Birthday Boy Busts a Move
When your birthday is on the 4th of July, it’s always a holiday, and there’s usually a race to jump into and bust a move!
That is exactly what Doug Landau does almost every year. When he is in Connecticut, there is a race around the lake, that he has been a regular participant in since the 1980s. He has won the race a number of times. Friends and family usually participate in this tiny, no-entry-fee event put on by the Salisbury Youth Sports Association.
In 2022, Doug Landau could only watch from the front of the Interlaken Hotel. He was in Covid isolation after contracting the illness, like most of his teammates from Team USA, at the World Championships Sprint Triathlon in Montreal, Canada.
This year, he went the to the line with his son, wife, and friends on the hilly course around the lake, on a beautiful sunny Independence Day morning.
Landau managed to get runner-up with a fairly slow time, but was pleased and happy to be on the beach with his mother, children & their spouses, and grandchildren.
In fact, the Waterbury Republican-American Newspaper snapped a photo of the Triathlon Trial Lawyer and his New Jersey grandson having a great time after the run, his water jog, and cool down.
Due to potential inclement weather, the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence was canceled. However, instead of the formal children’s games, musical entertainment, and recital of our nation’s seminal document, Landau came up with enjoyable games for his grandchildren, including sandcastle building, “diving” competitions and minnow catching. He also rewarded good behavior (or the promise of future good behavior) with ice pops from the beach snack bar.
The annual barbecue at his sister’s later that afternoon also featured the untraditional piñata, filled with toy figurines, twigs, raisins, and other indigestible items, in deference to his eldest daughter’s requirement that the contents be healthy. With a mini Louisville slugger that his son-in-law brought back from the Louisville Slugger Museum, the kids went all out on the unsuspecting paper-mâché contraption. Aside from that, cooking by his brother-in-law, and pool time with the kids, were the highlights of the day.
Traditionally, the Landaus try to get together with as many family members as they can muster on Independence Day weekend, especially since it is not only Doug’s birthday on the 4th, but Melissa’s birthday on the 3rd!
Let’s face it, Doug has no excuse for forgetting his wife’s birthday!
“I hope everybody appreciates the freedom of independence we have in the United States of America and takes time to understand how it is. Our government works within the Constitutional matrix upon which our laws are based.” Landau taught Civics and Constitutional Law at Rachel Carson Middle School and thinks these subjects should be mandatory in every middle school curriculum to give students an understanding of the foundation and rules that govern this country.
We are a nation of laws, and the documents that our founding fathers created have proven to be remarkably resilient and malleable. THey are a shining example the rest of the world.