Owen and Jack celebrated their birthdays at Casa La Mancha, aka papa’s home on the lake. He received a roll of quarters and folder to start to collect them. Along with the quarters and folder, he received a signed birthday greeting from Thomas Jefferson. Charles Darwin sent him two more fossils for Owen’s collection and a birthday greeting and an explanation of the fossils. Another gift was from Vincent van Gogh of a painting, Flower Beds from Holland, along with a signed letter from Vincent about the painting with his wish of a Happy 5th Birthday for Owen. Finally, Ben Rotteveel and Pete, his brother, own Dutch Grown, which imports Dutch bulbs from Holland. Ben will send Owen some tulip bulbs like the ones in van Gogh’s painting this fall.
Happy 5th Birthday
Dear Owen,
I’m writing to you again about your love for learning about fossils. I’m enclosing two fossils that I found, which you will like. Your papa talks about how much you know about dinosaurs. Therefore, I am sending you a tooth of a mosasaur.
Do you know what mosasaurs looked like?
Mosasaurs were huge. They weighed more than eight cars and are as long as 60-feet. This is what they looked like 70-million years ago. That is older than your papa and I combined. They swam in the oceans around America and Europe.
However, they ate a lot of animals in the oceans. This is a picture of a mosasaur eating a big ammonite.
Therefore, I am giving you an ammonite fossil that is much smaller than the picture above. Ammonites lived around the time of the mosasaurs. They got their name from the Egyptian god, Ammon, who wore horns as a hat. Some ammonites could grow to 6 or 7-feet across.
Owen, I wish you a Happy Birthday. I hope you have a long and well-educated life. You are smart and you think. In the meantime, collect, learn, and enjoy.
Live long, Owen,
July 1, 2017
Dear Owen,
Our country is celebrating 241-years of independence from England, and you are celebrating your 5th birthday. I tip my hat to America and to you...carry on. Your papa told me that you are collecting famous paintings, fossils, and coins. Therefore, I decided that you should start a collection of quarters upon which you can see my profile. On the reverse side of the quarter are historic sites from all the States. We started out with 13-States, and now we have 50.
I am presenting to you a folder for the quarters and a roll of quarters to start you off. Have fun collecting quarters and learning about America.
Again, Happy Birthday!
Thomas Jefferson
PS “One man with courage is a majority.”
On your 5th Birthday
Dear Owen,
I was talking with your papa about van Gogh sending you Flower Beds in Holland for your birthday. Those flower beds were filled with thousands upon thousands of beautiful tulips. Your papa says that van Gogh is your favorite painter. However, another Dutch painter was Rembrandt, who painted Man in a Golden Helmet. Ask your papa about that painting. He taught art history for years.
In the meantime, I’ll send you some tulip bulbs that came from fields near where van Gogh painted the picture that you got for your birthday. In the fall, have your papa help you plant your tulip bulbs.
Take care, young man,
Ben Rotteveel
Owen is decorating his birthday to look like van Gogh’s painting.
