The broken growth plate

Dear Congressman,

As I live in your district in the northern suburbs of Cincinnati, it is a long daily commute to my job at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron, Kentucky. So I have plenty of time daily in my car going each direction to find ways to entertain myself for 45 minutes at a stretch. Since I take the Interstate 275 loop through Kentucky-Indiana-Ohio on a daily basis, the traffic is relatively light compared to traveling Interstate 75 directly north through Cincinnati. Thus I tend to turn to my Ipod for distractions when driving in each direction. Since the advent of the podcast, I am able to listen to a diverse group of radio programs ranging from NPR to the BBC to the Onion on a daily basis.

However, at least once or twice a week, usually on the drive home, I will revert to my adolesence. I will crank up the Ipod and blast something from my youth, ranging from bands such as X, Social Distortion, the Ramones, the Talking Heads... etc... and basically rock out for the entire trip.

So my question based on this pattern of behaviour is: When do I actually grow up?

My father has always seemed ... well... for lack of a better word... fatherly. I have never felt this way about myself, even though I have a step daughter, a son-in-law, and two grand kids. Sure, I give advice when asked, and I do not have a Peter Pan complex or the middle aged crazies. But deep down I am still that kid at the Pomona Valley Auditorium in 1983 at the X concert slam dancing in the mosh pit.

I can never envision a day when I take myself as serious as I see some of my peers. I do take my work seriously, however, because they pay me to do that, and I feel a responsibility to return the favor. As many Americans, I have strong feeling on government and social policy, but am completely immune to pundits from either side of the debate who pound their desks and scream at each other.

So, while I will continue to care and to learn, today I will get in my car, turn on the Ipod, and probably jam to The Jam.....