Reflections

Okay, I wrote this yesterday, but blogger was down. So here, a day late, is my b-day post.

Today is my birthday. I have been told by many people that birthdays are a time of reflection. As such, I will reflect now, here on my blog.

Thirty-two. That's how old I am. I looked into it -- Albert Einstein was a Professor of Theoretical Physics in Prague when he was 32. He become a Professor of Theoretical Physics only after he was named Professor Extraordinary in Zurich when he was thirty. So, he was well on his way to becoming the most important mind in modern science by the time he was my age. (Please note: I would like to lay claim, for the record, to the name Professor Extraordinary as nom de plume in any future writing, theatrical or professional wrestling careers).

Jerry Rice, widely regarded as the greatest receiver in NFL history, had already cemented his place in football lore when he was 32. He had 112 receptions that year, and ended up catching 10 passes for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Super Bowl, which his team won.

Jesus, I think, had made wine from water, turned a small picnic lunch into a fish-and-bread banquet for the masses, and had actually walked across water by the time he was 32. He told a dead guy to get up and do something, and that dead guy did it. Jesus. Now that’s a 32-year old with chutzpah.

So, of course, as I think about myself at age 32--as I reflect--I think about where I am on my timeline. And about whether I could've caught 112 balls from a dead guy I told to throw passes to me. I wonder if I could find my own Special Theory of Relativity; or at least theorize that I am relatively special.

I went to Bay to Breakers a few weeks back. For those that don't know about it -- it's basically a big 70,000 person party that moves. I dressed up in a mullet wig and a suit, got gloriously drunk, and walked across San Francisco. I had an absolute blast--a soon-to-be 32 year old, having a GREAT time with friends, and looking around at tens of thousands of people all doing the same thing. It was far from the Nobel Prize, the Super Bowl or the Sea of Galilee, but MAN....that was a great day.

So I reflect, and realize that I am working hard on my own timeline; on making my own way and having fun when I can. I bet Einstein never walked 7 miles and did a keg stand in a mullet wig, after all. Although he did have that sweet ‘fro.

And then I get to reflecting on the most important reflection to me. The one that'll hopefully be looking back at me in a mirror many years from now, all gray and wrinkly and uncommonly wealthy, thinking about me when I was 32. And as that reflection reflects, I hope he laughs out loud—a deep, bounding belly laugh--thinking of all the great days before and after today. I hope that reflection, all those days away from today, is wearing a ridiculous-looking wig.

But it's today -- and today's my birthday. It's a pretty great day, too… no wig required.