A BIRTHDAY SHOWER

Today is my birthday.

I've reached the big six-oh, as they call it. And although I know that base-ten counting is just another human construct, any age with a zero at the end causes me to evaluate my life.

So I'm depressed.

Still, a guy's got to work, so this morning I picked up my squad car, radioed a 10-8 and headed for my post.

Then, dispatch called my cell phone.

The dispatcher said this was probably a really stupid question but was I the guy who used to have a radio show?

I said yes.

He said he used to listen, and we talked and I felt really good.

Until we hung up and I realised that I used to be somebody and now I was just a rent-a-cop, a guy with a gun who guards places where nothing ever happens.

So I was depressed, again, in a deep down place that Paxil can't touch.

But tonight is the Perseid meteor shower, the most spectacular meteor shower of the year. And it happens every year on my birthday. Without fail.

So enjoy the star show. And happy birthday, whenever.