My thanks to the folks who have wished me a Happy Fortieth on Facebook and via email. On Facebook, I wrote:
Kevin Kim was recently informed that life actually begins at fifty. Oy... ten more years as a fetus.
Here's to the next decade of life. Many thanks to my best buddy Mike for his tribute, and to my French brother Dominique for sending me his gâteau virtuel. Truth be told, I don't particularly feel like celebrating, given all that's going on, but I appreciate the gestures of friendship and love. Thanks as well to Pastor Jeri for calling and wishing me a happy birthday.
UPDATE, 8:53PM: Well, I'm speechless. My family got me a sleek new 20-inch iMac! I had actually been wanting to buy a much smaller-scale Mac Mini, but this far, far exceeds my expectations. The family also gave me some cards, a cake, and one of my favorite flavors of ice cream-- mint chocolate chip. Everyone got a hug from me in return (including Mom, who was in on the plan), but it somehow doesn't seem to be enough. How do you repay this sort of love?
_
2 comments:
Time Marches On,
or
It Sure Beats the Alternative
It’s hell, they say, when you get old.
Your toenails all are caked with mold,
Or maybe other kinds of fungus.
It’s hard to breathe with ancient lungus.
All bloodshot are your rheumy eyes,
All weak and stringy are your thighs.
Your pancreas is stiff and sore,
And buttocks droop towards the floor.
With exercise, your muscles ache,
It feels like all your bones will break.
You day by day get soft and flabby,
Your disposition loutish, crabby.
Digestion, once a simple task,
Becomes a chore (and please, don’t ask.)
Shoulder joints all get bursitis.
Your bladder wakes you up at nightis.
Your backbone gives you many pains.
Increasingly sieve-like grow your brains,
Until you cannot keep in mind
that “this is your elbow, that’s your behind”:
Getting old, it is not kind.
But whene’er these thoughts go thro’ my head,
I think: “It sure beats being dead.”
Best wishes for many, many more... all in good health!
Happy birthday! The big 4-0... I will be joining you in a few years.
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