Happy Birthday to me!

I turn 62 today and I’m back in the city of my birth. A few years ago, just before having an angioplasty performed in August 2012, I didn’t think I’d see my 62nd birthday, or even my 61st. Even in the year after the surgery, I expected a heart attack every day. It’s amazing to me I’m still here.

What’s even more amazing is to be in New York City for this birthday. New York is the land of bad food, all the foods I grew up loving — New York pizza, pastrami, cheesecake, Italian pastry, sausage and onions, giant plates of spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, Nathan’s hot dogs, Drake’s cakes, Carvel…the list goes on and on.

I’ve resolved to go off my low-salt, low-fat, low-sugar diet while I’m here this week. If I don’t, I’d simply be miserable every day. Let’s hope my years of changed eating don’t all get wiped out by a few days here walking down the food trails of my past.

Today, I head for Staten Island to see my cousins for a birthday lunch. Tonight, my wonderful wife is taking me to Morimoto’s to experience some Iron Chef Japanese food. Let’s hope my medication can handle it all!
John