For 75, it was a good day.

Southwest corner weather has been like old Southwest corner weather. i used to say sometime between November and March, we would have thirty days of rain and cloudy weather with enough of our typical 8 out of 10 rated weather to keep us satisfied. That has not been the case in the last five or six years or so. Now, we’ve been into about three weeks of that old time winter weather but a mild Santa Ana crept back in for our Friday Morning Golf (FMG: since it’s been happening since 1991, it has acquired its own acronym) and the beauty of San Diego winter weather remained for my birthday. Symbolic? i think not. After all these years, i remain amazed at how our green time of the year is January and February. By March , the hills and open areas are beginning to turn brown again and pretty much stay that way the rest of the year. Yesterday every time i would look at the hills, i would think of my father who, like me, always marveled at the green of Southwest corner winter.

We had lunch with our nephew Mike Boase at City Taco in old La Mesa, a wonderful hole-in-the-wall diner, looking like it might be a chain but isn’t, with unique and extremely good tacos of all sorts, great sides, an outdoor sitting area in the back, and, of course, Pacifico Beer, my favorite from all of those from South of the Border although the memory of my father and father-in-law taking a break with me and enjoying Dox Equis Amber out of my long gone half refrigerator just for beer in the garage puts Dos Equis right up there. We had a delightful conversation and catching up with Mike, a good soul. As with many others, i vowed to make such get togethers more frequent.

Then we met Sarah at the Zoo. And in the middle of Africa Rocks with the baboons having a group fight in the background, my daughter Blythe and grandson Sam conversed with us via Facetime, the highlight of my day.

The zoo, my long time favorite place to go, was right up there on the good of the day. We covered at least five miles and it seemed nearly all of the animals were to be seen rather than hiding from sight as many do during daytime visits. The San Diego Zoo has been a mainstay in my world since i first came here to live in 1975. i took Blythe there every chance i had. Later, when Blythe stayed in Texas, the zoo was always at the top of our lists when she visited. Sarah and i began our treks in the early nineties. She is now an aficionado and is pretty much our tour guide when we go.  And in addition to marveling at the beauty of the beasts, i have many memories to wander through my mind about special times there.

We finished our day at The Rose. It has become our go to place for special occasions, birthdays and anniversaries. Superb cooking, superb wine offerings, superb atmosphere, and superb customer service. We sit at the bar. They even gave us a special berry and apple tart topped by homemade strawberry ice cream gratis with a candle on top.

i came home to televised sports and an early bedtime.

It was a wonderful day for an old man.

This morning, they were forecasting rain moving in by late afternoon, pretty much assuring we won’t be able to observe the “Super Blood Moon” lunar eclipse this evening.” Too bad. It would have been a good end to a birthday weekend.

So it is time to move on. It is time for the next quarter of a century or however long i last. i plan to be a little bit different: doing all i can do and not doing things i shouldn’t, recognize my limitations and my possibilities, leaving my grandson, not to brag about my accomplishments (which seem pretty average to me right now) but to give him some examples of living from which he might learn something to do or something to not do — i will not tell him those things: that is for him and his parents to figure out.

And you know what?

Life goes on.