Mileage on the Odometer, Water under the Keel

I woke up this morning staring 50 full in the face. I know it's a monument birthday, a milestone, but somehow it doesn't seem a whole lot different than turning over 50 miles on the odometer of my bike after I turn it back to zero....only this time I can' t turn it back to zero. So, I think it's more like 50 miles an hour, just a gentle cruise with the wind in your face....Or maybe it's like sailing my boat, just slipping along to familiar or unfamiliar places. Now it's just the journey that matters. When I was young(er) I always had in the back of my mind the notion that "when I'm young again.....", but in the past couple of years this notion has faded, replaced by a sense of just gliding over the water, trying to avoid the shallow and sandbars, but nonetheless learning for each and every one that you might get hung up on .

There was no revelation following the tolling of the bells of my birth hour, or enhancement of insight, I don't even think any of my hair went grey(er), or I acquired any new wrinkles.

No, today I don't feel maudlin or especially reflective, just thankful to be here. All the cliches, like, "if I'd have known I was gonna live this long, I would've taken better care of myself", just go out the window, and I keep riding down the path. Although I'm certainly not going to score highly on the list of "he who dies with the most toys wins" mentality, I do have friends and family who've made this trip more than worthwhile, so the material things take a distant back seat. And living here is like living in the pages of a Steinbeck novel. I think that's the way it is with most coastal communities, and I guess I'm just another character.

So what's next? Well, just because I turned fifty doesn't mean any dreams went out the window too. I still want to circumnavigate the Gulf and near Caribbean, I want to take a monumental road trip or two, maybe visit some places I've never been. But for right now, I plan on continuing sailing, surfing, riding, diving, fishing, flying kites, taking care of business, exploring the islands in my life, eating at D' Pizza Joint, drinking a little beer (maybe a little rum too....), enjoying days like today, when the air smells like the sea, and you can hear the waves crashing on the shoreline and all of the other things that make up this crazy patchwork collage that I call my life. Mostly I plan on enjoying the journey with my family and friends....