Day 4

Abe Lincoln and I share a birthday. I also share it with Ross Robb, someone I went to grade school with, and that's the only thing I know about him. And my friend Kim. We even shared a birthday party when I was 50. Once in a while I meet someone new with the same birthday. It's a little club. What was cool about it, when I was young, was that the celebration of famous people's birthdays actually fell on their birthdays, and so I always had the day off from school.

What's cool about it now is very different. Now I receive about a hundred messages on Facebook. I hear from high school friends, college friends, my best friend from when I was 8, my Bronx gang (where gang was not a dangerous word), old crushes, new friends, people I actually see, art friends, calligraphy friends, people whose names I recognize, some that I don't, my students, my teachers. 

I receive texts and transcribed messages of birthday songs. Emails, voice messages, more songs. I see hearts and images of presents (and receive real presents, too). Family members call. Cards are opened.

Birthdays are a beautiful reminder that we are loved and liked and thought about. For that, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who have been in contact with me today.

For all the newness of birthdays in the digital age, my favorite thing is a traditional one: we get to make a wish to carry us into the New Year. I hope triple wishes can all come true.