…and yesterday it was mine. 48 years old/young (I’m not afraid to tell my age). My wife Pam says I look a little thinner and a lot younger than I did a few months ago, so I guess I’m doing something right lately.

What did I spend my special day doing?

Nothing comic-booky at all. And I heartily endorse it (to paraphrase Art Linkletter on the Game of Life, my favorite board game as a kid, and now).

Pam, our two daughters, and I spent the afternoon Christmas Caroling with members of our church, going to a nursing home, and the homes of some of our church’s homebound older members. (And in case you wondered, as surely you have, yes, I have a decent enough singing voice; I was a music major in college before switching to graphic design, and I can carry a tune pretty well. Watch out, Justin Bieber.)

I’ve gotta say, for about three hours, I didn’t think about it being my birthday, or ruminate on getting older; it was pretty gratifying to see how much these folks appreciated the fact that they simply weren’t forgotten about. It was equally gratifying to see how many teenagers came along to sing, of their own free will. Despite their deplorable lack of interest in comics, it looks like there’s still some hope for the youth of today. 🙂

Of course, it’s sobering too, to reflect on the fact that, one day, I may be in the same situation as some of the seniors I saw yesterday. But that didn’t hit me till long after the singing stopped. It was just a great day, start to finish. Here’s to another 48 (at least!).

And if you have any old Jack Kirby original art pages laying around, I’ll gladly accept them as a belated birthday gift—y’know, just so you don’t feel guilty about not getting me a present.

To all the people on Facebook who took the time to email me birthday greetings, let me say THANKS! I’m a total rookie on Facebook, and don’t check my page often enough (okay, hardly ever; never enough time). But it’s awfully cool to wake up and find my email box full of such pleasant messages.