you for being such a faithful reader! xo

  6. zamanskym

    Happy birthday to The Dude.

    Just a thought – shouldn’t the title of this post be, said in one’s best Elmer Fudd voice:

    “I’ve seen Fiawe, I’ve seen Wayne?”

    • Oh no! Now you’ve done it, you zany Math Genius! I’ll have Elmer Fudd’s voice running in a loop in my head all night (!) Seriously, though. Thank you for your birthday wishes. I’ll be sure to pass them along — perhaps in an Elmer Fudd voice.

  7. Myrna Henry

    What a special, especial, birthday tribute to the Wayner!! Love and special birthday wishes to the Dude!!!!

    • Why thank you, Best Mother on the Planet Earth! The Dude wishes to thank you for the lovely birthday card. And we both wish to thank you for, well, everything ever. xoxo

  8. Nancy Vines

    Please wish The Dude the happiest birthday from me and Andy!!
    And give him a big hug and kiss from us too. xo
    p.s. I’ve never seen them in the same room, so I’m not convinced. lol

I'd love to hear from you