Happy Birthday to Me!

"Wouldn't it be fine if we could stand behind the words we say in the best of times"

- The Avett Brothers

I was born on April 26, 1973....which can mean only one thing: Today is my 40th Birthday!

Dear Readers -
Your humble narrator has spent more days on earth than he has left. It has been a joyous ride! So come along with me while I recap why I am the luckiest man on earth!

My mom gave me my first record when I was in preschool: Bridge Over Trouble Water by Simon and Garfunkel. This is my first memory. I brought their stories to life on my portable record player. Later I discovered Star Wars and music that sounded like space travel by ELO. Then came Pink Floyd's wall, A whole lotta Ozzy, some super dope rap, hardcore music, 120 minutes, The Grateful Dead, Lollapalozza, Oasis, and then Ben Folds.

"She is all that I have left and Music is her name"

- Crosby, Stills and Nash

I've never been the biggest man in the room which is probably why I am massively competitive. As a boy, I was outside in the California sun non-stop. Sports have taught me so much about being a successful person. In '82 we beat the dreaded Dodgers in a double-header to win the Canyon Creek minor division little league championship. 2 years later I moved down south to play for the great Tom Heller - we went 18-2 and I collected another 1st place trophy. Every young person should experience the joy of winning a little league championship. Back in my day there were trophies given to only one team, the best team!

I've won a bunch a medals as a wrestler, took first in a skateboard championship, won a few talent shows, and was President of my fraternity. Such amazing accolades that involved a ton of hard work, an unwillingness to ever give up, and a certain degree of luck. Indeed, I am the luckiest man on earth.

I have the two best parents a man could ever ask for. My dad awoke before me and got home after I was asleep to provide a good life for my sister and I. He succeeded massively. My Mother is the toughest woman in the world having beat cancer more than a few times. She reminds me of my wife in her inability to tolerate negligence.

I met a girl on New Year's Eve several years ago. I was in love with her the second I saw her. She has put up with my shit for over a decade. I have no idea why. I truly am the luckiest man on earth.

I was a nervous wreck leading up to fatherhood. I remember waking up on a hotel room floor after a night of running from my fear of responsibility. My friend Bob "the rock" Cohen looked at me with grave disappointment in my cowardice. 1,000 people told me to get my priorities straight. My friend Matt Clizbe was the only person to tell me the words I wanted to hear, "its not that difficult being a father". He was right, its not!

I have had a storied professional career. I have had the good fortune to receive some really great advice from some very smart people!

I want to thank the people who take their time to read what I write in this silly little blog. I hope 33 years from now, my son will read this on his 40th birthday. I hope he can experience the joy of victory and the innocence of falling in love. I hope he is uncompromising in his pursuit of happiness! You should be too!

I have stated before that we only have 29,200 days on this earth...and that we should make every one of them count! Divide that by two in my case. I presume I should try twice as hard to live life with a divine purpose going forward!

This merry-go-round we call life takes some unique twist and turns. Thanks for sharing them with me!

"Standing on the Moon with nothing left to do, a lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you"

- Jerry Garcia

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave