The Day After Four Decades

Breathing a sigh of inexplicable relief today; the birthday is over. I survived. Now I can get on with the business of being 40 instead of fretting over turning 40. The day was low-key (as I wished it to be), beginning with a beautiful card from my partner (I’ll take a well-selected card over a gift any day of the week) and ended with well wishes from my nearest and dearest. In between, my staff at the nursing home tortured me a bit – black balloons and crepe paper streamers, a black necktie, assorted “over the hill” gag gifts, that sorta thing - but it was all in good fun and meant to alleviate my misgivings about the whole 40-thing.

Spent the birthday evening having a yummy take-out dinner from a favorite Italian restaurant and then watching the American Idol charity concert. The highlight for me was the divine Annie Lennox, who is just so genuine and shows such passion for the humanitarian causes she supports. She’s quickly becoming the female counterpart to U2’s Bono in my eyes. Following an emotional video clip about the AIDS epidemic in Africa and its effects on one family of orphaned siblings, she performed an unbelievably powerful rendition of “Many Rivers to Cross” at the piano, her voice connecting with every word she sang. When the Idol judges talk to the contestants about connecting with the songs they sing, they should direct them to a few Annie Lennox performances for inspiration. There was also an inspired pairing of Heart and Fergie on the venerable rock duo’s "Barracuda", as well as a powerhouse Mariah Carey finale (and the girl looks good to boot!).

On Monday, Jamie Lee was on Oprah in an expansion of her thoughts from the AARP article. As always, she was funny, insightful, and articulate and looking too fabulous for words. I laughed out loud more than once watching poor Oprah trying to get a word in edgewise! Jamie Lee is a verbal locomotive, a steam engine of thoughts and ideas, and folks best be advised to stand aside when she starts.

Interestingly, she took AARP to task for the way it marketed her cover story with the whole “Jamie Lee Curtis poses topless” thing, stating that she was strapless, not topless, and since when did a bare shoulders shot constitute “topless?” It was more about her disappointment in an organization proclaiming to be about successful aging pandering to such salacious marketing tactics to draw attention to their magazine, although the AP subsequently picked up the story and is running with a whole “Cover story angers actress” spin. She was far from angry, more venting about how sad it is that an appearance of her breasts (or the possibility of such an appearance) on the cover of a magazine will garner said publication more attention than what she has to say inside its pages. It’s all about grabbing attention in these attention-deficit times we are living in. In any event, the interview was engaging, and Jamie Lee really seems poised to become a role model for aging well in a society that frowns upon the process itself and goes to all lengths to hide/conceal/avoid/vanquish the aging process.

My quote/thought for the day comes from pal Meg Tilly’s blog:

“I love it when the past and the present collide, unexpectedly. So you have a foot in both worlds at once.”