Originally published at LonPrater.com. You can comment here or there.

But I’ve had a good life all the way.

Yesterday was a wonderful, momentous, phenomenal day.  Twenty years before, at the ever-so-worldly age of 17, I woke up for my first morning at the Navy boot camp in  Orlando, Florida, where a growling chief with a baseball bat and a metal garbage can (remember those?) served as the only alarm clock I’d ever need.

To celebrate the occasion,  Shelley did the incredible.  She surprised me with a planned out, awesome day.  My brother Chad and his Shellie were up visiting from Tennessee, and the four of us spent the day tooling around in a rented convertible, listening to Jimmy Buffett, The Offspring, Blue October and the sound of wind, glorious wind in our faces.  At the end of the day, there was an amazing dinner with my friends from Indiana Horror Writers at Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery in Indianapolis.  Sara Larson gave a very nice toast (which thankfully drowned out my bro’s version!), the lovely Danielle Friedman graced us with her company (and tabletalk quickly turned to intestines, natch!), Michael West had some good news I’m not sure I can repeat as of yet, Jerry Gordon and Jill (who I don’t get to see enough of, but the promise of poker may change that!), Maurice Broaddus with Sally and the entire posse, Natalie of the last name that escapes me, Brian Shoopman, and a passel of others I am leaving out only for the sake of brevity and poor memory.  What a great capper to a great day!

There is yet more fun to be had today, before the fam drives back to moonshine country, but if you were there and you’re reading this, thank you so much.  You have no idea how touched I was that you all showed up to surprise me and share in the celebration.

I feel truly blessed and lucky in the afterglow of that fantastic day. Thank you Shelley for putting it all together behind my back.  I love you so much!

If the next twenty years slip away even a fraction as happily, they will be twenty damn good years….