Just thought I'd share this email I saw from Dennis' mom last week... he grew up with some very do-it-yourself parents in rural areas, and in addition to building their own home, hauling their own water, and stoking a wood-burning stove, they always did a lot of gardening too. Here is the story of his birth in a nutshell.

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Dennis:

Tomorrow is your 33rd birthday and I am remembering now so sending this. Reminiscing: I remember working in the garden during the day. Dad was building the bathroom on the back of the schoolhouse where we lived and I helped him a little in between carrying vegetables from the garden into the house. Grandma and Grandpa Maurer were visiting for weeks waiting for you to be born. It was that night I went into labor and Dad took me to the hospital -- you were born about an hour and a half or less after we arrived at the Lebanon, Oregon Hospital on May 23, 1975.

H A P P Y B I R T H D A Y

Mom, Dad & Rosy (the family dog)

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For my part, I got Dennis a bag full of chocolate goodies from Eclipse Chocolate on El Cajon Blvd.- a smorgasbord of cream-filled muffins, homemade chocolate bars and delicious truffles. Will does an amazing job both in the creative process of chocolate making and in the presentation! Needless to say, Dennis liked his present. :-)