living to see most of what was science fiction when i was born, become part of everyday life. living to see the year that i have, living as many years as it took to do so. i mean, when i was born in 1948, that i would still be alive to see the year 2020, was a roll of the dice. not a long shot of course, but still by no means certain. the year i was born, the average man died at 65 and the average woman at 71. doesn't seem like a thing now, but a lot of the people i knew at different times in my life are gone. so now i'm 72 and odds look to be about even that i'll still be around and healthy enough to enjoy life for another ten if not longer. its no longer something to take almost for granted like when i was 20, so i have to be thankful for every year that i can still do and enjoy what i do.