Birthdays

Thirty years ago some friends threw me a surprise 39th birthday party.  They said that they did this so I would not suspect anything as I might have when I turned 40.  They were right!!  If you can do the math, you can figure that soon I will be celebrating my 69th birthday.  No surprises, I hope.  At my age, surprises are bad for your health.  It seems like yesterday I was 39.  And I very much doubt I have another 30 years in me to make 99.  When John Paul 2 was alive, Polish pilgrims would often sing a Polish song to him called "Sto Lat".  It is the equivalent of our "For he's a jolly good fellow:.  In the Polish song folks sing "May you live 100 years".  The Pope would often respond:  "Easy to sing, difficult to do".  Willard Scott might disagree.  He never seems to be without folks celebrating 100 years and more. Most likely no Smuckers moment in my future but I am grateful for the great years I have had and look forward to at least a  few more!

Monsignor Hoye