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| Turning 40 not so bad after all |
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| Sports | |||
| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Wednesday, 17 December 2008 08:00 | |||
 There wasn’t much space to work with on my desk last week. It wasn’t because my filing system was out of whack, either. My coworkers decided to have a little fun with my 40th birthday on Dec. 9. They were celebrating it exactly one week early, because word got out I was trying to sneak out of town before the big day, which was Tuesday. So, when I came in early last week, well early for me anyway, there were piles on my desk of pecans, M&Ms, paper clips, erasers, miniature candy bars, bubble gum, some smooth colored glass stones used for decoration and a few items I didn’t even recognize. I began thinking about the big 40th. While I sit here writing this late Friday night and into Saturday morning, preparing to leave Sunday before the forecast for a wintery mix of ice and snowfall, I still don’t think the day will be much different than the other days. There is no mid-life crisis coming on, mainly because I figure I am already past that age. Sports writers don’t live that long, do they? It really is just another day. Besides, my boss, our new publisher Sandy Nelson, made a good point when looking at all of the piles. “40 doesn’t look that bad, does it,” she said. I didn’t think so, either. Now, six or seven piles of 40, well that is pretty intimidating, but who’s going to be around for 240 to 280 years? I mean modern medicine has advanced in my day, but if I am here in 2248, someone must have found me in a chunk of ice. I plan on spending the big day with the people who have to sacrifice the most for me to be the “sports guy,” “camera man,” “newspaper guy,” and “hey, Gene” here in Paola — my family. I will get up early for breakfast with Mom and Dad and my twin brother, Ray, at Bob Evans, our usual stop, and then go by the house to take a couple of vehicles to the local car wash that gives you one for free on your birthday. Yes, I hate driving my car all over town in the big city of Florissant (200,000 or so, give or take a dozen). So, of course, I’ll let Dad drive his car out there and use my free birthday car wash to make his blue Pontiac shine that day. It’s a tradition. Mom will already have a tree up by then. But, growing up, the family would head out and three birthday boys would help pick out a Christmas tree. Ray and I were born on our brother Tim’s sixth birthday. So, he is really old. It is a pretty cool day to have a birthday. I’ll hoist a few cups of iced tea to celebrate the Boston Tea Party, which occurred on my birthday, and play a little classical music for Ludwig van Beethoven, who shares the birthday with me, although not the same year. And, I’ll stop by Terry and Alice’s home to visit with the triplets (Franklin, Rebekah and Rachel) and their siblings Jacob, Emily and Amanda. I’ll make sure Amanda knows I have remembered her big day as well, Dec. 16th is the day Terry officially adopted her after he married Alice, giving her the Morris name. Hey, turning 40 can’t be all bad, I share the anniversary with Hot Wheels and my best friend — Ray. We celebrate another anniversary on Christmas Day — our baptism. You couldn’t pick a better day. Merry Christmas. Peace and God Bless you and yours.
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