Bon anniversaire France... et Kevin

Bastille Day, 14 juillet 2008, is now in the history books. We celebrated the rights of Man, liberte, egalite, fraternite, etc., etc., along with a semi-major milestone for one man with champagne and fireworks on the Champ de Mars, in front of the Eiffel Tower. Kevin has now successfully completed 50 orbits of the nearest star, but is feeling none-the-wiser and (so-far) only slightly older for the experience. Still, it was very kind of 500,000 of our closest friends here in Paris - as well as Anders and Karin - to gather together with us for such an historic event.

As for the significance of turning 50, I've recently been offered two conflicting opinions (anonymity protected herein). The optimist points out the "Fifty is the new thirty...", but then the realist mentions that the difference between turning 50 as opposed to 40, for example, is that "it is no longer possible to (reasonably) deny that you are more than half-way.... done." But, as wise as these friends may be (ahem... both are over 50...), it is probably best to get perspective from a true philosopher who has thought deeply about the subject. So, we turn to George Carlin (who denies writing this, by the way):

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16!

And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . . YOU BECOME 21. . . YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED, we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 . . . and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday! You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.

And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I was JUST 92." Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!" May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!


All I can add is to note that, at this point in my life, turning 50 is a lot better than not turning 50. And its not so bad to do that in Paris, especially with the ladies pictured here. Finally... dreams are not gone at 50 - maybe, just redefined a bit.


Thanks to all for the happy wishes; we'll see many of you stateside soon!