55

(Six-pack not included)

When your birthday is on the first of August, you do not often see a kick ass thunder and lightning storm on your birthday like the one we are having in northwest Ohio tonight. Safely sequestered in my in-laws' basement, I have the garage door open and nylon string acoustic guitar in my lap. My lovely wife is putting our beautiful 3-year-old daughter to bed as I reflect on the blessed events of the previous day. The first thing that struck me as really special about this day was Robyn Hitchcock's social media post about the late great Jerry Garcia, featuring a black and white photo of the two of them chatting backstage at an REM concert in 1989. I am a fan of both men and Jerry and I share a birthday. So it was a pleasant surprise to find in my Facebook feed this morning. It seems like not long ago when Robyn Hitchcock was someone who did not like to have his picture taken at all. So I'm probably not the only fan of his from back in the day who is rejoicing at his totally unexpected embrace of social media in recent months. Almost daily posts from him featuring his smiling face and details about his current activities! That would have seemed an outright impossibility not too long ago. That RH made some particularly astute and heartfelt observations about Jerry that nearly brought this RH to tears. Look it up. Follow Robyn. Like his posts. Buy his records. Support independent artists and musicians.

My wife and her family spoiled me rotten again this year. After 55 trips around the sun, it is still homemade pecan pie and KISS memorabilia that delights me more than anything. Call it arrested development. What brought me the most pleasure at age 12 is pretty much what I still crave today. That and a dank, double dry hopped triple IPA and a splash of Kentucky Bourbon on the rocks.

If each individual birthday greeting I received today was a shovel of dirt, y'all would have buried me 10 times over. Can't thank you enough for making me feel loved today. It means a lot. Really. Thank you. God bless. Peace and love.