Wednesday, November 28, 2007

My Sixty Sixth Birthday

11/28/07

What, Me Worry?

Some birthdays are just more important than others. No one can question the significance of one’s first birthday, which undeniably is the most grand. Other birthdays also have a place of honor in the pantheon of anniversaries. The sixteenth puts you into a car, solo, the eighteenth in a casino, the twenty first into a bar, and the sixty fifth on social security.

The mystical birthdays are created by the numbers of your age. The highest order of mystical years is 1, 11, 88, and 111. You can manipulate these numbers any way you want and your age remains the same. The next order is 66 and 99. You can move these numbers about and you still have an age, albeit not necessarily the age with which you started, i.e. 66 can become 99, 69, or 96. The rest of your birthdays really don’t count for much, except maybe 100 because of the third digit.

So today I enter the mystical second order of my 66th year. I am happy to have reached it; I plan to enjoy every moment of it; I know it was a long time since the last mystical year of 11; and I look forward to 88. I also realize the date, November 28th, lasts longer in Samoa than in any other time zone. Time to party!

2 comments:

Teri said...

HAPPY, HAPPY 66Tth BIRTHDAY, DAD! It IS an important one, for sure. Particularly when it is your first one while living on an undeveloped tropical island. My dad, the adventurer. One thing is for sure, you will never forget your 66th birthday on Savaii.

Love to you & Mary.

Anonymous said...

Happy belated birthday!!!
What ever ment by your mystical numbers??? Now you may know, what you subjected those exchange students too, another world/ culture.