After all these years, not so strange to be 70

It was the spring of 1968 and I was about halfway through what I'd have to say was one of the three or four worst years of my life.

I had been at the University of Virginia for more than six months. My grades were beyond atrocious and I hadn't made a single friend. Pretty much all I had was the music, and when Simon & Garfunkel came out with their long-awaited "Bookends" album, I found myself listening to it again and again.

The song that touched me the most was "America," about a couple who went on the road "to look for America," something a lot of us thought of doing back then. I was 18 going on 13 and desperately unhappy. If "Old Friends" and its wonderful line, "How terribly strange to be 70," didn't much register with me, it's probably because I never thought I would ever see 70.

Heck, I didn't think I would see 30.


When I think back to that time, I'm actually amazed I didn't take my own life.

Although I sort of did. I did things that marred my "permanent record," closing all sorts of doors it would have been nice to keep open. In the end, I managed to have a pretty good life, providing that the Good Lord forgives again and again.

But back to the point ...

"... how terribly strange to be 70 ..."

Coen, Malachi, Albanie, Madison, Lexington and Simon.

Today I accomplish what I never thought I would. I celebrate, such as it is, my 70th birthday.

I have friends and relatives who matter to me.

I have a wife I love and who loves me.

I have two children I love and admire.

I have grandchildren I adore, little kids for whom I would give my life if it became necessary.

These people have made my life wonderful most of the time and bearable in the worst of times.

When I was covering college basketball in the late '80s, I visited cities like Pocatello, Idaho, where I was told it isn't the end of the earth but you can see it from there.

I think that works for time too. At age 70, I don't think it's the end of my life. But there are times when the light is right that I think I can see the end from here.

One thing about the Simon song, though. It may be terribly strange to be 70 from the perspective of being 18, but I feel no different than I did when I was 69 ... or 68 ... or 67.

You get the picture. This isn't a George Burns movie where you go to sleep at age 18 and wake up to find yourself 81. As we age, we have two choices. Age well like a fine wine or age badly like a loaf of bread.

People who don't know us well may remember us for our greatest achievements, but those who know us best remember the decline and fall.

I have no fear of dying. I want to live as long as I'm needed and no longer.

Finishing strong is the best way to go.