I’m not one of those people who says “Oh, I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore.” Maybe I should be, but… Are you kidding?? I want presents! And cake! And cards from loved ones and friends! I’m still alive and kickin’ and I’m celebrating that!
Sure, I sometimes think about my age (48 today) and think, Ack! I can’t believe I’m so old! Where did the last 20 years go? My kids are about to enter college, my younger sister is a grandmother, and this year I will celebrate 22 years of marriage to the same man. I’m not young anymore. I’m way overweight. I have to take blood pressure medicine every day. I can’t do a cartwheel or climb a tree anymore. But hey, I’m Alive and I’m HERE! So, today I celebrate that fact.
And speaking of facts, here are some famous things that happened on my birthday (not the same year) and some famous people born on Feb 27th.
1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes.
1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
1964 – The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
1974 – People magazine is published for the first time.
1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.

Other famous People born on my birthday:
272 – Constantine I, Roman emperor
1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet
1902 – John Steinbeck, American writer, Nobel laureate
1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, British-American actress
1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
1980 – Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton

So what about you? Do you still like to celebrate your birthday? If so, how?
(I’m on a writing retreat this weekend to plot some new Blazes and won’t be able to reply to comments,very often but I’ll get here at least once to read them!)

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 27th, 2010 at 6:00 am and is filed under Jillian Burns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.