That's right ... regardless of how often I write, I can always be counted on to mention that I've become a year older. There was the first one in 2004 when this blog was still a newborn (and I included photos of me as the same), and each year since, without fail, I've included another one. This year, the day is almost over, and wow ... I can't wait. It wasn't my favorite birthday. I guess if I celebrated at all, I did that last weekend (more on that in the next post, tomorrow). It's nice of Hollywood and the TV Academy to throw a party for me and all, but looking at all those who share this date with me, I'm starting to think maybe it wasn't just for me at all. I mean, it's not like I got to unwrap Heidi Klum myself, you know.
I had a different experience this year as I turned 37. The life of this blog has seen me go from early-30s to late-30s, and I've never been 100% celebratory during any of those. I've always hesitated with the "getting older" thing. And yet this year, as far back as April, I believe, when people would ask my age, I would for some reason answer, "I'll be 37 in September." 36, itself, had a very brief shelf-life. Last weekend, as I was signing in to jump out of a plane (video TK), the sheet asked for name, age and weight, and I had become so used to stating, "I'll be 37 in September," I actually wrote 37 before realizing I wasn't quite there yet.
This year, I had enough excitement with the skydiving, so I decided against any actual celebration. Besides, I guess I tend to prefer people when they don't feel obligated to treat me special cause it's my day. And that way, I get to guarantee my occasional misanthropic reputation at least one day per year. Being Jewish, Christmas wouldn't work, so every now and then for my birthday, I simply say, "Bah humbug."
But you know what? Let's celebrate all the other birthdays today. There are quite a few. There are my birthdaTE-mates, Luke Wilson and Alfonso Ribeiro, for example, all three of us entering the late-30s today. There's Stephen King, Ethan Coen and Bill Murray; Bridget Moynahan, Ricki Lake, Faith Hill, Liam Gallagher, Leonard Cohen, Chuck Jones, Nancy Travis, Angus Macfadyen, Cheryl Hines, Caleb Deschanel, Vanessa Grigoriadis, Cecil Fielder, Rob Morrow, Larry Hagman, Jerry Bruckheimer, Henry Gibson, Bill Kurtis, Dave Coulier, Nicole Richie (!), Rick Mahorn, and (how cool is this?), the long-late H.G. Wells who would be 142 today. Oh, and of course, my boss Jane.
So why should I care ... there are plenty of people hopefully actually having HAPPY birthdays today. I'll settle for happy every-other-days-of-the-year. Too much to ask? Ah well .... maybe I'll just go skydiving again.
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