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This was how you played. . . Many of you have been writing in and asking what I will be doing for my birthday this year. On 9 February 2000 it's the big 45! For my birthday last year, I celebrated by flying with the Blue Angels. It was a dream come true for me. If you haven't seen the interview and pictures of this exhilarating adventure from last year, click on these links Read about Charles and The Blue Angels! And to see the photos Photos from Charles and the Blue Angels! I thought it would be fun to see how you think I should celebrate my birthday in the first year of the new century. Only one entry per person will be considered. What will you win?
The e-mail with the most exciting, clever and interesting adventure will win a personally autographed photo and t-shirt from me!
Here are the rules: * All entries must be received by Sunday, 20 February, 2000.
* Limit your e-mails to 150 words or less. * Remember, only one entry per person will be considered. * To keep it honest and give everyone an equal chance, you must include: your first and last name
the city & state or
That information will be kept confidential.
2 march, 2000. We have a winner! Please read on for what Charlie had to say about all of you, the contest and how he picked the winner!
Actually, I really do appreciate how many of you got into the spirit for my "Millennial Birthday Contest". I have to say I thought it was going to be tough to beat last year's Blue Angel flight, but your imagination and inventiveness surprised me. After carefully going through all your suggestions (and trimming out the ones where you said what you would like to see me doing!!--some of which I really can't print here) I narrowed it down to a short list of six. My choice boiled down to: retracing the footsteps of our ancestors around the ancient cradle of our civilization in the Middle East; a high-spirited frolic with some of the orthodontically challenged denizens of the Land Down-Under (frankly I'd rather wait until they were already a nice wallet or belt!) Or maybe some sun, surf and that other "s" word among the prehistorically romantic Hawaiian Islands; or the polar opposite - snow, schnapps, spas and that same "s" word in Lake Tahoe. What about a return to some Shaughnessy Family roots and grand luxury at the Chateau Laurier in icily magical Ottawa? Finally, A breathtaking bird's eye view of the French Alps from a plane flown a generation ago, followed by the best skiing and apres-skiing Europe has to offer. Well, as you can see, I had plenty to choose from. I felt elated and exhausted just reading through these things! In the end I have to say that the idea that most appealed to me and my sensibilities at this reflective and mature age I've reached (!) was the journey back in time to the lands of our forefathers. It seems to me to be an ideal blending of celebrations (mine and the millennium's) to visit the pyramids at Giza, the ancient cities of Karnak and Luxor, to walk where the Hanging Gardens of Babylon awed everyone who saw them, to stand where Hammurrabi and Moses stood as they forged the moral and ethical codes on which our own society stands. Heady stuff indeed. I've never been to that part of the world and this would be as good a reason to put that right as any! So, thank you Rebecca Carter for your inspiration and taste. This is the full text of Rebecca's winning entry: Charlie, One of the best ways to celebrate the beginning of a new year, new century, or even new millennium is to visit some of the most historical and ancient sites still in existence. I suggest flying to Egypt and starting an adventure in Alexandria. Then sailing down the Nile River to Giza, home of the Sphinx and Great Pyramid, and then to Saqqara to Zoser's Step Pyramid. And slighty backtracking to the final destination of Cairo. I can't think of anything possibly more self-fulfilling and romantic than walking in the founding footsteps of civilization and innovation. So as you celebrate your birthday in the beginning of a new time, imagine the sunsetting over the Great Pyramid and the foundation of our world in Egypt, marking more than twenty centuries.
Rebecca Carter
And a big thank you to all of you who took the time to create in your imaginations and send in the entries. It was like sharing my birthday with all of you as well! Until next time. . .Charlie
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![[Charles and his mum]](csmum.jpg)
