I'll Be the Harmony to Every Lonely Song

Well, today is my 21st birthday. I guess that millions of teenagers look forward to this age milestone, but right now the ability to legally purchase alcohol does not seem like that big of a deal. It was good to have a bunch of people over last night to watch "Napoleon Dynamite." To me, the great mystery of the movie has always been its date. Is it supposed to be the 80's? Is it supposed to be the early 90's? Or is it supposed to be 2004? The other question is: Is Idaho really that bizarre? Because if it is, we have severly underestimated its potential to pass Southern California as the mecca for weird people in the United States.

I am not sure what is going on tonight, but I think Katie and Adam have something planned. It has always been nice to have MLK Day around my birthday. It made sleep-overs a lot easier when I was younger. Birthdays have usually been a lot of fun. I still remember getting gray cowboy boots when I was about 5 or 6, and getting a mini-trampoline for basketball dunking when I was about 11. I also remember hearing that my grandpa died the day that I turned 10. I remember playing Scattegories last year at Sewell Auditorium, and Mel Knox and Katrina running with my cake through the rain from their car.

Birthdays are an interesting thing to celebrate. Woohoo, this is the day that you came into the world. Good job getting out of the birth canal. (Sorry Mom) And the first thing you get is a nice slap on the rear. I guess that is where the tradition of birthday spankings came from. They are an affirmation of the uncertain quality of life. We were never promised that we would grow this old, or that we would see these things. In some of the AIDS ravaged African nations, my current age would almost move me into middle-aged status. A birthday is a chance to celebrate another year of life. A year of beauty, a year of pain, a year of growth, and a year of discovery.

I can't wait to see what the next one will bring.