"I'M TOO OLD TO
BE HUMBLE," Marilyn Maye averred recently  in an interview before
appearing in a New York nightclub and I know exactly how she feels. When
you reach a certain age you can ignore people who try to criticize you
or put you in a bad light because they are just, basically, jealous .

In my 40s I learned a very important lesson
and that was to discard all negative people in my life and I have kept
to that rule. Negative people have negative vibes that can invade a
person and have them choose to be mad, sad and down. At 74 I certainly
don't have time for those kind of people in my life except maybe to
expose them for who they are.

These past 3-4 months so many people have
gone out of their way to tell me, show me, how special I am, how much
they care for and about me. I've told you a few of the gestures and even
some of the people who have reached out to me but that was only the tip
of the iceberg. I have always been fortunate, lucky, with people I came
to know and be friends with, become involved with and I have always
been grateful for the people who came into my life.

For most of my
life I have paid my own way and even the past 10 years when things have
not been too good for me financially I have done all right with the help
of friends. I'd admit,  have admitted, that I never got that money gene
from my parents--seems my brother got it all--but I have lived a life
very few people have. I've traveled to Australia, New Zealand, Argentinia, Brazil, Tahiti,
Venezuela, Mexico, Vancouver, Canada, 49 of the 50 States just to name a
few places, lived in Miami Beach, Hollywood, California, Memphis, Fort Lauderdale, Laguna Beach and known some of the
'rich and famous' but mostly the poor and unknown who I am proud to
call my friends.

At 74 I have  accomplished a lot, including
being independant, having a roof over my head, food in my stomach,
overcoming 60+ years of smoking, recovered from congestive heart failure
and an aorta valve replacement operation and, not to forget, learning
how to work a computer and the basics of the Internet when I was in my
60s. I have had books published, had articles in papers, magazines,
wrote a weekly column for over a year plus a dining out monthly feature,
was Director Of Operations for a world famous organization, had my own
business, was a professional server for 30+ years and proud of it.

Most of all, because of my friends, the ONLY
reason I have to be humble is them. I have NOTHING to lose at 74 except
my friends so it is that I wish all, even my enemies, the life I have,
the friends I have, the joy I face every day with. I hope that negative
people could stop being so bitter, jealous, selfish and instead of
hitting out at people look into themselves for what good there is and,
maybe, just maybe, they will have half the good life I had and have and
can also feel the right to say, "I'm too old to be humble," and, "At 74
what have I got to lose?" because they earned it as Marilyn Maye and I
have.