Happy 61

Kenneth shredding on "Ain't No Sunshine", birthday jam!

“There are two great days in a person's life: the day we are born and the day we discover why." -- William Barclay

My annual birthday post often begins with a quote. The Barclay quote makes me think of another. So if you'll indulge me two this year:

“It is never too late to be what you might have been." -- George Eliot

And if you'll indulge me once more, let's stop, together, in this moment right now....and ponder both of those quotes. 

Hmmm....

Its been a helluva ride so far this year! Chaotic and surprising and beautiful in all its glory, both dark and light. Many challenges to overcome and many good times...from my new special person (Agatha) and our adventures here as well as Nashville, Atlanta, Macon, and more, to kid adventures (basketball, soccer, swimming, cookouts, parks, fireworks, birthday parties, skateboard park, trampoline park, etc.) to cooking with the Buddhist Monks (thanx Eddy & Carol!) to student recitals and workshops and lots of news about current & former students releasing new music (Sydney - still with Sony - has written dozens of songs that have been released by a multitude of artists, Lissy just signed with Universal Music in England, Cara out on mini tours from St. Louis to New York to festivals all across the state, Julia released a brand new song just days ago, & more) to Angelee & I hosting the 11th Lexi Music Awards for our first year at UK's beautiful Singletary Center for the Arts...plus I performed at several tribute shows including with my buddy Haywood at the Bob Dylan Tribute a day after Agatha & I saw Gillian Welch at the Ryman in Nashville, I designed & built a new website, have started re-organizing and expanding my Patreon Page....and much more!

Agatha & me in Nashville!

My writing was lass active this year, with only four new entries here at SD Universe and four new articles at SD Magazine (one written by SDML program director Paulie Felice) - but they covered James Bond to albums by Sting and Rush and Aerosmith, so not bad hahaha! But expect much more this coming year.

October started with a bang - my monthly First Friday kicked off the celebrations with guest players, drink specials, and a lot of fun! My Second Sunday Open Mic served as our annual birthday jam, where Chris (drums) and Greg (bass) come down and we get a little loud, everyone has full band backup, and we all have a blast!

With Angelee & Bill at the 11th Lexi Music Awards!

A quick aside in the fitness realm: I noticed my resting heart rate creeping up a few years ago. My solution was to up my cardio. Happy to announce that my resting heart rate is in the mid to upper 40s. Add to that a few other health markers (from body fat to VO2 max to strength to mobility/flexibility) and when they calculated my "Fitness Age" (there are several versions of this) it lands me as an outlier for anyone over 40, and calculated me to be in my late 20s.

Obviously, this is a rough estimate, but it was good to hear "....VO2 Max - mid to late 20s or early 30s...comprehensive fitness profile - early 30s or younger...."

I'm convinced I would have done better except for how slowly I run haha!!

At any rate....here's the rundown of my actual birthday, Thursday, October 23:

Woke up bright and early to get kids on the bus, then straight to the gym. Sixty minutes of slow cardio (walking with & without incline, sideways, backwards, coordination drills, very little actual jogging, so distance came in well under 4 miles) followed by 40 minutes resistance training (10 sets of 10 reps for a total of 100 pullups and another 100 dips, followed by three sets of weighted carries with a 45 pound plate in each hand & walking a circle around the gym including up & down the stairs).

First meal of the day was about 11am - rare steak with mushrooms, black olives, and a serving of raspberries.

After that, got some work done (no lessons, but scheduling, emails, video lessons, etc), hung out with Damien while we did some recording gear troubleshooting and discussed music projects, and grabbed another coffee before the kids got home....then a trip to the YMCA so they could play basketball. Got suckered into a couple of games - haha!

Home and made dinner (burgers) and got Grayson in bed early.

Big plans for the birthday weekend (Friday with Agatha to Louisville for the night, then Saturday & Sunday with the kids for soccer and basketball and my birthday cookout).

ODIS - Get your abs on, friends!

I'm blessed to have received hundreds upon hundreds of birthday wishes via text, email, snail mail, social media, phone calls, & the like...and as I do each year, I took my annual ODIS (Old Dudes In Shape) pictures as a challenge to my buddies who also post ODIS pics. Good accountability and keeps us all motivated and disciplined!

On the off chance that you are interested in the stories & photos from past birthdays, you can punch THIS LINK, which will list them all.

That's it for now. Gotta get to the gym, then to work prepping lessons, Lexi Music Awards, my annual "thankful" post, and more....and please check out my Patreon page ($5/month for Total Access to writings, performance clips, music instruction, diet & fitness writings, AMAs, etc.)!

See y'all soon...in person, online, on TV, or wherever we shall meet!

#StayFierce #SkinnyDevil #FierceAF #SDMLguitar #LexiMusicAwards #ThisIs61 #PirateLife

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