So Catalyst has tagged me with a Birthday Meme. He should really have known better.

Here are a few random examples of the kinds of things that have taken place on the date of my birthday, September 27:

•1590 – Pope Urban VII dies 13 days after being chosen as the Pope, making his reign the shortest papacy in history.

13 days! Talk about unlucky. That’s what happens if your workplace performance is poor and you have The Almighty as a boss.

•1822 – Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta stone.

What he actually said was “These Egyptian scribblings are all Greek to me!” In a surprising stroke of good fortune everyone misunderstood what he meant.

•1886 – Mormon prophet John Taylor receives a controversial revelation on plural marriage that now divides factions of Mormonism.

Which illustrates just one of the many problems you might have if you run an institution under the auspices of Divine Revelation rather than commonsense.

•1928 – The Republic of China is recognized by the United States

Hey! Howdy! Nice to see you again. Now where was it..? oh I remember! That party thrown by Russia last month! You’re lookin’ pretty good!

•1968 – The stage musical Hair opened at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London, where it played 1,998 performances until its closure was forced by the roof’s collapsing in July 1973.

Which may mark one of the few times in theatrical history when a show was cancelled because it brought the house down.

•1979 – The United States Department of Education receives final approval from the U.S. Congress to become the 13th US Cabinet agency.

My God! They have education in America?

Overall, September 27 is not a very auspicious date, if Wikipedia is anything to go by. My tip is: don’t travel on this day, especially in a boat. Even if it does happen to be World Tourism Day.

I share this birthday with the following personages: Gwyneth Paltrow, Meat Loaf, The Baron Lothar von Richtofen (The Red Baron), Alvin Stardust and Avril Lavigne. Lawks. Aside from The Baron, they’re a dreary lot.

People who chose to pop their clogs on this day include: The aforementioned Pope Urban VII, Edgar Degas, Clara Bow and Donald O’Connor.

This coming September 27 will mark my half-century. I’m having a BIG party. You’re all invited.