That's my third birthday, I think. Mama Joe on the left. Mama Do on the the right. Me in the middle. What's missing from the picture is a full view of the white patent leather shoes and a knee-high white socks with my navy short suit. Nice work, Lou Ann. Very nice.
I remember the Incredible Hulk cake when I was seven.
Parallel parking the wood-paneled station wagon perfectly for the officer when I was sixteen.
Receiving a pig for my 18th birthday. (Mary Katherine was not cute or cuddly. She put a dent in the barn, and you can imagine how that ended.)
Being away from home for the first time when I was 19.
I was kidnapped at midnight when I was 21. We went for margaritas.
I turned 30 in New York. I started my new job that day.
There have been birthdays in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. I think there was one in Argentina or was it Brazil? I can't remember.
In about half an hour - at 8:10 a.m. - I'll be 40. There's a dinner tonight. Honestly, I can't wait.
I feel better than ever.