BURKARD'S BLOG
5 AUG 03: 45 R.P.M.
"Houlihan's Old Place" had its grand opening Monday afternoon inside the downtown Wyndham hotel. I'm not sure why the city allowed this to happen. How can it be an "Old Place" if it's brand-new?
The word "old" has been on my mind for a few days, because I turned 45 on Monday. So if you're wondering what our title means - 45 Revolutions of the Planet by Me.
(OK, how many of you thought "45 rpm" referred to my nine-year-old car's engine?)
A Local Elder at the church I attend has a habit of greeting me each week with the words, "old friend." He's done this for months, in fact - so I guess the gray hair really IS starting to show.
(I've tried to gently suggest a change of wording - by noting to the Elder he's using "the O-word.")
I've been going through a book by Christian author Max Lucado, in which he writes about rising extra-early on his 40th birthday to go running. He discovered it felt just like running as a 39-year-old. I had the same sort of feeling as I ran Monday afternoon - except my aging brain forgot to wear a sweatband. [True!]
Perhaps it says something about my life when the bulk of the birthday greetings come from obscure web sites, via e-mail....
+ An online firm sent me an "important survey" for the "45-year-old male" in my household - a few days before my birthday. Talk about rubbing it in.
+ Memomail invited me to click their birthday e-mail for 50 "bonus points." I think I'm now 4,950 points away from a $10 discount for an herbal alternative to Viagra.
+ Iwon.com awarded me 50 free entries in their giveaways - to go with all the other e-mails they've sent, awarding me 500 entries for no reason at all.
(Fifty free entries in an online contest? Isn't that like giving me 50 sets of NOTHING? At least 50 empty boxes can be used to pack things.)
For years, WSB-TV in Atlanta sent "birthday cards" to viewers offering discounted or free dinners at nice restaurants. Nowadays, restaurants don't even have "free birthday dinners" anymore. I know, because I went through the Yellow Pages at least twice....
In a way, I've brought a birthday paradox on myself. For years I did NOT celebrate birthdays, because the church I attended banned it as sinful. After all, I still haven't found anywhere in the Bible where Jesus put up a Christmas tree.
There's also the matter of when life begins. We've taught for years in churches I attended that life begins at concepcion - so aren't birthday parties missing the point? What DO they do in anti-abortion offices, anyway?
I mulled over the birthday matter at Peachtree Mall the other day, during Georgia's "tax-free holiday." Do I buy something I really don't need, to celebrate this? Or does this make me look like a self-serving egotist - you know, like Ben Affleck in "Gigli?"
(Yes, I did wind up splurging at the mall. I took home two big cookies from the food court, instead of buying Grandma's in a bag at the newsstand.)
Bottom line: I tried to make turning 45 no big deal Monday, and have as normal a day as possible. Well, uh -- except for sitting at the computer and typing all this about it....
COMING SOON: One man's gripe about a hospital, where doctors supposedly don't visit patients....