Today is my birthday. And yes, 60 is the new 40.

Calgary, Canada

My visit to Calgary is ending as it began, with grey, dark, ominous clouded skies and light showers and the odd sunny break. It’s been a cool weekend, with pouring rain most of Saturday but sunny and very usable today. One of the craziest coincidences of this trip is that one of my BC-based friends, Barbara, (she was the first person I spoke to about federal politics back in 1993 when she was Riding President in Vancouver Quadra) was visiting friends in Calgary this week and she discovered that we were just 5 minutes away from each other. So of course we had to get together to rag chew. We did so at a great restaurant recommended by Barbara’s Calgary friend called The Lazy Loaf and Kettle. They had great generously-portioned, and gorgeously gooey cinnamon buns; the kind that you eat with a knife and fork. <a href=”http://www.lazyloafandkettle.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>www.lazyloafandkettle .com</a> Given my historical political involvement with folks from this part of Canada, you won’t be surprised to hear I have quite a lot of friends in Calgary and I was able to meet up with some, but not all, of them this weekend. Susan, very kindly invited me to dinner when I let her know I was going to be in the neighbourhood. She has previously been a gracious host to my participation in a couple of Stampede weeks and I always enjoy a visit with her, her Mom, and furry friend Riley. I met Riley as a pup and she can in no way be considered a pup any longer. Susan’s newly renovated kitchen is beautiful and the food coming from it was just as great as in the past. And another friend, Cynthia, very kindly allowed me to tag along to a house warming party that she was hosting last evening so I was able to catch up with a few people and to make some new friends. Great to see you Cynthia, Bruce, Troy and Lisa. Jim and Karen and Stacey and Jason, it will have to wait until my next visit to get together. Sorry I missed you. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to meet up with Jane and her partner Lance either because they were singing in a couple of festivals in southern Alberta. I met Jane on a tour of Spain back a few years, and she’s the sister of good Ottawa friend, Anne. If you’re in the Calgary area and looking for some great musicians, consider Jane Allan and Lance Arnell, Musicians for Hire. <a href=”http://www.allanandarnell.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.allanandar nell.com</a>     Again coincidentally, another out-of-town friend was in Calgary visiting family this week. Gillian, “the elder” (her suggestion to keep from confusing her with my daughter Gillian), from Ottawa dropped by with a very well mannered and patient, 4 year old, “Captain America” clad, grandson. They got a personal tour of my home on wheels and stayed for tea, which appallingly I had to serve in a plastic mug without proper steeping (and Gillian being British-born)! Oh yes, as you will have seen from the subject line, today is a milestone birthday for me. It’s a year of milestone dates, actually. I turn 60, daughter Gillian turns 30 in September, my Mom turned 95 in May, and it would have been my 40th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks (yes, I was married at a rather youthful age). The funny thing is that I don’t feel 60 at all, except on the days when my sacra-iliac joint is acting up. It’s amazing to me that just last year on my birthday the notion of going on my “No Fixed Address North American Adventure” or more recently coined “Magical Mystery Tour”, was just crystallizing in my mind. I was still working and when pressed by my Boss’ Chief of Staff to articulate what my goals and objectives were for the coming year while enjoying the traditional celebratory cake, without hesitation I said that I’d be fulfilling a life-long dream of buying some sort of RV and touring North America. I was a little shocked that it actually came out of my mouth as I really hadn’t articulated it prior to that. The Chief of Staff was even a little shocked to hear it as well, as I was not specific about the timing of this journey. As it turned out, it came together sooner than even I expected much to the Chief’s further consternation. As one does on these milestone birthdays, I have spent some time today reflecting about my life past and that which is to come. Like everyone, my life has had its ups and downs. 2007/8 will go down in my life’s history book as my very own “annus horribilis” but that too was a growth experience and I couldn’t have enjoyed some of the highs of the years since without having experienced the lows of that year. Time passed since then has allowed the positive experiences to float to the top of my memory pool. My emotions came alive again as a result of that experience and while there have been many tears and set backs, there have been so many moments of sheer joy and lust for life. Of course, sixty is the new forty, as everyone tells me, and there is even evidence of this in the below newspaper article. And you believe everything you read in newspapers, right? <a href=”http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tech nology-science/science/sixty-new-40-hea lthy-living-5525916″ target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.mirror.co. uk/news/technology-science/science/sixt y-new-40-healthy-living-5525916</a&g t; So this is the year that I cross a North American camping adventure off my bucket list. Good to do it this year, while I’m still mostly able to manage the physical part of it, and brave (or foolish) enough to tackle the unknown. I totally buy into the benefits of life long learning, and I have always liked to challenge myself outside my comfort zone. Well, this trip is doing that in spades. I just hope I’m still alive at the end of it to put what I’ve learned to use in some other way. 🙂 Tomorrow I will meander up the highway to Edmonton (unless you’re in Cape Breton in which case I’ll meander DOWN the highway to Edmonton) to visit with my niece Lisa and great-niece Amber who are also Leos and to celebrate our birthdays together. P.S. My thanks to niece Lori for the following link to my birthday horoscope. I don’t follow horoscopes normally but there are some pretty relevant parts in here. <a href=”http://www.cafeastrology.com/birt hday/august16_2015.html” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>http://www.cafeastrol ogy.com/birthday/august16_2015.html< /a>