I love serendipity, but I have to admit, this one strikes me as very weird.

As some of you know, today is my 65th birthday.  It’s an oddly important one for me.  When I was a young teenager, for some reason (that now I have trouble understanding), I had the notion that anyone who could make it to 65 had done pretty well for him/herself and that it was a reasonable time to pass off this mortal coil (not that I had read Hamlet yet).  At least it would mean not dying  young.  So I thought that it would be reasonable goal.

Ai yai yai.  Kids.  Well, I no longer think of 65 as the goal in life.  I mean, I don’t particularly want to double it, but I’m happy to plod along for a good long time still.  The other reason that it is significant for me is that my dad died at 65.  That was 1989, a good long time ago; and I remember at the time thinking that he was too young, with too much of life ahead of him.  Now that I’m his age, I REALLY think that.

My mom, at the time, was 62.  She now is 93 and going strong.  The ole synapses ain’t firin’ like they used to, but she’s still very good-natured and is able still to get around with her walker.  The women in her family have always died young.  Her mother passed away in her late 50s; her younger sister at 60; and so on.  And so when my dad died my mom seriously, genuinely, believed she would last another three or four years.  She’ll probably outlive us all…

Anyway, all this is to say that 65 is kind of big deal for me.  Of the birthdays that have “hit” me (every one is different this way), the big ones were 30 and 60.  Not sure why.  But 65 has almost a mythical sense for me.  And so I’m working today, but starting to celebrate late afternoon, with champagne, filets, and a nice red wine I’ve been saving for a good occasion.

And so, you ask: what has this to do with the blog?  Well, very little, except this: serendipity.  When I got up this morning, by chance I did something I do maybe only once a month if it occurs to me (this had zero to do with it being my birthday).  I looked up how the blog revenue was doing.

Today, literally, today, we hit the $1,000,000 mark.  Since starting the blog April 3, 2012, till today, we have brought in a million dollars.  On my 65th.  Wow.  OK, then.  Nice birthday present!!!

Every penny of that money has gone to help the needy, supporting charities that help the hungry, the homeless, the victims of disaster.  Whatever else our faults (mine are like the San Andreas), we’ve “done good.”

I want to thank all of YOU for being part of it.  I really, really appreciate it.

If you would like to celebrate our milestone achievement, feel free to send in a donation, of any amount.  Just go to the blog, click the DONATE NOW button and go from there.  If you cannot or would rather not, perfectly fine!  You’re already helping out immensely, just by being a member.  So instead, please send your happy thoughts to the blog (mentally transport them!) and even more your good wishes to those in such need around our world.  And may you have a happy day, as well.