I am now well aware that I have more yesterdays than tomorrows. If the deaths of people I admired didn't prove it to me, my increasing arthritis would have done so.
I am also aware that I have accomplished very little in life, while the following people who did not live to the age of 49 -- living mostly within the 20th Century -- accomplished quite a bit more:
48: Harvey Milk, Whitney Houston
47: Judy Garland, Jack Kerouac
46: John F. Kennedy, Rocky Marciano, Freddie Mercury
45: Nat King Cole, Walter Payton
44: Michael Bennett, Steve Irwin
43: Natalie Wood, John Candy, Reggie White
42: Robert F. Kennedy, Elvis Presley, Gilda Radner, Gary Coleman
40: John Lennon, Terry Sawchuk, Pete Maravich, Paul Walker
39: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, John Coltrane, Gus Grissom
38: Roberto Clemente, Harry Chapin
37: Medgar Evers, Bobby Darin
36: Marilyn Monroe, Bob Marley, Princess Diana, Steve McNair
35: Patrice Lumumba, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jonathan Larson
34: Yuri Gagarin
33: Sam Cooke, John Belushi, Chris Farley, Derrick Thomas, David Rocastle
32: Bruce Lee, Cass Elliot, Keith Moon, Thurman Munson, Karen Carpenter, Bill Hicks
31: Keith Haring, Cory Monteith
30: Stephen Biko, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes
29: Hank Williams Sr.
28: Heath Ledger
27: Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse
26: Otis Redding
25: Tupac Shakur
24: James Dean, Notorious B.I.G.
23: River Phoenix, Selena (Quintanilla-Perez, not Gomez -- she's already made it to 26)
22: Buddy Holly, Freddie Prinze Sr., Terry Fox, Aaliyah
21: Duncan Edwards
18: Ryan White
I didn't say all of these people were admirable, but they still accomplished more in their brief lives than I've done in my life.
*
The Number 49 has certain properties. It is 7 times 7, so it's a square number. It is 1 of only 2 numbers to be on the name of a major league team in North American sports, the San Francisco 49ers, named for the men who headed for California in the "Gold Rush" of 1849. The other is 76, for the Philadelphia 76ers, emblematic of the 1776 founding of the nation in that city, summarized as "the Spirit of '76."
Earl Cooper, Number 49 of the 49ers,
scoring a touchdown in Super Bowl XVI,
Silverdome, Detroit suburbs, January 24, 1982
It is also the number worn by football legends Tom Landry (yes, he played once) and Bobby Mitchell, and by many good pitchers: Yankee Legend Ron Guidry, Hoyt Wilhelm, Larry Dierker, Charlie Hough, Rob Dibble, Tim Wakefield and Jake Arrieta. If you consider auto racing a sport (I don't), Mark Green drives NASCAR's car Number 49.
49, 49 undefeated!
49, 49, I say!
49, 49 undefeated
playing football the Arsenal way!
It should have been at least 50, but the opposition in the next game, being Manchester United, had to cheat.
This doesn't make me "undefeated," any more than it makes me a San Francisco 49er.
But it does mean I'm now 1 year away from 50, and all that that milestone means.
There's no guarantee that I'll see the end of my 50s -- or even the end of my 40s. I'm in reasonably good health in spite of all my aches and pains, but you never know. By my own count, I've come close to death at least 4 times.
But I also feel that I've got more reason to live than ever. I've got a new generation of Yankees, New Jersey Devils and Arsenal players to watch. A new generation of political activists, who are already showing my own generation how it should be done. And 3 amazing nieces, for whom 49 years old must seem an impossible number, one they could never reach.
One can hope that they will, and will one day look back on what they're doing now, and say, "Was I ever that young?"
You're only young once, but, if you do it right, once is enough.
I can't say that I did it right. But it got me to a point where I know what I'm doing, so maybe I did.
To paraphrase Lou Gehrig, only in far better circumstances, I might have been given some bad breaks, but I've got an awful lot to live for.
*
Days until Arsenal play again: 1, tomorrow afternoon, 2:45 PM New York time, home to North London arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the Quarterfinal of the League Cup. Given the annual Arsenal injury crisis, we can expect a very different team from the one that embarrassed "Spurs" 4-2 at the Emirates Stadium on December 9.
Days until the next North London Derby: See the previous answer.
Days until the Democratic-controlled Congress will convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 16, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little over 2 weeks.
Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 25, on Saturday afternoon, January 12, 2019, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Prudential Center. The next game against the New York Islanders will be on Thursday night, January 17, 2019, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The next game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 35, on January 22, 2019. Just 5 weeks. (I previously had this listed as January 23.)
Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 46, on February 2, 2019, a friendly against Costa Rica at Avaya Stadium, home of the San Jose Earthquakes.
Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 75, on Sunday, March 3, 2019, opponent and location as yet unknown, as the 2019 MLS schedule has yet to be released.
Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown.
Days until the Yankees' 2019 Opening Day: 100, on Thursday, March 28, home to the Baltimore Orioles. A little over 3 months.
Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 119, on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at Yankee Stadium II. A little under 4 months.
Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 171, on June 7, 2019, in France. Under 6 months. The U.S. team is 3-time and defending Champions.
Days until the Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 193, on June 29, 2019. A little over 6 months.
Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 256, on August 31, 2019, home to the University of Massachusetts. Under 9 months.
Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown, because the 2019 schedule hasn't been released yet. Usually, the next season begins on the 1st Friday in September, which would be September 6, 2019, which would be 262 days. The morning of the 10-0 loss to Old Bridge, it was announced that East Brunswick and Old Bridge would no longer play each other on Thanksgiving Day. The game will now be played earlier in the season, but we don't yet know when.
Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 347, on Saturday, November 30, 2019, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little under a year, or a little under 12 months.
Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 365, on December 18, 2019. Exactly 1 year, or exactly 12 months.
Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 399, on January 21, 2020. A little over a year, or under 14 months.
Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 584, on July 24, 2020. A little over a year and a half, or a little over 19 months.
Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 686, on November 3, 2020. Now under 2 years, or under 23 months.
Days until Liberation Day: 764, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 2 years, or a little over 25 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.
Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,144, on February 4, 2022. A little over 3 years, or a little under 38 months.
Days until the next World Cup is scheduled to kick off: 1,434, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Just under 4 years, or a little over 47 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.
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