Today is my birthday and I am trying not to be depressed.

[Lifelong Protester]

I am 55 today, and really had hoped (and worked hard) for this country to have a better future, but today, on my birthday, I feel let down, a little depressed and who wouldn't be? The disaster in the gulf, the endless wars, the endless shenanigans on Wall Street, some a**hole Repub wanting 'seniors' (of which I guess I am rapidly becoming) should do more for the war effort? Do more? People who have worked hard all their lives, contributed to the growth of this country, served the public (I am a public school teacher and administrator) need to give MORE?
We are already looking at a bleak future, how much more can we give?

We need to start by ending the wars. Now. Not just some personnel change. End. The. Wars.

[Turbineguy]

1. Go take a nice lunch

at a place where they give a senior discount.

Try not to think of the starving banksters.

[xiamiam]

2. Happy birthday..go do something nice for yourself...something that makes you smile

listen to music..watch children play...do something that touches your heart..

the mess will be there tomorrow..

I hate the wars..stupid, backward thinking for profit..you are not alone

[Cleita]

3. Happy birthday anyway.

Take the day off from the worries you are feeling and do something you enjoy. It's not your fault the sons of greed and destruction are running the world. You can start to change things in a day or so. Instead celebrate the fact that you were able to live this long regardless.

[panader0]

4. Many bars give you a free drink on your birthday......

[tridim]

5. Of course there's nothing better for depression than a depressant.

[HubertHeaver]

10. Where are those bars?

My birthday is Saturday and I plan on a full-blown alcohol depression.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

6. Here's something that works for me when I get the "nothing ever does any good" blues.

http://www.kiva.org/

[mikelgb]

7. reminds me of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fV3VjF64ga4

(enjoy)

oh and Happeeeee Birfday

[RKP5637]

8. They way I handle it is recognition that the SH** is not going away, and the

rest of my existence is probably going to be pretty screwy, because there is too much division in this country to get our act together.

That's just me, I find it less stressful to just accept how screwed this country is, and if something does get better I feel better. I used to be very hopeful and optimistic, but I find being a realist less stressful and equips me better to handle the endless BS each day non-stop. But again, this is just what works for me. I'm also older than you, so I've decided not to spend the rest of my life fretting with this crap.

Well, all my nonsense said, I do very seriously wish you a Happy Birthday!!!

:) :) :) :) :)

[Lifelong Protester]

9. Hey, thanks to the folks that took the time to respond

some cheer there. And I do give to Kiva, a very worthy organization, and loved the weird Al thing (I think).
And I think I will go have some lunch and quit worrying about "IT ALL" until tomorrow. Isn't that what Scarlett said?

And you are all right, it will be here tomorrow.


Thanks, I needed a little cheer. You responders helped.

[struggle4progress]

11. happy birthday! enjoy! refresh yourself!

there will always and forever be plenty of work for us to do

[AnArmyVeteran]

12. Happy Birthday :) Treat yourself today. This is your day...

[JanetLovesObama]

13. Happy Birthday !

Don't fret. Things look darkest right before dawn. President Obama is doing the best he can to get these things cleaned up. Give him a chance. By your 56th birthday you will be surprised at how things turned around in one year.

[uponit7771]

14. Hap-E birthday to yah!! There's hope, DNC chairs need more progressives...anyone you can support

[MissDeeds]

15. Happy birthday, Lifelong Protester

Cheer up! You have worked hard for this country, you have nothing to feel bad about. If things aren't better, it's not by your lack of trying. You did your best, and I (a fellow educator) thank you and salute you!

:party: :patriot:

On edit - Yeah, I'm kind of disappointed about the way things have been going too, but we're not down and out until we quit fighting. Never give up, never give in.

[ChicagoSuz219]

16. HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Treat yourself to something fun today! Don't spend the day fretting... there are plenty of DUers here to pick up your slack... ;-)

Eat cake!!

Hang in there... the best is yet to come!!

:yourock: :party:

[RussBLib]

17. Good luck

I turned 54 last week and I was bummed out for about a week. Just now getting over it. Embrace your depression, but know that it is only temporary. Don't resort to medications.

[Javaman]

18. First of all, Happy Birthday!

Second, you have to do what I do. On my birthday, I take a self proclaimed "day off from life". I take the day off from work, and only do what I want to do.

My wife has since embraced the idea.

It works like this: You have complete and automatic veto power on anything. No explanations, just, "no thanks". (politely ;) )

That means, you can sleep as late as you want, walk around in your underwear all day if you like, scratch yourself any way you please or just whatever.

I have a banana split every year just on my birthday. I never ever have one during the rest of the year. So I really look forward to it. I really don't like cake nor presents (rarely does anyone ever get me anything that I truly want or like. Except maybe a gift card to a book store). So I buy myself one. ;) My wife has a little bit of an issue with that since she does enjoy getting me something for my birthday. So I make an exemption for her.(LOL very big of me. LOL)

Turn off the TV, don't go on the net, turn off the radio and just enjoy the day.

Cheers!!!

[Lifelong Protester]

20. Your post made me really laugh

especially the part about walking around in your underwear all day! I didn't get out of my jammies until 11:00 today!

Now if I could just get to DQ or some such place for a banana split...

[hamsterjill]

19. I hear ya!

First - Happy Birthday - and many more!

Second, I've come to realize that with my advancing age has come a degree of wisdom. It's really as simple as you suggest. End the wars. Now. The simple first step.

Then we could afford to tackle the other problems facing this country. We'd have money for health care, education and for jobs promotions. We could invest in ways to develop clean energy, and stop our dependence on oil. We could accomplish something positive, instead of killing. We could re-invent America so that we are considered "the good guys" once again.

It's not depression that you are feeling IMHO - it's frustration! Frustration because you have the wisdom to see the answer, and the powers that be want you to think that it's all complicated, etc.

It really IS simple.

[Lifelong Protester]

21. Boy, amen to that...

There were some 'talking heads' on the teevee, blabbing about how we need to cut the defense budget. Now that seems logical, but get this, they were immediately on the tack of about how the health care costs for veterans and active soldiers were just 'zooming out of control', and that was where costs needed to be contained.

Well DUH!! Keep sending soldiers to useless wars in which there will be worse and worse injuries that will need YEARS of follow up (and hell yeah, those guys and gals deserve to be cared for; that is the contract we have with them, the debt of honor)and OF COURSE we will see health costs climb, and in the words of one of these 'analysts', "eat the military budget alive". How are these costs going to be 'contained'? Deny coverage? Pretend they don't need health care? Declare a 'health victory' and move on? ("Son, that traumatic brain injury is now 'cured'...)

I have no idea of why this all hit me so much today, but it seems so simple. Get out of Iraq and Afghanistan NOW.

I'm looking for a good anti-war peace group to join. Any ideas out there?

[lynne]

22. Wait a minute . . . Happy Birthday, Many Returns of the Day and all that -

- but please get over yourself and your sad-sack attitude!

I turned 55 a few weeks ago myself. The beginning of the year I was laid off from the job I'd held for 25 years. My son graduated from high school 2 weeks ago and he wants to go to college but I've not been able to find a job that pays anything near to what I was being paid. In fact, I've only been able to find a few hours work since I was laid off.

You woke up today, didn't you? I lost one friend to cancer at age 43. Another to AIDS at age 36. They both would have loved to have seen age 55 no matter what was going on in the world.

Yes, some things suck right now. Things have always sucked somewhere for someone since time began. But you've got a job and you woke up so you're doing better than a lot of others.

Instead of moaning about what isn't right you might want to think about what is right. As far as us having a bleak future, thankfully that's just opinion and not fact. There have been bleaker times in the past and we've overcome them.

And we'll overcome this, too.

[Lifelong Protester]

25. wow, that cheered me up.

[marions ghost]

23. thanks for doing something

for the anti-war effort.

These wars are draining us, killing our spirit, keeping us depressed. But the PTB don't see the negative effects here at home.

[AtomicKitten]

24. You say it's your birthday

Happy Birthday to you!

[applegrove]

26. Happy Birthday. To a better year!

[Odin2005]

27. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

:party:

[calimary]

28. Happy Birthday Lifelong Protester!

I wish we could start spreading the mentality that Bill Maher articulated recently: (paraphrasing) "hey, you don't like big government? Think your taxes are still too high? You want smaller government and less government spending? Well, then you're just going to have to GIVE UP having an empire. You're just gonna have to give up on that idea. We can't afford that kind of pursuit anymore."

I could not agree more!

[Lifelong Protester]

29. Thanks for the wishes, and I agree

we need to give up on all of these (expensive and detrimental) notions of empire.

End the wars, bring them home, start focusing on what needs to be done here.