I Just Turned 59.99589!

It may interest you to know there are real Memory Lanes in the bedroom communities of every American state. Look them up on Google Maps (I stopped searching after finding dozens.) Must be fun to be one of those residents and see the look on someone’s face when you give them your address.  No, I don’t know anyone who lives on Memory Lane, but me, I kind of do; one with no stripes or sidewalks. Mine is paved with sixty years of material, some of it worth a visit; other items best left alone.  All of this “Dave” stuff is somewhere between my ears and today it’s time for a big – okay, little – reveal.

59.99589.  If you’re reading this post the day it was published, I’ve just revealed my age to ridiculous exactness.  The 0.99589 amounts to 363 out of the past 365 days.  You could say I’m still in my late fifties (very late, Dave), but more accurately you’ll say I’m either sixty on the dot or a mere forty-eight hours removed from it.  Do I feel old now?  Of course not!  Er, until I calculate my age in months.  I’ve spent 720 of those bad boys.  For Pete’s sake, what have I been doing all my life?

Well, let me answer that question.  In fact, let’s make it a game because then you get to play too.  Think about the last sixty years (or in your case, however many decades you’ve been around).  Now let’s create a list – off the top of our graying heads – of up to ten significant world events in the timeframe of our years.  No, no, no; not the events you learned in the history books, but the ones with lasting, maybe even personal impact.  Here are mine, in no particular order:

  1. 9/11 (2001)
  2. COVID-19 (2020-???)
  3. San Francisco Bay Area earthquake (1989)
  4. Space Shuttle Challenger (1986)
  5. America’s war in Afghanistan (2001-2021)
  6. Apollo rockets (1961-1972)
  7. Colorado’s Black Forest wildfire (2013)

I don’t have enough time to explain my choices (after all, I only have forty-eight hours until I”m a “sexy-genarian”) but trust me; these seven came to mind in a heartbeat.  Now arrange them in chronological order to paint an interesting picture.  My childhood was inspired by Apollo rocket launches (courtesy of black-and-white TV’s); my young adult years by two disasters – the Challenger explosion and the devastating earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area; and my adult years by big-bad-ticket items like terrorism, war, wildfire, and a global pandemic.  Sadly, not one of these events makes anyone’s “good list” (am I a product of headline news or what?). But that’s not to say my sixty years have been altogether bad.  Quite the contrary.

Now, here’s where the game gets more interesting.  Make a similar list as above, but include up to ten significant events of a personal nature.  These are the formative moments, where you’re not the same person after they happened as you were before.  Leave off relationships (including marriage) and having kids, because most of us have or will have those in common.  Let’s see now.  My eyes are closed, I’m in a thoughtful trance, and I’m typing, all at the same time (a man of many talents, no?) Okay, pencils down.  Here’s my “formative” list, also in no particular order:

  1. Corrective eye surgery (1977)
  2. I-survived-but-the-car-didn’t rollover (1984)
  3. Immersive year of studies in Rome, Italy (1982-83)
  4. Traded California’s coast for Colorado’s Rockies (1993)
  5. First job <McDonald’s> (1975)
  6. All things Boy Scouts (1973-1978)
  7. Architecture career ends, tech career begins (1993)
  8. All things basketball (1974-1979)

Again, I’d love to wax on about my choices but I’d turn 61 before I’d be done typing.  Instead, sort my formatives from earliest to most recent.  Notice anything?  All happened between the ages of 10 and 30.  My “clay was molded’ in a mere one-third of my lifetime.  Not really true, of course.  Ages 1-10 – none of us remember much of those.  But now I hear you saying, “So Dave, what have you been doing for the last thirty years?”  Well, you know the answer already  The same thing as most every other red-blooded American male.  Raising a family.  Making a living.  Loving my wife.  Loving my life.

I predict my sixties will be my greatest decade; just you wait and see.  I’ll witness another significant world event or two (maybe even a “good one”!)  I’ll break my thirty-year run of nothing and come up with at least one more formative experience.  I’ll write another 520 blog posts (and you’ll block a chunk of your calendar to read them).  But let’s be real; this is just musings about my sixties.  I’m only in my fifties. My account still shows a credit of forty-eight hours.

——————–

Lego Grand Piano – Update #2

The concert is underway! (read about my hesitant warm-up in the post Let’s Make Music!).  Bag #2 – of 21 bags of pieces – started out innocently enough, with big pieces and easy assembly.  My maestro-confidence overfloweth.

Suddenly things got v-e-r-y complicated in Mr. Instruction Manual.  Tiny, tiny pieces!  Mechanical components!  Cables!  Batteries!  Here’s last week’s build, and then below, this week’s additions for comparison.  Enlarge the second photo for a better look at the colorful, scary-looking “spindle”, running top left to bottom right.  I have no idea what it’s for but it connects to the gray/white motor (at least I think it’s a motor) just behind it. I count forty-five little Legos on the spindle, each required to be positioned exactly as you see them.  Almost walked off the stage when I was done with that step.

Running build time: 2.5 hours.  Musical accompaniment: Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 5 “Emperor” (three times through!)  Leftover pieces: 5 (Conductor’s note: Last week I only had 1 leftover piece.  5 = concern.  I need to double-check this week’s work before moving forward.  Safe to say you can’t go back and “repair” after the fact).

Author: Dave

Four hundred posts would suggest I have something to say… This blog was born from a desire to elevate the English language, highlighting eloquent words from days gone by. The stories I share are snippets of life itself, and each comes with a bonus: a dusted-off word I hope you’ll go on to use more often. Read “Deutschland-ish Improvements” to learn about my backyard European wish list. Try “Slush Fun” for the throwback years of the 7-Eleven convenience store. Or drink in "Iced Coffee" to discover the plight of the rural French cafe. On the lighter side, read "Late Night Racquet Sports" for my adventures with our latest moth invasion. As Walt Whitman said, “That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Here then, my verse. Welcome to Life In A Word.

25 thoughts on “I Just Turned 59.99589!”

    1. “Surreal” is a good word for it, Neil. Age fifty hit me the same way; there’s just no accounting for so many years. We told our son – who has very young children – to enjoy the moment. He’ll wake up one day to his sixtieth birthday and wonder how his kids suddenly became full-grown adults!

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  4. Congratulations on almost making 60. 60 is a lot like 50, except I care less about what other people about my haircut. I crossed the 60 line 2 years ago and am now starting to plan my 70th birthday party. Not because I plan on getting that far, but rather because it takes me that long to plan things …

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    1. Your comment about haircuts is right on the money, Andrew (and you should write a post about it). I’ve been going to the same barber for almost thirty years. He never asks me how I want it, and could probably cut my hair with his eyes closed. I’ve always kept my style overly-conservative so I guess it’s convenient my age is finally catching up with my look.

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  5. Happy Birthday. I’ve got a couple of years on ya but there’s no doubt we’ve lived through some interesting times. And we both remember when 60 was an ugly rumour. cheers

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  6. Happy Almost Birthday Dave! Turning sixty didn’t bother me as I had just retired and was having fun, but sixty-five was a shock….you can’t deny you’re a senior then.

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  7. Happy Birthday. I like your upbeat attitude about turning 60, because why not embrace reality. I’ve never sat down to think about significant world events that have happened in my lifetime. I like your list.

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  8. Hi Dave,
    Wishing you an awesome birthday tomorrow! May the 60s be your best decade yet!!
    This was a fun post and perhaps I will take inspiration and do something like that at some point.
    As for the piano, I see progress!! So the keys will actually move?
    Great post! Blessings to you and many, many more years to come! ♥♥

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    1. Thank you for the birthday wish! I prefer to keep my celebrations low-key but I have to admit, this one falls into the category of “milestone” and should be acknowledged. As for the piano, yes, not only will the keys move, they will make music. Doesn’t look anything like a piano yet, so the thought of keys and notes seems very far away. I will persevere…

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  9. Happy birthday, Dave. As Joni says above, 60 didn’t bother me much (of course, my mother had passed away the previous month, so I had lots of other things on my mind). But turning 65 in 2020 was like being hit by a cannonball. I guess that I sort of felt like a freshman in my early 60s, but now I’m edging towards 70 and I don’t appreciate it. You seem very young and vigorous in heart and mind, though, so I predict some terrific golden years for you.

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    1. Interesting commentary about age 65, Paula. I sense you and Joni aren’t the only ones who feel this way. If I’m still blogging in five years I’ll be sure to add my own perspective. In the meantime, I’m more than happy to join the sixty-somethings!

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  10. Because I’m always behind in Reader, you are now 60 + 1 day old. Happy belated birthday Dave – hope it wasn’t too much of a shock. My 60th birthday I walked outside to run the car, then planned on a long walk on a beautiful April day. The car was dead as a door nail. I went in and called the mechanic to have them come to jump the battery and when I came outside a floral delivery had been attempted per the card on the porch. Instead of being gracious, I was annoyed – to make matters worse, I complained about it to my next-door neighbor and she was the one who sent me the flowers. Oops! Mama raised me better than that! I had many of the same significant dates and events in history as you – my beloved grandmother passed away the day after the Challenger incident, so on that anniversary each year I think of my grandmother’s passing. Sixty was tolerable, but last year I turned 65 which felt more traumatic to me.

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    1. I’m happy to say my 60th was not as adventurous as yours, Linda. And you’re the third comment to warn me about turning 65! I’ll be wary of that one coming, a few years down the road.

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      1. Ha ha … it was a birthday to remember, BUT, when the mechanic arrived with the portable jumper, he asked for the remote and said “I think I’ll use the remote and bring it back to life before I squeeze into the garage.” I took the remote off the key ring as my neighbor hit the remote with his heavy Winter gloves and it opened the trunk and he got snow in it. So I had taken the remote off for the Winter. He used the remote and locked and unlocked the car a few times and brought it back to life!! Yes, 65 made me feel old … just stay young at heart!

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  11. Happy birthday young man. I am almost 2.5 years older than you are. I would calculate like you did but life is short and getting shorter.

    Post 60 has been interesting. I have always felt a certain age in my head, which I would classify as late 30s or so, but actual age has been diverging from my internal age for some time. I think internal age has moved north in the last couple of years, maybe to early 50s now.

    And is that supposed to be a player piano? That’s the only kind I’ve ever seen with a motor.

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    1. I think I mistook a sound box for a motor, JP. It’s just a mysterious little box connected to the batteries – not sure what else it would do. I won’t know for sure until I’m deeper into the build. Stay “tuned”.

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  12. I remember when, as a teenager, one of the guys in the office of my summer job turned 30. I felt so sorry for him. Jack was now over the hill–the fun was over. Little did I know that even after making it over the hill more than several times (30, 40, 50, etc.), I’d discover life still offers plenty of fun! On top of that, the best (heaven) is still ahead!

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    1. My kids are all just before or just after 30 and feel the same way. Little do they know. From my six decades of experience, every ten-year span is a unique experience. No part of the journey is more exciting or rewarding than another! At least, that’s how I see it 🙂

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