One more trip around the sun

Yesterday was my birthday. Don't ask me how old I am because I won't tell you. I'd rather I remain however old I am in your mind. I like the ambiguity of it. My friend Aimee almost guessed but she was off by one year. That’s as close as anyone comes to guessing. It's not that I'm afraid of admitting how old I am. Age becomes a testament to survival. The bigger the number is the more impressive it becomes that person is still around. The reason why I don't tell anyone is because I don't like the way that people change. I could be talking to someone and having a great conversation until they find out how much older I am than they are. That's when the body begins to stiffen and conversation becomes cumbersome. At that point I get the unspoken “Sir” just after the person makes some excuse to disappear. In the old days I used to be able to show up to clubs in Tokyo and simply say my name. Whoever was at the door with say, “Oh wow it's you!” depending on the club they would usually just let me in. Now if I were to go I would hear , “ oh! Desire's Papa. it's nice to meet you (sir). That will be 4,000 yen plus one drink please.”

In the timelessness of ambiguity, I can move from group to group without being hindered by the unspoken “sir”. In this way, I’m free to move about and to get to know people as they are. There are so many layers of judgments that we pile on. We judge people based on looks. Some judge based on occupation or social status. There are also a great many people who judge others based on age. It's not like I'm an elderly man or anything but I do know that people who are my age typically live a more subdued life. Of course, that depends on the person. I'm pretty sure that my friend Atchan will still be rocking hard even when he's in his 70s. To tell you the truth, so will I.

For now, I've taken one more trip around the sun and met some interesting people along the way.