Twelve till Six Thirty

One of my best friends when I was in high school was born on Christmas day. He really hated that birthday, because he felt that he was cheated out of a present. His mom and dad would just label one of the Christmas gifts as a birthday gift.

For most of us, our birthdays were and in some respects are momentous occasions. When we were younger it meant that we were no longer eight and three quarters, but nine. We became that much closer to independence and doing whatever we wanted to do when we wanted to do it. I decided that when I was bigger, I would never go to bed before 12:00 AM, and I have pretty much stuck to that for the better part of my adult life. It is kind of stupid, but somehow I feel cheated by sleep. Pretty much a third of your life is spent “recharging your batteries”. What a waste of time!

If you were to try and sell someone a machine that they could only use 16 hours out of every day and the first couple of hours would be a little fuzzy. The four hours or so before the shut down would be needed to take on fuel and “wind down” from the days activity. That would give you a working time of less than half the day. There is no way that you would buy such a machine, and the designer would more than likely be fired. Especially since most of the “machines” avoid working whenever possible.

Well, that kind of veered off topic. Now, after a few decades I find that some people are doing the reverse and subtracting years from their age. I guess if it makes you happy then what is the harm? Personally I have always thought of myself as about the age I am right now. It is tough on a young man to believe that he wouldn’t hit his prime until well into the fifth decade of life. I may not be a world changer, but I am much more comfortable in my skin.

Perhaps I have found the secret of life. I think I have actually. I am pretty happy with the way my life has unfolded and I don’t think I have hurt too many people. Well, I may have hurt people, but not intentionally. I am sure that I have hurt my loved ones over the years, and for that I am truly sorry. They still love me in spite of me. I am competent in numerous things and have the time to work on the things I wish to become competent at. I guess I am a work in progress.

I would tell you the secret of life, but I am not sure it is allowed. I can say that as long as you are reaching for a goal you will never be able to grasp it. It is only when you allow it to come to you that you will finally hold it in your hand. It’s a yin-yang thing and it doesn’t make sense until it makes sense. Does that make sense?

Well, anyways, as we approach Christmas I just want to wish my long dead friend a very happy birthday, and if you have a line on winning lottery numbers Ken, I am usually asleep and dreaming from about 12:00 AM to 6:30 AM.