The Double Nickel Hoopla

Sounds like a book title, doesn’t it? In this case, though, it refers to the fact that I turned 55 today, which means I can now legitimately get the senior citizen discount that retail clerks and restaurant cashiers have been giving me for several years without asking.

In the birthday present department, this year was largely about replacing stuff that was lost in the fire, like my iPod and THE BLACK LIZARD BIG BOOK OF PULPS and a GET FUZZY collection and assorted CDs and DVDs, plus some that I didn’t have before, like the soundtrack CD from THE COMANCHEROS, which is playing as I type these words. Great stuff, in other words. Simply put, it was a fine birthday . . . even though I don’t feel 55, no how, no way.