So, this happy birthday stuff

In my family, there's a man who died many decades ago and whose name and memory is surrounded by this faint fairytale glow. That man was my grandfather, my mom's father, and his name was Seve. After an operation for a brain tumor (I think), he passed away abruptly. He was only in his forties. It was his wife's birthday, he was going to show off his new walking skills after the operation, and singing happy birthday and with gandma's present in his hands, he fell down in the hospital corridor with a blood clot in his thigh and a couple hours later he was dead.

Grandma wasn't alone at the hospital at least. My mom and dad where both there, because they had picked that day for their engagement, with a party and dinner at grandma's and grandpa's house in the evening.

That party sort of petered out as the news from the hopital arrived. I doubt anybody who was there or was going there forgot about that day.

I was not there, it was several years before I was born, but I am Seve's (and Bojan's) oldest grandchild.

And throughout my childhood, every aunt always remembered my birthday. It took many years until I figured out that that was because not only was I Seve's oldest grandson, but I was actually born on his birthday.

If the story wasn't John-Irvingesque enough by now, Bojan's second man passed away on christmas eve. Oh, and Seve was a wrestler. I think there's something about wrestling in some Irving books? But I digress...

Anyway. Shared birthday coincidences sometimes amuse me. Sometime in my youth I discovered that I shared not only my grandfather's birthday but also that of Abraham Lincoln. That was the person some lexicon of famous people's birthdays listed for my date - February 12. There have been others over the years as well of course - a classmate (Hi Patrik!), a gamer guildie friend (Hi Korak!), probably more.

The fact that another famous person shared not only Lincoln's birth day but was actually born on the exact same day never popped up and never stood out, not until many years later. Charles Darwin was well known, not hidden or buried, but I think the immensity of his discoveries just wasn't properly understood until the latest few decades. For me at this time, his discoveries stand out as one of the greatest is all of the history of mankind.

I really don't like the idea that one should expect celebrations on some date that has nothing to do with... well, anything. Better to try and remember everybody every day, in some sense? Not that I'm some sort of genius ninja when it comes to remembering people and showing my appreciation, but... anyway. It's a thought.

But with a story that starts with Seve and ends with claiming Darwin as my buddy, how could I not like my birthday?

Cheers eveyone, and thanks