When (NOW) I'm Sixty-Four!

Belated happy birthday to me!  I turned 64 years of age on Saturday, my Paul McCartney birthday, as I've been calling it leading up to the actual day last weekend (sorry, Sir Paul!).

Truthfully, I don't feel much different, not surprisingly.  But I'll say a few things about what I've seen over the past six decades and a little more....

I'm listening to (surprise!) The Beatles as I write today's thoughts.  I remain horribly out of touch with modern music, and honestly, I'm fine with that!  I'm sure there are some good musical acts in various genres that I might like, but I haven't heard them.  Let me add that I am intrigued by the superb baritone country singer Sturgill Simpson, who has demonstrated that he's quite the renegade and operates pretty much outside of the country music establishment.  He has a new album out (I still buy albums, y'know) but I have yet to figure out where to find it....

I like a few of the movies that have come out over the past year or two, namely the splendid Dune films directed by Denis Villeneuve.  I never read the Dune books when I was the right age in high school, so this has been startlingly interesting to me.  My wife loved the first movie (a lot) but was disappointed by some plot points in the second.  Rumored that there will be a third installment, so we'll have to see.  I also liked the first part of the next installment of Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible series.  Part Two has been delayed by a variety of issues.  Christopher Nolan remains my favorite director and Oppenheimer is well worth one's time.  Not sure what's next for him.

Most of my reading is in the form of audiobooks, since I travel a lot.  Erik Larson's excellent "The Demon of Unrest," concerning the onset of the American Civil War was very good, thoroughly researched and extremely informative, even for a history nerd like me.  With my favorite historian David McCullough no longer with us, it was great to find a well crafted narrative about actual events from our past.

I'm old enough to remember when Lyndon Johnson announced in the spring of 1968 that he was no longer a candidate for President in that year's election.  So there's precedent for what President Joe Biden announced yesterday.  I am sorry that he was forced from the race but polling data and diminished fundraising appear to have been the primary culprits.  I'm on board with Vice President Kamala Harris assuming the mantle of Democratic Presidential candidate and think she'll give the 45th President more than a run for his money.

Honestly, in my 64 years I've never seen anything quite like "the former guy," how he won in 2016 and the iron grip he continues to hold on the Republican Party.  There may be past examples, but darned if I can identify any of them.

Sports is a little jumbled just now, seems that whoever has the most money to spend at any level and in any sport will win and all others won't.  So professional golf still seems more like the pay-for-performance model that we mere mortals live with.  Kudos to Xander Schauffle for winning his second major championship this year, taking the Open Championship at Scotland's Royal Troon.  Ironically, it's just down the road from Turnberry, which is owned by none other than Donald Trump.  And the Royal and Ancient Golf Club won't sanction Turnberry for any Open Championships as long as Trump owns the course.

I had a great birthday.  My wife and I hit a favorite breakfast spot that morning, we got to see our middle granddaughter play high school soccer twice and had a wonderful family meal at a top restaurant for our gang between the games.

So back to earth now, but I'm still enjoying the ride!

 

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