today - june 9 - is my birthday - i am 48 - might as well be 50 - does 2 years really make a difference - do i look 2 years younger than someone who looks 50?

actually, i think i look pretty good for someone who is 50 - i am down to 160 or so now - from a high of 220 - i spend 6 days a week - walking, aerobics, weight training - and i eat right - healthy foods - now, i don't have to take any of my diabetic meds - i keep my blood sugar between 95 - 115 - i feel great - and i just recently had my teeth 'fixed' - as we say.

in the 70s, after i graduated high school - and spent two years in junior college - i moved to big d - there i came out - made some friends and began working in some of the bars along cedar springs - i started experimenting with drugs and to make a long story short - i guess i was lucky in that i never felt addicted to anything i took and was able to 'walk away' when the time came - but i spent two years working in the bars and taking the drugs that were given as tips - not something i am proud of, but i was young and it was the 70s - fast forward 15 years - my teeth began falling out - loosening and bleeding - not sure if this was caused by the drugs i took so many years ago, but i always accepted it as part of the 'payment' for the good times i thought i was having - for almost 6 years i have lived with this - well, i am a month into my 'new teeth' - i forgot what it was like to smile - so, people now say i look so much younger now and they can't figure out why - see, i never ever smiled or laughed in public - i practiced in a mirror how far to smile so as not to show that i had no teeth and i absolutely hated talking to people for any length of time - anyway, i am enjoying the new me.

tomorrow is mine and rods 20th - hard to believe - but happy to have.


love, toe