Another Year Older

“Bass and treble heal every hurt

There's a rebel in a nylon shirt

But the words are a mystery,

I've heard

'Til you turn it down to 33 and 1/3

'Cos it helps with the elocution

Corporations turn revolutions.

45

So don't you weep and shed

Just change your name instead

What do you lose when it all goes to your head?
I heard something peculiar said:

"Perhaps he's got a shot and now he's dead."

45

Bells are chiming and tears are falling

It creeps up on you without a warning.

45

Every scratch, every click, every heartbeat

Every breath that I bless

I'd be lost, I confess

45”
--Elvis Costello "45" from the CD When I Was Cruel, 2004.

Well today I hit the big 45.

I guess there should be some reflection of sorts to go with it. I mean, over half of my life is over.

I have defied a few odds; added some self-destructive behaviors; probably not given enough thanks; probably have been too nice; probably been too mean; probably laughed when I should have felt some shame; probably felt some guilt when I did not need to; and probably made as many good decisions as I have made bad ones.

And thus my philosophy of life is the following: “Life is what we make of it; and ultimately one controls one’s own destiny.”

No whining; no complaints; no regrets; no changes (OK maybe some changes); and somewhere in the vast cosmos of my world is a strange feeling of acceptance and a serene spirit.

I have made great friends in this life; I have great family members; I have great cats that allow me to live here; I have a great career; and I have a great spirit of humor and an acute knowledge of humankind.

Somewhere along the way, the ills have mixed with the joys; but what can we do? Deal with it and move on.

Without sounding too cliché I amazed how the doors have closed and opened in the last two or three years. I have spiritually grown, I have upon occasion felt some divine intervention, and I have found myself when I thought I was lost. It has been just really surreal to be honest.

So here’s to another 45 (oh and we all know that is sooo unlikely—but what the Hell—my blog I can do with it what I wish).

So thanks go out to Mom and Dad, Karen, Mark, Bud, Mary, Angela. Matt, Fred, Kaleb, Dan, Dar, Danny, Jeff, Judy, Kathy, Jeff, Fogs, Chum, Guinn, my colleagues former and current, all those musicians whose music I own, the creators of Batman, my beer buddies, the friends of my youth, the friends of the now, my students, my bosses, my student teachers, Special Friends: Keith, Jeff, Joe, John, Dan, Jim, Scott, Denny, Denny, Charles, Mike, Elston, Mick, Milt, Andy, Zack, Eric, Megan, Gene, Lou Ann, Sharon, Jon, Roger, Beth, Gary, Dave, Martin, Amy, Kelly, Jaimie, Joanne, Tom, Linae, Murph, Mack, Don, Jarret, Jon, Derek, Jason, My partners in crime in my youth: Alex, Tim, Peter, James, Brian, Chevy, and our "women": Amy, Dawn, Gaylene, Gerri, Kari, Amy, Barb, Sue Mac, Mo, Abby, Lisa, Becky, Suzanne, and my medical team: Dr. Duncan, Dr. McCrisken, Dr. Wright, and Dawn.

And a very special thanks to a wonderful lady named Jen.

If I have not seen you on my list as much or often as I would like, consider it time and distance as opposed to anything else. We are all getting older. I often think good thoughts of you all.

Without you folks, I never would have made it to “45.”