Birthday Fun


The last group photo I’m a part of that’s still in my possession. My sister’s 
wedding in the late1990’s, with me and my mother in attendance, here in Salem.

I don’t get out much anymore. Haven’t for a long time. If I didn’t take pictures of myself, nobody would, or could, anymore. I don’t give them the chance. Why in recent years I’ve made a point of doing an official birthday selfie, to keep track of the wear and tear of the years and see if the falling apart process is gaining speed. This year was not a good year for hair. That much I’ll tell you. But here’s the Official 74th Birthday Selfie I took on Friday.

Not as young as I used to be.

I hadn’t really shown this pic to anyone, but imagine my surprise when I received a gift yesterday by parcel delivery from a young lady I helped raise who will always be close to my heart. She and I hadn’t spoken about the Rolling Stones in years, but somehow she must have divined I’d been thinking of them, because here’s what she ordered sent to me before I thanked my birthday well-wishers with a Stones song:


How did she know? And more than that, how did she know that Mick and I were coming apart physically at approximately the same rate?

I listened to a bunch of the songs (not bad for doddering pre-Boomers) and thanked her. Then, inspired by the album cover, I did my own Mick tribute (his birthday is later this month) with this little video:


So it’s a little rough. I didn’t know I was going to be doing this post, did I? Just having fun.

Besides, the very first song on the new Stones drop is called —TA DA — “Rough and Twisted.”



I think birthdays should be fun. They should last a week. I’m entering my 75th year now, which I have just christened the Year of Ascent, very important because as I have defined it, I am the only member of my generation who made it there. Don’t worry about the technicalities on that. All that matters at the moment is that the word ‘Ascent’ gave me an idea for how to leverage the tomb design for myself I’ve previously described in “My Ghost Prevention Plan.”

Simple really. Find a sand quarry, dig a hole, and 
bury a Land Rover there with me inside.

Here’s what I said about it at the time:

“What goes in the back seat is far more important than what’s left of my body. All my books and a passel of thumb drives containing all my writings and graphic works should be hermetically sealed in a sturdy Ziplok bag protected by layers of weatherproofed fabric. 

The whole shebang can be lowered into the hole. No funeral service is required on my part. I’ve said my prayers, and I don’t expect any big turnout. Unless someone spills the secret ahead of time. Which is not a good idea, but it’s out of my hands at that point, obviously.”

What I’ve figured out since is that when I have crossed over (I believe that’s the technical term), I’ll have access to my own quantum computer technology developed in my youth, as shown here:

The tank full of blue liquid is the biological memory required for massive quantum processing.

The keyboard is the first implementation of a quantum interface in a mobile device. Like, say, a Land Rover Defender. Which I will Just happen to have with me in my tomb.

Here’s what the initial takeoff will look like, Again, roughly. Still in the planning stages here…

To imagine the ride, just think of seeing all the best places and times of your life 
from a drone camera you can pilot in person anywhere in the universe.

I won’t say I can’t wait. That would be tempting fate, I suppose. Everything in good time. But I’m not afraid of that big launch day. Happy Birthday to me. And, again, my thanks to all who played along with me on this occasion.

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