Today my son is 13! In many cultures the 13th birthday is a rite of passage. Jews have Bar Mitzvah, African tribes begin teaching boy to become hunters. For me it means I am not the parent of a teenager!!!!!!!!

I love the fact that I can now look him straight in the eye without stooping. His voice is getting lower with almost every passing day. He seems to be as lucky as his old man in that his voice isn't going through the nasty Bobby-Brady-cracking. I just seemed to have awakened one day in my early teens with a voice like James Earl Jones. We did a play in Junior High School in which I did the off stage voice of God because I was the only boy in the building with a deep enough voice. Hey! It just dawned on me.....that was my first voice gig!!!!!!

I called John (I guess I have to call him that now all the time. "Johnny" probably seems too juvenile for him!) first thing this morning and wished him a happy birthday. I have a present to give him when he's here this weekend. Not going to revel it here in case he happen to read this. Trust me, he'll love it!

I'm still in a funk at work. This would one of those perfect time to win lotto!

Today was also the birthday of one of my best friends at work. Actually, Linda Orth is know as my "Liberty Wife". For a number of years we sat next to each other. No matter where we moved we got placed side by side. We joked in a Batteling Bickersons sort of way and people thought of us as an old married couple. He two daughter conspired to surprise her for her 50th birthday. It went off perfectly. All weeekend long she was bitching and moaning about how "noone was doing anythign for her brithday" and that her daughters could have "done something" to celebrate. The look on ehr face when she walked into the room fileld with about a dozen freinds and family members was priceless. Since I didn't get to Chuck E Cheese's for my 40th thins might be something for some people to consider for my 50th in another 8 years! Plenty of time to plan!!!!!