Another Year Older…

..And deeper in debt!

So, it’s my birthday again. It seems like they just keep coming, like an on-rushing train in that proverbial tunnel where the light isn’t quite what we think it will be when it arrives. Honestly, it seems kind of impossible to me that I’m still chugging along, but, according to the actuarial tables, I should expect about another 30-odd years of life. Which is a good thing because, in spite of being statistically middle-aged, I come from fairly long-lived stock and there are so many things still undone in my life.

It’s been a good year, all things considered.
For instance, I got married again this year, which is something I never thought I’d do.  If you read last year’s birthday missive, you know that story already, of course.  Well, here we are a year later and not only has Sharon cleaned up my house and made it a pretty nice place to live, but she moved in and, amazingly, agreed to marry me.  We joined forces, so to speak, on September 28th in a small ceremony attended by a handful of close friends and the family available to attend.  Though, naturally, being the geek that I am, I simulcast that via the web for those who couldn’t be in attendance.  It was fun, casual and there was great BBQ.  It was a special and memorable day.
I haven’t done as much photography as I’d like this year, or written as much.  Neither here nor on Diary of a Network Geek, which is my other, “original”, blog.  It’s been a busy year, though, so I suppose I can forgive myself for all that, if you few who still read these sad scribblings can forgive my lack of content and the low quality of what I do manage to put out there.  I hope next year will be better in that regard.  I’ve got a few old ideas for some fiction that I’m trying to dust off and polish up into a setting I can use to write stories about.  And, to get my photography restarted, I’ve been contemplating doing another 365 Days project like I did when I first got my DSLR a couple years ago.  (If you’re not familiar with that, it’s basically taking and sharing a photo every day for a year.  Why do it?  There are lots of reasons, and others have said them better than I can right now.)  I can’t make any promises about any of that, though.  Creatively, it’s been a rough year for me.
But, it’s been a good year.  Relationships may not be the only source of happiness in the world, but, damn, my relationship with Sharon sure does make everything else I do seem more worthwhile and important.

And, of course, my birthday wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t mention all the other famous people who had the good luck to be born on this particular day. Famous people like Frank “Chairman of the Board” Sinatra, Jennifer Connelly, Bob Barker, Gustave Flaubert, who is the author of Madame Bovary, the painter Edvard Munch, and Wells Fargo founder, Henry Wells. Not to mention, Mike Pinder of the Moody Blues, Tim Hauser of Manhattan Transfer, Dickey Betts of the Allman Bros, jazz musician Grover Washington Jr, and former mayor of New York City, Ed Koch.
All heady company to be sure, but for whatever reason, it tickles me the most that I share a birthday with Frank Sinatra. I guess it’s because he was such a unique and original character who really fought against and beat some long odds to become an amazingly famous, generally well thought of character. I can only hope to do the same, one day.
Also, I think it’s interesting to note that on this day in 1896 Marconi first demoed radio and, again on this day, in 1901 made his first Trans-Atlantic transmission. (Though, of course, all right-thinking people know that Tesla was really responsible for those first advances in radio.)
And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the computer mouse made its debut just four days before my birth!  How crazy is that?  The mouse, which makes graphic interfaces so practical and easy to use, is actually four days older than I am!

So, once again, I’ve survived and prospered for another year, but I still have no idea what the next one will bring.  Either way, I’m sure I’ll be relatively happy, just like I wrote last year. And, again, not just because I’ve found someone foolish enough to marry me, but because being with Sharon has taught me something about life; happiness is a choice. That’s more or less her philosophy, that happiness is a choice that we all can make, even when things aren’t going our way. It’s one of the reasons I love her, because she reminds me of that and helps me to make that choice every day.
And, of course, it’s a choice I’m making and glad to be making along with her this year, and for many, many more years, too.