A very good year

Yeah, I’m on a writing streak. The recent birthday has been very uplifting.

In previous blogs, I might’ve come off as critical of the internet. If you read carefully, you would’ve discerned that the theme was actually that it magnifies the flaws or assets of people and is neither good nor evil on its own merits. Nonetheless, today I come to praise the internet, not bury it.

The occasion is a birthday and it may be one of my happiest. Some of the credit goes to the internet. Through it, I’ve connected with relatives and friends that date back to my single-digit birthdays, especially within the last few years. This has evoked many great memories, a number coming from these contacts within the last day or so. Faithful readers have seen me blog the philosophy that as we approach the end of the road, what do we really have except for our memories? That’s what our lives boil down to.

Not that I perceive the end in sight. But, it is nice to take inventory and find it ample.

The guys. Guys I went to high school or college or worked with decades ago. We played, shared locker rooms, partied and adventured. Scores of them I kayak and work out with now and those relationships are gold. But the extremely precious memories come from the wild and carefree days of high school and college.

The girls. Ah, the girls. A couple things stand out there.

One delight is hearing from Mickey, someone I go way back with. She was the proverbial girl next door, if you happened to be very lucky with neighbors. I was. She was on one side and Sparky Prestini, a latter day Mae West, on the other. Kathy McCluskey was across the street and Cathy Ciambrello a few doors down, comprising an all-star team for the neighborhood. It was like living in the Playboy mansion, albeit on a different scale. Perhaps best of all, I was a year or two ahead of them and was perceived as the cool older guy on the block. Not that I’d exploit that. Much.


Getting back to perceptions, while I’m not entirely surprised by the warm wishes and recollections from the younger girls, those from the women in my graduating class raise an eyebrow. Beginning with my last reunion, I thought I detected an unexpected rise in my stock with them. I pretty much marched to my own drummer back when, which seemed to make them wary at the time. Certainly, their parents. Now, I’m the cat’s ass. What do I have now that some of my male classmates don’t? Could be a pulse. Doesn’t matter. I don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Another thing that is especially gratifying is hearing from many former employees. That’s not always a comfortable relationship and I was never one to expect less than superior performance. So, it’s pleasing to receive the positive feedback. It affirms my theory of high standards/high rewards.

Of course, my kids are the most important, but we covered that outside of the internet. Every year, we get closer.

It’s been a great year which makes me look forward to the next. As a bonus, Social Security kicks in. I’ve been putting money into the pot for half a century. Nice to start taking chips back off the table.

At least for as long as it remains viable.