Ever have one of those “where did the years go?” moments?

I seem to be encountering more of them lately. The most recent arrived earlier this week while driving home.

There I was, quietly minding my own business, when the radio announcer rolled this hand grenade under the proverbial tent: The Simpsons have turned 30.

Turned 30? Is that possible?

They premiered Dec. 17, 1989, on Fox Network. (As an aside, does anybody else find it a bit odd that Fox Network airs some of the raunchiest cartoons on TV, given the general gist of its non-cartoon programming? Oh well, that’s a discussion for another time.)

What I found addictive about The Simpsons besides the memorable characters, tight plots, pop culture references and good writing is this: It is consistently funny.

But as fast as those three decades sped by, another major institution in my life is about to turn 40. No, it’s not just the launch of ChapStick. Actually, I’m referring to McKnight’s. Yes, believe it or not, we have been serving you since 1980.

I’m not sure whether our founder, Bill McKnight, realized the full extent of what he was onto at the time. He probably was too busy trying to fix a problem. Namely, that there were thousands of providers desperate for relevant industry news, information, analysis and perspective. And boy did he scratch that itch.

But that’s not all. McKnight’s truly evolved into a media innovator. We were the first outlet in this sector to offer daily e-newsletters, webinars, e-books, custom supplements and live events, to name but a few. We remain the only outlet that delivers online trade shows.

But although we are about to turn 40, in many ways we are just getting started. We will be doing some pretty cool celebratory things next year. That’s in addition to launching new products and services to serve you better.

So stay tuned.

And as a sign in my dentist’s office points out: If you like what we are doing, tell others. If you don’t, tell us. Actually, we hope you’ll do more than let us know where we’ve missed the mark. We also want to hear about ways we can help you do your job better.

For at the end of the day, we are here to help you make a difference. That’s been the case for just about 40 years. And we’re hoping it will continue for many, many more.

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