Rant #1,427: Happy Birthday To Me!

 Iambic pentameter be damned ...

Happy birthday to me.
Happy birthday to me.
Today I am 58.
And boy, I really feel great!

The time has gone fast.
I can't believe how swift.
Time moves on.
Through every hole and rift.

Yeah, that was pretty bad, but it sums up my life today at 58.

I am never 100 percent satisfied, but I am happy.

So today, I looked through some past Rants I wrote revolving around my birthday. I came up with one that pretty much sums up everything.

So rather than repeat everything I was going to say, here is what I had to say on April 27, 2012, many, many Rants ago, about my big day the following day--my birthday was on a Saturday that year--a day which I share with an assortment of celebrities, including Jay Leno, Ann-Margret and yes, Sadaam Hussein.

I updated this Rant where necessary to reflect that I am now 58, not 55, but I feel the same way I did three years ago as I do now.

"I can't believe where all the time has gone. It seems like just yesterday, I was playing in the dirt and mud with my friends.

Today, I am playing in the electronic dirt and mud with my friends, so I guess things haven't changed that much.

In 1957, the Chevy was a very popular car, Elvis was still the top singing star, and "I Love Lucy" was just about off the air.

The Yankees and Braves were in the World Series, and the Braves beat the Bronx Bombers. The Dodgers and Giants played their last home games in New York.

The word "files" related to things stored away in cabinets, and computers were humongous machines that only were available for businesses that could afford them.

Dwight D. Eisenhower was president, and Barack Obama wasn't even born yet.

I  can't believe where all the time has gone.

I was born in Brooklyn, moved to Kew Gardens Hills, Queens, very early on in my life, moved to Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, when I was seven, and moved to Long Island when I was 14.

I have been married twice, the second time far and away the best time, and I have two kids, 19 and 26. My wife (a fellow former Queens-ite) and I will be married 22 years in June.

It has been an amazing ride. I have seen everything from those horrible assassinations in the 1960s to moon flight. I have grown up in the best time to grow up, when we moved ahead so much in our everyday lives to the point we are at now.

It isn't all fun. The world continues to be a very unsettled place, and yes, you do have to look over your shoulder time and time again.

But all in all, it's been a very fun ride.

I wish I still had my hair, my belly is a little too round, but even though I'm 58, I haven't changed much.

Not only do people say that I look relatively the same as I did way back when (less the hair), but I don't think my mindset has changed at all in my 58 years.

I still believe family is our No. 1 priority, and nothing, and I mean nothing, stands in the way of family, I don't care what it is.

Health is also important, and the same thing I said for family goes for health too. I have had a few episodes during the past few years to know that health, and family, really are the most important things in life. It seems without one, you can't do the other.

So, today, on April 28, I will celebrate my birthday in relatively good health and with my family. I will go to work today, eat a nice dinner with my family, have a small celebration, and probably watch the Yankees play the Tampa Bay Rays on TV tonight when all is said and done.

The best present? That my family is around me.

So happy birthday to me, and everyone else born on April 28, and, I hope there are many more birthdays to come."