I was born on July 24, 1955. That makes me 66, and I attach no secret meaning or symbolism to it. I do not consider birthdays special since they are not unique to anyone. Everyone has one, and you can only have one. On the day of my birth, millions of others were born across the globe, so as much as I celebrate them, the common thread is that we grow old together, as age is not just a number. You get old, weaker with muscle loss, wrinkled, then you wither and die.

I share this birthday card, made and given to our boss at CoreLogic, where I worked, in charge of an offshore group located in India, to express how birthdays can be fun to celebrate using candies. Get 100 Grand to chew on your birthday, and you should be happy you are still above ground.

On the top left of the card, I wrote: “Birthdays come only once in a year, so make sure you enjoy this ’cause you will have to wait till 2016 to get another.”

Happy 2022.

PS:

Some riveting reactions by texts. Names withheld.

You can read the story on tornadoes here, posted July 13, 2018