....50 years ago I had my arse smacked [or was it my face...never can work out which it is] by matron as she welcomed me in to the big wide world......as an aside, this year is a repeat of 1963 and so it means my 50th birthday falls on the same actual week day as well.....wednesday 9th January 1963.
Becoming 50 years old is quite a milestone for some people, but for me, I think it is just another day on planet earth. I have been on this earth some 18,262 days [± any days I've not properly allowed for re leap year days] and out of those days I think more than 9,131 have been good [some have been better than good, some have been fanbluddytastical] and less than 9,131 have been crappy, around 6,087 have been full on sleep and they were fab....in the main I don't have nightmares in my sleep so I reckon around 6,000 days I spent asleep were blissful. I have also worked out that I have spent 126 days on the bog, and if I knew I was going to be in there that long I would have had a telly installed, I have spent almost a full year in the shower, that is a long time to funk your self up, I reckon I have eaten over a 1,000 pies [I must have done, I love pies], and although the internet is still quite young in relation to me, I reckon I've probably spent nearly 2 years surfing the net.........and I passed my driving test when I had just turned 17 years old, and so in that time I reckon I have driven nearly half a million miles, enough miles to have driven to the moon and back ! According to my car today, my average speed recorded allowing for all road driving conditions is 42 mph, so on the basis of the miles I have covered that equates to around 491 days in the car, a year and a half sat behind the wheel of a car........
On the whole I think I've had a good deal from my first 50 years on planet earth. I even consider my self fortunate to have made it to the big five O. Here's some who didn't get the chance
Mic Christopher ~ What a lost talent, fell over one night and never woke up
The children of Dublane ~ Why oh why ?
My dads brother George ~ Died at the age of 27 years old, killed in a wartime plane crash 1941
Pam Lockett ~ Pam studied at teacher training college with my wife, Pam succumbed to breast cancer in her early 40's, God bless you Pam
Jeff Buckley ~ Oh Jeff oh Jeff why oh why ? went for a swim and never came back
My Mum and Dads 2nd born son ~ In all of the 48 years my dad and I shared on this planet together not once did he speak of his loss
Jane Nellie Davey ~ Oh gosh, Jane worked at my bank she was loverly, then in January 2012 she was told she was ill with a brain tumour, then by August she was gone, aged 45. But she was loverly I told her colleague, her colleague smiled sadly
Natasha Richardson ~ Oh so beautiful, went skiing one day, fell over, woke up and then suddenly she was gone
The children of Sandy ~ Why oh why ?
Ryan B Wood ~ God bless his soul
Bob Marley ~ A mere 36 years old, what more great music would he have given us had he made it to 50 and beyond ?
Quite frankly the list could go on and on, there are many others for me to name, but it's not necessary......the fact is we are not guaranteed to be told what our best before date is [even if it is printed on our bar code stamp hidden somewhere on our body...DNA? ] .......so getting to 50 is bit of a result I would say....of course how long it will last after here......who knows I haven't found my bar code yet....... so let's take it one day at a time.....
So my SoD for today, comes from the list above.....the song........ written by the great Leonard Cohen, who got past 50 and is still going strong......it was through this song I really got into Leonard Cohen, and how he opened doors for me, into a world of some just breath taking music......Leonard Cohen is not a bad singer, and this song has just about been covered by every wanna be on the planet...but this version.....oh my word....this version can never be equalled......the late great Jeff immerses himself in this song and then as you listen it is impossible not to be sucked in to his world.....so of the next 18,626 days to come [here's hoping] , I don't mind spending 6:34mins listening to this..... I have even been known to have this playing in my head phones during one of the 6,087 days I have been sleeping.....[who said men can't multitask]
So to all of you born today in 1963.....happy birthday where ever you are.....
