Well, I made it this far…and I’m mostly intact.
- Cancer? Nope
- Broken limbs? None
- Stroke? Nope
- Type II diabetes? Nope (or not yet)
- Any kind of genetic disorder that shortens one’s lifespan? Nope
- Asthma? Slight
Compared to my relatives and peers, I’m doing pretty well. I’ve lost six co-workers I liked in my 19 years with Apple, two people I went to Marquette with (I know of) and in the five high schools I attended, there’s one guy from Beulah who oddly died of cancer.
Yeah, I know, this post seems kind of morbid. We live in an unusual era. Life expectancy remains pretty good compared to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Industrial Age, Pax Romana and even around WWII. The bad news, thanks to Climate Change, a generation of sociopaths (the Baby Boom) and a joint gerontocracy (two-thirds are over 55) in Congress with a kakistocracy administration, the numbers are declining for America while the EU rises. Throw in agism in the workplace, the future seems rather bleak. I’m mainly grateful for planning ahead. Somara and I have key things paid off, we only need to sweat the mortgage, our latest timeshare and the monthly bills. These are all manageable with a lower income should this happen. Personally, I’m tempted to cash out my 401K, pay off the house and just relax for a decade working at Pinballz, Alamo Drafthouse or Terra Toys. Hell, Rogues Gallery! Maybe become a professional DungeonMaster. Why not live the dream.
Today’s celebrations will be low key due to other priorities. A double feature at Alamo Drafthouse and then dinner at Maggiano’s. I’ll bug Dana Gould later in August to see if we can arrange the big idea I had brewing since 2016.
Thanks for the birthday wishes on FaceBook because it’s what our civilization does now.