Birthdays and old age

By LEON YOUNGBLOOD

If you are reading this Nov. 19, I think I ought to tell you, it’s my birthday.  Nov.19 is my birthday, whether it’s Nov. 19 or not, but since today’s column fell on my birthday, I thought I would mention it.

BRIAR CIRCLE

Not that there’s really anything significant about it.  More people have been born on this date than I can count, and I don’t know any of them.  Also, the different opinions on birthday observations may make comments risky

This time around, I turned 69, which seems young, nowadays.  Birthdays were fun, when I was young.  Today, birthdays are still fun, hut I move slower.  Diagnosed as a diabetic, I started taking insulin at 14.  I thought this exempted me from other diseases, but nooo.  I am in stage 3 of Parkinson’s disease.  My eyes are not as dependable as they used to be—it’s irritating.

So, please pardon me if the columns are shorter, or if they are reruns.  Regular readers know I like quotes.  Here are some that fit loosely for the birthday column for today:

“Life really does begin at forty.  Up until then, you are just doing research.”—Carl Jung

“Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.”—anon.

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.”—George Bernard Shaw

“You were born an original.  Don’t die a copy.”—Don Mason

“There are two great days in a person’s life: the day we are born, and the day we discover why.”—William Barclay

“For God so loved the world He sent His only Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”—Jesus Christ

Incidentally, the last one is the quote I keep most in mind.

Get seen more. Advertise with the LCJ and our daily newsletter.