Birthday

I was either 13 or 14 when I got the neatest birthday card. On the front was a photgraph of Rodin's The Thinker pondering "Valentine or Birthday Card..." and such is the fate of those of us who celebrate Valentine's Day and our natal anniversary on the same day. It's a blessing and a curse.

For one thing, there's a market out there, albeit small, for greeting card manufacturers to sell cards to friends and relatives of those like me. The Rodin card was the cleverest I've gotten, tough I have gotten lots more like it in later years. I manage to find at least one or two on my own while perusing the cart racks in the grocery store in the month preceding my special day. I do wonder if maybe the greeting card people collect left-over Valentine/Birthday cards in order to shuffle them along to new locations for the purpose of selling them next year to a different group of people.

There's also the coincidence that the beloved radio and television skinflint, Jack Benny, also celebrated his natal day on February 14th. Jack always claimed to be 39, and once I hit that magic age, I decided that I would be 39 from that point forward. If it was good enough for Jack, it's good enough for me. Today I celebrate the 17th anniversary of my 39th birthday. Wellll !

The down side is having to deal with people who don't believe that it's my birthday. I show my ID and one of the first things out of the mouth of the person perusing my ID has to do with the fact that I'm a Valentine's baby. Fair enough, but at the same time I could have been born a day earlier or a day later (sharing my birthday with Simpsons cartoonist Matt Groening) which would have meant that I wouldn't have gotten some of the great cards I've gotten over the years. Too, I tell people that my birthday is on February 14th, and they don't believe me, so, I pull out my ID and "Oooh! A Valentine's baby!" I do know that my parents appreciated the present on that cold day 39+ years ago, I just sometimes wish that others would just let the fact slide by with just a smile. No offense intended.

The other down side of having a birthday on Valentine's day is that it is almost impossible to get a table at a decent eating establishment at a reasonable time. Seriously. When I was younger, my tastes ran in the direction of an Arby's or McDonald's (in the dark days before there was a McDonald's on every fourth street corner). Tastes change, though. I rather think in terms of something a lot nicer, but, for some reason every nice place I can think of is overbooked with couples celebrating the day. A boon to the service industry, not to mention producers of the comestables involved. I usually find myself back at Arby's or McDonald's or, as my tastes have changed, Jack-In-The-Box, Wendy's or Whataburger.

So today promises to be a busy day. Finish this blog, notify folks on Facebook, dress, go to Church to be re-married and get my birthday blessing, drive the lovely Miss Carol to see one of her patients, lunch, then attend a Cursillo homecoming. Perhaps find a piece of birthday cake in the bargain. At some point in the day, I'll step back, count my blessings and realize that having a birthday on Valentine's Day isn't so bad after all. I'm on the right side of the grass for yet another year.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Be Seeing You!