Anthony McIntyre ๐ŸŽ‚ celebrates his 64th birthday.

As a child, before traipsing off to primary school in the Markets I would listen to the radio in the living room of our home in the Lower Ormeau Road. Radio Caroline was where the best music came from and was reputed to have millions of listeners despite its status as a pirate station. The illicit maybe making it even more alluring. There were a few stand out songs from the era like Matthew and Son from the then Cat Stevens, Excerpt From A Teenage Orchestra by Keith West and When I'm 64 by The Beatles.

All of them were catchy but I recall thinking on each occasion when hearing the Beatles number that 64 was ancient, a time in life when people are put out to graze in the twilight of their lives. Something so far removed from me that it might just as well have been the Moon. Yet, here I am, never going to play for Liverpool, well on the way back from the fair but still on the right side of the ground, knowing full well that it won't always be that way but being pretty philosophical about it, and making the most of it while I am still around.

There is reason to be. My two sisters arrived on Friday to drop in cards for both me and my son who is 16 in three days time. They had a 84 year old friend with them. She was so sprightly, with eyes that twinkled with intelligence. She also loved a gin and a cigarette and seemed none the worse for wear as a result of it. I guess as Woody Allen is reputed to have said, you can live to be 100 if you abstain from everything that would make it worth your while to live to be 100.

Often in conversation with friends of a similar age the point is made that despite the limitations that aging brings, there is nothing wrong about growing old and everything wrong with not growing old. So on birthdays, there is always a thought for those who never made it this far including those we grew up with in the Lower Ormeau who never experienced life beyond their teens. Lives truncated by a loyalist bullet, their joy, their fun, their seasons in the sun few. Also those who endured the rigours and privations of the blanket protest, never to see their 4 x 4 x 4. 

I spent three birthdays on the blanket but no longer remember any of them. The detail of tedium is not memorable because there is no detail to remember. Just a journey on an endless flat plain. I think Laurence McKeown wrote about his dislike of straight lines. No imagination needed to work out why. Still, when old friends from those wings weigh in with their best wishes on Facebook it is always gratifying.

Each time a special occasion arrives my wife always makes it that bit extra special. Today was no different. She always finds something that gives it that edge. Her choice of gifts never fails to please me. I always feel unimaginative when it comes to birthday and Christmas presents. It seems so much easier to pick up vouchers. Not her, and it is a character trait that has also jumped to our children. They know how to hit the perfect note when it comes to presents and surpassed themselves today. No boring blanket type birthdays with them.

So, what a day I had, my season in the sun, immersed in the company that means most to me. Not yet put out to graze but grazing from a plate of food in the local pub, lubricating the pathway through the esophagus with beer and whiskey. Now, sprawled on a chair in front of the TV with a large brandy, the Netherlands just knocked out, Belgium or Portugal fighting it out to make the cut, the game already graced by the sweetest of strikes from the Belgians. 


There are worse things I can think of than being 64.

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

When I'm 64

Anthony McIntyre ๐ŸŽ‚ celebrates his 64th birthday.

As a child, before traipsing off to primary school in the Markets I would listen to the radio in the living room of our home in the Lower Ormeau Road. Radio Caroline was where the best music came from and was reputed to have millions of listeners despite its status as a pirate station. The illicit maybe making it even more alluring. There were a few stand out songs from the era like Matthew and Son from the then Cat Stevens, Excerpt From A Teenage Orchestra by Keith West and When I'm 64 by The Beatles.

All of them were catchy but I recall thinking on each occasion when hearing the Beatles number that 64 was ancient, a time in life when people are put out to graze in the twilight of their lives. Something so far removed from me that it might just as well have been the Moon. Yet, here I am, never going to play for Liverpool, well on the way back from the fair but still on the right side of the ground, knowing full well that it won't always be that way but being pretty philosophical about it, and making the most of it while I am still around.

There is reason to be. My two sisters arrived on Friday to drop in cards for both me and my son who is 16 in three days time. They had a 84 year old friend with them. She was so sprightly, with eyes that twinkled with intelligence. She also loved a gin and a cigarette and seemed none the worse for wear as a result of it. I guess as Woody Allen is reputed to have said, you can live to be 100 if you abstain from everything that would make it worth your while to live to be 100.

Often in conversation with friends of a similar age the point is made that despite the limitations that aging brings, there is nothing wrong about growing old and everything wrong with not growing old. So on birthdays, there is always a thought for those who never made it this far including those we grew up with in the Lower Ormeau who never experienced life beyond their teens. Lives truncated by a loyalist bullet, their joy, their fun, their seasons in the sun few. Also those who endured the rigours and privations of the blanket protest, never to see their 4 x 4 x 4. 

I spent three birthdays on the blanket but no longer remember any of them. The detail of tedium is not memorable because there is no detail to remember. Just a journey on an endless flat plain. I think Laurence McKeown wrote about his dislike of straight lines. No imagination needed to work out why. Still, when old friends from those wings weigh in with their best wishes on Facebook it is always gratifying.

Each time a special occasion arrives my wife always makes it that bit extra special. Today was no different. She always finds something that gives it that edge. Her choice of gifts never fails to please me. I always feel unimaginative when it comes to birthday and Christmas presents. It seems so much easier to pick up vouchers. Not her, and it is a character trait that has also jumped to our children. They know how to hit the perfect note when it comes to presents and surpassed themselves today. No boring blanket type birthdays with them.

So, what a day I had, my season in the sun, immersed in the company that means most to me. Not yet put out to graze but grazing from a plate of food in the local pub, lubricating the pathway through the esophagus with beer and whiskey. Now, sprawled on a chair in front of the TV with a large brandy, the Netherlands just knocked out, Belgium or Portugal fighting it out to make the cut, the game already graced by the sweetest of strikes from the Belgians. 


There are worse things I can think of than being 64.

⏩Follow on Twitter @AnthonyMcIntyre.

13 comments:

  1. Happy birthday Mackers. Here's to the next 64!

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  2. There are worse things I can think of than being 64.

    Like being 65... Happy birthday Anthony.....

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  3. than you lads for the nice comments .. and the wit Frankie!!!

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  4. Happy Birthday Anthony, have a good one.

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  5. The older you get the more you look like Ken Mc Guinness.
    Look forward to the Sinn Fein provided pension , courtesy of Northern Bank ๐Ÿฆ .

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  6. Bon anniversaire ; ร‡a plane pour moi - Tears - Translation Lyrics Paroles English French - ... https://youtu.be/gawxsQ9BaGQ via @YouTube

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  7. Happy birthday. Glad you had a decent celebration. I love these wee philosophical musings. At times happy. at other times sad but always life affirming.

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    Replies
    1. you are even giving me something to ponder!!!
      Thanks Simon

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  8. thanks to all once again.

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  9. Lรก beirthe shona duit a chara , belatedly just back from Scotland ,you still have a bit to go to hit the three score and ten, so in my eyes yer still a pup ,have a cracking one a chara ,

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