UPDATE: My column for The Durham News is up, and it’s a related piece about the changes in my hometown that I’ve witnessed over my 46 years.


There’s nothing particularly special about turning 46, unfortunately. Another mark on the calendar. You folks out there who turned 50 =nudge= know how to handle the real milestones… :)

To the right is an embarrassing array of photos from my childhood to the present. I spared myself the agony of including junior high photos; all of those should have been incinerated. I couldn’t find any with embarrassing 80s attire, or 70s unnatural fiber, stick-to-your-thighs-in-the-summer polyester wear, but trust me, the photos exist somewhere.

I still have trauma from the “miracle of polyester”…I remember wearing 100% thick and nasty hot poly powder blue gauchos, similar to the ones on the left. Purchase date around 1977. I wore those crappers for two seasons — with brown boots with the thick stacked heels. Have gauchos gone so out of fashion that they are back in as nostalgia togs?

I share a birthday with…

My uncle Charles in Bed-Stuy…

Marty Feldman born on July 8, 1933

Jeffrey Tambor born on July 8, 1944

Anjelica Huston born on July 8, 1951

Kevin Bacon born on July 8, 1958

Toby Keith born on July 8, 1961

Joan Osborne born on July 8, 1962

Lee Tergesen born on July 8, 1965

Billy Crudup born on July 8, 1968

Michael Weatherly born on July 8, 1968

Beck Hansen born on July 8, 1970

Nelson A. Rockefeller born on July 8, 1908

John D. Dingell born on July 8, 1926

Phil Gramm born on July 8, 1942

Some events in history on July 8…

1994 Space shuttle STS-65 (Columbia 17), launches

1988 Stevie Wonder announces he will run for mayor of Detroit in 1992

1982 Billy Martin records his 1,000th career win as a manager

1975 President Ford announced he’ll seek Republican nomination for president

1973 New York Mets are 12 games back in NL, and go on to win pennant

1969 U.S. troop withdrawal begins in Vietnam

1950 General Douglas MacArthur named commander-in-chief, United Nations forces in Korea

1923 Harding becomes 1st sitting president to visit Alaska (Metlakahtla)

1889 Wall Street Journal begins publishing

1876 White terrorists attack Black Republicans in Hamburg, South Carolina, killing 5

1870 Governor Holden of North Carolina declares Casswell County in a state of insurrection

1693 New York City authorizes 1st police uniforms in American colonies

951 Paris is founded

Also, the infamous Roswell incident was covered in the July 8, 1947 edition of the Roswell Daily Record.

Anyway, 46 sounds like smack-in-the-middle age, but this is the first year that it hit me that I’m on the back half of the life timeline and that it’s OK.  I’m thankful for every year, for the healthy days that I do have, and for the people in my life who make it worthwhile on the not-so-healthy days when my body feels like a broken-down Yugo (oh wait, weren’t they always broken down?). :)

No day off for me. It’s just another crazy workday in the real world. Posting on the blog will be lighter on my part, though.

Many thanks to those who sent the nice (and early!) birthday wishes on Facebook!