December 21, 2007

Also Born on Christmas

How'd you like to share a birthday with Jesus? A lot of people (besides the Man Himself) were born on December 25, and I sometimes wonder what it would be like as a kid to have to share the spotlight.

Jimmy Buffet ("Margaritaville") was born on Christmas. Did his parents give him a party on an alternate date? Say, May 13 or February 27? Even if he had to spend his big day being overshadowed by God, it doesn't seem to have inhibited his ability to appreciate a celebration. Jimmy knows how to party with or without his flip flops.

I don't know how much partying Karl Rove is doing these days, but he's got his 57th coming up on the 25th. George W. Bush affectionately calls Rove "Turd Blossom" and the rest of the world calls him "Bush's Brain," which is pretty much the same thing. With his enlarged ego and sense of entitlement, I'm guessing Rove grew up thinking HE was the Reason for the Season.

Some Christmas birthday celebrants seem to have lived lives more in keeping with the season that the above-mentioned birthday boys. Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, was born in 1821; Evangeline Booth, social reformer and Commander-in-Chief of the Salvation Army, was born on Christmas Day, 1865; and in 1895, Cal Farley was born in Iowa. Farley started a ranch community for foster children which has housed and educated more than 4,000 boys and girls over the years.

Some pretty good actors were born on December 25. Humphrey Bogart, for one. Sissy Spacek, for another. (We're supposed to call female stars "actors" now; "actress" is supposed to be demeaning or something, like calling someone a "waitress" instead of a "wait person.")

An actor I've never heard of-Hanna Schygulla-wears a party hat on Christmas as well. She could be the greatest actor in all of Germany, but her name on the marquee is not a big draw, nor is it easy to pronounce. Until he died in 1994, Hanna shared a birthday with the great Cab Calloway. Now there's a name that's made for show business, unlike Larry Csonka, the birthday boy and Football Hall of Famer whose name sounds like it starts with a "z" but doesn't.

Actor Gary Sandy has more in common with Jesus than a birthday. Both gentlemen have names that are often switched around. I wonder if Gary Sandy has been called Sandy Gary as much as Jesus Christ has been called Christ Jesus? At least Jesus was never mistaken for a girl. I wonder if Gary Sandy has talked about his problem with Sandy Dennis? Or if Gary ever asked Sandy to marry him as a joke?

Come to think of it, if Hanna Schygulla had married James "Keeper" Hanna, her married name could have taken her a long way.

Here's hoping you have a happy holiday, even if it's not your birthday.