Seventy. Or as it’s easier to write, 70. 

It’s a number that looks different on paper than it does on a cake.  And there was no denying it — on April 6, I would turn 70. 

During my years in LA, I rarely told people my age. Certainly not people in the biz. I got a late start on my career, so if people thought I was younger than I was, great. Hollywood is in love with youth and who was I to fight that. 

But that is no longer the case. Now, I own my age. With pride. 

My trainers at my Muay Thai gym call me “Papa”. They look at me with humor and respect, knowing that they’d never see their father (or grandfather) out here. 

I like Clint Eastwood’s famous quote about aging: “When I wake up every morning, I don’t let the old man in”. I may not like his politics, but I like how he thinks.

And yet, I can’t ignore how the years have slowly taken their toll. My eyes are weaker. My knees hurt. My mind is easily a half-step slower than it used to be.

Let’s face it. Growing old is a challenge we all must face. But what we do about it, is up to us.

Impermanence. It’s one of the basic laws of the universe. It’s easy to see it in nature. Flowers come and go. Leaves fall. Summer turns to winter. But as we have created a barrier between us and the natural world, it is easy to forget. We have created a world in stasis. And we’ve grown comfortable in it. So much so, that we fight to hang on to what we know. It’s not surprising that change becomes unnatural. Something to fear.

But there is no stopping change. So why not embrace it?

At 70, I am aware that the end of my life is but a stone throw away. Twenty-five years? That would bring me to 95. Nothing wrong with that. But it could also be tomorrow — and that realization keeps my focus on the here and now. On life. And in these moments, I give thanks. For a great life. For great friends. For two amazing daughters. If my life did end tomorrow, I would have nothing to complain about. I’ve been a lucky guy.

With this in mind. I’ve made the decision to live my life as fully as I can. One built on curiosity. On trying new things. Of keeping healthy. Of letting the future come as it will, and not dwelling on the past. And most importantly, bringing more love and compassion into every day. All this has changed me. For the better.

So I keep moving. Traveling. Exploring new cultures. And what comes next? Who knows.

Staring at the calendar, I could see my birthday coming up. And I wasn’t going to let this milestone pass without some sort of nod. 

So I decided to have a party.  It just couldn’t be a dinner. It had to be an event. 

I’ll invite friends from around the world. Old friends. New friends. Travel buddies and friends of friends. It was fellow traveler Alice who suggested that I throw it in Thailand. Why not? It’s not an easy commute, but I have enough crazy friends who just might say yes. 

So I sent out a “Save the date” to see if anyone responds. 

Over the next few months, I got people sending me quick notes about how they wanted to come and were working furiously to make it happen. Though most people just sent a lovely note saying that they had to pass because of a million reasons that I totally understood. I may be living a fairytale retirement in Thailand, but I understand that most of my friends haven’t gotten to that threshold. Either they are younger and still trying to imagine what it could be like (and until then need to continue working their asses off), or they passed that 8th decade awhile ago and couldn’t figure out what the big deal was. 

The party was going to be less about me and more about having friends from different parts of my life come together to hang out and share some love. Now would be something to celebrate. 

So the months came and went and I slowly came up with a plan. We’d have a dinner party of course. But I’d add a pool party. And a sunset boat cruise. An dwhy not throw in a Muay Thai boxing class? That should give us plenty to get to know each other and have some good times.

People did respond. Some yes, mostly no. Some committed. Then backed out. Others took their place. I ended up with over 30 people. Some I hadn’t seen in a long time. I couldn’t be happier. 

The weekend was a bit of a blur. But it was magical. Many had never been to a party like it. They had so much fun. They made new friends. Everyone ate and drank and yelled and danced. “Happy Birthday” as thrown my way so many times, by the time Monday rolled around I was ready to punch anyone who even attempted to say it.

Some amazing entertainment kept us dancing.

But there was more.

The cruise turned out to be the highlight of the weekend!

I thought about writing a speech. But decided to wing it and ended up giving two. One at the party and another on the boat. I know I stammered. I searched for words. But all I really wanted to say was how grateful I was to everyone standing before me… and even those who couldn’t come. How I derive so much meaning in my life from the relationships I have and the pleasure of community. And to say all this in Thailand shows how small the world is. 

70. I am happy that I’ve made it this far. Too many people don’t. That’s just life. I’m not afraid, but grateful that I am as healthy as I am with a bit more hair than I deserve.

Thank you, my dear, dear friends. You make my life worth living.

But I’m putting this out now, as good as my 70th party was… just wait until my 80th!