Yes. Yes, today is my birthday!

A long time ago (April 30, 1954 @5:32 a.m.) in a far away Land (Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, MO) during a power outage because of a tornado I came into this world at 6 pounds 2 ounces. 

 

I tried to be born at the Cardinals Stadium (old one) when my parents were attending a game and Mom's water broke.  I wasn't due until May 2(silly parents and doctor). 

 

During labor, the hospital was hit with a power outage because of tornadic winds and I was spanked into this world on emergency power.

 

So far, so good.

 

Mom's mom (my grandmother) took the bus to St. Louis that morning to see me, about a 2 hour trip now and God knows how long then.  My dad picked her up at the bus station.  She was so excited to meet her 3rd grandchild...

 

But only got to see me 5 minutes because she and Dad went and viewed all the tornado damage and by the time they got to Maternity, it closed to visitors in 5 minutes.

 

I hear my mom pitched a hissy fit like no other!

 

You would appreciate my mom giving birth all the more in the fact she was 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds full term with me.  She wore Girls size 14 childrens clothing.  I could pick her up and carry her around the house when I was in 8th grade (1968), a stunt that did not put me in her favor but made my dad laugh.

 

Sadly, she died suddenly on April 9, 1968 from a brain stroke in the brain stem.  I never saw her again because Catholic hospitals didn't allow children up on the patient floor.

 

I know she has seen the remainder of my 46 birthdays from Heaven but they have never been as happy as the ones Mom was in charge of.  She thought my birthday was a national holiday!  Always a birthday supper, always my favorite homemade cake, always carefully wrapped presents and always a recanting of my birth story.

 

I hope I'm half the mom she was.

 

So today begins my last year of the 50's.

 

I'm planning every day.

 

They say 60 is the new 30...we'll see...

 

Meanwhile I'm going to hang on to this 59th year as tight as I can.

 

Always believing.

 

And I leave you with a little levity...

I don't believe I hung in the same social circle with any of my fellow Taureans except Willie Nelson...

Famous Birthdays on this Day in History

Birthdays in History for Tuesday 30th April 2013

◀ Mar     April    May ▶
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30
All Events Birthdays
Weddings Deaths

 

Birthdays 1 - 201 of 201
1245 - King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
1309 - Kazimierz III de Great, King of Poland (1333-70)
1553 - Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)
1602 - William Lilly, England, astrologer/author/almanac compiler
1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French priest/theorist/saint
1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
1664 - François Louis, Prince of Conti, French general (d. 1709)
1710 - Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
1717 - Guillaume Gommaire Kennis, composer
1723 - Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French naturalist (d. 1806)
1743 - Robert Jasper van de Capellen, master of Marsch/politician
1767 - Jean Henri Appelius, lawyer/minister of Finance
1770 - David Thompson, English/Canadian explorer (Columbia River)
1777 - Carl Friedrich Gauss, world's great mathematician
1790 - John Cockerill, English/Belgian industrialist
1792 - Johann Friedrich Schwencke, composer
1797 - Andreas V Michiels, Dutch military governor of West-Sumatra
1803 - Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (d. 1879)
1805 - William Kerley Strong, Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1867
1812 - Kaspar Hauser, German son of grand duke Karel van Bathe
1823 - George JD Campbell, Scottish/Brit Minister to Indies (1868-74/80-85)
1830 - Davis Tillson, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1895
1837 - Alfred Gaul, composer
1846 - Rosalie Amstein, writer
1853 - Alfred v Berger, writer
1857 - Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist (d. 1940)
1858 - Mary Scott Lord Dimmick Harrison, 1st lady (1889-1893)
1864 - Frans Netscher, Dutch writer/journalist (Studies of nude model)
1864 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (d. 1913)
1865 - Max Nettlau, German anarchist (d. 1944)
1869 - Hans Poelzig, German architect (d. 1936)
1870 - Franz Lehar, operetta composer (Naughty Marietta)
1874 - Cyriel Verschaeve, Belgian priest/writer
1876 - Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (d. 1937)
1877 - Alice B. Toklas, American companion of Gertrude Stein (d. 1967)
1882 - Trijntje "Nine" van de Schaaf, author (To the Invisible)
1883 - David John de Lloyd, composer
1884 - Albert Israel Elkus, composer
1885 - Luigi Russolo, composer
1886 - Frank Merrik, composer
1888 - John Crowe Ransom, US poet/critic (God Without Thunder)
1889 - Acario Cotapos, composer
1889 - Rudolph Hermann Simonsen, composer
1891 - Watze Cuperus, Frisian author (Swart mar leaflik)
1893 - Joachim von Ribbentrop, Nazi foreign minister (d. 1946)
1895 - Philippe Panneton, French Canadian physician, diplomat and writer (d. 1960)
1896 - Gary Davis, Laurens SC, blues/folk guitarist (A Little More Faith)
1896 - Hans List, Austrian inventor (d. 1996)
1897 - Humberto Mauro, Brazillina director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
1899 - Jannetje Fisherman-Roosendaal, author (regional novels)
1899 - Lucie Mannheim, Berlin, actress (East Meets West, 39 Steps)
1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
1902 - Andre-Francois Marescotti, composer
1902 - Rudolf Wittelsbach, composer
1903 - Gunther AR Raphael, German composer (Symphony Breve)
1908 - Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
1908 - Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic foreign and later prime minister (d. 1970)
1909 - Juliana, Queen of Netherlands (1948-80)
1909 - F. E. McWilliam,Irish sculptor (d. 1992)
1910 - Al Lewis, actor (Leo-Car 54, Grandpa-Munsters)
1911 - Hans Studer, composer
1911 - John-Baptist J Walgrave, [Henricus/Humanus], Flemish, theologist
1911 - Luise Rinser, writer
1912 - Eve Arden, Mill Valley California, actress (Connie-Our Miss Brooks)
1912 - Manuel Gutierrez Mellado, soldier/politician
1913 - Bernard Charles Sendall, deputy director general (ITA)
1913 - Edith Fowke, folklorist
1914 - Sid Weiss, bassist
1916 - Claude Shannon, information theorist
1916 - Dugo D Schenker, Suriname/Antillian producer
1916 - Robert Shaw, Red Bluff California, chorale conductor (Robert Shaw Chorale)
1917 - Bea Wain, US singer/radio host (Lucky Strike Hit Parade)
1918 - W Donald McNeill, tennis champ (US Open-1940)
1919 - Valeer [Valerius V] van Kerkhove, Flemish writer/producer
1920 - Duncan Hamilton, driver
1920 - Leen 't Hart, Dutch organist/composer
1922 - Anton Murray, cricketer (South African batsman in 10 Tests 1951-55)
1923 - Alan Wharton, cricketer (Engld batsman once v NZ 1949, scored 7 & 13)
1923 - George Byatt, playwright
1923 - Al Lewis, American actor (d. 2006)
1924 - Sheldon Harnick, Chicago, lyricist (Fiorello, Fiddler on the Roof)
1925 - Corinne Calvet, Paris France, actress (Phantom of Hollywood)
1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
1926 - Cloris Leachman, Des Moines Iowa, actress (Last Picture Show, Phyllis)
1926 - Corinne Calvet, France, actress (Apache Uprising)
1926 - Edmund Cooper, UK, sci-fi author (Seed of Light, All Fool's Day)
1927 - Johnny Horton, Los Angeles Ca, rocker
1927 - Lars Hall, Sweden, Pentathelete (Olympic-gold-1952)
1928 - Hugh Hood, Canadian author (d. 2000)
1929 - Peter Carsten, Weissenberg Bavaria, actor (Mr Super Invisible)
1930 - Raoul de Keyser, [Dekeyser], Flemish painter
1931 - William L [Bill] Clay, (Rep-D-MO, 1969- )
1932 - Anton Larrauri, composer
Country Singer Willie Nelson (1933) 1933 - Willie Nelson, Abbott Texas, country singer (On the Road Again)
1934 - Jerry Lordan, English composer and singer (d.1995)
1936 - Zohra Lampert, actress (Doctors' Hospital, Girl With Something Extra)
1938 - Gary Collins, Venice California, actor (6th Sense, Home Show), (d. 2012)
1938 - Larry [Van Cott] Niven, US, sci-fi author (5 Hugo, Neutron Star)
1938 - Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak film director
1939 - Ellen Taafe Zwilich, Miami Florida, (1st woman composer Pulitzer 1982)
1939 - Pieter van Vollenhoven, husband of Dutch Princess Margriet
1940 - Burt Young, NYC, actor (Convoy, Rocky)
1941 - Johnny Farina, rocker (Santo & Johnny)
1941 - Wilfried Jentzsh, composer
1943 - Bobby Vee, Fargo ND, (Devil or Angel, Night has a Thousand Eyes)
1943 - Robert L Livingston, (Rep-R-Louisiana, 1977- )
1943 - Frederick Chiluba, former Zambian president (1991-2001)
1944 - Jill Clayburgh, NYC, actress (Unmarried Woman, Semi-Tough)
1944 - Richard Shoff, rocker (Sandpipers)
1945 - Annie Dillard, American writer (An American Childhood)
1945 - Claude van de Berge, [Rony MF Pauwels], Flemish writer (Graph Theory)
1945 - Michael J Smith, Beaufort NC, Cmdr USN, astr (51L-Challenger disaster)
1945 - Mike Beacon, rocker (Ox)
1945 - Mimi Farina, rocker (Reflections in a Crystal Wind)
1946 - Donald Schollander, Charlotte NC, swimmer (Olympic-4 gold-64)
1946 - Karl XVI Gustav F H, King of Sweden (1973- )
1946 - Bill Plympton, American animator
1947 - Robert Scott, (Rep-D-Virginia)
1947 - Leslie Grantham, English actor
1947 - Mats Odell, Swedish politician
1947 - Tom Køhlert, Brondby IF coach
1948 - Perry King, Alliance OH, actor (Andy Warhol's "Bad")
1948 - Wayne Kramer, guitarist (MC5, Dangerous Madness)
1949 - Phil Garner, baseball manager
1951 - Panuta Rosani, Poland, discus (Olympic 1976) drug disqualified
1952 - Tom Pesek, PC programmer (creator of HAL 9000 program)
1952 - Jacques Audiard, French film director
1953 - Merrill Osmond, Ogden Utah, singer (Osmond Brothers, Donnie & Marie)
1954 - Gunther Tiersch, German DR, 8 man cox (Olympic-gold-1968)
1954 - Jane Campion, New Zealand film director
1955 - Dimitra Papandreau, Greece, wife of Greek PM Andreas Papandreau
1955 - Nicolas Hulot, French journalist
1956 - Jorge Chaminé, Portuguese baritone
1956 - Lars von Trier, Danish film director
1957 - Duane G Carey, St Paul Minn, major USAF/astronaut
1957 - Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky
1958 - Charles Berling, French actor, director and screenwriter
1959 - Kamaran Abdalla, Iraq/Engl/Neth actor (Goede Tijden Selechte Tijden)
1959 - Lauren Howe, LPGA golfer
1959 - Paul Gross, Canadian actor, director, and writer
Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper (1959) 1959 - Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada
1959 - W. Thomas Smith, Jr, American author and columnist
1960 - Kerry Healey, American politician
1960 - David Miscavige, American cult leader
1961 - Isiah Thomas, NBA forward (Detroit Piston; 1990 NBA playoff MVP)
1963 - Steve Smith, Glasgow Scotland, NHL defenseman (Chicago Blackhawks)
1964 - Ian Healy, cricket wicket-keeper (Australian since 1988)
1964 - Jeff Reboulet, Dayton OH, infielder (Minnesota Twins)
1964 - Barrington Levy, Jamaican musician
1965 - Adrian Pasdar, Pittsfield Mass, actor (C Oliver Resor-Feds, Top Gun)
1965 - Daniela Costian, Australian discus/shot putter (Olympics-96)
1966 - Aundray Bruce, defensive end (Oakland Raiders)
1966 - David Meggett, NFL running back (NY Giants, NE Patriots)
1966 - Jeff Brown, Ottawa, NHL defenseman (Hartford Whalers)
1967 - Steven Mackintosh, British actor
1968 - Babette Van Veen, Neth, actress (Linda-GTST, Blueberry Hill)
1968 - Paulo Jr, Brazilian pop bassist (Sepultura, Morbid Visions)
1968 - Richard Pilon, Saskatoon, NHL defenseman (NY Islanders)
1968 - Roger Mar, Seattle Wash, rapid fire pistol (Olympics-1996)
1968 - Sandra Beikoff, Mackay QLD, golfer (1990 Sunshine Coast Open)
1969 - Dexter Rogers, St Petersburg Fla, volleyball opposite hitter (Oly-96)
1969 - Joey Restivo, Brooklyn, rocker (Linear-I Never Felt This Way, Lies)
1969 - Warren Defever, American musician, composer
1970 - Brad Layton, Seymour Ind, rower (Olympics-1996)
1970 - Debbie D, Phila Pa, actress (Attack of Vampire Mermaid)
1970 - Ken Stanton, American Radio Personality
1971 - B J Tyler, NBA guard (Toronto Raptors)
1971 - Matt Martin, Hamden, NHL defenseman (Toronto Maple Leafs, Oly-US-94)
1971 - Randy Bierman, WLAF tackle (Scottish Claymores)
1971 - Ryan Hawblitzel, West Palm Beach Fla, pitcher (Colorado Rockies)
1971 - Ty Hallock, fullback (Jacksonville Jaguars)
1971 - John Boyne, Irish novelist
1971 - Darren Emerson, English DJ (Underworld)
1972 - Kendricke Bullard, NFL wide receiver (NE Patriots)
1972 - Mario Schaden, hockey forward (Team Austria 1998)
1973 - Akon, American R&B Singer
1974 - Cedric Jones, defensive end (NY Giants)
1974 - Chris Darkins, NFL running back (Green Bay Packers-Superbowl 31)
1975 - Beverley Peele, model [or Apr 7]
1975 - Johnny Galecki, Bree Belgium, actor (American Dreamer, David-Roseanne)
1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
1975 - Mike Chat, American actor
1976 - Amanda Palmer, American musician (The Dresden Dolls)
1977 - Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
1977 - Pell James, American actress
1979 - Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
1981 - John O'Shea, Irish footballer
1981 - Emma Pierson, British actress
Actress Kirsten Dunst (1982) 1982 - Kirsten Dunst, Point Pleasant, New Jersey, American actress (Interview with the Vampire, Spider-Man)
1982 - Lloyd Banks, American rapper
1982 - Cleo Higgins, British singer and actress
1982 - Andrew Seeley, Canadian actor and singer
1983 - Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
1983 - Troy Williamson, American football player
1983 - Yamini, Tamil Singer
1984 - Shawn Daivari, Persian-American professional wrestler and manager
1985 - Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American singer and call girl
1986 - Dianna Agron, Savannah, Georgia, American Actress (Quinn Fabray-Glee)
1987 - Nikki Webster, Australian entertainer
1987 - Rohit Sharma, Indian Cricketer
1988 - Molloko, SD Zoo, 1st California condor chick conceived in captivity