Happy Birthday to Me

OK, so today was my birthday. Two years after my warranty expired (that translates to 32, for those keeping score at home) and I reflect back on a life of adventure and treasure, mixed with some necessary heartbreak and disappointment.

It's been a good life and I have no regrets. In fact, I have only gratitude for those whom I have known and loved through the years. Without them, I would not be who I am today nor would I have known such experiences as some men, twice my age, would ever know.

My present from my wife for surviving yet another year was truly spectacular and one which will add another treasured experience to my hoard. She arranged for a private tour of a rare books collection, containing some of the most unique volumes in the world. During that tour, I was able to hold and leaf through a first edition of Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", almost 500 years old and worth over $1.6 million. Another book, a history of England, is being investigated as having been once used by Shakespeare during his personal research on the subject. If confirmed, the already valuable volume would leap to tens of millions of dollars in value.

Aside from the pure joy at hold and caressing the rare works of art, I was pleasantly surprised to learn something new about that which has been part of my life since age two. The concept of "fore-edge artwork" was unknown to both my wife and me until we were startled to see it in action from books over two centuries old, apiece.

Though we spent over two and a half hours in wonderful discussion and experience in this collection, we are going back soon and I will have photographs to share.

It truly was a great birthday, possibly the best of my life and one more reason I am blessed more than I deserve with the love and individuals surrounding me.