A birthday card · from Frankie

Happy Birthday, Serena

To the friend who showed me Kenya, Singapore and Hawaii — and who has never once missed a cue.

Passenger

Serena

Boarded at

Brown University

Home base

Singapore

Final destination

100+ years

A note from Frankie

Dear Serena,

— Frankie

Make a wish

Tap the candles to blow them out.

Stamped in my passport

Three places I'd never have seen the same way without her. Each one, her idea.

Kenya · arrived

KenyaZebras, sunsets and a savanna she made me see properly. Asante sana, Serena.

Singapore · arrived

SingaporeHome base. Pediatric dentist by day, the best tour guide in the city-state the rest of the time.

Hawaii · arrived

HawaiiAloha, reefs and trails worth the climb. Scuba in the morning, hiking by noon — her kind of island.

Dive log

Entry one hundred, give or take
Visibility endless
Buddy the best one there is
Observed one Serena, entirely at home below the surface

Avid scuba diver. Also a tennis player, a hiker and a dentist — but down here, just a diver.

Centre court

Avid tennis player. Fierce first serve. Fiercer second serve.

Game, set, match. Rematch at 100.

The trail to 100

She plans to live past 100. I plan to be around to say I told you so.

Optimism meter0years, projected

Lettuce celebrate

Her best dish, on any continent, is a salad. Tap the bowl to toss it. The cake can wait — briefly.

Serena's jukebox

A birthday mix in four sides: Brown days, passport stamps, the deep end, and the party of 100. Ed Sheeran, James Blunt and The Weeknd up front, with ROSÉ and Bruno Mars to get everyone dancing. Press a key.

Serena's birthday mix

Streams from Spotify. Signed in, it plays the whole song; otherwise a preview.