[KilgoreTrout]

I turn 35 tomorrow. If family history is an indication, I have about 30 years left, tops. No worries, as I try to stay young at heart. Here are some things I've figured out about myself so far on this journey.

1. I reserve the right to change my mind. When I was in my 20's I knew it all. Either I forgot most of it or I wasn't as sharp as I thought I was, because now I'm ovwhelmed by just how much I don't know. Maybe it's an effect of finding myself on life's "down" escalator, but my desire to absorb new information is insatiable.

2. All is not as it appears. LDO, but my youthful idealism has given way to healthy skeptcism. I approach just about everything critically these days, from casual conversation to politics to the very central tenets of my upbringing.

3. Other people are always problematic. That's not to say that I've evolved a Sartrian view of the Other, but the flawed nature of communication is the source of most daily stress. No matter how precisely I explain myself, the explanation is dependent on the receiver of the message.

4. My family doesn't know me and that's okay. Eight years separate my closest sibling and me, with 14 years between me and my oldest sibling. We have little in common other than bloodline. I was in college while they were starting families. I was in grad school when our father died. They had their built-in support systems and I did not. I began my career, got married, bought a house, changed jobs several times, and even though I live one block away from my sister, not one person in my family knows my interests, skills, or even what I do for a living. Last Thanksgiving, one of my sisters asked how my "little job" was going. Fine, I guess, if you consider managing a $2 billion product line little.

5. Work ain't all that. I was a maniac in my 20's, working insane hours, eager to impress, rarely taking time off. Now I'm a believer in maxing out vacation and sick time. My wife and I are playing hooky tomorrow to go hiking, have a nice lunch, and maybe head to the local art museum in the afternoon. I take my birthday off every year now, and you should too. For the most part, we're all cogs in the wheel. Nothing of what the majority of us do amounts to much. What matters is our own experiences. Bag in sick and enjoy life!

6. Wonders never cease. I spent most of Saturday in my yard, raking leaves and watching the birds at my feeders. On a whim, I palmed a handful of seeds and sat on my stoop, hoping to catch the eye of a brave chickadee. My mom used to urge me to do this as a kid - probably because I was annoying her or something - and it often worked. To my delight, within a few minutes, the first bird fluttered down to investigate. It took a seed timidly, then apparently told a couple of its buddies that the crazy Food Guy was offering stuff. I was mobbed by the little critters - with them landing on my sweatshirt, hat, and hands - and then suddenly, as if they realized the foolishness of their actions, they all flew off. It only lasted a few minutes, but the joy I felt was immesurable.

For most of my 20's I was obsessed with the Next Thing. The next car, the next job, the next girl, the next whatever clouded my perception of the present. Perhaps the most important lesson I've learned is that NOW is far more important than the past or the future.

Having said that, I'll probably rush off to by a convertible sports car. FWIW.