Quote of the Day: ‘Happy Birthday to You!’

 

Profile picture of James LileksSo, there I was, on the way to looking up other things: Lord, I wish I could count the number of posts here I’ve started out that way.  But isn’t that one of the things that life’s about?  Curiosity?

I think so.  And fortunately we have this marvelous thing called the Internet which makes it so easy to indulge.  The yen to look for things, I mean.  The late Mr. She would occasionally remark on how recent generations are the first which are able to encompass, in both audio and video, every aspect of their history–and, oh, BTW–what a shame it is that we are making such a hash of things by repeating the same mistakes over and over, when there’s clear evidence before our eyes of how destructive those mistakes are.

True dat.

So there I was.

Looking.

At what happened on August 9th, over the centuries, because maybe–just maybe–today is a Very Special Day that signifies an event worth writing about.

And, you know what?  It is!

From Wikipedia’s August 9th page, “Births” section:

Wut?  Our James Lileks is 64 years old today?

Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday to You
Happy Birthday, James Lileks
Happy Birthday to you!

Wikipedia says that “Happy Birthday to You,” is the most recognized song in the English language.

I’ll drink to that!  Please raise a glass with me.

What’s your tipple?

Thank you, @jameslileks for being here, for your lovely posts and comments, and for being just about the only “founding member” Contributor who regularly interacts with the hoi-polloi here on the member feed.  We appreciate you for that.  It matters.

Any and all Ricochet members who have a Lileks story, please share it.

Happy Birthday, you young whippersnapper.  And may you have many more.

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  1. Douglas Pratt Coolidge
    Douglas Pratt
    @DouglasPratt

    Happy Birthday, youngster, and thank you for all the gifts you have given me over the years. Me and lot of others. Best regards to the ladies and animals in your life. Long may you wave.

    • #31
  2. James Lileks Contributor
    James Lileks
    @jameslileks

    Kelly B (View Comment):

    Happy (belated) birthday, James!

    The ask in the post was for a story – this is sort of “Lileks-adjacent” but a weird coincidence.

    Most of my co-workers are in England these days, and last week, we’d all been posting warring vacation photos on a What’sApp chat. One of them posted this picture, and recognizing the town name from The Bleat, I asked him if he lives in Walberswick. A bit of back and forth, and it turns out that Peg Lynch’s daughter Astrid and his husband are friends of his, and he saw the Peg Lynch performance that James and Astrid did there and said it was very good.

    For what it’s worth, he also reported that the beer was good.

    !!!! Well, that’s today’s small-world story. I was just texting with Astrid before I saw this.

     Yes, the Anchor – my favorite pub in Walbers. (There’s another, the Bell, around the bend.) Always a few dogs slumbering under the benches, shelves full of books, and great ales. The Anchor is associated with Adnans’ brewery across the river in Southwold, so everything’s fresh. There’s nothing like leaving the pub on a summer night and walking back home down the High Street under the stars. So many stars. You can hear the sea from there as well. There’s no place in my life that compares. The locals might be amused by that – (Terry Gilliam, Holy Grail, shrugging “it’s only a model”) but I think it’s a remarkable place. 

    Who’s your friend? (And tell him to have a Ghost Ship in my honor, next time he’s there.) 

    • #32
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