Raff's Brain #179: SPECIAL EPISODE - The Big 5-0: An Exploration of Birthdays in Four Chapters

The Big 5-0: An Exploration of Birthdays in Four Chapters
Written & Performed by Rob Raffety
Recorded by Travis Edwards

On this special episode of Raff’s Brain, you’re invited into the room for Rob’s LIVE 50th birthday show, The Big 5-0 — recorded at Settle Down Easy Brewing Co. in Falls Church, VA with a packed house, the epic funk band Telula, a misbehaving drone, and one very questionable consumer grade flamethrower (prop, probably).

Part comedy special, part TED Talk, part midlife therapy session, Rob breaks birthdays down into four chapters: Twins, Hierarchy, Gifts, & Commitments. Along the way, he riffs on:

• The “year of the banjo” that lasted about a week and a half
• Sharing a birthday with Weird Al, Sanjay Gupta, Pele, Nancy Grace, Emilia Clarke, & Ryan Reynolds
• The “hierarchy of birthdays” from Sweet 16 to the Smuckers-jar finish line
• Paintball guns, ferrets, drones, and other legendary birthday gifts
• Losing his mom, Cindy, and the simple but seismic advice she left him with: “Be yourself.”
• Why midlife might be less about crisis and more about commitment—to your art, your weirdness, and the things you keep saying you’ll do “someday”

The show closes with a flaming Rice Krispie treat “cake,” a room full of candles, and one big takeaway: Don’t just make a wish. Make a commitment!

Full video of the show available on YouTube.

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Call the Raff’s Brain Hotline with your own birthday story, wild ambition, or midlife confession: 📞 571-408-8058