Happy Birthday, Peggy Fleming

After a certain age, a birthday is less of a celebration and more of an achievement.

I'm two weeks older than Peggy Fleming, who is, no doubt, in better shape and I work with people all younger, including those who sign my paychecks and who would surely ask, Peggy who? They never saw her skate in competition, never saw her at the Boston Garden with the Ice Follies, alone on the ice with an almost mystical blue spotlight while "Ave Maria" played. The audience alternately held their collective breaths and cheered wildly and it was a performance I've never forgotten. Her final bow moved them to tears.

I don't know how she feels about birthdays but I don't much care for them so when the riotously colored pink, red and purple cake with chocolate underneath was delivered to me, I tried to be gracious, in my own way, and refused to give in to the urge to run or the rush to be angry. It was a sweet and thoughtful, well meant gesture and I did my best to appreciate it - thankfully, no one sang and it was all kept low key - still, it centered attention on me, something I try to avoid at all costs. Figure skaters may thrive in the spotlight but I'm at home in the shadows and anonymity of the crowds.

The pursuit of fame and fortune requires a self confidence and a willingness to risk that I don't possess. You must be willing to put yourself out there for all the world to see, for all the world to talk about. You focus, train and sacrifice with an exhausting intensity, knowing that losing sight of your goal could mean losing ground you will never regain. You eat, sleep and exercise rigidly and win or lose, you smile and start planning for the next time. Everything you do is aimed at success, at being the best, at standing at the top of your profession for as long as you can. When you finally climb down, there is an emptiness in place of the striving so you start all over again - a new career, a new partner, a new challenge - replacement therapy to fill the void left by achieving your ambition.
It's fortunate that most of us are content with simple dreams and small achievements or the world would be a very crowded place with us all scratching and clawing our way to the top.

So Happy Birthday to me and Happy Birthday to Peggy Fleming wherever she may be.