The Brave Astronaut Turns 50!

Today marks the day that I mark my fiftieth spin around the sun.

Here's a list, numbered one to fifty with some facts about the Brave Astronaut.

1. Time difference (1 hour) between home and Bermuda, where the Brave Astronaut and his siblings traveled earlier this year to scatter our parents ashes, in accordance with their final wishes.
2. Number of Brave Astronaut children - LBA (who turns 13 on Christmas Day) and SoBA (who turns 10! on the 30th).
3. How many siblings I have - I'm the youngest.
4. Number of book ideas I have in my head: one novel, one historical fiction, and two non-fiction books - I have about 200 pages of the novel written and outlines for the other three.
5. The number of permanent members on the United Nations Security Council that hold veto power (the US, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom).  In high school, I was a member of the Model UN Club and attended several mock UN meetings.
6. The number of years between me and my next sibling.
7.  My house number of my home growing up.
8. The number of places I have lived: Syosset, NY, Albany, NY for school (2 different dorms at the University at Albany, Poughkeepsie, NY (first an apartment, then a house), and three places in Maryland (Bethesda, Rockville, and our current home in Cheverly).
9. The number of cars I have owned (I think that's right): a 1982 Mercury Zephyr, a Nissan Sentra, a Mazda 323, a Mazda 626 hatchback, a Mazda Protege, my mother's old Ford Taurus, a Volvo sedan (bought on the Internet - don't do that), a Mazda 5, and the current Brave Astronaut Clan Car - a Kia Sorento
10. The number of US Presidents under which I have lived - and I hope to make it to number 11 sooner rather than later.
11. The number that remains when you subtract my mother's age when she passed (76) and my father's age (87) on his death earlier this year.
12. Number of emails currently in my work email box
13. Number of cards in a suit of playing cards (ace-king).  I enjoy playing cards, specifically a family game known as Liverpool, a contract rummy game.
14. The number of years between me and my oldest sibling. 
15. The number of rooms, including the side porch, foyer, and attic at the Launchpad.
16. In 2018, the number of years that I will have been married to Mrs. BA
17. The atomic number of chlorine, which is used to keep the Cheverly Pool clean.  This year, I was elected as President of the Board of the pool.
18. The number of years that I have been organizing baseball outings to my national professional organization (the Society of American Archivists) - Since 1999, I have brought about 1500 archivists to 20 baseball games over the past 16 years (for three conferences there was no baseball to be had and for 4 of the meetings, we went to more than one game).  In 2018, JAL Tours will be putting together the 17th Annual / 22nd Game SAA Baseball event here in Washington DC.
19. The number of national professional Annual Meetings (Society of American Archivists) I have attended since becoming a professional archivist.
20. The number of either elected or appointed positions that I have held or currently hold - I have been active in my profession an well as in my community.
21. The number of years I have been an archivist (the Rockefeller Archive Center for 6 years, the International Monetary Fund Archives for 4 years and my current position at the National Archives for the past 11)
22. Approximate number of people in the United States that share my last name - and they are all related to me.
23. How many years I have been playing golf.
24. The number of people in my extended family (one mother-in-law, 8 related to Mrs. BA, 7 on my side, and 4 in the Brave Astronaut Clan).
25. The estimated number of primary characters in The West Wing, one of my favorite television shows of all time. Jed Bartlet is my President!
26. The number of people who have not yet replied to the invitation of the Brave Astronaut Clan to our New Year's Day Open House - if you're in the neighborhood, you should come by!
27. The number of states in the United States that I have visited (from west to east: CA, AZ, CO, NM, TX, LA, WI, IL, OH, AL, ME, NH, VT, MA, NY, RI, CT, NJ, PA, DE, MD, WV, VA, NC, SC, GA, FL)
28. The age at which Billy Joel released The Stranger.  Billy Joel is my favorite artist - I have seen him in concert many times.
29. The track from which the Chattanooga Choo Choo departs in the song by Glenn Miller.  Songs of the big band era were standard fare for me growing up at home.
30. The minimum age requirement for US Senators.  I considered politics as a profession.
31. The number of flavors sold by Baskin-Robbins.  I am a big fan of ice cream.
32. How many years have passed since I graduated high school - 1985 - Go Braves!
33. The number of reference requests that I have already responded to in this fiscal year, which began in October), it is my primary work responsibility.
34. How old I was when I got married to Mrs. BA
35. How old Mrs. BA was when she married me (until yesterday we were in that point in time when I was two years younger than Mrs. BA - her birthday is in August and we were married in May)
36. The number of strikes one would have to bowl to achieve three perfect games (300-300-300).  When I bowled regularly, my average was about 145.
37. The approximate number of different golf courses I have played on since I began playing golf.
38. The number of slots in a standard roulette wheel.  I am serving again as the co-chair for my son's school's Casino Night fundraising night, in February.  You should come!
39. Number of active members in our local church's men's club, for which I currently serve as President.
40. The number of hours in a standard work week - I work full time.
41. The title of a song by Dave Matthews, one of Mrs. BA's most favorite bands.  When we were first dating, I helped get her really good seats to a Dave Matthews concert at the Meadowlands
42. Number of MARAC Meetings that I have attended since becoming a professional archivist
43. My lowest golf score for nine holes.  Now that I'm 50, I think I should play more golf.  I had long ago set a goal of playing consistently in the 90s for 18 holes by the time I was 50.
44. The number of characters in the novel that I have been working on, on and off, for the past 10 years or so.
45. Number of emails currently in my personal email box
46. The number for the next President.  And that individual cannot get here soon enough.
47. The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter plane.  My father was constantly building models of planes, ships, figures - although he was fond of tanks, primarily.
48. The number of seats available in the chapel where Mrs. BA and I got married.  Naturally we invited about 85 people.  Seventy showed up.
49. The uniform number of Ron Guidry, longtime New York Yankees pitcher.  I have loved baseball for years, played a little, watched a lot, and coached both LBA and SoBA's teams.
50. Slang for the police - something I think I can say I've never run afoul of, except for speeding tickets and the occasional camera tickets.