That, friends, is my future.
Don't get me wrong, Wogan and Cox are pretty good people to share a birthday with, and I have nothing against them. The thing is, I happened to find out who was born the day after me, and who I could so nearly claim to be birthday buddies with. The list is so good, I'm actually going to do a countdown.
4. Knut Hamsun: 1859 - 1952
He's a Norwegian Author, famous for the novel Hunger. He'd be 142 today. I have to confess that I've never read anything by him, but he's a Nobel Prize winner, so he's automatically on my 'to read' list. You might not understand why I'm riled about not quite sharing a birthday with a novelist whose books I haven't read. Then again, you probably haven't seen a picture of him, have you?
Above: The embodiment of badassery
Look at him. Just look at him! That's a photo from 1890, the year he published Hunger. That's a look not many people can pull off, but by God he's doing a magnificent job right there. Mind you, I wonder what he did when he wanted to look at something by his feet...
3. Louis Armstrong: 1901 - 1971
Pops himself was almost a birthday buddy. That's a big'un, that is. There's an interesting story behind Satchmo's birthday, actually. Never having a copy of his own birth certificate, Louis always believed his mother's account (I would, too. Of all the people, you'd think she'd be the one to know when Baby Armstrong was born...). According to her, Louis was born on American Independence Day, July 4th, at the turn of the century 1900.
It's strange that Ms. Armstrong could be so far out in remembering the date of her own son's birth, but there you go. I suppose it's quite a bit more poetic, and Louis bought into it his whole life. It wasn't until a few years after his death that a baptism certificate was found, revealing the truth for the first time. So although Louis'd be 110 today, he'd think he was 111.
But is that the face of a man who cares? No. No it is not.
2. Barack Obama: 1961 - Present
Happy 50th, Obama! This particular birthday should be a bit better known than the others, and all the more reason to find its tantalising proximity to my own so infuriating. I don't think I haveto go into much detail on how cool this would be, so instead I'll leave a little video to make myself feel better. It's done by Adam Buxton, a very brilliant man:
1. Percy Bysshe Shelley: 1792 - 1822
I've already listed the President of America, arguably the most influential musician ever, and a man with impeccable sartorial tastes. Who could possibly be better to share a birthday with? Percy Shelley, that's who.
And he's got that sartorial thing going, too
This is a pretty personal gripe here, because not only would I share Shelley's birthday if I'd been born but one day later, but I'd also be exactly 200 years younger. That basically means there's a chance his poetic soul would have leap into my body, and I would have taken credit for the next Ozymandias, or something. Gah! Not only that, but he came from Horsham, which is where I'm from. I would have been first choice for the soul-hijacking scam! But can I make any claim to birthday buddyism? Nope, I'm just another sucker who's got a 199 year and 364 day birth difference between themselves and a dead poet. Such is life.
As things go, I don't share a birthday with any of these people. It's a silly thing to care about, I know, and normally I wouldn't. It's just the fact that they all happen to have bunched together on one day so close to my own... and I could have joined their special club. Instead, I'm left to sit at the door with Sir Terry, catching a whiff of Obama's cupcakes as they waft through an open window near by.
It won't last, he'll cut it. Ah, satire...
TTFN!
By the way, that Obama cupcake picture comes courtesy of Choconancy1.
You actually share a birthday with Terry Wogan? ARE YOU ACTUALLY TERRY WOGAN?
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great idea for a post - and yes, I share your sadness indeed! (:
Hoping you had a wonderful day xx