On Turning 50

I started writing this missive back on my 50th birthday in August, but didn't finish. It was in my drafts, and I liked the original thought. I'm trying to remember where I was going in the thought process, though. Almost 4 months have passed, and I'm pretty used to being 50 now. Somehow, I was going to tie it all in to the coffee mug....



Going through one of our cupboards, I came across a Sex Pistols coffee mug that I bought during the Sex Pistols' 1996 reunion tour at the Universal Amphitheatre. It was shortly after my 33rd birthday, and I went with my sister. I remember it being one of the best concerts that I'd ever been to, with Johnny Rotten working the stage like the practiced frontman that he was, and as I think about it, only a few shows have measured up to that. (Johnny Cash at the House of Blues in on 2/26/96, playing a show that featured June Carter, Carlene Carter, Rosanne Cash, and for the encore, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, comes to mind. It was Johnny's 64th birthday). I also remember that my girlfriend was sleeping on my couch when I got home, after letting herself in through a window, which also is a good memory.

I know that somewhere I have a poster, too, but I had completely forgotten about the coffee mug. I'm not sure why I bought it-though I like coffee. I imagine that even then I got the irony of it all. I also now wonder why it isn't a tea cup. The Sex Pistols are very British, and a tea cup, I would think, would be far more appropriate.

While walking my daughter to school last week, a kid skateboarded by with a Black Flag t-shirt on. I saw Black Flag at the Olympic in 1981, and as the kid skateboarded by, I commented to my daughter, who looked to be about the same age, that I saw Black Flag way back when. My thought was that if I were wearing a shirt from a band that was big 32 years prior when I was in, say, high school, that would have meant that I would be wearing a t-shirt celebrating Dinah Shore, Kay Kaiser or Nat King Cole. They are all fine artists, and I own music from Nat King Cole, but I never would have put his face on a t-shirt and worn it to school-no one would have.

Actually, this would make a good shirt!

Elvis died on my 14th birthday. I remember Elvis alive, which now puts me in a minority, my kids only knowing Elvis from impersonators.

Madonna shares my birthday, though she is five years older. She never sends me a card, but I never send her one either.


Continuing the thought, November 29, 2013

I was going to have a huge bash on my 40th, inviting a taco guy and everyone I know, but my house was in the middle of a remodel then, and I don't recall doing much of anything.

And now, more on March 2, 2014

This year, I insisted that we be someplace on my birthday. My two older kids had commitments, and our window for vacation went by in a blink, but I insisted that I didn't want to be at home on my Birthday. Turning 50 at home had no appeal at all to me, because I knew that I would end up doing chores around the house, and I didn't want to be doing chores. My wife managed to hook us up for tickets to California Adventure, and then we went to Vegas, so my youngest and I were strolling the Strip on my 50th, the rest of the family collapsing after dinner at the Harrah's Buffet. We also saw the Mac King afternoon magic show, something that I highly recommend if you have kids and don't want to spend a fortune for a show. He's funny and family friendly, with just enough adult humor to keep everyone entertained.


So on my 50th was spent walking from the Flamingo to New York New York, where we found out that my youngest was still too short to ride the roller coaster. I expected her to have a full on melt down, but actually, she was okay. So we went to the M & M Store, and the Coca Cola store, and with a bag of M & M's and the amazing Coca Cola sample tray.

And it was my youngest that was with me. I don't know what to say about that beyond, I hope it's a good memory for her, because it will always be a good memory for me. And when I turn 60, it's probably be the two of us again.