My Birth: A Day That Will Live In Infamy

Today is my birthday and it's a day that will live in infamy. I had no idea that the date of my arrival into this wonderful/horrible world was associated with so much sadness and bad karma. To wit:

Jan. 30, 1649.
English King Charles I was beheaded by order of Parliament under Oliver Cromwell.

Jan. 30, 1798.
The first brawl in the history of the history of the US Congress broke out in the House of Representatives in Philadelphia, PA after Matthew Lyon of Vermont spat in the face of Roger Griswold of Connecticut.

Jan. 30, 1941.
Dick Cheney - our 46th Vice-President and possibly the meanest, grumpiest, most stubborn and delusional man in the history of the world - was born on my birthday in Lincoln, NE.

Jan. 30, 1948.
Indian religious and political leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated in New Delhi by Hindu extremist Ram Naturam.

Jan. 30, 1968.
Tet Offensive begins in Vietnam. After calling for a cease-fire during the Tet holiday celebrations, North Vietnam and the National Liberation Front launched a major offensive thrughout South Vietnam.

Jan. 30, 1969.
This was the day the music died, as the Beatles performed their last live gig on the rooftop of Apple Records (as recorded in the film Let It Be).

On the plus side, former Small Faces and Humble Pie frontman Steve Marriott was born on January 30, 1947. They don't make 'em any cooler than the original Little Steven.

And today my co-worker Michelle presented me with a hand-knitted winter scarf, while Brad burned me a mash-up mix CD and The Dreamgirls (Emma, Sarah and Mel) sang "Happy Birthday" to me. So, maybe things have turned the corner.

BUT WAIT - just like in all those sappy "I don't think there's going to be a Christmas this year" movies until something miraculous happens to save the day at the end...when I got home from work tonight, I had a message from my ex-wife congratulating me on turning 50 (The Big 5-0 is a milestone, after all). That was the biggest thrill of all. There are few things in existence as life-altering and traumatic as going through a divorce and for years there has been a chill (understandably so) between us. But lately, with so many of our friends and family having suffered illnesses or passing away, well...it's hard to justify carrying ill-feelings forever. Life is just too short. I think she realized that, and I'm glad she did. After expressing incredulity not only that I had made it through to 50 but (perhaps even more incredibly) that I still had the same message on my answering machine for the past 15 years, she said some really nice things that will make this a memorable day for years to come.