Another Birthday

        I celebrated a birthday a few days ago and a birthday greeting from a friend on Facebook got me to thinking about birthdays and the passage of time. For the record and perhaps to provide some context, I am 52 years old as of March 21.

     For the most part, I am enjoying this stage in my life. There is a comfort that can be derived from a knowledge base that is the result of over five decades of experience. I became a father late in life and I often find myself thinking about this well of experience when showing my son simple things like how to boil an egg or an easier way to go from an "A" to an "E" chord when playing guitar. I suffer from no delusions of myself as a great musician or a world class chef, but there is something to be said for for the mass of little tricks that I've learned along the way. Conversely, I find that it only requires a little humility on my part to be open to learning from my 10 year old son. He has shown me more than a few helpful tricks in navigating my way through the world of cyberspace and computer technology.

     That being said, I have no problem with playing the age card when neccessary. For a living, I do mechanical work in the maintenance department of a local manufacturer. At one point our company had hired a young worker who had recently passed the examination qualifying him as an apprentice millwright. Though he had passed the exam, his practical working knowledge was minimal although his arrogance was at full capacity. At one point he made a comment when had to borrow a wrench from my toolbox to perform a certain task. It was something to the effect of " It's strange for a licensed tradesman to have to borrow tools from a layman." I replied " Not strange at all considering that I was working on machines when you were still pooping in a diaper." It was fun watching his face turn red. Fortunately, he was fired a few weeks later for various safety violations. Arrogance and a know it all attitude can be deadly when working around industrial machinery. Wherever he ended up, I hope that he still has all of his body parts.

     So, as I enter my 53rd year on this planet, I feel that I can take a degree of comfort in the lessons that I have learned along the way. However, I try hard to avoid complacency. If there's one thing that experience has taught me, it's that you can never have too much experience.

                                                  ...more later