As I reflect on this, the seventieth anniversary of my birthdate—an expression I borrowed from my late father-in-law—I am overwhelmed … with clichés! Where did the time go? It’s only a number! You’re as young as you feel. You don’t look a bit over sixty-nine!

 I know where all that time went. A lot of it was spent sleeping. It was blissful—just why sleep is programmed into our genetic material. Reparative, refreshing, with plenty of opportunity for my memories to dance with imagination to produce extraordinary dreams.

 Consuming food was another huge time expense. Damn, was it good! Hamburgers, fried chicken, hush puppies, coleslaw, pulled pork, ice cream, fresh peaches, okra, filet mignon, chocolate chip cookies—I could go on and on, but I guess my time is short now.

 Yes, there was work. I started early, as a child, not in a sweat shop, but delivering catalogs for the Fuller Brush Company door-to-door. I moved on to mowing grass and driving a truck. A hiccup of accounting before going to grad school. Several decades of pretending to be a business executive—that was a lot of fun! A disillusioning stint in the world of sports. A mixed bag of experiences investing time and money in early stage companies. Writing—is it work if you don’t get paid?

 Oh, the places I have been! Millions of airline miles, years’ worth of hotel stays. Indelible sights saved to memory. Sure, there were museums and restaurants and mountains and seas, but the people! Wonderful people, so different from me and yet all so human. Some just short-term acquaintances, others life-long friends I still treasure my contact with.

 Seventy years of friendships. I can count on one hand the people with whom I have been close and then betrayed. For each of them, I can name dozens of others who continue to delight me. I’ll not embarrass anyone my naming names—you know who you are. Besides, I know I might hurt someone by omitting them, and at this point in my life I don’t want to lose a single friend!

 Family--I enjoyed the love of my parents until I was well into my second half. They were wonderful. I’ve been blessed and in so many ways. A plus of being the first-born is that I still have three siblings. All of us love each other and all our nephews and nieces and in-laws and more.  

 For fifty of my seventy years I have enjoyed the extraordinary gift of living with an amazing woman. She has been a best friend, a constant lover, a harsh critic, a fierce defender. Words fail me. Allie deserves a monument for putting up with my eccentricities and foolishness for five decades—fifty years of love, beauty and happiness. I can’t imagine what life would have been without her.

 I won life’s lottery, which like lightning, can strike twice, even thrice! The greatest gift Allie has shared with me has been our two beautiful children. I’ve learned so much from them and continue to be inspired by their wit, their curiosity, the different points of view they bring, the lives they are creating for themselves. Zoe and Eli complete our perfect square, my greatest (only?) accomplishment, the one thing that will be here when I am not. There is no greater motivator to push well beyond today’s meaningless milestone than to see what amazing things await them. 

 No need to keep looking backward, those wonderful seventy years have passed. Let’s look only ahead, to more life, more travels, new friends, great meals, shared celebrations. If we are only as old as we feel, then I’m a youngster. Put me in coach—I’m ready to play!