45 and counting

Today I celebrated my 45th birthday with a trip to the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, followed by a leisurely stroll through Ft. Greene with my wife and a trip back home. It was a quiet day in honor of a life which has become a bit more sedate but no less interesting.  While age has its drawbacks - I am still getting used to my new bifocals and find all-nighters a much greater challenge than in the days of my misspent youth - it also has its rewards. 

I wanted to take this moment to thank my wife Kathy for a decade of love, support and organizational skills: my life is much the better because of her and I couldn't ask for a better spouse and life partner. We've been together since the last century and I would gladly spend the next hundred years with her if the fates allow.

I'd also like to thank my fellow denizens of this little corner of the blogosphere. The exchanges I've had on here have helped to sharpen my thoughts and strengthen my ideas.  Respectful disagreement and scholarly debate may be dying arts for many, but my readers haven't yet received the death notice.  I am blessed by those who agree with me and by those who offer intelligent arguments and alternatives to some of my conclusions.  Thank you all for everything.

As the Grateful Dead once said, "What a long, strange trip it's been." Here's hoping the longest and strangest part is yet to come.