As we’ve been inundated with news about the War with Iraq, my birthday wish goes out to the U.S. POWs being held. May their will prove stronger than their captors, may their training provide them with hope for their safe return.

Weekday birthdays suck. As a kid my parents made my birthday seem like a national holiday. I reveled in the glorious celebrations each year outdoing the previous as I grew from a child until my college years. Then a strange phenomenon happened after my 21st birthday. Suddenly I was hit with milestone celebrations. Birthdays passed like Hallmark holidays until my 25th birthday (Yippee! Car insurance became cheaper). Another season passed until the “big” Three-O. It paralleled my 21st birthday as the drinking was as intense while the motivations were inherently different (21 “I can legally drink!” 30 “I can still drink like those 21 year olds”). Alas, I have discovered the maintenance & upkeep my body needs to compete in its thirties. Don’t get me wrong, I can still whoop some ass, I just need a little more time between rounds. Where was I going?

Oh, anyways, today I’m another thirty-something. It’s Tuesday and there hasn’t been any fanfare or cake or naked chicks or the fanfare of naked chicks jumping out of a cake. My parents sent me a birthday e-mail last week (so they wouldn’t forget) and this morning Michelle greeted me with “Happy Birthday” before heading out the door to work. Even the gatos who are normally up in my business first thing in the morning are off sleeping somewhere. So as I get ready for school I’ll leave you with this story which appropriately sums up my mood at the moment:

=====

I woke up early feeling depressed because it was my birthday, and I thought, ?I?m another year older,? but decided not to dwell on it. So I showered and shaved, knowing when I went down to breakfast my wife would greet me with a big kiss and say, ?Happy birthday, dear.?

All smiles, I went into breakfast, and there sat my wife reading the newspaper as usual. She didn?t say a word. So I got myself a cup of coffee and thought, ?Oh well, she forgot. The kids will be down in a few minutes, they will sing ?Happy Birthday? and have a nice gift for me.? There I sat, enjoying my coffee, and I waited. Finally the kids came running into the kitchen yelling, ?Give me a slice of toast! I?m late! Where is my coat? I?m going to miss my bus!? Feeling more depressed than ever, I left for the office.

When I walked in, my secretary greeted mew with a big smile and a cheerful. ?Happy Birthday, boss,? She then asked if she could get me some coffee. Her remembering my birthday made me feel a whole lot better. Later in the morning, my secretary knocked on my office door and said, ?Since it?s your birthday, why don?t we have lunch together?? Thinking it would make me feel better, I said, ?That?s a good idea.? So we locked up the office, and since it was my birthday, I said, ?Why don?t we drive out of town and have lunch in the country, instead of going to the usual place?? So we drove out of town and went to a little out-of-the-way inn and had a couple of martinis and a nice lunch. We started driving back to town when my secretary said, ?Why don?t we go by my place, and I will fix you another martini?? It sounded like a good idea, since we didn?t have much to do at the office. So we went to her apartment, and she fixed some martinis.

After a while, she said, ?If you will excuse me, I think I will slip into something more comfortable,? and she left the room. In a few minutes, she opened her bedroom door and came out carrying a big birthday cake. Following her were my wife and all my kids, and there I sat with nothing on but my socks.