38 years old

I turn 38 on Feb 3.
Some interesting things have happened on this day in history.
In 1882, P.T. Barnum bought Jumbo the elephant.
1964 "Meet the Beatles" album goes gold.
1967 "Purple Haze" recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
And in 1979 the beloved "YMCA" reaches #2 on the pop singles charts.
I share a birthday with
Norman Rockwell -1894
Charlie "Pretty Boy" Floyd-1904
Henry Heimlich-1920 (Heimlich maneuver inventor)
Mr. Rogers-1928 Can you say aquarium? ah-kwar-ee-um, that's right. Very good. I knew you could do it,
You are special. Can you say special? Good, now let's get on the trolley to make-believe land.
Also, Blythe Danner, Nathan Lane and Morgan Fairchild.
It is also the "day the music died."
1959 when Ritchie Valens and the big Bopper's plane crashed. Bummer.
As a kid I wondered what I would be like as a grownup. And in many ways (ask my wife) I am still a kid.
I have a great privilidge and resposibility, running this ranch. I feel the weight of 5 generations looking over my shoulder and telling me, "We put our best years in this endeavor, now the torch is yours. What will you do with it?"
For all the trials of running a ranch, the one thing my grandpa always touted was the fact that there was always a variety of things to keep you busy. I find that to be very true.
Yesterday Pancho and I were fixing a stretch of fence where some outlaw strays had broke through onto our place. Then that afternoon, I was in Lockhart at the sale barn looking at some cattle, then to Home Depot for some parts, and then back home to put out some hay for a group of crazy heifers.
You kind of plan your day out, but sometimes, it plans itself. You have to be flexible in this business. You can't say, '10 oclock, time for my coffee break,' or 'it's 5, lets throw this down and leave it till tomorrow', or 'I'm not woring on the weekends, it's my time off.' All that goes with the territory.
But, its all worth it. As I write this, I see the sun coming up out of the eastern sky. I see God at work when that baby calf takes his first step, when the grass is greening up, when the cold front blows through you and you feel the winds turn around from the north. When it rains.
That's all the birthday present I need.