When queried about her oldest turning 60, Peggy Gregory was heard to say, "Damn, he's barely out of diapers". So much for perspective....or losing it.So, what does it feel like to hit this milestone. One wag put it this way; "When what works hurts and what doesn't hurt won't work".
In truth, it's a staggering thought to know one has been on this planet for 60 years but put in perspective, pretty cool. I was born the year Truman defeated Dewey...against the odds; Israel became a state; Florence, SC started its symphony; 8 years before Sputnik was put in orbit and 15 years before JFK was assassinated. Paula and I were married in 1969, one month before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. I entered the Air Force at the beginning of the withdrawal from Viet Nam; saw Nixon resign after Watergate and watched Gerald Ford sign ERISA into law. I have lived over a time period that saw 5 presidents buried; 10 presidents elected; Spiro Agnew refer to the "nagging nabobs of negativism; the Beatles rise and retire; Nelson Mandela be freed from prison; Sharon Tate be murdered; see the Columbine massacre occur; watch the Persian Gulf war on TV; sit in a horrified stupor as the World Trade Center towers crumbled and still witnessed untold wonder and beauty at a baby's birth, a wedding being celebrated, my parents celebrating their 50th anniversary, my son graduating college, get married and begin his family. Paula and I have traveled to other countries and made friends from Italy to New Zealand; watched gas prices rise from $.05 to $5.00 per gallon over my lifetime; wept at the funerals of family and friends; tied shoe laces; mowed the grass; lived in 4 homes since being married; bought 10 or so cars; set fire to a kitchen; read hundreds of books; shamefully watched too much TV; own several home computers; witnessed the invention of the internet; lost money in the stock market; served on countless boards; worked on countless committees; and.............
All I can say is.....what a ride. I'd do it all over again. With Paula by me, being my sanctuary and foundation and my fabulous love...I can't go wrong.
