"Still a Drive at 55?"

STILL A DRIVE AT 55?

MARCH 6, 2013

I was born in the Territory of Alaska. When Alaska became a state on Jan. 3, 1959, I was nearing my first birthday. The first birthday for the state came 10 months after mine, meaning that, even though I am inextricably linked to this state, I’ll always be just a little older.

Not that that really means much of anything.

I’m not even sure it’s all that interesting.

It’s just that, since today is my 55^th birthday, I’m mulling the subject of age and wondering how much the numbers really mean.

Personally, I agree with those who say that age is relative, and with those who say “you’re as young as you feel.”

And I feel good. I’m healthy and active. I’m blessed with healthy and intelligent children, a home of my own, work that is satisfying, good friends and family, and a woman I love very much.

So what is 55?

In mathematics, 55 is the 10^th Fibonacci number and the sum of the numbers 1 through 10. It is also a “semiprime,” being the product of multiplying 5 and 11. And it is the sum of the first five square numbers: 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25.

Many famous athletes have worn the number 55. The three who come most readily to mind are the NFL linebacker Junior Seau, the pitcher Tim Lincecum, and (one of my favorite former Dodgers) the pitcher Orel Hershiser.

Some of the famous people who also turn 55 this year are Ellen Degeneres, Madonna, Prince, film director Tim Burton, Kevin Bacon, actress Angela Bassett, rocker Joan Jett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Viggo Mortensen, Drew Carey, Jeff Foxworthy, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Sharon Stone. And if Michael Jackson were still alive, he’d turn 55 this year, too.

I read that during the year 55 A.D., Julius Caesar first invaded Britain.

The standard speed limit on the highway is 55 miles per hour.

An old dive in Greenwich Village is called the 55 Bar, famous for its jazz and in operation since 1919.

Interstate 55 (nicknamed the “double nickel”) is a north-south highway that has its official beginning in LaPlace, Louisiana, and its official ending in Chicago, Illinois.

The winner for Best Picture in the 1955 Academy Awards went to Marty, starring Ernest Borgnine.

Most old gas barrels contain 55 gallons of fuel.

On the periodic table, element number 55 is cesium.

And the list goes on and on—including spiritual and mystical and biblical connections, several arcane notions, many mathematical possibilities, etc.

But in the end, 55 is just a number.

And today it is just my age.

Should I act my age? It depends.

The number is irrelevant. Living and loving are what’s important.