The Gift of Plimpton

My cousin just sent me a video of George Plimpton and how he went about being one of the world's most esteemed reporters by actually participating in what he was writing about.  You may remember him for his cameo as the psychiatrist in Good Will Hunting.  

Plimpton would box a pro fighter, tame a lion, jump out of planes, and pitch to pro baseball players, all to get a story.  He needed first hand knowledge of an experience in order to truly understand how it feels to be that person.  However, when I told my cousin that I wanted to be Plimpton, he wrote back and said, "Dave, you are him."  I guess I am; in a much simpler way.  I'm desperately trying to find something this year and taking the time to write it down so when my children learn how to read, they'll understand what it was like for their father to turn 40.  I don't really feel like I have anything to prove but the more stuff I do, the more I seem to find out about myself.

May and Cowboy, when its time to read this, please understand that your Daddy is a little crazy.  Not in the clinical sort of way (self-diagnosed,) but in the socially unaccepted sort of way.  You already know what you're going to get when you follow someone, but when you have an original idea, an atypical thought, a path that is not easily traveled, the perception is that you're crazy.  Its super easy to go about your days and have a scoop of vanilla.  But will you ever know what its like to rent an old gas station and create your own flavors from scratch?

This past weekend, my wife and mother, with a lot of help from my closest friends, through me a surprise 40th birthday party in the middle of Central Park in NY.  I walked into a room crowded by love and was able to retrace my life from the day I was born.  Family and friends from every stage of my life, all in one room, celebrating my four decades.  I didn't have to run far or travel for hours to know that I had been molded to the person I am by the people that stood before me.  I had been loved by each soul and cared for by the absolute best people I have ever known.  It wasn't an accident that after 40 years I was able to stand in front of this group of people and realize that I didn't need much else.  I just wanted to be with them and hopefully we could smile and laugh as much as we normally do.

So May and Cowboy, even though it wasn't even my birthday yet, I knew that my presents had come to me over the previous 40 years.  Each time I met a new friend, spent time with a relative and had a chance to listen and explore their lives, my gifts became eternal.  I'm happy that I'm turning 40 and I'm happier that you both are my two sweetest gifts I have ever been given.