Do not go gentle into the Old Film Critics Home

I turn 54 tomorrow. And, frankly, I was OK with that -- until I started doing some math. And then it hit me: In less than twenty-four hours, I will be the same age as James Stewart when he starred in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. And I will be two years older than John Wayne was when he starred in Rio Bravo. But wait, it gets worse: I’ll be four years older than Walter Brennan was when he co-starred in To Have and Have Not. And eleven years older than Lee Marvin was when he took command of The Dirty Dozen. When I consider how old I used to think those guys looked in those movies….

And then there's this to consider: Warren Oates, my favorite character actor of all time, was just three months short of his 54th birthday when he freakin' died!

Sheesh. Never mind bringing me a drink. Let me have the whole damn bottle, please.