Happy Birthday Bono, thanks for all the songs.

Bono turned 62 today. You may not care. But when your heros get old you are getting old. When your heros get old then they won’t be with you much longer to give you the experiences that you have come to expect from them.

I have followed U2 since 1988 when I was a freshman cross country runner. It was pretty much a requirement to like U2 and be on the team. We watched Rattle and Hum, the VHS tape thank you very much just about everyday during our week long summer camp.

The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum era of 1987-88 is what introduced me to U2. I played the cassette tape a lot in my Walkman, listening to God Part 2 and Hawkmoon 269.

But then in 1991 I was hooked. With Achtung Baby there was this new essence. This new swagger. This new sound. This new look.

It sounded so different from everything they had done before, and yet it was better. Rolling Stone and Time magazine had U2 on their covers, they were the top rock band of the time filling arenas. And yet, here they come up with a new whole sound.

I learned a lesson from that.

It is okay, to tear things down and start all over again.

Because sometimes it’s even better than the previous thing.

Happy Birthday Bono. Thanks for all the songs.