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On Turning 55 Today
On Turning 55 Today
Today is April 4, 2008.
Exactly 55 years ago today, a pediatrician at Middlesex Memorial Hospital in Middletown, CT, USA, grabbed a newborn by the ankles, spanked his butt, and the world was blessed with the very first cries that James Orville Hetrick, III ever uttered. Some would say that I’ve been whining and crying ever since.
(Yeah, that’s right – Orville. You got a problem with that? You want to make something of it??!! My father was James O., Jr., and my grandfather was James O., Sr.)
They tell me that because of life-style and medical advances, 50 is the new 30. I believe it. I feel great.
As I drove to work this morning, I turned off the car radio and began thinking about my life and things that I have lived through.
I’ve experienced 20,019 sunrises. (And, rising as I do at 4:30 every morning, I’ve actually witnessed a good percentage of that number.)
I’ve seen 14 leap years.
I remember the advent of the personal computer. (When I was in college, a single computer couldn’t fit into the average house. In order to use it, you needed about four thousand little IBM cards with holes strategically punched in them, and if you were unfortunate enough to fold, spindle or mutilate them, they were worthless.(What the hell does the verb spindle mean, anyway?) I know, I know, you younger folks have got a clue what I’m talking about!
I remember the advent of the widespread use of plastic in commercial products. When I was a kid, all of my toys (Tonka trucks, Lionel Trains, Flexible Flyer sleds, etc.) were all made out of metal and/or wood. And they lasted forever.
I remember the advent of color television. My grandparents, who lived just up the hill from me, had the first color television in the neighborhood. Every Sunday afternoon, my grandmother would bake chocolate chip cookies (She would sift the flour herself and use Crisco lard), because every Sunday evening, all of the kids on the street used to converge on her house to watch one of the few shows that was broadcast in color – Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.
I remember Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Uncle Miltie, Ernie Kovacs, Jackie Vernon, Topo Gigo, Ed Sullivan, Spencer Tracy, Bogie, George and Gracy, Kukla, Fran & Ollie, Popeye, Olive Oyl, Wimpy, The Beatles, Herman’s Hermits, The Dave Clark Five, Chad and Jeremy, Pete Seeger, Nat King Cole, Mitch Miller.
I remember when air conditioning, power windows, power brakes and automatic transmissions in cars were options for which you had to special order and pay extra.
I remember the advent of pocket calculators. I received one as a gift when I was a teenager. It cost over three hundred dollars. It was about three inches wide, six inches long and an inch thick. It was made by Texas Instruments. It could add, subtract, multiply and divide.
I remember the day that JFK was assassinated.
I also remember the assassinations of RFK and MLK.
I remember Neil Armstrong saying, "This is one small step for a man, and one giant leap for mankind."
I’ve experienced my father’s death and the deaths of all of my grandparents.
I remember saying "Don’t trust anybody over thirty."
I remember marijuana, hashish, head shops, black lights, Boone’s Farm Wine, and terrific brownies!
I remember, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country."
I remember, "I have a dream."
I remember John-John’s salute.
In these fifty-five years, I’ve personally experienced divorce. (Cruella threw me out of the house on this very date 18 years ago. She said that she was tired of me because I wasn’t exciting enough.)
I’ve experienced more joy and happiness than I ever dreamed possible since I married Mary Ellen 17 years ago.
I’ve never had and never will have any biological children, and yet I’ve become a father four times, a father-in-law three times, and a grandfather twice.
I’ve discovered that there are many currencies in this life, the least important of which is money. I’ve made enough money to be extremely comfortable, but, without love, meaningful relationships, inner peace and personal fulfillment, life is meaningless. (I’ve had money without love. I’ve had love without money. Love without money is far better. Trust me…However, there is a lot to be said for love and money!)
I’ve quit smoking.
I’ve pretty much conquered Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
I love and am loved back by all of my animals (horses, ponies, dogs and cats)
I’m in fairly good shape physically.
I was an excellent school teacher.
I’m an accomplished actor and theatrical director.
I’m a good businessman.
I’m a good writer.
I love beer and camaraderie.
I love hamburgers.
I love my houses and my land.
I’ve experienced every kind of success professionally and personally.
I’m surrounded with loving, true friends and a large, loving family.
I feel like I have a place in the world where I am welcomed and where I truly belong.
I am the luckiest man in the world.
I can honestly and truly say that there is no other person on the entire planet with whom I would want to trade places.
I am fifty-five years old today.
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Amazing, huh?
posted on Apr 4, 2008 5:27 AM ()
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