Out of the Inkwell

(That's me pointing my finger at another newspaper guy while on a panel at Western New England College)

Well, today is my birthday...the same as John F.Kennedy, Patrick Henry and Bob Hope. At 53 I'm not considered "old," as "old" is now when one reaches the eighth decade of life and beyond.

There are times when I feel much younger than some of the younger people with whom I work: people who have very strict rules and outlooks on life and act far more conservatively (not in a political sense) than I did at that age.

At least how I remember I acted. I could be wrong here. Maybe I was a putz as well.

But there are times when I'm not able to keep up or even understand the popular culture and that does make you feel out of touch.

A bit of wisdom that has come after 53 years: One fact of which I'm sure, the two most previous commodities one have in life is love and time. If you have support and the time to accomplish things, life is sweet. I've been very lucky in having a soul mate for the past 28 years-plus and for having time within my field of interest to accomplish a few of the things I 've wanted to do.

I've not made much money. I've been screwed over by people I've thought were my friends. I've taken hits that I didn't deserve. But all of that has made much more bearable thanks to my wife and true friends.

Thank you.