I was born on the 5th of July. It’s an unremarkable date.
It’s like January 2 or February 15 or March 18 (if you’re Irish) or May 2 (if you’re a Druid or a Communist) or May 7 (if you’re Mexican) or December 26 (if you’re a Christian). It’s your birthday, but it’s a day late.
A day sooner and people would say: WOW! A Christmas baby. You and Jesus. Cool. Or, WOW! A Cinco da Mayo baby. Bet you like Corona. (Only when it’s in a bottle, thank you.)
I was born on the 5th of July. The day is unremarkable, but the year isn’t. I was born in 1947.
(OK, boomer!)
Oh, shut up. Don’t give me that OK boomer crap. Without my generation you wouldn’t be wearing blue jeans to church, writing your own wedding vows, listening to rock ‘n’ roll in elevators, taking selfies, or saying “dude.” We changed the world, dude. No disrespect to the “greatest generation,” but they won one war. Big deal! We boomers gave you Pac-Man, Big Macs, and the Bee Gees. Disco, baby. Next time you see one of us, stand up and salute.
But I digress.
I’m retired. I’m in lockdown. I have time. So I Googled “Famous July 5 Births.” I won’t keep you in suspense. I wasn’t among the search results despite all that I’ve accomplished, for heaven’s sake!!
The list I found runs chronologically from 1321 to 1996. (Somebody needs to update that list!)
The first name was “Joan of the Tower,” born on July 5, 1321, in the London Tower. She was of royal lineage and so was betrothed at age 7 to David, age 4, son of Robert the Bruce. They married in 1328. David became King of Scotland and Joan became Queen consort. I’ll admit, that’s fame.
The last entry on the list was Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell. Dolly was born July 5, 1996, in Scotland, and named after Dolly Parton. (I won’t explain. You can Google that.)
I thought at least one famous person would have been born every year on July 5. That’s not the case. The list omitted many years. But only one omission bothered me.
The list jumps from 1946 (Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist) to 1948 (Julie Nixon Eisenhower.)
There’s no name by 1947. I’ve got one.
(OK, boomer!)
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Check out Paula’s new photograph on the home page.
Now I know why they didn’t name that sheep Phil.
Ok!!! I count you famous or infamous enough to be listed… go ahead and update the list!! Meanwhile… I’m lol!! And Happy Birthday too!!!!
Here’s another name for your July 5 list. Today is the centennial of my father’s birth. It’s kind of an important day for my sister and me. His name was William Taylor Willingham, Jr. Everybody called him “Bill,” except for my sister and me, and our aunts, Dad’s two older sisters, who always called him “Billy.” My kids thought it was funny to hear “Grandpa” referred to in such a little brother manner. The kids once named a goat after him, calling the goat, “Willy.” My mother briefly had the bright idea of naming me, W.T. the 3rd. But Dad fortunately nipped that one in the bud. Nonetheless, I still ended up with the same middle name. So, yeah, July 5 is a significant day. Let’s hear it for “the day after!”
It must be noted that it was your parents who gave the world a gift on July 5th, so we thank them profusely, Boomer Buddy. And let’s remember who celebrated “the day after”, on July 6th: your mother! ? Happy, Happy! and many more, Randy… ??
Happy birthday! I have to agree the boomer benefits of our generation to the next are history of itself..including all July 5 birthday boys. Thank you and eat some cake today!
Now you know how the greatest generation feels as they have faded into history. We “questioned authority”, lived through splits in the family over the Vietnam War, had heads smashed and people lost standing up against the “America Right or Wrong,” government and its “majority base of adherents.” I sat in the school office for two weeks because I would not cut my hair, jeans in school were not permitted, or in fact T-shirts. Any shortcomings in class were met with a sharp rap on the head and the critical admonishment, “you knucklehead.”
This Fourth of July, enjoy your same-sex spouse, smoke some weed, and go skinny dipping somewhere. Just try to remember the generation that is now becoming, “Old and in the Way.”
Old and in the Way
That’s what I heard them say
They used to care about him
Now he’s Old and in the Way.
I sometimes wondered why you were so much more enlightened than I am. Now I know. You have one month more experience with life than I do. Congratulations. Happy Birthday. Get the hell off my lawn.
My last initial is Z. Doesn’t much matter when I was born, I’m always in the back of the room (“you won’t find me nowhere”).