Here I am on a blanket in my baptismal robe & booties. How cute!

Today is my birthday and according to calculations, I have been alive for 17,896 days.  That seems like an enormous amount of time, and yet, I still feel like I’m just getting started.   I’ve been avoiding making a “bucket list”, but there are still lots of things that I want to do.  I’ll ponder that for another post.

Wait!  Don’t leave just yet.  Since I’m a history buff, here are some interesting things that have happened on this day, February 25th:

• Pope Pius V excommunicated Queen Elizabeth I of England for schism and persecutions of English Catholics during her reign.  Pope Pius V was also the pope who named St. Thomas Aquinas a doctor of the Church and created the alliance that defeated the Ottomans at the famous Battle of Lepanto. (1570’s)
• George Washington held his first cabinet meeting in 1793 and we’ve been trying to understand why ever since.
• In 1947, the state of Prussia ceased to exist, apparently, it was under too much prussia.
• Ferdinand Marcos flees the Philippines during the People Power Revolution. Corazon Aquino becomes the first female president.  Marcos was very surprised by all this.  He thought he was a shoe-in, not realizing that his wife, Imelda, actually had all the shoes.

Apparently, lots of famous people have been born on this date.   Here are some of the ones that I’ve heard of:

• 1778 – José de San Martín, Argentine general and liberator of South America (d. 1850)
• 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter, graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1919)
• 1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian tenor (d. 1921)
• 1888 – John Foster Dulles, 52nd U.S. Secretary of State (d. 1959)
• 1901 – Zeppo Marx, American actor (d. 1979) – not one of the funny ones.
• 1913 – Jim Backus, American actor (d. 1989) – aka Thurston Howell, III to my generation.
• 1928 – Larry Gelbart, American comedy writer (d. 2009).  He was a writer/producer for the TV show M*A*S*H, without which my early life would have been much different.
• 1943 – George Harrison, English musician (The Beatles) (d. 2001).  ’nuff said.
• 1965 – Carrot Top, American comedian.  Extremely annoying, what can I say?
• 1971 – Sean Astin, American actor, always to be remembered as Sam Gamgee.
• 1986 – Justin Berfield, American actor.  He played my favorite character in “Malcolm in the Middle.”  The show had some very subtle humor.
• 1986 – James and Oliver Phelps, English actors.  aka Fred and George Weasley from the Harry Potter movies.  It seems they actually have dark brown hair.  Weird.

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be any saint for this day on the Roman calendar.  I guess it leaves room for me.  Of course, that would mean I would have to do something saintly and actually die on my birthday.

Today’s Gospel reading includes this speech from Jesus to his disciples:

“Ask and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Mt 7:7-12)

This is good scripture for me.   I am always seeking and contentment always seems just out of reach.  Would you agree, dear reader, that this is just part of the human condition?

Here are some things planned for the next year:

• March, 2010:  Travel to the state of Georgia for business and family.
• April, 2010:  Travel to Haiti on parish mission exploratory trip.
• August: 2010:  Travel to Boston for the Catholic New Media Celebration
• October: 2010:  Travel to St. Louis for my friend Tom’s wedding.

This doesn’t seem like near enough adventure for this year. I hope to add to this list.  I’d like to plan a real vacation, perhaps to one of the states I haven’t visited yet, like Hawaii or Alaska.  Stay tuned.

OK, enough of this rambling nonsense.  Thanks for reading.  Send comments.