The Big 54

The 54th birthday is not usually a cause for tremendous celebration. In fact, at this age, birthdays come and go, all to quickly. There is little that differentiates one from another. Unless there is some special reason, 54 is just another year to celebrate, looking back at what has been accomplished and another occasion for imagining as we look forward.

Unless, that is, there is something more to it than we might at first realize, which is the case with me. This is a very big birthday.

Let me explain.

My father died, in 1989, at the age of 53, just months short of the birth of our first and only daughter, Casey Jane. He died as the result of medical mishap, a mistake made in the course of a heart catheterization (sp?) that cut off blood flow to his intestines. When they opened his chest cavity for a quadruple bypass two weeks after, they discovered that a significant portion of his intestines had become necrotic and gangrenous. Instead of pursuing incredibly dangerous, and nearly impossible, medical procedures at the time, he decided, in consultation with the family and the doctors, to allow his life to end naturally. He died later that same day.

I have inherited many of my father's health challenges. I am hypertensive, with an enlarged heart and slightly high cholesterol. My transglycerides have advanced over the years, though only to a slightly high point. My habits are not like his were, however. I quit smoking in 1994. I work out as often as I can, though there is a special challenge with a very bad hip and two bad knees. While my diet is not perfect, I do not eat three-egg fried egg sandwiches three lunches per week or drink upward of a dozen cups of battery-acid coffee every day. I know my health numbers. They are not perfect, but better than they were ten years ago.

In short, 54 looks pretty good. I thought that I would take this occasion to celebrate some of that for which I am thankful...and some of that for which I hope.

I am thankful for my family. My wife and my daughter continue to be tremendous life-partners. They are, in many ways, the reason that I do what I do and the motivation behind me doing it. I am thankful for the life time of memories, for those who have contributed to shaping me, educating me, inspiring me, reminding me who I am and from whence I have come. I recognize the influence of teachers, coaches, mentors, friends and colleagues along the way. Thank you to each of you.

I am thankful for advancements in medical science, which, if they had been available in my father's time, may well have saved his life. I am thankful for doctors and nurses, who dedicate their lives to dealing with human illness, hoping that the outcome of their care is human wellness.

This leads me directly to several things for which I continue to hope and work. I wish that medical care were less financially dictated, that insurance companies did not have the power or authority to determine one's health care. I wish that we could all receive whatever care we needed and desired, like Angelina Jolie, who can afford to take preventative and voluntary surgical measures to protect herself from illness.I wish that option were open to the poor and middle class as well as the rich. I wish that we were more unified in caring for one another, that the superficialities that divide us might be erased by the unity at the essential human core.I wish that people treated others with respect and honor. I wish that list included all others, not just those of one's kind, type, class, status, race, orientation or life style.

Because I have been given this gift, which I, today, celebrate, I dedicate my remaining years to achievement of these wishes. I hope to serve in communities where they join me in the effort of overcoming decades and centuries of divisiveness in ways that result in radical unity, peace, justice and mercy.

The 54th is a big birthday for me. Thanks for all the kind wishes. Now, can we get to work?!