My birthday was yesterday but we are celebrating it today. Birthdays make me nervous, they always seem a bit forced to me, but this one sounds like fun. Today sounds promising. We are heading to the Saratoga Raceway, trying buy some reserved seats online all morning, a digital nightmare, but I’m nothing if not willful, we are getting close.

Tonight, Maria is taking me to a play at the Dorset Playhouse in Vermont. A long day, a fun day. I can’t say being 70 means a great deal to me, my concern about all the birthday obsessions is that we begin viewing ourselves in terms of our age, rather than in terms of our lives and passions.

The truth is, this year is shaping up as one of the best years of my life, despite the fact my knees hurt sometimes if I stand on them for too long. Old talk kills, and old thinking kills even quicker. Like Grandma Moses said, life is what you make of it, every single day.

This say is no different than any other day. I get up, determined to live my life, and grateful for every day of it. Today, I’ll take a day off from the Army of Good, it is, as many of you know, draining and intense work, however good it is and feels. There is always something good to do.

We cannot change the nature of the world, but we can alter some lives and brighten some days and fill some holes in the lives of people. Tomorrow, I am off to Albany to meet with Devota and Mawulidi, and I plan to bring some gifts with me, thanks to your generosity. I’m hoping to knock down the mistaken loan Devota took out to help her son get through school and give Mawulidi enough money to buy his carving tools.

That would make for a perfect day.

If you wish to contribute to the Army of Good, to the refugee work and the work at the Mansion I will make sure the money is used widely and well, you can do so by sending a donation to my post office box, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or through paypal,[email protected]. Please say “Devota” or “Refugee Fund” or “Army Of Good” on your checks, thanks.

We have done a lot of good. There is a lot more good to do. Doing good is so much better than arguing about what good is.

I hope to checkin later. I’m bring about $80 to the track. I do feel pretty lucky today.