(Danville, California)

Okay, so I am stealing from Jimmy Buffet, who wrote a famous song, "A Pirate Looks at 40," about getting older. I would have lifted it ten years ago when I was turning 40, but there was no such thing as a blog back then.

I write this with a half-hour to go before midnight, and then I turn 50.

I was on KGO Radio the other night with my friend Brian Copeland, who co-starred as Morgan Freeman's son in "The Bucket List." It reminded me that I have my own "bucket list" and that I had as a goal to publish a book before I turned 50. Just made that one!

I was on my book tour in New York City in late April with my first cousin, Hugh Dugan, who is now a diplomat at the United Nations (shown above). Hugh and his twin sister Hannah were born eleven days before me, so I always referred to us as "Irish Triplets!" Their mom was my dad's only sibling. Anyway, Hugh and I were close growing up, went to Marquette High School together, and always shared a love of politics. While I was in New York, Hugh took me to the Metropolitan Club--one of the swankiest places in Manhattan--for my birthday. It should have been on my "bucket list!" Wow!

Anyway, we have a lot of living ahead of us! I hope to live another fifty years and write a few more books. Thanks to all of my family for always being there for me. I love you all!

If you know me at all, you know how much I love the water-- from growing up near Lake Michigan, to living right on the Gulf of Mexico for five years, and then living on both coasts. So, I will steal from my favorite "pirate" again as I head into the next fifty years

"Mother, Mother Ocean, I have heard you call,
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall.
You've seen it all, you've seen it all."

Alas, there is no ocean around here, but I am heading to my hot tub with a big glass of wine. That is where I will turn 50! Cheers to all my friends!