I have lived a charmed life, made so by moments of magic. I'm 86 years old, healthy and happy. I have not yet spent a night as a patient in any hospital. I've had two personal relationships that were important to what I am today.  I'll keep these private. I've accumulated more than 3 million air miles, mostly on Star Alliance. Been on a dozen, or two, cruises. Have had maybe 15 around the world trips. Written five books. Worked on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence for NASA. Wrote the the legislation that became law for hydrogen when I worked in the U.S. Senate. In my 27th year of retirement. Not sure who said SOMETIMES MAGIC CAN HAPPEN IF YOU TRY.  Checked with various AI sources and got nothing. In a way, though, that thought has driven me through most of my life.  The first time was when I was a junior in high school.   That was 70 years ago. Through all of my life as a student, I was just above average.  In my sophomore year at McKinley...

I'll start with the San Antonio Spurs beating the Oklahoma City Thunder last night, a tense finish, because the game at the end was much closer than the score of 111-103.  Want to see emotions?   Watch how Victor Wembanyama reacted .  The Spurs now play the New York Knicks beginning Wednesday.  First team to win four games becomes the NBA champion. That was only a game.  In Laos, five gold miners were rescued yesterday .  However, two remain missing. Moving on to my topic of the day, we had dinner with another couple in the dining room of 15 Craigside last night.  As this was our first meal together, we shared what we all did to get us here.  That made me further reflect on my life, especially, what turned out to be three 27-year periods leading to what I am today. I was born in 1940 at Queen's Hospital in Honolulu.  That's a more modern sign to the right.  The first five years of my life were okay, but I don't remember much. My mot...