Blast turns 40 years old today! Can you believe that he's still kicking after all the infected animal bites, toxic grasshoppers, wild eels, explosions, capsized canoes, and other crazy stunts?

-Kuovonne

That which does not kill us, makes us at least a little smarter, eh? Hope the next 40 is just as exciting but a little less fraught with peril. Happy Birthday Blast!

I believe it, Kuovonne!!!!

I will be 50 next month with 85 years of mileage on this body!!

Happy Birthday BLAST !!!!!

Happy birthday Blast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Blast.

Hope the day is everything you want it to be, enjoy time with the family. In the great scheme of things, that is what it is all really about anyway.

Pete

Happy Birthday! If you wife does the spanking thing, you might have her skip the "pinch to grow an inch" part...

Happy Birthday BLAST!

We all chipped in and got you 2 kitties. You should have them in a day or so.
Stu

Happy Birthday Blast.

Remember, 50 is the new 40. So, you are a newborn.

I wish you many great adventures.

Happy Birthday, Blast! Don't let them kid you about age. "It's not the years, it's the mileage"*

Hope this didn't depress you. Kitty bites take at least 10 years off the average male's lifespan




* Harrison Ford, Raiders of the Lost Ark

Many happy returns Blast!
Echoing MoBOB sentiments, at 45, I am not even half the age of my still alive and kickin' 98 year-old grandmother. So don't get too down on this milestone bubba.

And while 50 may be the new 40, things do start "breakin'" at 40 no matter what shape you are in... my first indicator was the eyes! Reading glasses are a pain...

Should I say it....

Yeah.....

"Have a Blast"

"Happy happy birthday, from all of us to you, happy happy birthday, Chuck E wishes you!"

Sorry, flashback to my high school job.

Thanks all! Uh, except SBRaider

I'm not sure how I made it this far with so many of my parts still attached.

-Blast

He's now with us ol folks the 40+ crowd.
Happy Birthday Blast.

Lee

HB Blast! (How did you survive 40 years?)

40 and you still have ten fingers. Was that expected 20 years ago? *laughs*

Hey BLAST, Happy Birthday!

Hope you enjoy a big party with all your family.

From 40 onward my wife stopped counting birthdays and started counting anniversaries; this year she is celebrating the 4th Anniversary of her 40th Birthday (44 yo)!

Mike

I used to have an uncle who took off most of one index finger as a kid with a blasting cap. He could do the neatest trick, it looked just like he had shoved his entire finger up one nostril...

A friend sent me this email. Thought it would fit in this thread well.






George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

'How old are you?' 'I'm four and a half!' You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

'How old are you?' 'I'm gonna be 16!' You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life ... . You become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30 ; you REACH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; 'I Was JUST 92.'

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. 'I'm 100 and a half!'
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay 'them.'

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. 'An idle mind is the devil's workshop.' And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.



Sappy....yes. But it has its share of the truth.

Happy Birthday Blast.

hey im 13 and 5/6!! thats right...almost 21

Blast… 40? Pshhh, please! With as much stuff as Blast… well, blasts, Blast is definitely still just a big kid. Happy (belated) birthday to you, Blast, and many more birthdays (and explosions) to you.

And in only ten or fifteen years (depending on the location), you can eat off of the seniors menu in most restaurants!!!

And now I'm depressed again.

-Blast

Happy b-day...turning 40 only hurts for a couple of days leading up to the event, and then you go "I dont feel any different than I did yesterday when I was 39". I just found that out a couple of months ago.

Cheers!

This year - I turned 45 - and the funny joke? I came down sick that AM, had a splitting headache, and my leg was hurting - my comment - I sure feel at LEAST another year older

You got it, I hit the big 45 wall this year as well. 40 was not at all that depressing, but 45 sure grabbed me by the doo-doo.

The steady degradation of my body is now becoming noticable.

"...The steady degradation of my body is now becoming noticable..."

I could tell you some of what you have to look forward to in the future, but I don't want to ruin your day...

Happy Birthday Blast!!!! (Sorry its late)

What did you blow up in celebration?

Blitz

Congrats on such a remarkable accomplishment. You are just a few behind though so don't slow down now.

Hey, 1963 must have been a good year, I also turned 45 last week!

Mike

Happy Birthday Blast.
You're not only older but wiser too.

I recently turned 51 (the same date that the Titanic hit the ice berg as everyone reminds me. Like I had something to do with that.It didn't actually sink until the next day. )

Happy birthday Blast.

May you have many, many more.

OBG, I've been restraining myself also from "spilling the beans". I don't want to feel responsible for someone's "suicide" because I told them the truth. I have been hearing that the 50's are much better!!!!

"...I have been hearing that the 50's are much better!!!!..."

Life begins at 52 (that's when I got divorced from the wife from hell)...

Blast,,,Great Blog and photos!!!!