It is my birthday...

So here it is. The day has finally arrived and I am not any more excited about it than I imagined I would be.

Today is my birthday

I am now 47 years old

the same age as my father was

when he died…


Somewhere inside of me I have there has been this fear... What does 47 have in store for me? Will I meet the same fate as him? Is the 47th year some kind of destiny for me like it was for Lieutenant Dan?


Logic says that I am being foolish to entertain such thoughts. Nevertheless, for your entertainment here is what my abnormal thought patterns look like:


My dad’s sister, my Aunt Jackie, is alive and doing great. I think she is about 73, she still travels the world, but she is a woman. My sister sailed past 47 and is in great health. But she is also a woman and, therefore, does not fit into the equation. My Gramps lived until he was 90… but he wasn’t raised in a world of processed foods, pesticides, and chickens injected with growth hormones. Dad died when he was 47.


I think they will name a new disorder after my condition.


I can take some comfort knowing that I am not a two-pack-a-day smoker like my dad was. The doctors told my sister that they were certain the cancer started in his lungs. So I certainly have dodged that bullet. Well, at least I thought I did until I learned that my sister’s coworker now has lung cancer and she has never smoked one cigarette in her life. Both of her parents smoked, as did mine. Yes, second hand smoke can kill.


Still, I have these thoughts…


Irrational thoughts, none of which are easy to process


thoughts that I must continually work through.


I don’t plan on leaving this planet any time soon. I plan on living until I’m 90.


I still have a lot to accomplish.