My favorite song about birthdays is by Loudon Wainwright. It is called The Birthday Present. While it's not a rocking, "You say it's your birthday!" kind of song, I think it's a nice little reflection on life by a 46-year-old guy. I hope that when I am up past 40, I am not one of those people that regrets things, is embarrassed about there age, or hates anything younger than they are. I would like to have the attitude that Mr. Wainwright has -- Here I am. In the shape I'm in.

Anyway, happy birthday to me, Little Miles, Avril Lavigne, Meat Loaf and Cheryl Tiegs.

And a special thanks to my mom for being kind enough to carry me around for nine months and so I could develop into the fellow I am today. I hope it was worth the swollen ankles.

The Birthday Present

I've heard that I'm ageless,
And my soul is eternal.
And I have lived a thousand lives and will live many more.
On Saturday, it's my birthday.
Looks like I'll probably make it.
To 46 -- that's not that old,
though it's not 24.
And I know that this thinning gray hair
is a sign of wisdom.
This sagging skin and these loose teeth prove
I have been around.
On Saturday, we will recall that day back in the forties,
when I was born bald, with no teeth and weighed just a few pounds.
And I know that in merely four years, I'll be hitting fifty.
That ripe young age, that halfway point
when life really begins.
But Saturday, let's celebrate neither the past nor future,
but the present.
Here I am. In the shape I'm in.