A special birthday greeting. Because The Australian Filipina is unashamedly #teamJimParedes.
There is...
Jim, the musician
Jim, the actor
Jim, the photographer
Jim, the social guru
Jim, the tech whiz
Jim, the mentor
Jim, the educator
Jim, the traveller
Jim, the writer and
Jim, the creative.
And on a more personal level...
Jim, the son
Jim, the husband
Jim, the father
Jim, the family man
Jim, the famous cousin
Jim, the famous uncle
Jim, the political activist
Jim, the environmentalist
Jim, the nurturer
Jim, the philanthropist
Jim, the friend and
Jim, the foe (of the bad guys!).
Jim, the man, is a series of pursuits, passion, achievements, the voice of compassion, a man of opinion and conviction, a man of faith in the capacity of the human spirit to defy the odds and do extraordinary things.
Oh, and he is funny as hell! (If you follow him on FB, you know what I mean!)
How can one individual pack so much in 64 years (or 30-odd years if we discount the time he was asleep! Haha)? I'm also sure I've missed one descriptor or several from the list above.
Sixty-four summers. It's not that long a period if you think about it, but he has achieved more than what many others could achieve in their lifetime.
So we are sharing his Facebook post below, marking his 64th birthday celebrations. Though his good looks belie what his birth certificate says!
Happy birthday, Jim! In answer to your play on that famous Beatles song, I've written one just for you! Hope you're having a fantastic day today and, by the flurry of birthday greetings on your FB, keep your phone charger handy!
Jim Paredes
Now You're Sixty Four
When I was younger, pulling my hair,
Many years ago,
All I wanted was one to be my Valentine
Birthday greetings, bottle of wine.
Every summer we'd go to Boracay
Not the Isle of Wight, but it's not too dear
We shall scrimp and save
Go snorkel, swimming
Writing, taking pics.
Tag me on FB, write on my wall
Stating point of view
Indicate precisely what you mean to say
Yours sincerely, Tweeting away.
Give me your Samsung, download the App
Yours for evermore
Happy Birthday Jim, Happy Birthday Jim!
Now you're sixty-four.
Jim's Facebook post marking his birthday.
It has come to this!
I am 64 years old by precisely 4PM today--that terrible age when I anxiously ask if will still be needed, or even fed! I have been assured by some that I will be sent postcards, dropped lines stating points of view while I quietly waste away!
If I live 10 years more, I will have I will have 520 weekends left. I intend to spend time as fully alive as I can and take the privilege of living on this earth with more passion, purpose but with less seriousness and more levity, if you know what I mean.
I will live, love, laugh, sing, love, cry, pray, forgive, eat and taste the pleasures and pains of the world with ever greater presence. At least I will try.
Sixty four years has been a long journey. No one knows how much time I (nor you) have left in this world. But that journey is done, and I look forward to more miles, sec, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months years of truly living, way more felt than merely existing or passing time.
Life is shorter than we think, and time passes quicker than we can imagine. To young people reading this, I was once as young and crazy as you just seconds ago. Now I am old and crazy but with a little more wisdom.
To people I have jousted, argued, quarreled with, or hurt, I ask for understanding, patience and humble forgiveness. You have been part of my life and somehow, I was thrown into yours. Only God knows why. But I thank you for playing your part. Surely, it added to our wisdom and growth, painful as it may have been.
To everyone reading this, I wish you the best of everything. And love is always the best thing we can wish or give someone. It is lasting, and it is remembered, and never thrown away. It also heals.
So here's my love being sent through FB. Please open, relish and consume with delight!
I may be out till quarter to three, would you lock the door, pls.
Thank you!
PS. To those who do not understand some of the things I just wrote, pls listen to When I'm 64 by the Beatles. LOL. I am sure there are generation gap(s) here that need to be closed.