The Big 20

Twenty is an important number. It can refer to:

• The product of four and five
• The product of two and ten
• The number of long years that have passed since Jean Valjean had missed finding another way to go, by his own admission, after being released from prison on parole in Les Miserables.
• The second half of the band Matchbox 20's name
• A fifth of the number of years in a century
• The number of dollars in a twenty-dollar bill
• The number of miles that Deer Tick is out from the place that the girl lives in this song.
• The third magic number in physics
• Four fewer than: the number of hours in a day, the number of seasons that The Simpsons has been running (making it the longest running animated series, sitcom, and scripted primetime television series in history), and the number of blackbirds baked into a pie when singing a song of sixpence
• The atomic number of Calcium
• The Year of the Consulship of Messala and Cotta, A.D.
• The number of phalanges that an average human being has
• The maximum number of horses allowed to run in the Kentucky Derby each year.
• The number that comes after 19 and before 21
• The number of seasons that Gunsmoke and the original Law and Order ran.
• The number of ways to both see the world and start a fight in the song You Only Live Once by The Strokes.
• The value, in cents, of two dimes
• The number of songs in a playlist consisting of only Bon Iver's self-titled album and Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins
• The number of questions you are allowed to ask in the game 20 Questions
• A score (as in four-score and seven years)
• The number of ounces in a Venti-sized coffee at Starbucks.
• The Roman Numeral XX, which in my opinion is the coolest of Roman Numerals
• One fewer than the number of guns used in a 21 gun salute
• The number of players on the court during any two basketball games.

But, in reality, most (if not all) of these are kind of dumb.

Today, October the Third in the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven, the most important meaning of the number twenty is that it is the number of years that you, Shae Lee Bennett, have been on the earth. So congratulations, and have a great day! And then another great twenty years! And another! And another. And maybe another. And maybe by this time humans will be immortal anyway!

Either way, happy birthday.

:)