Miscellaneous

Some Thoughts on My Birth Month

"I love January. It's my favorite month."

Admit it. You have never heard anyone make that statement. Oh sure, I can think of people who might. Those with the time, money and athletic ability to ski the month away in the Alps . . . bed and breakfast owners who are looking for a little solitude after the holiday rush . . . and . . . and that about finishes up my list. There may be people who don't mind January but how many people prefer January to all other months? Take a few seconds to think it over.

Got a big list?

Face it. "January is my favorite month" is one of those sentences you don't expect to hear in your lifetime. Kind of like "Pass me that angry elephant" or "I really would like to pay more for this house" or "I'll try to be home in time for tribal council." Okay, I actually made that statement during the first season of Survivor but it isn't something you hear too often.

Since I was born in January it's a little hard for me to accept the month's unpopularity although being born in the month doesn't automatically instill an affection for January in a person. Let me tell you, it's not easy being born in January. Number one, in large areas of the United States getting to the hospital can be a problem in and of itself. And once there, a newborn gets off to a bad start with parents who can't help noticing that the child did miss the 12/31 cutoff for a tax deduction. And, trust me, the child -- not the parents' ill-timed display of libido -- always bears the blame. Unlike those born in April, July or even September, those with January birthdays only receive winter gifts some of them bought for the December holidays and held. (I overheard my mother say, "I'll just hold this one for her birthday." Now is that fair?) And if the child, like me, is born under the sign of Capricorn, it faces a lifetime of horoscopes predicting "your sense of duty will see you through the hard times ahead."

I do my best to defend January. It is after all, it is the first month of the year. That must count for something. I mean George Washington is not viewed as just any president.

I don't just whine about January. I have taken action. My attempt to sell January as "Birthday Season" was summarily rejected by family members exhausted by what most consider the traditional holiday season -- the one that builds starting sometime around Labor Day and climaxes in late December. My family didn't even want to hear about the other significant January birthdays belonging to the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Benedict Arnold and Albert Schweitzer (the last two born on the same day ironic if you adhere to the convention view of the two men). My family members were not willing to "think outside the box" when it came to January.

Let me point out that since 1986 January has had it's own National Holiday, Martin Luther King's birthday. Unfortunately, like many holidays (Columbus Day, President's Day, Veterans Day) the holiday is not universally honored and never by companies I work for. Usually January has the most significant unofficial holiday (albeit a weekend day) in the US, Super Bowl Sunday. This year, however, that game has slipped into February. January remains, however, National Soup Month and includes National Pie Day two worthy events especially in January when harsh weather demands comfort food.

But don't think that January is dissed only in colder climates. I can't speak to how the month is regarded in the southern hemisphere but in the southern United States where January is not condemned because of bad weather, January is still maligned, regarded chiefly as the month when you see the holiday bills that slid through the mailbox and the extra pounds that slid onto your hips. Is it January's fault that December prompted you to overspend and overindulge? I don't think so.

All I am suggesting is that this year, let's be kind to January and to each other. Remember as you go out into the world this month that unless you happen to be reading this in Gstaad -- you are in the midst of a lot of grumpy people who are just as unhappy as you are that it is January. And, while you're out, buy yourself something nice in honor of my birthday.