Tomorrow is my birthday. I'll turn 57 years old. I decided to look back and see what I was doing on the anniversary of the "7's" over my lifetime so far.

At 7 years old I was in the second grade in Eminence, Missouri. Dad was stationed in Greenland that year with the Army and we could not go with him. We'd stayed with my mom's folks before, or at least in the same town as them, on previous military excursions dad was sent on, so this time, we were where my dad's folks lived.

At 17 we were stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Dad had just come back from a tour in Viet Nam as a chopper pilot and we were lucky to have him back. I got my Eagle Scout award that year and we had the commanding general, General Cherry, at the awards ceremony.

At 27 I was a police officer at the McKinney Police Department, in McKinney, Texas. I'd already been married and divorced twice at this point, and had three sons so far. Wasn't doing so hot on the personal life you might say, but was doing great police work.

At 37 I was a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff's Office in Houston, Texas. At that time I was in the training division as an instructor and it was one of the best jobs I've ever had in any of my careers. I was remarried and had another son and a daughter.

At 47 I was a Sergeant at the Harris County Sheriff's Office and was running the Inmate Trust Fund or Inmate Bank. I was divorced again and had at last figured out a way to stay single. I was a single dad of my two youngest children at that time.

Now here I am at 57. I am still a Sergeant at Harris County, but my kids are grown and gone out on their own, with their own problems to deal with. Now I'm just a few days away from retiring from my chosen profession and will enter another chapter of my life.

If I am fortunate enough to make it to 67 I hope to have something exciting to offer with regard to what I'm doing then. I don't plan to have to say, "Here I am in my rocking chair", but you never know, eh? Maybe by 77 I will have to say that!

Mac