On Turning 55…

Yep, that's me. I’m 55 years old today. By the time you read this, I’ll be 55 and two or more days though, because I sit with my writing partner Michelle Andres, of The Art of the Well Lived Life, on Wednesdays and we write our blogs together. Michelle's is called “The Art of the Well Lived Life,” but I digress.

I say all that because it’s been my history, throughout my adult life (30’s, 40’s, and now 50’s) to get really introspective every 5^th year. Well, this is that year. I’ve actually warned those closest to me to “stay away” this day because I anticipate being bad company. The word brooding comes immediately to mind. You know, I brood about my mortality, my legacy, my brand, my family, my friends, my value, my worth, all of that. Guess what? THIS year, I’ll do my brooding right HERE! Ann, that means dinner with you and the kids tonight will be great! 

A couple of years ago, I was given one of the absolute best birthday gifts I’ve ever received. It was from one of my very best friends, Amy Pelletier. Amy’s a writer, a poet, and a real provocateur. Check her out at Wilted Rose where she expounds on, primarily through poetry and erotica, what goes on inside her very attractive head. She’s written two books, Dancing with Madness and In Shadows (and I’m proud to say I have both).  I made a mention about getting older (so uncharacteristic of me), and she replied with this:

                

"Oh, and you are NOT old! You're the perfect age.....the age 

where a  man truly becomes comfortable with himself....and 

his path in life....he has confidence.....he has loved and 

learned, and now shares that wisdom with others.....he 

refuses to settle for less than he knows he deserves and/or is 

capable of....he knows how to treat a woman, and how to 

truly understand her.....he knows a good bourbon and a 

better cigar.......and last, but not least, he knows what it 

truly means to be a man....."  

Now, thanks to Amy, I live my life to honor what her erudite words have laid out for me… and I LOVE IT!!  Being fifty-five, the “Big 55,” the “Double-Nickel” is really  cool!  Thank you again, Amy.

Think about it, who else is 55? Michelle Pfieffer, Steve Buscemi, Alec Baldwin, Caroline Kennedy, Andie MacDowell, Anita Baker, Reggie Theus, Maria Conchita Alonso, Ellen DeGeneres, Russell Simmons, Kelly McGillis, Denis Leary, Donny Osmond, Sheila E, Lyle Lovett, Donna Dixon, Holly Hunter, Gary Cole, Giancarlo Esposito, Melanie Griffith, Matt Lauer, Laura Branigan, Ice T, Eve Plumb, Gloria Estefan, Martin Luther King III, Timothy Busfield, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Tony Cox, Steve Schirripa (former Sopranos star, now author of my favorite parenting book, Big Daddy’s Rules – yes, I’m a Big Daddy: Big Mouth, Big Temper, and Big Heart), and Linda Kozlowski, to name just a few.

I’m in GREAT company!! I’ve also have some amazing personal friends who are 55. So, who am I to not get with the program and be the vital, energetic, stylish, confident, secure, competent, fun, and sexy person that being 55 dictates? 

I never could drive 55, so why start now? This is gonna be a GREAT year!!

That’s the point!

  - Tony