Chinese New Year

Even cynics who avoid lotteries, horoscopes, tarot readings, numerology and dream decoding may be intrigued by what's coming on Thursday - especially if they're turning 60. Thursday marks Chinese New Year, with the lunar calendar ushering in 4705, the Year of the Rat - creating kismet for those baby boomers born between Feb. 6, 1948 and Jan. 26, 1949 (including myself). Here's the deal: The Chinese/Tibetan zodiac is marked with 12 animal signs (dog, goat, pig, etc.) and overlaid with five elements (metal, water, wood, fire and earth). Each animal-element match occurs once every 60 years, making this the first Year of the Earth Rat since 1948, when '48-ers were too young to fully appreciate the situation. In other words, time for us to yell BINGO! We Earth Rats face the beginning of new cycle.